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Ottawa TopSpeed Race

Eric Schlange
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Ottawa TopSpeed Race

Ottawa TopSpeed Race

The Ottawa TopSpeed Race is a new event happening Sundays at 7:20AM EST. I had a chance to chat with organizer Paul McAneney about how the race began and what makes it special… here are the details.

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Top Speed Racing Team

The Ottawa TopSpeed Race is the first race series I know of which has transitioned from a real-life series to a Zwift one. According to Paul:

For the past decade we’ve been meeting throughout the winter to do an indoor ride, then run outside.  This year we decided it would be fun to use Zwift from home for our rides – and still meet up afterward for our runs.  We’ve had 2 races so far, and the guys love it!

The Top Speed Racing Team is made up of 20 guys from Ottawa, Canada competing at a high level in Running, Duathlon, Triathlon, and Cycling events.  The team has been around for about 12 years and could generally be described as elite age-groupers. The guys have day jobs, families, etc. but take training and racing seriously.

These races are part of a real-world brick program the team has done for over a decade–and had great success with.  The races are about 60 minutes long, and riders typically do a warm-up and cool-down on their own which brings the total ride time between 90-120 minutes. Then the team hooks up at a local meeting point for a 90 minute which is periodized throughout the winter.

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Things get cold in Ottawa!

According to Paul, Zwift has been a very helpful tool for the Top Speed team: “Zwift has also helped us train and stay together as a team. In years past, we’d do our winter rides on the trainer on our own.   Now we can message the team, hook up online, and get in some miles together.  It’s different when you actually know the guys you’re riding with on Zwift.  And it sure beats solo trainer rides during the cold winter months–which can be as much as 5 months of the year up here…”

Join the Top Speed Racing Facebook Group for more info on the ride, or see race details on the official Zwift events calendar.

ZADA – The big brothers of Zwift racing

Quentin Lafaye
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ZADA – The big brothers of Zwift racing

ZADA – The big brothers of Zwift racing

ZADA: the “Zwift Anti-Doping Agency.” The vast majority of Zwifters don’t even realize it exists, since it is a relatively new program working mostly with elite racers. Managed by volunteers from the Zwift racing community, ZADA exists to help ensure fairness in Zwift racing.

In the words of ZTR race organizer Christian Wiedmann:

The purpose of ZADA is to have an objective, impartial review of whether someone’s performance is plausible rather than have long Facebook threads of uninformed opinions on whether not a performance is real.

In a way, the good folks behind ZADA are like the big brothers of Zwift racers: acting in the shadows to help them have the best experience possible, and making the hard choices when necessary. Most interventions happen when a rider surpasses 5 w/kg in a race, but may also occur when a rider makes a massive jump in fitness.

As of today, ZADA intervention can have three results: “ZADA-approved,” “ZADA-adjusted” and, unfortunately, auto-DQ.

Here are a some testimonies to help you understand how ZADA it works.

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It’s not all sunshine and rainbows… but it can be kinda close.

Like any process, the ZADA intervention can go wrong and leave a bitter taste. French rider Alexis Louge (Team dZi) encountered the infamous 5w/kg barrier. “It started pretty casually. I got the notification in the ZP results, saying I had to send IRL [In Real Life] data, explains Louge. I had to borrow a powermeter from a friend, and I finally bought myself one. I went on and did the test, with the powermeter, and sent the data. It felt really bad, for me. I had the impression to bother people, that suspicion was the word. So I didn’t insist when they didn’t got back to me. I kept on riding my group rides, no more racing for me. Now, I’m not blaming anyone, but there’s still some incoherent things going on. I tried a couple of PMs, and got different results every time, so… who’s to say which one is right? But then again, rules are rules, and if that means no more racing, then it’s okay by me.”

It’s important to remember that Alexis’ experience happened in the early days of ZADA, when the things were still getting solidified and streamlined.

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Bigger, taller, but still enjoying racing.

Another outcome is “ZADA-adjusted,” symbolized by a small balance next to the rider’s name. One of the latest examples of this is Bruno Vieira (PTz), from Portugal. “As the others, I was asked for IRL data,” explains Vieira. “I went and did some tests outside with a borrowed powermeter and I sent them the numbers they asked for. A couple of days later, they came back to me and said that to avoid the problems, I could add a certain amount of weight and height to match Zwift numbers and IRL numbers. It took long conversations but it will be sorted out.” One of the first cases of ZADA-adjustment goes back to last July, and got sorted out pretty quickly as well. Some trainers are now known to be inaccurate watt-wise, so the aim here is to help people to keep racing without having to spend money on another trainer or powermeter.

Reach for the (gold) stars

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Reaching for the “zwift gold star”.

You can simply be “ZADA-approved,” and we are seeing more and more racers receiving this designation. ZADA approval means your real-life ride data has been found to be consistent with your Zwift ride data.

Being among the first to be approved, elite mountain-biker Kim Little (Team X) explains how it went: “The ZADA testing procedure was pain free… relatively! The process involved submitting a number of IRL ride data files for some recent rides I had done. Luckily, I had just completed some 10m time trials and hill climbs which were perfect to send to the team, who then analysed the files and cross-referenced with my Zwift numbers. I use the same PM in Zwift and IRL, so I was confident the numbers were good. Ultimately, I am glad that ZADA agreed and gave me a shiny star to confirm.”

Currently ZADA approval is limited to only riders over 5w/kg, and the “gold standard” is having the same power source for Zwift as outside. But the work takes time and a lot of analysis has to take place in order for it to work.

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At first glance, ZADA can look like the Police, singing in your ear “Every win you take… every break you make… we’ll be watching you.” But in the end, they’re the big brother stepping in when necessary with the overall goal of improving the Zwift racing experience for everyone.

Finally, the thing to remember is this: Zwift-doping isn’t doping. It is, in most cases, gear-related and involuntary, and it can happen to anyone. We all come from different cultures, different backgrounds cycling-wise and otherwise, and the ZADA people do their best to make it as fair as possible. So keep on racing… it’s kinda fun !

-the q/l Report-

KISS EU – Groove is in the Watts

Quentin Lafaye
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KISS EU – Groove is in the Watts

KISS EU – Groove is in the Watts

Every category had its chance to shine on the KISS EU race of Nov 15th. The Watopia flat lap was covered 3 times by the Cs and Ds, 4 times by the Bs and 5 times by the As. Each of these races ultimately went to the rider able to outsprint his opponents.

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Out of the water tunnel and onto the dust roads.

In the A category, the leading peloton got smaller and smaller as the laps passed, from a 25-ish-man group to a 9-man group halfway through. The attacks from Allonby (Vision) and Cartwright (KissRT) kept up the tempo at the front. But the KRT racer, victim of technical issues, had to step down with a lap and a half to go. “There wasn’t too many attacks to follow, so we were able to save some energy for the finish, says Frode Bokerod. Plus, the aero hats helped staying in the wheels!”

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The groups flash through the tunnel.

In the final kilometers, the Hedgehog (KissRT) and Henderson had to let go of the group coming into the Esses. There were 7 to ride for victory through the last bumps: David Allonby (Vision), Frode Bokerod, Ian Browning, Daffyd Williams (KissRT), Joseph Bank (BRT), Gregg O’Malley and Car Loeffler. Launching a first attack at the sprint banner, Allonby finally launched his sprint with 600 meters, surprising his opponents.

Four races, one outcome

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Allonby (Vision) sprints to victory.

Caught right at the line, the Vision rider managed to keep a small advantage over Frode Bokerod and Gregg O’Malley to get his first win of the week. “He (Allonby) has been unbeatable lately, so I didn’t really think I could win this, admits Bokerod, 2nd today. I was waiting for him to fly by… and he did! In the sprint, I was able to match his speed with the aero boost. Maybe I should’ve started 50 meters earlier. Who knows what’d have happened…”

On this flat course, even though it’s well known by the riders at this point, every single race came to a bunch sprint, with some bunches bigger than others. The B race came down to a bunch sprint as well, with a dozen riders competing for the win. Sebastian Sternafalk, coming out of Norway, took the better over Team X rider Julien Beijer and Jason Haagensen from Canada. In the C race, Hans-Christian Erikstad (Vikings) outsprinted Brian McCardle and Mark Robertson (BRT) to take his second straight win after last friday’s TFC. Finally, in the D category, Andrew Keedle (TPH Racing) took his 4th straight win over Ross Jones and Gary Darlington.

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Nov 15th / provisional results:
A Category:
1- D.Allonby (GBR-Vision)
2- F.Bokerod (NOR-U/A)
3- G.O’Malley (GBR-U/A)
B Category:
1- S.Sternefalk (NOR-U/A)
2- J.Beijer (NED-Team X)
3- J.Haagensen (CAN-U/A)
C Category:
1- H.Erikstad (NOR-Vikings)
2- B.McCardle (GBR-U/A)
3- M.Robertson (GBR-BRT)
D Category:
1- A.Keedle (GBR-TPH Racing)
2- R.Jones (GBR-U/A)
3- G.Darlington (GBR-U/A)

See full race results including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >

-the q/l report-

Zwift Richmond, VA course map

Eric Schlange
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Zwift Richmond, VA course map

Zwift Richmond, VA course map

Buy a 24×36″ poster of this map!

Below you will find links to the latest version of the Richmond course map, which you are free to print for your personal use.

Download Map as PDF

richmond-01

 

Update Log:

  • v.01, 11/15/16: created and posted the initial map with major features marked.

ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride – November 9

Ian Murray
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ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride – November 9

ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride – November 9

odz-logoOh what a night. We had about 40 people attend the ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride where we went over the highlights of sprinting and climbing techniques.

Since we returned to the Event Module again this week, the ride began in the corral. Once we got on the road, the group set out a 1.5 w/kg pace. During warm-up, we went over some of the basics, covering the importance of maintaining a good position within the group, and taking as much advantage as possible of the draft created by the riders up front. As we moved through the flat section of the Richmond UCI course, I laid out the plan for the day. It was pretty simple: we would do two laps, executing two sprints and two climbs per lap. Otherwise, we would practice our group riding skills at 1.5 w/kg. In reality, I knew that most of the interim time would be spent regrouping, as the wide variance of power and experience virtually guaranteed separation. While most of the instructions were passed over Discord, I did my best to relay the instructions via messages, but I am sure that some of it was lost due to lag. In the end, most of the riders seemed to get the intent of each exercise and grasped the learning objectives.

Speaking of the exercises, here’s what we did. On lap 1, we focused on using a lead-out rider and resisting the urge to open the sprint too early. The idea behind the two iterations was to demonstrate how a rider can benefit from having a willing teammate or an unwitting accomplice ramp up the speed at a greater rate than the effort being produced by the rider going for the sprint win. At each of the sprint zones, I moved to the front of the group and began ramping the pace up from 1.5 to 3.5 over the course of the first two-thirds of the sprint zone. At 100 or so meters to go, I gave the signal to unleash the horrific power of a fierce sprint. Using the lead out technique, most riders were able to reach peak power quickly and maintain it for the duration of the sprint. On lap 2, we extended the sprints out further to test our abilities to hold the max effort for the duration and identify our individual limits for time sprinting. Prior to starting the second round, I asked the riders to identify at what point the acceleration plateaued and the point in which power began to drop off. On sprint 1 of lap 2, we opened the sprint up about 100 meters after line on the road designating the sprint zone. Jumping off of my 3.5 to 5 w/kg lead out, almost everyone managed to hold the sprint for the duration. Sprint zone 1, though, is the shorter of the two, so I did not expect anything different. The endorphins quickly disappeared as we grouped back up and the recovery period came to an end. Before we knew it, zone 2 was upon us, and we ramped up the pace to open the sprint. We hit the line, I told the discord users to go, and hit send on the word “GO” to the rest of the crowd, and the rider board looked like it had been set on fire! Red w/kg readings showed under almost everybody’s name, and the sounds coming across Discord would have my grandma blush. It was awesome. The nearly 500 meter sprint was a perfect way to drive home the point of opening up the sprint too early. Some people were able latch on to accelerating wheels, lessening the sprint distance some, but most people did not have that luxury. A few of our colleagues were able to hold the sprint through the line without a complete meltdown, but the vast majority of us surrendered to the lactic acid in the legs and the lack of oxygen in the lungs, as the numbers fell out of the red with 20 to 50 meters remaining in the sprint zone. That sprint may have caused the SDR and ensuing video to be upgraded from PG to PG-13 due to the exhortations of the hurting masses.

After the sprints on each lap, we transitioned to an overview of climbing skills. While I generally don’t find the Richmond course to be my first choice, it is a great tool to teach how we can approach different types of climbs. It has both a long, shallow-grade climb and a short, steep climb. Riders need to approach these climbs with very different strategies, as they cannot be ridden in the same manner if you desire to hang with the group or gap your rivals. On lap 1, we talked about maintaining a rhythm, using the assumption that the climb was not situated in a decisive point or a prime spot for an attack, say early in a race. As a group, we climbed at a 2.5 w/kg, accepting the fact that you will probably have to lift the pace beyond an ideal comfort level on a climb even during the most relaxed portion of a race. We arrived at the top, more or less together, and prepared for climb number two. The maintaining of a consistent rhythm and manageable effort resulted in little need for recovery other than a quick drink of water, as we did not dig deep. On climb two, I directed the riders to climb out of the saddle at a lower cadence, utilizing body weight to push the w/kg up to 3.5 rather than relying solely on power generated through the quads. The steepness of the climb and the shorter distance benefited the riders who could generate and sustain a higher power output, showing the similarities between this type of climb and a longer sprint.

On lap 2, we changed things up a little, attacking the first climb with the intent of demonstrating the toll that surging or inconsistent pacing can take on the legs if not planned. I instructed everybody to alternate between a high-cadence, seated effort and a lower-cadence, standing effort at a slightly higher power output, changing every time the road altered direction. Thus, every curve or bend signaled sweet relief or back to pain. By the top of the climb, there were more than a few groans about the ineffectiveness of that style of riding unless attacking. After a very quick recovery, we closed out our hill work by seeing what we could each do on the short, steep climb. It hurt, but everyone did great, holding red level w/kg efforts through the KOM banner. In fact the KOM board was pretty much a mirror of the SDR rider board.

After the last climb, we did a quick recap of the day’s learning objectives and began our cool down. Finishing off our second lap, I laid out the next few classes that would focus on some of the finer details and tactics for successful racing. SDR will skip next week, as I will be away for work. We will return on 23 November where will cover sprinting more in depth.

Here’s the full ride video:

Virtual World Championships kit now available

Eric Schlange
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Virtual World Championships kit now available

Virtual World Championships kit now available

virtual-championships-bannersagan-world-championship-kitThe World Championship rainbow stripes are the most recognizable symbol in cycling: an emblem that speaks of world-class performance. Worn by the world champions of cycling since 1927, the jersey must be worn when competing in the same discipline, category and specialty for which the title was won.

The rainbow jersey helps make a world champion easier to spot for spectators, but also makes the title-holder more visible to other competitors.

virtual-championships-jerseyTeamODZ and Tam Burns, organizers of the upcoming Zwift Team Worlds 2016 race, have collaborated with Castelli and Zwift HQ to develop a real-life “Virtual World Championship” kit which you can purchase at cost.

The team developed a unique set of stripes which, in a stroke of creative genius, mimics the SMPTE color bars often seen on monitors and televisions. Zwift HQ joined in to make sure the use of Zwift’s logo conforms with corporate policies.

castelli-logoMoving forward, these bars will become the standard “Virtual World Championship stripes.” Eventually we are hoping to see this kit in-game, and also a special version of the kit for virtual world championship winners. Zwift HQ, how about it?

virtual_world_championships_artwork_web_prices
Learn more about Zwift Team Worlds >

Order your Virtual World Championships kit > 
Note: to place your order you must first create an account. Click “Sign Up” on the first screen to do so.

TFC Autumn Series – The climber from Down Under

Quentin Lafaye
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TFC Autumn Series – The climber from Down Under

TFC Autumn Series – The climber from Down Under

Three climbs up Box Hill were on the menu in the TFC Autumn Race November 11th. With a late winning move, Adam Kiss took the win over Standa Komàrek (TFC) and Neil Duffy (BR Team).

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The pack paced the first lap.

The first climb of the Londonian hill saw the first attacks with four riders coming on top: Boniface, Savin, Norton and Kiss. The quartet was brought back at the end of the descent by a group of 6 with Tarach (Team Poland), Bank (BR Team), TopCat (BR Team), Komàrek (TFC), Duffy (BR Team) and Calabrese. Behind them, Appleby (TFC) and Penno were just a couple of seconds down, but never managed to bridge up, while the next chasing group was already a minute behind.

Attacks and counters go up and down, all through the town

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Calabrese on the move.

In the second lap, Pasquale Calabrese launched an attack on the flat section, joined by Jacek Tarach (Team Poland) going up Trafalgar climb. The break lasted until the first ramps of Box Hill, where Brett Boniface made his move and went forward, leaving everyone about 20 seconds behind. In the chasing group, only Rob Savin got dropped, paying his dues for his efforts in the first lap. Despite his lead up the hill, Boniface was brought back at the end of the descent.

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9-man group: Boniface, Norton, Kiss, Tarach, Bank, TopCat, Komàrek, Duffy and Calabrese.

Ultimately, a 9-man group that went into the last lap, leading the race. Neil Duffy (BR Team) made the first move up Trafalgar climb, leaving the chasers a couple of seconds behind. “I don’t know what I was thinking, says the BRT rider. I paid for it afterwards, when Kiss passed me, I was dying, I just wanted to survive the climb.” Seizing his opportunity, Adam Kiss attacked in the first ramps of Box Hill, leaving everyone behind.

The win for Kiss, 4 podiums for BRT

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Kiss goes solo through “Box Hell”.

The Australian rider came on top of the climb with a comfortable 30-second advantage over Tarach, Duffy, Komàrek, Boniface, Calabrese and Norton. Kiss managed to keep his advantage over his chasers, taking the win in the A race. A few seconds later, Jacek Tarach (Team Poland) and Standa Komàrek (TFC) completed the podium in a bunch sprint.

 

In the B category, Jason Murtagh (BR Team) took the win over Miroslav Horak and Benjamin Angless. The current leader of the TFC challenge, Svein-Erik Vattle (§rytteme) took the 14th place for his first race in the B category, setting a new personal w/kg record. Regarding the C race, another BRT rider took the win: Jason Robinson. He won the sprint finish over Steve Reynolds (Type 1), and Rick Hanna (BR Team) completed the podium a few seconds later. Finally, the D race was won by Bhav Parmar, with Steve Swingle and Chris Warner (BR Team) completing the podium.

Here is the race commentary from Jesper Anker & Tim Fulford.
Check it out on Nathan Guerra’s Twitch.tv channel >

TFC Autumn Race Series – Nov 11th :
A Category:
1- A.Kiss (AUS-U/A)
2- J.Tarach (POL-Team Poland)
3- S.Komàrek (CZE-TFC)
B Category:
1- J.Murtagh (GBR-BR Team)
2- M.Horak (CZE-U/A)
3- B.Angless (GBR-U/A)
C Category:
1- J.Robinson (GBR-BR Team)
2- S.Reynolds (GBR-Type 1)
3- R.Hanna (GBR-BR Team)
D Category:
1- B.Parmar (IND-U/A)
2- S.Swingle (USA-U/A)
3- C.Warner (GBR-BR Team)
See full race results including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >

-the q/l report-

Zwiftcast Episode 14

Simon Schofield
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Zwiftcast Episode 14

Zwiftcast Episode 14

Episode 14 of Zwiftcast has been released. Here’s the full episode description:

Simon, Shane and Nathan are back – and the first few minutes of this edition are devoted to picking over some of the bones of the last episode’s interview with Eric Min, the CEO of Zwift. We talk about how soon Zwifters might feel the benefit of the huge new investment in Zwift from outside funders; and what Eric might have meant by a Smart Bike.

The first interview on this episode is with celebrity Zwifter, the Paralympian Jody Cundy, who talks about Rio, Gold Medals, how much the kilo hurts – and getting famous from a hissy fit. You can see Jody’s exploits here.

Simon, Shane and Nathan follow up with a discussion about the celebrated art of bike hurling – and whether it ought to be represented in game. Nathan introduces the hilarious idea of a potential “OhioThrow”. You can see the Bradley Wiggins incident which the boys discuss here.

There’s a very exciting set of new rides and races coming to Zwift with the Dutch National Team. The originators discuss how it came about and what we might expect. There’s more on this story here.

Simon has been spending time on the new top end trainer from Elite, the Drivo and he delivers his verdict in a detailed review and we have an interview with Derek Boocock, the rider who completed a remarkable distance record on Zwift.

Hope you enjoy listening.

KISS EU – Trouble in sprinter’s paradise

Quentin Lafaye
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KISS EU – Trouble in sprinter’s paradise

KISS EU – Trouble in sprinter’s paradise

David Allonby (Vision) and Tim Cartwright (KissRT) shared the first step of the podium in the KISS EU of Nov 10th. On the flat roads of center London, the two englishmen went head-to-head to end up in a sprint finish.

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Right from the gun, the Kiss Racing Team showed its hand trying to isolate Allonby. One by one, Branden Meltingtallow, Edgaras Spiridonov and Dafydd Williams attacked to tire the Vision rider, but the pack caught up with all the breaks until halfway through the race. Some other riders tried to break away as well, like Pedro Barroso (PTz), Ole Bergtun and Eoin McGovern.

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Cartwright (KissRT) and Allonby (Vision) head-to-head.

With Trafalgar climb as the only uphill for the whole course the spots to attack were a limited, but that didn’t keep the two TT specialists from going forward. Approaching the middle of the race, David Allonby (Vision) and Tim Cartwright (KissRT) went ahead and worked together for the remaining kilometers. The lead over the pack grew quickly as the chase couldn’t form up, as Cartwright’s teammates were keeping it from happening.

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Allonby and Cartwright going all-out.

The final sprint, head-to-head between Cartwright and Allonby started at the last kilometer, each throwing in their aero power-up, and coming to one of the closest in recent Zwifstory. Zwiftpower said Cartwright came out first, the “photo-finish” services said Allonby did… “Whatever the official results say, it was an awesome race from Tim, says Allonby. We stayed together and settled this in a really close sprint: top racing.” The same speech comes from the KissRT rider: “I think I maxed out my turbo in that sprint” joked Cartwright.

Welcome to “Sprinterlandria”

About 35 seconds later, Anthony Portalino took third place in the bunch sprint over Dafydd Williams (KissRT) and Edgaras Spiridonov (KissRT). There were about 15 riders in the pack at the finish line, one of the biggest bunch sprints coming to the finish in the “Sprinterlandria” of the London Classique Course.

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Millar takes the win in the B category.

Following the A race, the Mall only saw massive sprints to settle the results between the packs. In the B category, Jared Millar outsprinted BJ Afonso (PTz) and Sam Bacon (BR Team). For the Cs, a couple of riders got upgraded, but Roger Kristiansen took the win for the PTz Team, with Jesper Faxe (Vikings) coming in second and Brian McCardle coming in third. Ultimately, in the D race, Andrew Keedle took his second win of the week by going solo. Andrew Nokes and Jonathan Miller went on to complete a 100%-British podium.

 

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Nov 10th :
A Category:
1- T.Cartwright (GBR-KissRT)
2- D.Allonby (GBR-Vision)
3- A.Portalino (AUS-U/A)
B Category:
1- J.Millar (NZD-U/A)
2- B.Afonso (POR-PTz)
3- S.Bacon (GBR-BR Team)
C Category:
1- R.Kristiansen (NOR-PTz)
2- J.Faxe (DEN-Vikings)
3- B.McCradle (GBR-U/A)
D Category:
1- A.Keedle (GBR-U/A)
2- A.Nokes (GBR-U/A)
3- J.Miller (GBR-U/A)
See full A-B race results including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >
See full C-D race results including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >

-the q/l report-

Watch Fumy Beppu destroy one Watopia hilly lap

Eric Schlange
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Watch Fumy Beppu destroy one Watopia hilly lap

Watch Fumy Beppu destroy one Watopia hilly lap

Fumiyuki Beppu, the most celebrated cyclist in Japan’s history, rides in the pro peloton for Trek/Segafredo. Zwift HQ recently shared a video of Fumy hitting the Watopia Hilly route hard for one lap, and the numbers are impressive!

Watch the video below, and check out the ride on Strava as well.

fumy-beppu-2Here’s what stuck out to me from the video:

  • Fumy makes 440 watts look way too easy.
  • His lap time of 12:03 got him 41st place on Strava for the lap. Impressive ranking, considering this was a solo effort. (I’m currently in 1665th place with a time of 13:57, and I’m sure that was riding in a pack.)
  • He averaged 443w for the lap, which works out to 6.42 w/kg since he weighs 69kg. Amazing.
  • And again: he makes it look so easy. He doesn’t appear to be straining at all until a bit of effort at the end.
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