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Zwiftcast Episode 18

Simon Schofield
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Zwiftcast Episode 18

Zwiftcast Episode 18

Episode 18 of the Zwiftcast has been released, complete with a new look and theme tune. Here’s the full episode description:

The Zwiftcast has a new theme tune! Simon, Shane and Nathan hope you like it.

The Zwiftcast trio kick off by rattling through a whole series of info-bombs related to the Zwift platform, including the news that a Virtual Bike Shop will soon be open, allowing users to spend XP points; the decision to include ANT+ on the iOS platform after all and the impact of the big new January influx of users on the platform – could Zwift now be feeling a bit crowded at times?

The main feature is a substantial interview with Ed Baker, a former Facebook exec, now with Uber, who is also one of the new private investors in Zwift. Ed is hugely experienced in helping digital businesses to grow and Zwifters will find his thoughts on this subject truly fascinating.

After analysing Ed’s interview (Mark Zuckerberg rides a Kickr – who knew!) Simon, Shane and Nathan knock around the idea that you may not need to own a big, expensive piece of hardware like a trainer to Zwift in future – what might it all mean?

The next feature is the concluding part of Simon’s visit to the trainer manufacturer Elite – with some interesting thoughts about Smart Bikes and the direction of trainer prices. Which leads the chaps on to talk about the continuing difficulties some users are experiencing with the Tacx Flux trainer.

Simon’s review of the Flux includes sound tests at various wattage levels, but did he get the problems others, including Shane have experienced? And when is Round Three of Shane Vs the Flux – and how might it be covered? Shane is threatening a live stream with Nathan commentating. . . .

This episode of the podcast concludes with some incredibly valuable advice from pro rider coach Kevin Poulton on how to use Zwift to lose weight. Kevin, who coached popular Zwifter Matt Hayman to victory in Paris Roubaix, gives tips on which workouts will be most effective and explains some of the science behind his advice.

The boys conclude with a light-hearted discussion on changing your weight – or even failing to do so (!) – in Zwift.

Sneak peak: Watopia’s new “Volcano Route”

Eric Schlange
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Sneak peak: Watopia’s new “Volcano Route”

Sneak peak: Watopia’s new “Volcano Route”

UPDATE: ZwiftHQ has published the route details for this expansion here. It appears there will be two new routes added to Watopia’s list:

  • Volcano Flat
    Distance: 12.4 km (7.7 mi)
    Elevation gain: 50.9 m (167 ft)
  • Volcano Criterium
    Distance (per lap): 4.3 km (2.7 mi)
    Elevation (per lap): 20.4 m (67 ft)

Early this morning Zwift CEO Eric Min posted a ride to Strava which includes the much-anticipated “Volcano Route” expansion of Watopia.

Route Details

Since this the first Strava post showing the new extension, we can extract quite a few details with some basic analysis:

  • It connects to the existing Watopia roads in two places: the middle of the Italian Village, and 1.5 miles later at the end of the Esses, before the tunnel which leads to the downhill and the start/finish banner.
  • The course is very flat, alternating between 1-49′ above sea level.
  • The main portion of the course can be ridden as a loop approximately 2.5 miles (4km) long.
  • The loop has its own start/finish banner (see it in the background of Eric Min’s snapshot), so it can be used for lap races. With its short, flat loops it looks to be just right for criterium racing–perhaps a “Sulfur Series” of crit races is in order?
  • Part of the loop is inside of the volcano (see Eric’s screenshot, which I believe is taken where the loop narrows in the map below).
  • This doesn’t appear to be the entire new route, based on a screenshot from the GCN Zwift tour video (see below). My guess is the new route will include a climb to the top of the volcano–if it does not, then that is a planned route for the future.

Hopefully the new route release will also include the ability to go in reverse direction from the starting pier, so we can quickly get to the volcano loop.

This map shows the new route (red) and where it connects to existing routes (black).

When Can I Ride It?

ZwiftHQ never gives hard dates for new route releases, but my guess would be by the 17th of January. It may even arrive this week! They almost released it at the end of December, but had some fine-tuning to do and decided to push it off a bit.

More

You can see a short glimpse of the new route in the GCN video below (the whole video is fun if you want to look around Zwift’s headquarters, but check around the 5:00 mark to see the new route).

Based on the screenshot below it appears there is a climb up the volcano which is not included in Eric Min’s Strava ride. Exciting stuff!

Here is the intersection from the Italian Village to the new route:

Here’s a screenshot from Zwift’s VP of Partnerships, Mike McCarthy… running inside the volcano.

What to do now to prepare for races later (Advice from Coaches)

Eric Schlange
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What to do now to prepare for races later (Advice from Coaches)

What to do now to prepare for races later (Advice from Coaches)

Editor’s note: this is the first in a series of articles focused on training advice for Zwifters. Each post will feature a single question answered by coaches who use Zwift with their clients. Here’s our first question:

It’s early January. If you could give every racer on Zwift just one piece of advice to help them meet their racing goals this year, what would it be?

Paulo Stroud-Baranda,  BIKEDNA 

If I gave only one piece of advice to all Zwifters this January, it would be to know precisely what it is that you wish to accomplish this year. Put your plan into action! Decide all races or events now. Using Zwift is a fantastic way to achieve cycling fitness as it allows you to work with smart data and in a consistent way no matter what the weather – which is so important to achieve success in cycling! Start training specifically for your goals and focus your training around that event. Is your goal to finish the race or do you have a time goal for that race? That means no more junk miles! Every ride should serve a purpose.

Of course, a coach could take your training to the next level and help you develop a solid plan, provide motivation when you need it and get you past any injuries that might occur during the year. If you have never used a cycling coach, now is a perfect time to give one a try – take the guesswork out of the equation!”

David Lipscomb, CIS Training Systems 

My advice to those looking to meet their 2017 racing goals would be to ensure that the training you are doing mimics the racing that you are looking to compete in.

Threshold workouts are great, but there are other skills needed to ensure that you come to the table with all the tools you need. One of the skills needed would be cadence development from 50 to 125+ RPM to cover all demands of racing.

Rob Manning, Tailwind Coaching

Remember that racing isn’t always about who is the strongest or has the highest FTP.  Winning a race is about being the most cunning and the most efficient.  If you have matches left to burn at the end of a race, you’ll be much more likely to win than the guy who’s been burning matches on the front all race.

If you want to be more efficient, work on the neuromuscular link between your brain and your muscles.  Working on high cadence drills (think 130 RPM and over) and low cadence drills (70 RPM and below) while staying smooth and supple will help you build neuromuscular conditioning.

The better your neuromuscular conditioning, the more efficient you’ll be.
The more efficient you are, the more energy you have left at the end of a race.
The more you have left at the end of a race, the better chance you can win.

Don’t ignore those cadence drills and the pedal stroke work.  It might be the difference between crossing the line with your arms aloft and crossing with your head hanging.

Troy Delfs, Momentum Cycling

First of all, prioritize your races.  Unless your name is Eddy Merckx, you can’t win them all.  Look at the race calendar for 2017 and determine what you top priority or A Races are.  There should only be 2 or 3 of these per season and these are the races that you base your whole Annual Training Plan around and taper for.  Next come the B Races, which you hope to do well in, may have a short taper for but are still secondary to your A Races.  3rd are the C Races which quite simply are used to build race fitness, practice you skills, strategies and tactics and to test our your bike and equipment.  Although you shouldn’t expect great results in C Races they are still very important to help you prepare for the A and B Races.

I belive that the numerous races offered on Zwift provide a multitude of opportunities to build fitness and fine tune your tactics, pacing and to help you push your limits.  My suggestion is to use the Zwift races as your C Level Races.  In the off-season, I would not suggest doing more than one race (Zwift or real world) every week or two as they can be very fatiguing and should only be done if they would compliment the current phase of your training plan (i.e. don’t race during a recovery week).  Consider doing a Zwift race as an alternative to a hard FTP or interval session.  You may wish to simply compete in the first third or half of the race, to get in the high intensity, threshold work and then change course and spend the rest of your ride working on base endurance. A few great things about Zwift races is that they are free to enter, readily available and nobody really ever notices if you just happen to turn off course after you have reached your limit.

Noel Bonk, Bonk Werx

If your goal includes racing outdoors in the spring, my advice would be to use Zwift as a way to either add to or supplement longer structured training rides. The weather this time of the year in many parts of the US is cold, wet and snowy so this can prohibit getting in those longer rides outside. On the other hand, the idea of spending 2-3+ hours sitting in one spot on the trainer for many athletes is pretty daunting, so Zwift is an especially great way to balance that and combat the boredom.

By using Zwift as a training tool, racers can get in that saddle time when needed either through one of the many regularly scheduled rides, through the workout builder or just riding along. Based on the fact that it’s January and most road races are months away, consider targeting those longer rides in zones that build aerobic endurance, aerobic power or functional threshold power first. Add these Zwift rides/workouts to your training schedule so it becomes part of your weekly routine. Just remember since fitness is not created in a silo, don’t be afraid of challenging yourself on occasion!

KISS EU – “Spinners are winners”

Quentin Lafaye
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KISS EU – “Spinners are winners”

KISS EU – “Spinners are winners”

The first classique race of the year saw some close finishes for the KISS EU of January 5th. In the A category, Tim Cartwright (KissRT) took the win after a long breakaway, whereas in the Bs, Sebastian Sternefalk (Vision) won the final bunch sprint.

Known for its fast pace, the London Classique Course was the ideal place for a new two-man breakaway featuring Tim Cartwright (KissRT) and David Allonby. Managing to stay up front, the English duo saw its advantage cut down to 6 seconds at the beginning of the race’s last hill. In an ultimate sprint effort, Cartwright managed to keep a few seconds over the pack, and took the win over Brett Boniface (Team ODZ) and David Allonby.

In the B category, the finish came down to a bunch sprint, despite the several attacks from Julien Beijer (Team X) in the uphills. The Dutch rider from Team Experimental, in addition to a 2nd place, won the first q/l Report – Combativity Award of 2017. In the final sprint, Sebastian Sternefalk (Vision) took the win over Julien Beijer (Team X) and Morten Austestad. “I wasn’t sure to ride today, after a rough New Year’s eve” says Sternefalk. “In the last lap, I had some gear problems, but I managed to get back and do my sprint. In that kind of sprint, you got to have a small gear to spin fast… I guess you can say that spinners are winners!”

Time to duel for the Cs

For the Cs, Scott Gallagher (BRTeam) won the two-man sprint against Jeff Edwards (Team TFC). A few seconds later, Stephen Hall took 3rd by winning the bunch sprint. Finally, in the D category, Berit Sundquist (Team X) took the win over Ian Martin and Thomas Vestergaard. Of course, all those results await to be official and are still provisional.

 

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

KISS EU – Jan. 5th/Provisional Results:
A Category:
1- T.Cartwright (GBR-KissRT)
2- B.Boniface (CAN-Team ODZ)
3- D.Allonby (GBR-U/A)
B Category:
1- S.Sternefalk (NOR-Vision)
2- J.Beijer (NED-Team X)
3- M.Austestad (NOR-U/A)
C Category:
1- S.Gallagher (GBR-BRTeam)
2- J.Edwards (GBR-Team TFC)
3- S.Hall (GBR-U/A)
D Category:
1- B.Sundqvist (NOR-Team X)
2- I.Martin (GBR-U/A)
3- T.Vestergaard (DAN-U/A)
q/l Report Combativity: J.Beijer (NED-Team X)

-the q/l Report-

Zwift coach profile: Ric Stern, RST Sport

Eric Schlange
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Zwift coach profile: Ric Stern, RST Sport

Zwift coach profile: Ric Stern, RST Sport

While based in London, Ric Stern of RST Sport is coaches clients all over the world, including Australian Michael Frieberg who won the Omnium event in the 2011 World Track Cycling Championships.

Ric and his team of coaches work with all types of cyclists and triathletes, achieving no small level of success on the national and world championship levels.

Like other Zwift Insider sponsoring coaches, Ric and his team love and use Zwift, but also have the coaching expertise to help you get to the next level. Read below to learn more about Ric and his team.

Ric racing

Tell me about your cycling background. What sort of riding have you done, for how long, etc?
I started racing in 1984 as a junior and have been racing since then. I began with time trials which, at the time, was the way most people started in bike races in the UK, and I’ve TTed over most standard UK distances (and a few non-standard distances) to include short hill climbs, 10, 25, 30, 50, 75, 100 mile TTs as well as a few 12 hour TTs.

I’ve road raced, done criteriums, ridden the track, and taken part in sportives too! On top of that I’ve raced in France, and rode most of the Tour de France route in front of the riders.

When and why did you begin coaching?
I began coaching my friends in the 1980s (not that I really knew it was called coaching then), and started properly in the 1990s.

I began collecting power meter data in 1993, and wanted to bring an empirical, scientific approach to coaching, which I felt was lacking. I had this burning desire to help people (my friends at first) to get better and ride faster. There seemed to be all these old wives tales, which didn’t make any sense to me. So I was very much driven by the science of how the body worked both from a physical and mental perspective.

In 1995 I started (and eventually finished) a degree in Sports Science, which I felt would help me understand the science and be able to better understand how to help people achieve their goals.

Every coach has particular philosophies which define their methods. How would you describe yours?
My philosophy revolves around the science and using both peer-reviewed evidence as well as my own experiences of applying those data in a real world setting. That’s not to say my coaching doesn’t have any fun sessions (because it does), and it’s not all highly structured intervals (because most people don’t like, want, or need anything that rigid).

Do you use Zwift personally, and if so what for?
Yes, I use Zwift. I used it through beta although I must say I generally stop using it when the weather is really good. I do use it to help me schedule in both endurance sessions and structured intervals or blocks of work.

How is Zwift a useful tool from a coach’s perspective?
Because you can get athletes to ride without too many distractions (e.g. cars, junctions!) and you can have a feel of what the rider is doing in terms of the ‘environment’ where they’re riding. At RST Sport we coach riders all over the world, and work with these athletes remotely. I can’t always see where they’re riding so knowing they’re riding a route I’ve done on Zwift allows me to see how they classify it, which allows me to understand how they classify other routes.

If you had just one piece of advice you could share with all Zwifters, what would it be?
I think my favorite piece of advice, for virtually all riders is, don’t start too hard. Most people overcook things at the start of either races or training, where a more measured effort is nearly always better! (exceptions are events that last less then ~60-secs). Oh! and enjoy it!

Testimonials

Ric with client Michael Frieberg (Australia), winner of Omnium event at 2011 World Track Cycling Championships.

Michael Frieberg  (Australia) said this about RST Sport after winning the 2011 World Track Championships:

To me the RST Sport team is my Formula One pit crew, ready to squeeze every ounce of performance from my body. Whether it be in aerodynamics, nutrition, training, testing, racing, pursuiting or sprinting, every facet of my performance is recorded, measured, calculated and analysed finding improvements in speed, efficiency and recovery. RST is my personal sports institute devoted to making me faster.

Selene Yeager (USA, editor of bicycling.com) said:

Coaching is as much about art as it is science. Anyone with working knowledge of physiology and the sport can cobble together a training plan. That’s the science. The art is knowing your athlete, digging in a little deeper on what makes them tick, and fine tuning the plan and your training approach for that specific athlete to meed that specific athlete’s need. That’s the art. And to that end, Neil Kent is an artist. I was already doing well when I started working with Neil, but he saw where I needed improvement (aka threshold tolerance on the flats) and the areas of racing in which I felt less confident (aka NERVES). He designed programs that systematically dissolved those weaknesses. I went into the biggest race of my life Brasil Ride with multi time national champion Rebecca Rusch with the most confidence I’ve ever had; raced stronger and smarter than I ever have, and emerged with a stage race sweep and overall win. Through it all, he always encouraged me to enjoy the ride; checked in regularly to be sure I was on point and feeling happy; and was as much a friend as a coach. I’d recommend his services to anyone.

Richmond “2015 UCI Worlds Course” Route Details

Eric Schlange
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Richmond “2015 UCI Worlds Course” Route Details

Richmond “2015 UCI Worlds Course” Route Details

The Richmond UCI Worlds route is a replica of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships course in Richmond, Virginia, USA. It was at this race where Peter Sagan famously attacked on 23rd Street to eventually win his first World Champs jersey.

It’s a wonderful race course, with the first half very flat, then a nice mix of attackable climbs on the back half.

The Richmond refresh of February 6, 2020 added the ability to u-turn on Richmond, while also adding the reverse version of the 2015 UCI Worlds course as an event-only route.

Distance: 16.3km (10.1 miles)
Elevation Gain: 142m (467′)

Strava Forward 1 Lap Strava Reverse 1 Lap

Virtual Power Basics for Zwifters

Eric Schlange
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Virtual Power Basics for Zwifters

Zwift only needs to know your wattage in order to get you moving in game (read how your speed is calculated in Zwift), and supports several methods for transferring your efforts into avatar momentum. The most accurate method (and also the most expensive) is to use a smart trainer and/or power meter. But Zwift also supports most non-smart (aka “classic” or “dumb”) trainers when coupled with a speed sensor (a simple device which counts your wheel rotations).

You can tell what sort of power calculation method Zwifters are using by looking at their w/kg in the rider list in-game. A lightning bolt next to the number means their wattage is being read from a smart trainer or power meter. No lightning bolt? Their power numbers are being computed by Zwift based on wheel speed and a virtual power curve.

Cyclops Fluid Power Curve

Virtual Power: How it Works

The good folks at ZwiftHQ put many hours into testing an entire room full of classic trainers back in Zwift’s early days (trust me, I’ve seen the room!) They rode these trainers at various speeds using power meter-equipped bikes so they could create a “power curve” for each trainer.

A power curve is basically a data lookup table which says “if the wheel is spinning at speed Y, the rider is putting out X watts.” See the CycleOps graph to the right as an example.

Of course, virtual power isn’t as accurate as “real” power due to many variables in tires, trainers, and setup. But the calculated power curves deliver reasonably accurate numbers when set up properly. 

Virtual Power Possibilities in Zwift

CycleOps fluid trainer – zPower supported

If you have a classic trainer and no power meter, here are your Zwift options:

  1. zPower Classic Trainer and speed sensor: Zwift has calculated a specific “power curve with acceleration” for a very short list of higher-end classic trainers. Capped at 1200 watts, as long as your trainer is set up properly (see below) your numbers should be fairly accurate even when changing speeds. (While the term “zPower” is often used by Zwifters to refer to all virtual power numbers, only a small set of trainers use zPower.)
  2. Virtual Power Classic Trainer and speed sensor: also capped at 1200 watts, this is larger list of classic trainers for which Zwift has calculated a specific power curve. As long as your trainer is set up properly (see below) your numbers should be fairly accurate when holding a particular wheel speed, but wattage during accelerations will be less accurate than zPower trainers.
  3. Unsupported Trainer and speed sensor: this is Zwift’s “last ditch” option. If your trainer isn’t on any of the previous lists you can choose this option and hope for the best. You will be capped at 400 watts.

Here is Zwift’s list of supported classic trainers >

Tips for Proper Setup

Basic Checklist

Keep in mind Zwift’s calculated virtual power curves were tested and developed under a specific set of conditions, and if your equipment does not match those conditions your numbers will be off. Specifically, Zwift’s virtual power curves assume:

  1. a fully-inflated tire (typically 100 PSI)
  2. a road bike tire size of 700c x 23mm.
  3. a properly-tightened trainer tension knob (per manufacturer recommendations)
  4. correct resistance setting, if applicable (Zwift may recommend a particular setting on variable-tension trainers)

Select the Right Trainer

If your trainer is not on the zPower or Virtual Power list, please do not select a different trainer and hope for the best. This can result in wildly inaccurate power numbers and you may get flagged as a “flier” in game.

Trust and Verify

ZwiftHQ did a good job computing their virtual power curves, but it doesn’t hurt to verify your numbers by comparing them to your real-world performance. One easy way to do this is to choose a flat route for a ride in Zwift. Go out and do a good hard ride, then compare your average speed to a similar outdoor ride. Strava is a great tool for comparing indoor and outdoor rides.

Here are some numbers you can use to verify your power accuracy

Many classic trainer riders find their in-game speeds are much too fast, and the problem can be traced to having their trainer tension knob too loose. Try tightening it and testing until your in-game speed is closer to outdoor speeds for similar levels of exertion. Due to differences between riding in Zwift and riding outdoors, I would say if your Zwift speed is around 1mph faster than your outdoor speed you’re probably set up decently well.

January 2017 Zwift course schedule

Eric Schlange
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January 2017 Zwift course schedule

January 2017 Zwift course schedule

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January’s course schedule is now available. This schedule basically matches November and December’s, with Watopia featured Sunday-Wednesday and London Thursday-Saturday, the exceptions being two Richmond Wednesdays.

Keep in mind the course changeover happens at 21:00 Los Angeles time (PST) or UTC-8 hrs.


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Why your Bkool Pro won’t work on Zwift iOS (and what to do about it)

Eric Schlange
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5
Why your Bkool Pro won’t work on Zwift iOS (and what to do about it)

Why your Bkool Pro won’t work on Zwift iOS (and what to do about it)

Bkool trainer owners enjoy full smart trainer functionality via ANT+ on Zwift for PC and Mac, but Zwift for iOS is currently unable to control Bkool trainers. Why is this, and what can you do about it?

Bkool trainers can be controlled (after a firmware update) using ANT+, but as you probably know Zwift for iOS only supports Bluetooth at this time. (Related news: Zwift has announced they will support ANT+ for iOS in the next version of the Zwift app, coming in the next ~30 days.)

Bkool trainers can also be controlled via Bluetooth, but Bkool uses their own secret, proprietary Bluetooth protocol to accomplish this, with the result that their trainers currently only work via Bluetooth with Bkool’s own simulator software.

Jon Mayfield, Game Master at ZwiftHQ, made it clear where Zwift stands on this in a recent Facebook post:

If they send us their Bluetooth protocol I’ll add it. We don’t really have open communications though as we’re essentially competitors.

He also added:

We’ve also reached out to them again this week to see if they’ll share the Bluetooth info. I wouldn’t blame them for not sharing, but it’d be nice for their hardware customers.

So what can Bkool owners do? Contact Bkool and ask them to release their Bluetooth protocol to ZwiftHQ. Hit them up on their website, via Facebook, Twitter, etc (links at bottom of this page.) The squeaky wheel gets the grease, folks. Get on it!

Coach profile: Noel Bonk, BonkWerx

Eric Schlange
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Coach profile: Noel Bonk, BonkWerx

Coach profile: Noel Bonk, BonkWerx

Based in Brewerton, NY, Noel Bonk of BonkWerx is a coach who cares about making you into a balanced, well-rounded athlete. A Zwift user since the beta days, he uses it personally to overcome the challanges of New York’s snowy winters, and uses it with his clients as well.

Noel has also lived the life of the “time-crunched cyclist” and now as a coach works to help his clients maximize their time efficiency. Read below to learn more about him and his coaching philosophy.

Coach Noel riding cross

Tell me about your cycling background. What sort of riding have you done, for how long, etc?
My interest in cycling goes back to when I was just a kid racing BMX and Freestyle. I got into road racing and cyclo-cross a bit late (in my twenties) after suffering a weight lifting injury. Fast forward the last 17 years and I’ve done just about every event you can do on the bike, ranging from stage races to grand fondos. I do mostly focus on criterium racing though, as they play well into my strengths on the bike. My background additionally extends into 10 years of race directing and amateur race team management.

When and why did you begin coaching?
Prior to coaching I spent the last 15 years running several start-up companies while trying to balance family time and training time. I definitely lived the life of the “time crunched cyclist!” Coaching has always been a part of who I am, and started as a way to give back and grow the sport I love. Unofficially I started over a decade ago by coaching and mentoring friends and teammates new to racing. Officially however, I started my coaching business a year ago and I am currently a USAC Level 2 and Training Peaks Certified Coach. Every day I feel fortunate for being able to do what I love and help cyclists reach and exceed their goals.

Every coach has particular philosophies which define their methods. How would you describe yours?
I believe in creating a balanced well-rounded athlete. This means training my clients to work on all aspects of performance including sport-specific energy systems, bike skills, tactics, strength and mental training.

I like to say I coach with both an art and science approach, using a combination of open communication and feedback as well as analytical data tools. This helps me understand the athlete not only based on their numbers but on an individual level. I use that information to design training that is personal and structured but also maintains flexibility throughout a season.

Do you use Zwift personally, and if so what for?
I was on Zwift as a beta user, but really started to get into it regularly last winter. I live in Central New York which sees a substantial amount of snow and cold in the winter. For me, Zwift has become the perfect partner in helping to beat back the boredom that sometimes occurs when doing longer indoor rides. Based on my schedule I do mostly ride it solo, but I like to jump into group rides and races when training allows.

Also, locally here in NY we are using Zwift to bring our community of cyclists together for some “friendly” winter rides and races. In just a months time we’ve grown our group, comprised mainly of riders from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse to 400+ members.

Noel racing

How is Zwift a useful tool from a coach’s perspective?
Zwift for coaching opens up all sorts of interesting training opportunities. It’s an excellent tool for keeping athletes motivated and engaged during the winter season or when they don’t have time to fit in a group ride or race. Creating structured workouts on Zwift is also a great way to help athletes stay on track with the proper efforts while maximizing time efficiency.

If you had just one piece of advice you could share with all Zwifters, what would it be?
Plan a weekly ride with friends! Cycling has a huge social element to it, but you can’t always find the time to ride and chat with others – so Zwift is great alternative to stay connected!

Learn more at bonkwerx.com >

Testimonials

“I have been very pleased with the services offered and the personal attention that I have received from Noel. In the past I have had experience working with other professional trainers. I prefer Noel’s approach to coaching as it has been more tailored to my specific needs and cycling objectives and have also found it to be more challenging. He offers core training, strength training and a considerable amount of feedback with weekly Skype sessions and daily personalized reminders via smartphone.”
~Dan Rivers

“This is my fourth season riding under the guidance of Noel Bonk having met when I was virtually a beginner. As I gain knowhow, skill, and fitness Noel understands with knowledge and intuition just what is needed to bring me to that next step. He is a highly organized and prepared “numbers” guy who demonstrates that he can look through the data in the middle of a race or intense training ride to guide his students on the fly. With that said, his training programs are well planned, specific, understandable, and effective. With any question about training, racing, or equipment I know I can count on Coach Bonk.”
~Dan Pone

“As a father or two young children, my time available to dedicate to training is very limited. Bonkwerx developed a custom training plan that considered my strengths, fitness level, goals, and schedule. I’ve noticed considerable improvements in my performance since my training has started and I’m eager for the racing season to begin.”
~Ben Freer

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