Tiny Race Series – September 28 Routes and Last Week’s Results
See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.
Check Out Jen Moroz’s Illustrated TTT Tips
Check Out Jen Moroz’s Illustrated TTT Tips
A few weeks back, Zwifter Jen Moroz shared some fun hand-drawn team time-trialing technique illustrations on the FemmeCycle Collab Discord server. I found them to be quite insightful, and I love that she took the time to draw them out. So I asked if I could share them with the Zwift community this week as we prepare for next week’s ZRL TTT on Greater London 8. Enjoy!
Technique 1: The Pace Line
Jen begins with the most basic of TTT technique tips: formation. Your default formation should be a single-file line because this gives you the fastest overall speed for the least amount of overall work.
It’s the same outdoors. Why does it work this way? Physics. Single-file formation puts only one rider in the wind, while everyone else receives the maximum possible draft benefit and thus saves the most watts possible.
In our TTT drafting tests, the single-file formation (image on the left) results in an average power of 309W, while the “hybrid” formation on the right results in an average power of 331W. That’s a power savings of 6.5%!
Technique 2: Mob the Climb
Single-file is the best formation on flats and descents because it enables maximum draft benefit. But what about climbs, where air resistance is minimal and drafting is thus less important?
Most teams choose to “mob” the climbs, with the strongest climber(s) on the front of the pack setting a pace everyone can match. Weaker climbers behind may benefit from a bit of draft, but they also benefit by keeping things simple mentally and just working to match the pace being set on the front. Precise front/back positioning isn’t very important on climbs, and the longer and steeper a climb gets, the less important it is. What’s more important is keeping the squad together.
Communication is key on climbs, as you usually don’t want stronger climbers dropping weaker riders. If gaps open up, be sure to speak up quickly so the front can make a decision about easing to keep the team together.
Technique 3: Punch Through On Descents
You may be tempted to sit up and rest on the descents, but your team will travel faster if riders take turns putting in 10-second “punches” from near the back of the pack.
This makes use of the draft “slingshot” effect which also exists outdoors. How does it work? While in the draft a few wheels back from the front, you hammer down and build momentum as you pass riders before shooting off the front. The rest of your team stays on your wheel, so the speed of the entire team is increased.
In a perfect scenario, after you’ve been on the front for a few seconds, the next rider near the back should punch their way through, giving your team another speed boost. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Technique 4: Extended Pulls (As Teammates Tire)
Teams are usually better at holding formation and keeping speeds high during the first 2/3 of the race. But it may just be the final 1/3 that makes or breaks your shot at the podium!
As riders tire, they may need to skip a pull or may even lose the wheel and allow gaps to open up. This is a problem because, as Jen so nicely illustrates, gaps are slow. When gaps get too large, the gapped rider loses their draft benefit, which just adds to their struggle. Even worse, anyone on the gapped rider’s wheel is now slowed as well, forcing the team to make a difficult decision: does the front pack slow so the gapped riders can rejoin? Does one of the gapped riders have to put in a hard effort to pull back the gap? Or do we let the gapped rider(s) fall off the back?
As the team weakens, stronger riders must resist the urge to make up for lost time by taking higher-powered monster pulls. Instead, stronger riders should take longer pulls. This gives weaker riders more time to sit in the draft and recover, without raising pack speeds and opening up gaps.
Technique 5: Finishing Effort (4th Rider=Team Time)
In ZRL team time trials, your team’s time is taken from the fourth rider across the line. This rule carries two important implications:
- If riders are growing tired near the end of a race, it’s often better to have them take one last max-effort “suicide pull” and then drop off, rather than keeping the team speed low so they can stay in touch. Pulling a 5th or 6th rider to the line who isn’t able to put in work on the front doesn’t help your team in any way.
- You may have 1, 2, or 3 strong riders who can push extra hard near the end, but that doesn’t do any good if it drops your fourth rider. In fact, this will give your team a slower finishing time! It’s all about that fourth rider, and they will get across the line faster if they can draft off of others to the finish.
Questions or Comments?
What do you think of Jen’s TTT Technique Tips? Which one does your team need to work on the most? Share below!
Zwift Racing League Week 4 Guide: Greater London 8 TTT
The fourth race of Zwift Racing League 2024/25 Round 1 happens Tuesday, October 1. It’s the second team time trial of this round, and our first with a real climb.
The race course: 1 lap of London’s Greater London 8 route, which includes the Box Hill KOM.
The climb up Box Hill makes this an especially interesting TTT in terms of pacing and team selection. Let’s dive into route details, bike choice, and all things TTT…
Looking at the Route: Greater London 8
London’s Greater London 8 route is 24.4km long, with 280m of elevation gain. Its most obvious feature is, of course, the Box Hill KOM:
Here’s a modified version of Sherpa Dave’s notes from when this route was raced as a Thursday TTT back in 2021:
- As you go through the start/finish gate, you have a 500m incline at 2%.
- Descend for 1km at 2% into the tunnels, then come back up the other side at a shallow 1.2%.
- At the 3.6km mark, you will turn sharp right onto Northumberland. 300m at 4.5% ending in a left turn.
- 2-bump descent toward Parliament
- Mostly flat for 5.5km until you start the descent to Hyde Park corner. Pick up speed as you descend into the tunnels.
- Piccadilly ascent starts at 11km. It stretches 900 meters and averages 2% – but it is broken into two 3% sections with a short flat in the middle. You will see the end of the climb approaching because the road turns a sharp right.
- 3.9 km of flat or descending until you emerge in Surrey and begin the main climb of the ride – Box Hill… but don’t forget the short, sharp drop into the Underground at 15km.
- Box Hill starts at 16km. A lot of the climb is draftable, but as it pitches over 5% and speeds drop the draft effect will lessen. Ideally stay together to benefit where you can. The climb breaks into three sections:
- The first 800m (to the first sharp U-turn) is slightly steeper, getting up to 7.5%, averaging 5.5%
- The last 2/3s (1.9km) is a steady gradient averaging 4.8%
- The last 300m of the timed section is a slight downhill
- Box Hill Kicker: 150m peaking at over 10% – nobody can help you here… push hard and stay with your teammates.
- Fox Hill Descent is a beautiful 2.4km (less beautiful if you’re going the other direction). The trick to this descent is to accelerate over the kicker and get up to speed as fast as you can.
- At 22.8km you’ll hit the ramp out of the Underground. Go hard to keep your speed high on the ramp, then keep the power high to get back up to speed for the flat finish.
Read more about the Greater London 8 route >
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
You may think that a lighter wheelset is the way to go because of the big Box Hill KOM on this course, but that’s definitely not the case. In a TT the strategy is simple: pick the wheelset and frame that gives you the fastest overall time.
If you look at our wheel performance data and do some simple math, you can draw a few important conclusions:
- The lightest wheels (Lightweight Meilensteins or Roval Alpinist) are 23 seconds faster up the entire Alpe du Zwift climb vs the fastest wheels (DT Swiss disc). We can divide that difference by 7 to approximate what sort of difference the wheels would make on the shorter Box Hill KOM: 3.3 seconds.
- A good all-arounder wheelset, the ENVE 7.8s, are 14s faster up the Alpe vs the DT Swiss disc. That’s a 2-second advantage on Box Hill.
- But the DT Swiss Disc is much faster on flats and descents. They will be approximately 10.5s faster on the rest of the course compared to the ENVE 7.8s (so a net advantage of 8.5s), and a whopping 32 seconds faster than the “pure climber” Lightweights and Rovals (net advantage: 28.7s)
Frame performance works out similarly. To put it simply: aero is everything. Switching to a lighter frame, even the zippy and light Felt IA 2.0 or Scott Plasma RC Ultimate frames, gives you a net disadvantage vs the more aero CADEX Tri and Canyon Speedmax Disc frames.
So bike choice is easy: grab your most aero TT setup! The CADEX Tri is the fastest frame in game by a solid margin, and the DT Swiss disc wheels are the fastest wheels. If you don’t have access to that setup (level 40+) then see this post to determine the fastest TT setup available at your level.
Whatever you do, do not use a road frame. Because just like in real life, even a “slow” TT frame is much more aero than a road frame.
Route Recon Videos and Resources
Lots of recon events are scheduled on upcoming ZRL routes, led by various teams. See upcoming ZRL recons for this race at zwift.com/events/tag/zrlrecon.
In The Drops
See Greater London 8 course notes >
John Rice
TTTips
Team Time Trialing on Zwift is a challenging mixture of physical strength, proper pacing, and Zwift minutiae like picking a fast bike and understanding drafting in a TTT context.
Flatter courses like this week give valuable seconds to teams who can keep their speeds high over false flats. If you typically run your trainer difficulty setting pretty low, we advise you to raise your Trainer Difficulty high enough that you can feel slight incline changes and automatically increase power to keep your speeds high.
Climbs like this week’s Box Hill KOM also present an opportunity to gain or lose lots of time over a short distance. You will want a target pace and attack plan for this section to ensure your team is climbing as fast as possible. You may also need to make decisions about dropping riders on this climb, because waiting for them may cost you more time than they can pull back on the descent and flats to follow. If your team includes a slow climber with decent pure watts, it may make sense for them to take a suicide pull leading into Box Hill to give the team a final boost before dropping off.
Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on the abilities of each rider. We highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.
If you really want to go down the TTT rabbit hole, check out Paul Fitzpatrick’s zwift-ds.com site. We also highly recommend using Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
Join Rhino Racing’s Virtual Everest Challenge
Join Rhino Racing’s Virtual Everest Challenge
Table of Contents
A group of riders from the Rhino Racing team plan to Virtual Everest (vEverest) Alpe du Zwift on Saturday, November 2. And they’re inviting other brave souls to join!
Read on for details…
What is VEveresting?
VEveresting is climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest (8848 meters) in one indoor cycling activity. (You can also do “Everesting” outdoors, of course).
There are rules for what makes an official vEveresting that qualifies for the Hall of Fame, including:
- 100% Trainer Difficulty required
- No Erg mode allowed
- Must be done in a single activity (no sleeping)
- One mountain, no loops: ride must use one hill or mountain for elevation, and you must descend that same mountain in order to do repeats
Event Details
Rhino Racing has created an event (zwift.com/events/view/4520612) to begin their Virtual Everest Challenge at 5am UTC Saturday, November 2. This event is just one lap of Watopia’s Road to Sky route, with late join enabled and all riders within Watopia visible.
But the real challenge begins after that event is completed and riders descend to the bottom of the Alpe only to flip a u-turn and begin climbing again! Because with 1036 meters of elevation gained on each Alpe du Zwift ascent, it takes over 8.5 completions to vEverest Alpe du Zwift.
If you’ve never vEverested before, doing a quarter (2212m) or half (aka “Basecamp”) is also a huge achievement! Everyone is invited to join the event and complete as many ascents as desired.
If you can’t make the kickoff event, you may also head over to Alpe du Zwift on your own schedule and join the Rhino Racing squad as they ride up and down the Alpe for 8+ hours. Just choose Watopia’s “Road to Sky” route, which takes you down through the Jungle to Alpe du Zwift.
Discord Chat
Rhino Racing’s Discord server (https://discord.gg/wPD4HJ6) will be active for the ride, so if you’re looking to pass the time meeting and chatting with other Zwifters, sign into the public voice channel. Be sure to alert everyone if you spot the Yeti!
Those looking to participate are also invited to sign in now and introduce themselves via text chat in the #rhino-everest-challenge channel!
Pacing
The average pace will be between 2.0 and 2.5 w/kg and Rhino Racing says the group will be “aiming to stay together as much as possible.”
Best Climbing Bike
In a ride of this length, a lightweight climbing bike can save you several minutes over the course of a vEveresting attempt. Check out Fastest Climbing Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level to learn which climbing rig you can access and use!
Earn the Badge
Finish a vEveresting, and you’ll earn the coveted hidden Everested! badge, including a 5000XP bonus. (There are other hidden “extra credit” badges, too. See our full list of Zwift achievement badges >)
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
Announcing ZIMetrics Difficulty Rating and Time Estimates + Updated VeloViewer Leaderboards
Announcing ZIMetrics Difficulty Rating and Time Estimates + Updated VeloViewer Leaderboards
I’ve been spending a lot of time getting intimate with Zwift route data lately. Why? Two separate projects. One that predicts your finishing time on a given route… the other that tracks those times on a leaderboard against others!
Here are the details…
Introducing ZIMetrics
For years, I’ve wanted to add two things to Zwift Insider’s route detail pages:
- A route difficulty rating: something easy to understand, which can be used at a glance to rank Zwift’s entire universe of routes
- Route completion time estimates based on your power output: it’s not always easy to glance at a route’s length and elevation and figure out how long it will take you to complete, and Zwift’s in-game estimates aren’t always helpful. But most Zwifters know what sort of watts per kilo they can sustain for a given amount of time, so if I could calculate accurate time estimates for a given w/kg, that seemed like it would be helpful.
I’ve been tweaking and testing an algorithm for a few weeks, and I’m pretty happy with its results at this point – hence this announcement.
Time Estimate Notes
Let me start by saying this: there’s no way to estimate a perfectly accurate completion time on Zwift – not unless it’s a TT race and you’re perfectly following a particular “power plan” Ã la BestBikeSplit.
My goal with these time estimates is to predict how long it would take a semi-experienced rider, riding efficiently in a group, to finish one lap of the course, including any lead-in. The algorithm assumes you’re a 75kg, 183cm rider drafting on the flats, on a decently fast bike, and pushing harder on climbs than on flats and descents.
Basically, the algorithm is based on a typical Zwift group ride or race situation.
Of course, draft conditions vary widely, as do rider height/weight, choice of bike, and power variability. In order to keep it simple and avoid requiring people to enter height, bike choice, etc, I had to make certain assumptions, and I’m fine with that, because I don’t think we lost much accuracy in doing so. In my tests, I’m finding that the ZIMetrics estimates are almost always within 3% of the actual completion time. That’s certainly close enough for our purposes.
Route Rating Notes
Each route also has an objective “Rating” score between 0-100. This is simply a normalized version of the time estimates above. For example, if ZIMetrics estimates that a route will take 40 minutes to complete, that means it will have half the rating of a route that is estimated to take 80 minutes to complete.
Yes, it’s not a perfect metric. But I’m not sure such a metric exists. The ZIMetric route rating is a simple way to rank routes against each other.
I’ll be using this to compute the bidon score for the printable routes by difficulty page, once I’ve got all the routes updated. (That’s why this printable list hasn’t been updated for a few months, by the way…)
I should note that I’ve set it up so the current highest-rated (that is, the toughest) route – London’s “The PRL Full” – is rated at 100. If a tougher route gets released all scores would get automatically recalibrated based on the new maximum.
Not All Routes… Yet
ZIMetrics aren’t yet available for every route, because I have to edit each of the 236 routes in the database to include specific, accurate data before the ZIMetrics algorithm can spit out good results.
Here’s the complete list of routes that have ZIMetrics enabled (90+ routes currently). That list should continue to grow daily until all routes are finished.
VeloViewer Leaderboards Update
Our Route Hunter Leaderboards p/b VeloViewer, have been very popular since they were first launched in the middle of Covid craziness on August 18, 2020.
If you aren’t familiar with these leaderboards, they basically allow you to compete for overall fast time across a combined set of Zwift routes and KOMs. It’s a fun way to pit yourself against others, track your completion of routes, and see your own fitness progression.
These leaderboards are now updated with the latest routes and KOMs.
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
5 Months of Zwift: One Rider’s Story
5 Months of Zwift: One Rider’s Story
I’m not one to talk about myself, but today I’m stepping out of my comfort zone. If this can motivate someone to reach their own goals, then I’ll be thrilled.
I’m celebrating my 5-month anniversary on Zwift.
Here’s my story.
Honestly, at the start of 2024, nobody would have believed I’d take up exercise—myself included! It was probably the last thing anyone expected from me.
But everything changed on April 21st, when I bought a Wahoo KICKR Core trainer, mounted it to a Decathlon bike, and jumped into Zwift.
That was a massive shift for me. Before this, my biggest workout was moving from bed to my computer and then to the couch. I had no idea a piece of software could have such a big impact on my life.
I’ve been using Zwift not just for performance, but also for weight loss and to completely overhaul my routine! When I started, I wasn’t in great shape—quite unhealthy at 190 lbs with a height of 155 cm (5’1″). Over the last 4 months, I’ve dropped 18 kg (about 40 lbs) and increased my FTP from 110 to 171 watts, all through indoor training and walking.
Those are the 5 key areas I’m focusing on in my journey. I still have weight to lose and goals to hit, but I’m moving in the right direction.
- Zwift Sessions: I focus on completing routes and long, steady-pace rides at around 65-75% of my FTP. I’ve recently started doing races for fun to push my limits, mix up my training, and give my legs that burn they need.
- Tracking Progress:Â I log all my indoor rides on Strava, averaging 9 hours and 200 km+ a week. Most of my rides are about 2 hours each, and I aim to ride at least 5 days a week. You can check out my stats here.
- Nutrition: I’ve focused on reducing my portions, eating balanced meals, and practicing intermittent fasting from 5 PM to 9 AM. I’ve also been consistent with protein intake for recovery.
- Recovery: One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how important recovery is. I listen to my body and take a break when needed. Some of my biggest gains have come after taking a 24-hour rest.
- Sleep:Â As the marketing director at a mattress company, I know a thing or two about the importance of sleep. I stick to a consistent sleep schedule and aim for at least 8 hours a night.
Zwift can be a game-changer for anyone looking to combine fitness with weight loss!
If you’re on a similar journey, I’d love to hear about your experience.
Any tips on keeping the momentum going?
A Zwift Runner’s Wish List
A Zwift Runner’s Wish List
I recently reached out on social media to the Zwift running community to see what Zwift running improvements they would like to see and also what bugs they would love to have fixed.
The results were surprising in that the majority of people are really happy with the Zwift running experience. Suggestions for improvements were minimal. The overwhelming majority of responses focused on fixing parts of the experience that don’t quite work as they should.
I’ve touched on it before: it’s common sense to expect that the development of running goes at a slower pace than cycling. Although a healthy number of runners also ride and, therefore, are paying subscribers, there is also a large number of running-only members which Zwift receives no revenue from.Â
I’ve separated the wish list into two sections: feature improvements and bug fixes. So here you are, Zwift; this is what the running community would like…
Feature Improvements
Full Treadmill Control
For a long time many have wanted Zwift to control their treadmill in terms of automatically adjusting the gradient in line with the route you are running. Hand in hand would be the ability to adjust the speed automatically when doing a workout.
Both of these are possible using third-party software, but Zwift has never done this natively. Those who have tracked the introduction of the Wahoo KICKR Run treadmill will have seen in the videos that this treadmill has that ability within Zwift.Â
Those with other compatible treadmills would love this too!
Cycling Parity
Of course we want more levels! And more badges for routes (yes I know we just got 10). This I guess is where the debate around paying subscribers comes in. Other requests were for a drop shop to purchase equipment and a running streak like cyclists have. A workout editor also received several requests, it exists for cycling but not running.
Basically, parity with the cycling side of Zwift is sought. So I guess the question would be, “Should runners start paying to open up these extra features?”
Power-Based Metrics
Many advanced runners like to run using power rather than speed. Popular amongst multi-discipline athletes, power-based running using a suitable power meter such as Stryd allows for better analysis of a run in order to calculate efforts, etc…
Retain Mileage Between Events
Most runners run a set distance. A few will run for a set time. I’ve previously touched on how running alone can be dull, whereas in a group it’s more interactive. Therefore, the request is that we retain our distance when we hop in and out of events.Â
For example, say I’m wanting to run a 10k today. There are two back to back 5k events starting half an hour in between. It would be great to run 5k in the first event, then join the second event but the distance kept as one rather than autosaved and split in two. (I’m also aware of the limitations to doing this, as if the events are in two separate worlds the Companion map for the activity is going to lose the plot a little.)
Integrated Speech To Text
Typing and running is a fine art. Most people can’t manage it. The result is that group runs can be a bit silent. Speech-to-text is hit-and-miss, to say the least. Despite the odd comical interpretation, it’s very dependent on the quality of hardware and software used. Although it would remain reliant on your own hardware, wouldn’t it be great if there was an on-screen button that could be pressed for speech to text?Â
Bug Fixes
Chat Function
The number one requested fix was the ability to have all chat visible to all runners during group events. The chat function, like cycling, has a proximity limit to stop chat appearing from far away athletes, so it stays relevant. However, running doesn’t attract the large numbers in group events like cycling events, so it would be great if everybody was involved. Likewise, runners don’t tend to run in groups like a cycling peloton and everybody is spread out over a route. (The workaround is to pick group events using a small circular course but then this limits the number of available routes.)
Include/Exclude Time Leaving Pen
The time to leave the pen until the course starts isn’t included in your run. At times, this could be up to 40 seconds, depending on the route. The net effect of this is that your average pace at the end of the group event will not match your actual pace. If you use the Companion app, the time starts when the route starts, whereas the in-game time starts before. This also sends the distance markers wayward. (In London, this in really noticeable.)
Setting A Target
Those that run in KM will have known the fight with the distance target setting. It jumps all over the place and doesn’t accept the distance you set. Changing to miles often resolves this.
Also, the maximum number of KM available to set is 30, which is under marathon distance. The ability to set a target beyond 30 would be awesome.
Beacons
Like cycling, you can have a lead beacon and sweep beacon in run events. If the leader changes mid-event there seems to be a delay in the beacon changing, and if you have two nominated leaders on course the yellow beacon can jump between them. Likewise, the red beacon often isn’t visible to the leader, so they have no idea where the sweep beacon is. Others see the red beacon but the leader doesn’t. Seems to be world/course dependant.Â
RoboPacers
They suddenly disappeared without warning and seem to be taking a well-earned holiday. Apparently they weren’t that popular, hence them being given a break – but actually people are missing them and would like them to return if possible.
What About You?
Does this list cover the Zwift running feature requests and fixes you’ve got? If not, share yours below!
Zwift World Series Race 2 Details: Peak Performance
Zwift World Series Race 2 Details: Peak Performance
The next community races of Zwift’s inaugural World Series happen this week/weekend, and riders will tackle Watopia’s tough Peak Performance route. All are welcome, from beginners to the elite racers who will be joining in to recon the course for the elite events happening in October!
Here are the big reasons why the Zwift World Series community races are interesting:
- They function as a monument race one weekend per month from September to January, offering a chance to challenge and test yourself against the Zwift racing community
- Plenty of opportunities to participate, with races scheduled from Thursday to Sunday across multiple time slots
- Global Leaderboards for each month’s races (here is the leaderboard for race #2), plus a General Classification that combines all the monthly races to see how you rank against your peers throughout the series
- Zwift World Series Community kit unlock when you complete any of the five races
- Elite riders can use these races as recon events prior to the big elite races, and community riders get to race the same course as the elites to see how they compare
- Three brand-new courses and two never before featured in Zwift racing (see all routes here)
Race #2 Route Details: Peak Performance
Released with Watopia’s “The Grade” expansion, this route is a loop that begins and ends in downtown Watopia. You’ll first ride through Titans Grove, but that KOM is just a quick taste of the big climb that lies ahead. After some flat miles, riders will climb The Grade, then continue ascending the Epic KOM before descending back to Watopia proper for the finish. See more route details >
- Format: Scratch Race
- Laps: 1
- Distance: 46.6km
- Elevation: 729m
- More Route Details >
- Powerups: Draft awarded at the Titans Grove KOM Reverse (1x)
- Primes (elite races only):
- Woodland Sprint
- The Grade
Race #2 Schedule and Signup
Community races September 26-29, 2024
Elite qualifier: October 3 (Men 17:10 UTC, Women 18:40 UTC)
Elite race: October 17 (Men 17:15 UTC, Women 18:50 UTC)
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwscommunity
See complete World Series season schedule >
Scored Races
Unlike the first World Series race, which used standard category enforcement groupings, riders in race #2 will be grouped together based on their Zwift Racing Score.
Kit Unlock
Complete any Zwift World Series race and unlock the Zwift World Series Community kit:
Questions or Comments?
Post below!
Top 5 Zwift Videos: Zwift vs Reality, Zwift Racing, and new HUD
How close is Zwift’s Alpe du Zwift to the real-life Alpe d’Huez? One Zwifter decided to put it to the test and created a side-by-side comparison between Zwift’s climb and the real climb in France.
We’ve also selected several fun racing videos and a few videos discussing Zwift’s recently refreshed Heads Up Display (HUD).
Can you truly experience Alpe d’Huez on Zwift?
I got disqualified from a category C Zwift race! Was it justified?
Can I win a sprint race on Zwift? – Cat D Zwift Racing
Zwift HUD Explained in 1 Minute
Zwift’s New HUD sucks!
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Woman Racer Spotlight: Melanie Dobbins
Woman Racer Spotlight: Melanie Dobbins
Name: Melanie Dobbins
Hometown: Derby, UK
How did you get into cycling? I used to attend spinning classes at my local gym. In 2015, an indoor velodrome was built in Derby. A gym instructor encouraged me to have a go on the track and I became completely hooked. I hadn’t been an active cyclist before that, so there was a lot to learn, but it’s a lot of fun and very sociable.Â
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? I’ve been racing on Zwift for around six years.
Are you part of a Virtual team? I’m part of team Velos. They’re a friendly, supportive team with great group rides.Â
What do you love most about racing? Whilst racing I love the fact I push myself far harder than I could in training. I also love the tactical side of racing. Trying to think about where to be positioned in the bunch and thinking about what other riders will do and when they will attack…
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I like scratch and sprint Zwift races best.Â
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the Boudicca races. It’s always fantastic to race with large groups of strong women.
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? My most memorable racing experience was the team sprint last year at the World masters track championships in Manchester. I was riding in position three and was terrified I wasn’t going to hold the wheels of the two other ladies in front of me, but on the day, it all came together perfectly.Â
What is your favourite food to eat post race? I don’t have any favourite post race food. It depends what’s in the cupboard or fridge.Â
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? My advice to any woman entering her first race would be to go hard at the start and draft. Don’t overthink it and worry about tactics or results. Entering the first race is winning.
Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? I’m looking forward to taking part in a team pursuit competition at my local velodrome. It’s tremendous fun working as a team trying to get the fastest time possible.
