This week’s ZRL race was one I would have loved to smash: a sprinter’s paradise on London’s Classique route! On top of that, after last week’s broken start to our ZRL season, I was itching for a good race.
Alas, the racing would have to wait, because I was out of town on a long-planned snowboarding trip. So my DIRT Roosters took on their first race on the ZRL season without me, and Team Captain Antoine put together the race summary below. Enjoy!
Race Prep + Covid
After the “Join Event” issue from last week and all the frustration that came with it, it was time for DIRTy Beasts Roosters to kick the new season off in EMEA West Division B2.
With our team featuring multiple sprinters, stages 1 and 2 were important for the team to make a good season start. With the first stage being canceled, it was crucial for us to make it count during the second stage and smash the sprints as hard as we could. My usual captain whiteboard was prepared so I could keep an eye on the different segment marks during the race:
But race preparation did not start as expected. First, our dear Eric was not available this week. But we were aware of that, and it was fine as it was the time for Sean, our newest Rooster rider, to make his debut. (He was recruited to replace our good friend Ally, who moved to another strong DIRT team riding in an earlier zone.)
However, the worst was about to come. Our strongest sprinter (Clem) tested positive with Covid over the weekend, with strong symptoms. The next day, our new Rooster Sean also got lung issues, putting us down to four riders two days ahead of the race.
Happily, those two big boys were hungry for racing and got the necessary rest to make it to the race. Checking on my teammates on Monday and Tuesday, they were feeling better but not at 100%. We were back to 6. Game ON.
The Strategy
It’s Tuesday, meaning only one thing: RACE DAY. After watching the Oceania, APAC, and Atlantic races in the morning and following some team discussions on Discord, our strategy was quite simple:
- Our sprinters – Clément, Arjen and Dejan – would go all out on sprint 1, aiming for FTS. They would also go hard on successive laps if they had an aero powerup, as they have the power to score FTS points multiple times. It was key to select specific sprints and not explode before the end by going all in on all sprints.
- Our other riders – Sean, Thomas, and myself (Antoine) – would fight to stay in the front group till the end, counter attack the potential breakaways, and work to bring our sprinters to the finish line. As a bonus, if legs were feeling fresh, we might launch some long-range attack to get more FAL points.
- Finally, discussion would be made on the go during the race to see who can grab additional FAL points along the way.
With the route being flat all the way through, the key message was to stay focused during the lead-in, after each sprint, and during the small ramp before the end of each lap. Doing that while dropping a few riders every lap would put us in a good position if we would keep our six riders in the front group.
The core strength of our team is that all of us can score points in ZRL races, not just one or two key riders. That’s a huge plus that we have already experienced through our different seasons together. Stalking on ZwiftPower, we knew there were some strong sprinters in our division (e.g. Hirsch and Dunne who were already with us last season in division 3) but the goal was to make the difference with our six riders scoring points throughout the race.
The Pre-Race Routine
With ZRL races being in the evening for European members of the team, Tuesdays always feel a bit special. You spend the day getting excited about the race and thinking about strategies rather than working at your real job. The tension keeps growing and finally the evening race routine begins. No beetroot juice, PR lotion, or caffeine gums for me but instead:
- Get dinner with the wife and kids, eating light two hours before the race.
- Put the kids to bed and pray for them not to ask for a third bed story. The more it lasts, the less you get to warm up… but that’s part of the kids lottery.
- When everyone is sleeping, it’s time to get a double espresso and let the caffeine kick in while kitting up, preparing the setup, and joining the team on Discord.
And quickly, the clock shows 20h32. Ready, set, go! It’s the start of the new ZRL season!
The Start
As expected, the lead-in went at a relatively easy pace, with everyone saving his watts for the first sprint. We could feel the tension as everyone wanted to perform tonight and start the season in the best manner.
I got an aero at the Zwift lottery during the lead-in, so I decided to give it a try on the first sprint even if this was not part of the plan. First sprint coming. Ready, set, GO. I ramped up the power entering the red road and launched my aero 100m before the sprint start, as I had practiced during the Friday Sprintalooza. And while I was getting through all riders going for the first FAL, suddenly a wild Clem appeared after his ghost powerup ended to take the win on the first sprint!
With Clem first, myself second, and Arjen in fifth, it was already a very good collection of points from the first sprint. We also had four Roosters in the top 10 for FTS, but with no one below the 9-second mark, we knew that it would get spicier in the coming laps.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat
The next laps of the race went as planned. The pace was easy between the sprints, and we were sharing on Discord who had which powerups and would be trying for additional FAL points each time around.
Between laps 2-5 we managed to get FAL points at every lap, taking the win on two additional sprints. It was also a strong showing from Arjen who managed to get points on every lap! Our FAL placings:
- Arjen: 5th, 1st, 6th, 6th, and 7th
- Dejan: 10th and 1st
- Antoine: 5th and 9th
- Sean: 8th
- Thomas: 9th
Clem, our Covid monster, was feeling bad after the first two sprints, and decided to save himself for the last sprint.
FTS was interesting: although we started with four riders in the points after the first sprint, the sprints kept going faster lap after lap and we finally all got pushed out of the top 10! This was not as expected, but we were happy with all the FAL placings, knowing they were more important in terms of points distribution:
Points Distribution, Week 2
The Finish
After 45 minutes of racing, it was time to start the last lap. All six Roosters were still in the front group, which had been reduced from 86 to around 50 riders. Still a big pack and a lot of competition for the final sprint!
After four laps of rest and a saved aero powerup, Clem was ready to sweat the remaining virus out of his body. Strangely, the pace was the same in the final lap, which was different from the various recon races we had done. But everyone was OK with that. We knew we had the riders to end the race in the best way.
One last encouraging word to the team 1km from the finish line and it was time to focus on this last sprint. Ramp up, get your position, close your eyes, and throw all the energy left in the tank. And while everyone was fighting to get the best position, the same wild Clem appeared, passing everyone like a bullet with his 1400 watts and 140 RPM. That was it, no chance for anybody to contest the win!
In the end, our team did very well, finishing at positions: 1st (Clem), 7th (Arjen), 9th (Thomas), 17th (Dejan), 19th (Antoine), and 41st (Sean). See results on ZwiftPower >
Three riders in the top then, a win, and a ton of FAL points. Even though we knew we were lacking FTS points, it was smelling good in terms of results.
Results and Takeaways
It was a great showing from the DIRTy Beasts Roosters for the first stage of the new season. Again, the whole team contributed to the win with the best scores in terms of FAL and FIN points. This shows again that having a full roster composed of riders who can score points throughout the race is a key advantage in a competition like ZRL.
However, we were the only team in the top 7 to not score any FTS points, which means we will need to watch out for other teams in the coming stages if we want to keep our advantage:
Now it is time to rest and get prepared for the next race. The dream we had two seasons ago when starting in division 5 to reach division 1 remains in sight, but nothing is done yet and we will keep giving it all to reach our goals!
If you want to have a look at the race, here are two links from Roosters (Clem and myself):