Zwift Racing League season 3 is in full swing, and this week was the first points race of the season. Three laps of Watopia’s Beach Island Loop – a route that hasn’t been used yet in ZRL.
I had joined the DIRT Roosters team for season 3, and we TTTd our way into 1st place in EMEA N Division B5. Always nice to get a victory on the first time out as a new squad!
But for week 2, I was asked to join the DIRT Hellhounds in EMEA E Division B1. This is the same team name (and manager) as I’ve raced with for seasons 1-2, but many of the riders had moved onto other time zones. They needed a rider, so I jumped in. Competition would be stiffer in B1. Just how tough would it be? I wasn’t sure, but I was about to find out…
Watch the Summary Video
Look, I get it – my race videos are nothing fancy. Until now they’ve just been a straight recording of the race, dumped onto YouTube. Quick and easy for me, but not exactly time-efficient or enjoyable for you, dear viewer.
So I’m collaborating with my 14-year-old son to up Zwift Insider’s video game a bit – trying to make them shorter and more useful. This one’s still a bit long, but it’s an improvement. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments!
The Warmup
My standard pre-race ritual looks something like this:
- Chew some caffeine gum – usually 2 pieces (200mg) about an hour before the race
- Rub PR lotion into my legs 30-45 minutes before the race
- Warm up for 30-45 minutes, putting in some short, hard seated and standing efforts to get the muscles firing and get the heartrate up to 160+
Depending on the race route and its importance, I may add other things. This week, for example, I wanted to do my very best for the team. So I double-checked the route notes, made sure my Discord setup was working properly, chewed an extra piece of gum (more go go juice!) and even drank some beet juice I found in the refrigerator. And I made sure to click to join the start pens as soon as the option popped up, reserving my spot near the front of the pack.
Marginal gains, right?
I’m not sure if beet juice works, but its effects sure scare me the first time I use the bathroom after the race.
Having completed the warmup routine, I clicked to join the event for a second time with about 6 minutes to go. On Discord, I led our team in a short prayer to the powerup gods (I’m not joking): “Oh powerup gods, please grant us steamrollers on this day… in your mercy.”
Lap 1
The race started with a decently hard effort, but it wasn’t any tougher than any other B race. 102 riders started, and everyone seemed to know that the fireworks were coming down the road on the Dirty Sorpresa.
When we went through the start/finish banner everyone held their breath – “Will I get the steamroller?” Some were lucky. Others were not. I was not. An aero powerup for me, which meant I’d have to go hell-for-leather up the dirt so I wouldn’t miss the split. I figured I wouldn’t be in contention for segment points, but I could use the aero to help me make a bit of forward progress depending on the situation.
And that’s exactly what happened. I started the Dirty Sorpresa near the front – a trick used by poor climbers everywhere. I began drifting back near the top of the climb, hitting the cobbles around 32nd place. I used my aero and what little my legs had left in order to stay in touch to the banner, then I used my newly-acquired drafting powerup to help me grab onto the tail end of a small group which had formed at the very front.
That was it – the first big split of the race. From 102 riders we were down to ~40, and all those riders behind would never see the front again.
Lap 2
Hitting the start/finish banner to start the second lap, we all sent up quick prayers to the powerup gods once more. “Steamroller, please!”
And this time they answered me. With my trusty steamroller stashed in my saddlebag, I made my way to the Dirty Sorpresa with a newfound sense of confidence. As the dirt began, I held off on using my powerup, knowing the steamroller only lasts for 30 seconds. Then on the first hairpin turn to the left, I triggered it, giving me half a minute of sweet, fast-rolling bliss on that dusty gravel road.
I came over the top in 10th place – still gassed, but knowing I could sit in these wheels and let the riders behind catch me, since the small number of riders ahead wouldn’t be able to stay away from the larger pack behind. I used my new aero powerup as the groups coalesced, just trying to keep my effort as low as possible.
And that was the second split. We were down to about 30 riders in the front group.
Lap 3
I scored another steamroller at the start of our final lap. Glory! My entire goal at this point was to stay with the front pack of riders so I could be in contention for the final sprint. That meant triggering the steamroller on the first hairpin, then holding a position close enough to the front that I wouldn’t get gapped by the group that would stay away to the finish.
On this lap, more than the previous laps, it was clear riders were learning how powerful the steamroller was, and where to time it best. I counted several which all popped within a second or two of each other, quickly moving to the front of the pack!
I made it to the top around 12th place, sitting nicely in the front pack. But I didn’t keep working to hold a good position, and nearly got dropped as ~12 stronger riders sprinted hard and jumped off the front! When I was about to use my aero powerup to bridge to the front pack, I saw they had eased up and my smaller group was catching them. Keep that aero helmet, Eric. You’ll need it for the finish!
Flyer Alert!
One rider flew through our front pack just as the group came together on the snaking descent to the fishing village. “Gomes” quickly gapped our front group, and just kept hammering away. When I clicked forward to check out his numbers, he was holding precisely 431w (6.1w/kg) although his cadence and HR were changing. Weird. I figured he’d get DQ’d… and I wasn’t wrong. He finished nearly 30s ahead of the next rider, but was removed from the results.
Our final front group had around 25 riders in it, and a few more would get dropped off as riders used steamrollers to attack in the dirt sections of the fishing village.
The Finish
This finish is always a tough one – the ramp up out of the ocean takes it out of you, then there’s a false flat that keeps the watts high. And before you know it you turn onto the main drag and it’s time to sprint!
I had an aero powerup saved for the finish, but I didn’t have the legs to back it up. I was happy to have stayed in the front pack until the end, but finished a sad 17th out of around 21 riders. 16th on Zwift Power.
See my activity on Strava >
See my ride on Zwift.com >
See results on ZwiftPower >
Results
It took several hours for the results to show up, but when they did… it was good news! The DIRT Hellhounds had taken first place, scoring 202 points compared to second place’s 125. A strong win!
As you can see, I didn’t contribute my fair share to the team’s total (only 19 of the 202 points), mostly because I wasn’t able to score any intermediate points. But here’s the thing… all but one of our riders finished in the front group. That’s huge. If you had those numbers in front, you were basically assured a podium spot in this race.
Takeaways
This week was a revelation for many in the Zwift racing community who didn’t understand the power of the steamroller powerup. Heck, even I was a bit surprised by it, and I’ve done the math to show that it gives a 150-200W advantage in the dirt! Some racers are saying the steamroller was too powerful. I didn’t feel like that was the case, but then again – I got it. Twice. So I was pretty happy.
It’s possible that the steamroller needs to be shortened to perhaps 15 seconds. But honestly? I loved how this race unfolded, with the steamrollers attacking off the front, then the sprinters catching them near the line every lap. It was an action-packed 3-4 minutes each lap, thanks to the combination of powerups and course layout.
You can see that Dirty Sorpresa + sprint effort in my Strava power curve for this event – from 3:21-4:37 I set new 6-week power PBs with this race. (I also set some PBs at other intervals, as you can see).
And after last season’s route choices, let me just say it was refreshing to race a ZRL event where I didn’t get dropped on the climb. Thanks, WTRL + Zwift, for picking a route where the non-climbers could shine.
Your Thoughts
Did you race in ZRL week 2? Share your experience below!
They do need to reduce the power of the steamroller a bit – maybe rather than make everything like tarmac, just split the difference e.g. dirt is 0.25 CRR, tarmac is 0.004, so dirt with steamroller should be say 0.127.
My experience was that as a borderline cat C/D rider (FTP is low 2.5’s w/kg), I would have expected to be dropped by the main bunch on the dirt climb on lap 1, then slowly fallen back through groups and finished 50th-ish out of 80. But having the steamroller on laps 1 & 2, I crested the top first time in 6th (couldn’t hold off riders behind for sprint points though; came about 15th) and was in the front group for most of the rest of that lap. Was in the 2nd group on the road for lap 2 and once again powered up the climb to lead the group over. On 3rd lap I got the van PU and not only did I get dropped SO easily despite putting out my best watts, I was even overtaken by riders from group 3 who had the steamroller! Ended up finishing 31st though, which was my best points race finish in a WTRL event by like 15 places.
Agreed with all of this. Had it the first lap, and it was as easy-peacy as it could be for a B-rider (380 W avg for the climb at 71.5 kg), and I crested the climb in third place. Had to do close to 500 W avg on the second and third laps, when I didn’t have it. The third lap really took the cake, as nine out of the front group of twelve had it. I actually got gapped, despite doing 500 W for 45 seconds. Had to do a huge effort just to close the gap.
The other things is the duration of the power-up, which is just staggering at 30 seconds. Only the drafting boost lasts this long, but it’s nowhere as helpful. Having a 30-second assistance on a 50-second course feature just makes it too dependent on luck.
I was in your race, and did NOT get the steam roller on the 3rd climb. I put in the same watts as on the 2nd climb, but was 5 sec slower without the steam roller, and didn’t make the final selection. Almost made it to the first group again a little later, but then steam rollers were deployed in the front group, and the final 2 sec gap couldn’t be closed. So, I am obviously biased, but in my opinion the steam roller were far to powerful on this course …
steamroller definitely needs a nerf, race shouldn’t be decided by RNGsus.
Never got the steamroller the entire race and done on the first lap at the dirt riser. Just picking off riders who fell off the back the groups the rest of the race. Race turned into hour long ITT for me. Three climbing routes ahead for taller and bigger riders to struggle through. NYC kom this Tuesday. Laps of cobbled climbs in the middle of the season and surrey hills at the end for the climbers. Means the suffering for non climbers is about to begin. At least the Paris route will hopefully be a sprint fest. Or there is the two TTT.
Steamroller spoilt the whole race, at least in 1A. Totally dependent on when/if you got it. Half the gain, half the time, maybe it would be ok. But WAY too disruptive to results to feature in ZRL again. Apologies to any multiple recipients who find it awesome (spoiler: it is/it is not. No in between!)
Steam Roller PU is a bit like that 6w/kg zpower rider. Fun if you got it. Ruins it for everyone else.
is the steamroller only available in races? Never seen it before.
“a trick used by poor climbers everywhere” Im a poor climber and I do exactly this!
To be honest I think the Steam roller totally ruined the race. Really disappointed in the effect of it and meant the race was over for the vast majority of people so quickly
I thought the steam roller was great. I only got it once in the race, and kept it for third climb. Yes in theory this is too powerful if this was a cycling race, but this is not. This is a video game where you cycle, and this is why I like it, it joins both world I have an interest for as a geek! Keep the steam roller as it is, it adds to the fun…even if you are unlucky enough not to get it!