We’re nearing the end of Tour de Zwift 2020, and I’ve been racing each stage. This morning was stage 6: 1 lap of Richmond’s 2015 UCI Worlds route. I was excited to race it, because this is one of my favorite race routes in all of Zwift. I was also dreading it, because I knew it would take everything I had to stay with the front of the race over its three climbs.
Ode to Richmond
Richmond is the first course I remember racing after joining Zwift back in October 2015. Between Tuesday night ZTR races (3 laps!) and Friday TFC races, I worked my way from a middling to competitive C in that first winter, destroying myself up Libby Hill, 23rd Street, and Governor Street each lap.
I’ll confess – I’m not ashamed. I love Richmond. And it’s an unreasonable love in so many ways, because I’ve never won a race here. The climbs, especially the final Governor Street slog, just destroy me. And the course’s visuals aren’t anything special. But there’s something about how the route lays out which I just love – the flat first half, the hilly back half. Two timed sprint segments on the flat front, two timed KOMs on the butt-kicking back.
And that Libby Hill climb, even though it rips my legs off, is super cool. The cobbles, the twisty-turny road. Best climb in Zwift.
The Warmup
Today’s race was at 7:10am, so I set my alarm for 6am. Hopped out of bed, grabbed my kit, then headed upstairs for my typical pre-race ritual: a piece of caffeine gum and some PR lotion on the legs. Hopped on early and got a nice 35-minute, ~12-mile warmup in on Tempus Fugit.
There were lots of riders on course (like most Saturday mornings), including DIRT teammate Dustin Elliot, who had emailed me earlier in the week to ask when I’d be racing Stage 6. We set up a plan to race this morning together, so he hopped on and warmed up with me in the desert.
The Start
We began with 69 riders, and while the pace was high (we averaged 30.2mph to the foot of Libby Hill), I wasn’t on the rivet. I averaged 285 watts between the start of the race and the beginning of the Libby Hill climb, and my heart rate was 164 – a good hard tempo pace for me.
Unfortunately, it was also a good pace for just about everyone else. In this race, more than any other TdZ stage so far, lots of riders held onto the front – we had 53 of the original 69 still in the front pack when we hit the first climb.
Libby Hill
Do you play race scenarios in your mind prior to the event? I certainly do. For whatever reason (probably because I know the course so well), I had been thinking about this stage a lot more than the other TdZ stages. Here’s the decision I had come to: I had to go all-in to stay with the front pack up Libby Hill. Because if you get dropped there, you’re not coming back.
So I set my mind on that – I would push to hold the wheel of the front pack up Libby, even if I felt like I was going to blow up. And I reminded myself that I would need to keep pushing over the top, because that’s where it’s really easy to get gapped and lose the race. I should know – I’ve done that plenty of times.
Shoutout time: Jonathan Levie (of Zwift Hype fame) launched incredible attacks on the first two Richmond climbs in yesterday’s Pro-Am race. The guy flew up those climbs! I knew I wouldn’t be matching his speed, but I hoped I could channel my inner Levie just a bit in my race.
The first half of Libby Hill (see Strava segment) is actually a paved straightaway which levels out before the road turns to cobbles for the twisty second half. I stayed seated for the first half, making sure I stayed near the front. And when we hit the cobbles I activated my feather powerup, shifted, got out of the saddle, and hammered.
45 seconds later we crossed the KOM banner, and I was still in touch with the front group. Yes! (Looking at Strava after the race, I tied my PR for the Libby Hill Climb: 1 minute, 29 seconds).
I kept pushing so I wouldn’t get dropped as the group sped up over the top. Fortunately, the Zwift gods had gifted me an aero powerup, which I used to help me stay in touch with the front group and recover a bit. The race was breaking up, and I knew I had to stay on a wheel or I’d get swallowed by the group close behind.
23rd Street
The next climb came quickly. Where Libby Hill is a 90-second effort, 23rd Street is closer to 30 seconds. It’s a good thing 23rd Street is short, because my legs have never recovered at this point! Once again I shifted, stood up, and went all in. Same rule as Libby Hill: stay with the front group at all costs. Conserve nothing.
But I blew up.
As we crossed the KOM banner, a big gap was opening ahead. The stronger climbers in the group had beasted it up the climb, then continued to hold their power as the road leveled out. Me? I was gasping for air and wondering where my legs had gone. And Linkin Park was ironically singing in my earbuds: “I tried so hard, and got so far. But in the end… it doesn’t even matter…”
As the podium rode away, I found myself in a group of 7 riders. We were the 3rd group on the road. My teammate Dustin was at the front with one other rider, then 3 were chasing them, with us behind. Just one climb remained.
Governor Street
This is the climb that gets me the most on Richmond. It’s only ~2 minutes long, and not quite as steep as Libby, but my legs are always tired by the time I get here. I had a feather powerup which I deployed when the climb began, but it didn’t help much. I was toast. My pack rode away from me, and my new goal became staying away from the group behind.
The End
One rider chasing from behind caught me as we finished the final climb. Governor Street ends in a false flat, staying around 1% all the way to the finish line. It feels like an insulting, slow-motion slap in the face. It’s brutal, and many riders get caught out by starting their sprint too early.
Lucky for me, I had no sprint left. The next rider was a few seconds back and not going hard either, so we threw in our towels by silent mutual agreement and crossed the line, completely spent. 22 seconds behind the winner, in 13th place.
See my ride on Strava >
See the race results on ZwiftPower >
Team Win!
As I caught my breath and scrolled up in the results, I was happy to see my buddy Dustin took the win in the race! What a stud.
We used Discord to chat during the race, and it was clear he was having a much easier time of it than I was. Looking at his power numbers, this course suits him well – he’s got the wattage to hang on in the flats, and the watts per kilo to attack the climbs and shake off the heavier hangers-on like myself.
I’d like to say I contributed to his win in some way, but that would be a complete lie. I was just trying to survive, but he killed it!
Takeaways
Once again, it’s the climbs that got me. Check out my heart rate graph overlayed on the course profile!
I’m not sure there’s anything I could have done to get a better result in this race. I couldn’t have gone any harder to hold the wheels of those who got away, and if I had eased off to hang with the group that eventually caught me, I would have gained, at most, a single place in the overall results.
So I’m happy with the execution of my race plan. It didn’t lead to a win, but I maximized my results, and at the end of the day, that’s all you can do.
One good thing: this race is a good reminder that I need to shed a few pounds to be more competitive. I’ve been working on doing so for the past week, and I’m down a couple of pounds and feeling good. Fewer cookies. More riding. It’s not rocket science, but that doesn’t make it easy!
What About You?
Have you raced stage 6 yet? How did it go? Share below!
I had a similar experience there this morning.
But what we all wonder is which bike and wheels we should choose for this course. I chose the climbing bike. Felt OK but not great.
I went with my ol’ standby, the S-Works Venge with Zipp 858 wheels. We’re averaging 27mph+ on the course, so aero is huge. Plus the climbs aren’t long enough for a light bike to make much of a difference!
There’s a lot of 4.0 and above there for a B race over 20mins. I looked on ZP and their race averages are lower than their 20 min average despite the race being longer than 20 mins 🤷♂️
Sorry – race average power is higher than 20 min power
That’s entirely possible. Think of it this way: what if you sprinted for 30 seconds, then went easy for 30 seconds, then went all out for 30 seconds.
Your 1-minute power would be lower than your 90-second power. Same thing can happen over longer periods, although it usually doesn’t.
Lots of strong riders today, up near the top of B cat constraints. But no obvious sandbaggers, which was nice to see.
I was ecstatic that you reconnected after Libby Hill! The fellow DIRT presence definitely boosted me going into the 23rd street climb. Great racing together! The east/west coast time difference makes it a challenge and I’m glad it worked out today.
Eric, Thanks for the good advice on the bike choice (Tron). I decided to go all out on this one and was determined to stay with the front group all the way. Unfortunately, a hard attack at the base of Libby Hill shattered the large group that, like yours, had stayed together to that point. I was disappointed but determined to hang on, and because so many others also fell off, I actually maintained my overall position in the group. I went all in on the cobbles, determined not to be passed on that section, and I wasn’t. I started… Read more »
Well done, @guest_31652. Keep up the good work!
Richmond is far from being my favourite course on Zwift. Having said that, it’s very challenging. Fast (long straights) and Furious (3 climbs). I went in the stage planning to take it easy. I did, for a bit. Then I pushed a bit harder. Not full on, maybe 80%. 2 laps, A group, 196th out of 700ish and 51mn. Happy Hippo !
I followed similar plan, though wanted to beat my course PR so opted for the group ride and double draft. I scouted the signups and opted for the biggest Sat AM group. Was hanging on fine at 30mph with front group for the flat, then came the dreaded Ant+ drop. 5 seconds later I was hopelessly back. I aborted, decided to try again next offering about 45 minutes later. Stayed in front group all the way to Libbey and intended to go all in, but legs just didn’t quite have enough after the earlier burn. Fell off just before the… Read more »
I’d love to say I had a similar experience but that would be a stretch. However it is nice to hear you echo some of the same thoughts I have when it comes to the climbs. I think I talk myself out of the all out efforts. So that’s one area I need to improve on with the other being the ability to stay with others up a hill. It comes down to the numbers and being able to knock a few more kgs (yeah, I’m Canadian) to improve the w/kg number.
I did the ride this morning and out of over 1000 only 53 of us were front group at Libby Hill so you must’ve been in some tough company today. Kudos for a good finish!
You must have been on the group ride, not the race. Very different feel between the two events for sure.
Kudos for a brave and bold plan to just go until you blow! It is a 1 lap race after all. Why hold back? I did the group ride today and will tackle the race in the next few days. The way you feel about Richmond UCI Course is how I feel about Innsbruckring course.
One thing to love about Zwift races: you can try stuff and not feel like you’ve wasted half your day and $40 like you would in IRL races!
Almost felt like I was reading my own race commentary (11:10 CST C-race) except the team win, I ended up 9th on Zwift Power. Main difference was Zinners that moved that hard tempo of yours to threshold for the rest of us pre-Libby but that’s C life I guess…
Freakin Zinners! Way to hold on though. I was 12th on ZP, only gained one spot between that and Zwift’s results.
I gained 21, must be nice looking at final results at the end of a race 🙂
Raced at the same time as you but in C class. Was similarly surprised with how large the lead group was heading into the first climb. Got gapped on the second climb and hung on for 15th place at 24:34. At 6’8” and 250lbs, I was happy with that result as this is not a course that plays to my strengths as much as others.
I had a similar experience in the B race. I messed up Libby Hill (not knowing the coarse) and tried to bridge to the leaders for the last hill and blew up. Picked climbing bike and 202 wheels. Today I did the long ride. Picked Zwift aero frame and 808 wheels (only level 16). Besides the first 5 mins being incredible fast/hard (4.5-5 W/kg), I averaged faster per lap than the B race with less watts. Hit the Libby correctly both times and finished very close to the front. Better placing in the ride out of 600 then the race… Read more »
Great race! I could not recover after the first hill and was digging post holes up the second one! My first thought when I realized you were in the race was “Damn, I picked the Tron bike but should have gone with the Spesh, LOL.
Ha!
Yeah, I’d say the Venge/858 combo would make things just a hair easier on the parts of the route most difficult for me. But just a hair. Not enough to save my race! For that need less weight/more watts or some combo thereof…
Yes seems all of us have a similar story! It was my first race and went in Cat D, the listed power was within my grasp so thought this will be fin and have a small chance…. went of the line at 5 w/kg and tried to stay with the group. Was sitting at around 3 to 4 w/kg for as long as I could maybe 7km then got dropped to a smaller bunch now at 40th place out of 180 or so riders I think. Then finally got spat off that group at the climbs and hung solo until… Read more »
That 66-to-11 result is quite typical in D – look at the Zwift results, you can count how many of the leaders should have been in C (or even in B). Adherence to cat limits is better in higher cats, but really lousy in D.
Richmond is a hard course – there are those who know there’s a lot of work at the end, and those who don’t – so the groups hang on until the first climb and then explode, between those who kept some resources for the climbs, and those who were on the limit to get there. I fared so-so (D cat), got dropped by 2 way-over-D groups going to the climb, and dropped in the first climb. Hung on my position though the 3 climbs, finished mid-pack (40-ish out of 90-ish), but… 2nd place on Zwiftpower. My last D race, just… Read more »
Where is the fun in fewer cookies!!
Here Here! Celebrate with cookies and milk!
Well, I finally got to race Richmond. Since I’m a chicken, I raced it in the group ride tonight where there were plenty of other category riders (racers) like me. 346 of us did the long course and I started up in front because of your tip on entering the ride early and then jumping back in closer to the start time. I quickly ran and changed into my shorts and tested my bluetooth connections (HR didn’t connect last ride/race) and didn’t have time to properly warm up so I just buckled down and forced myself to try and hang… Read more »
I love this story so much, Ron. “My daughter’s name isn’t Disaster, but her second call on Google Hangout’s while climbing a hill and fighting to stay glued to the pack made me want to swear and I yelled out in frustration…” Ha!
ZwiftPower DOES have a quick click where you can view just your category. It doesn’t have it for age groups, though.
I did the short race last night. Set off hard and managed to stick with front group until first climb. On the first climb 3 or 4 riders broke away but a small group of 4 formed just after to give chase. One rider from the front pack dropped off and we chased him down. On the second climb I was the first to crest but was alone chasing the rider that fell off the front pack. I was gaining but kept my effort tempo to avoid blowing up on last climb. The small pack behind caught me and the… Read more »
Ugh. Yep, that’s frustrating for sure!
Zwift really needs to get going on the race category enforcement. Today 60% of the participants in my cat C race were over the cat limits. I still managed to come in 2nd on ZwiftPower (which was 17th place in the overall results), but maybe could have fought for 1st had all the sandbaggers not pushed the pace. I assume a lot of people are trying out racing for the first time with the Tour de Zwift and are probably not having a great experience. It would be interesting to have the data on how many first time racers never… Read more »
I both love and hate Richmond – the visuals meh, the 1-2-3 climb finish amazing(ly painful), the flat section dull…but often such a welcome chance to recover for lap 2’s climbs. These days I have an idea of the wattage I can sustain for each climb in a race scenario beforehand and use that as a guide while rolling with the current race situation – into the red already and the lead group are going anyway = back off, let it go; on the limit but cresting just a few lengths down on a group = all in and to… Read more »
Hi Eric, I know I’m jumping ahead here… but for Stage 7: Harrogate course, what’s best choice of bike for an 82.5 kg rider? I keep looking at the course profile and I could make an argument for the Tron bike cause there are steep descents, and mild grade flats which are great for aero. But then I see lots of steep climbs and think I’d be better off with Tarmac Pro/ Meilensteins, especially if I’m drafting in a pack the aero won’t matter as much. But perhaps the simulator says a mid-range aero/weight road bike with Zipp 808’s is… Read more »
It’s a difficult course for heavier riders, for sure. The simulator, I’m sure, will show that the most aero bike wins on this route. The climbs just aren’t substantial (long/steep) enough for lightweight bikes to make up what they lose in aero benefits. But that’s a solo rider, not a group race! As you said, having a lighter setup may be smart, since it will help you a bit in your weakest sections (the climbs) without affecting you too much where aero matters more (flats/descents). That’s the way I’m leaning–toward my Tarmac Pro and Lightweight wheels, or perhaps the ENVE… Read more »
Thank you for sharing your insight!
My take on Richmond changed completely after I was persuaded to try adjusting “trainer difficulty” from 90-100% to 40-50%. Now, Libby Hill was a lot “easier” to ride hard – not such exaggerated changed between all-brakes and intermediate spin-for-free (Elite Direto). Yet, I managed only 30/96 in B (ZP). Now with different settings, not only Richmond but also Yorkshire make a lot more sense as I don’t get dropped in the beginning of an uphill (and won’t gain similarly after angle eases out). Actually I was so happy and relieved of this settings change, that I composed a short video… Read more »