Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube
  • Get Started
    • Create Zwift Account
    • How To Get Started On Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Women’s Racing on Zwift
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Climb Portal Calendar
    • Route of the Week Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Game Updates
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Current Models
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
      • XP Basics for Riders
      • XP Basics for Runners
      • Kit Unlock Codes
      • Master List of Badges
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List: Routes
      • Master List: Climb Portal
      • Master List: KOMs
      • Master List: Sprints
      • Master List: Rebel Routes
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Printable List of Routes by Difficulty
    • Speed Tests
    • Tiny Races
  • Women
    • Race Calendar
    • Why race?
    • Women’s Teams
    • Racer Spotlights
    • More Women’s Racing posts
  • Shop
    • Watopia Map and Other Posters
    • ZI Indoor Cycling Kit
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Get Started
    • Create Zwift Account
    • How To Get Started On Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Women’s Racing on Zwift
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Climb Portal Calendar
    • Route of the Week Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Game Updates
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Current Models
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
      • XP Basics for Riders
      • XP Basics for Runners
      • Kit Unlock Codes
      • Master List of Badges
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List: Routes
      • Master List: Climb Portal
      • Master List: KOMs
      • Master List: Sprints
      • Master List: Rebel Routes
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Printable List of Routes by Difficulty
    • Speed Tests
    • Tiny Races
  • Women
    • Race Calendar
    • Why race?
    • Women’s Teams
    • Racer Spotlights
    • More Women’s Racing posts
  • Shop
    • Watopia Map and Other Posters
    • ZI Indoor Cycling Kit
More
    Racing

    ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride – November 2

    Ian Murray
    By Ian Murray
    November 2, 2016
    LAST UPDATED November 4, 2016
    0

    odz-logoODZ SkillZ and DrillZ Ride: Chasing the Break – Despite a technical difficulty, we had a successful SkillZ and DrillZ Ride on 2 November.  Due to an oversight, we didn’t get the SDR for today in the group module.  However, we did have a small group on Discord, so we went ahead with the training anyway.  Today’s lesson was about working as a group to chase down a break.

    As usual, we started our ride as a group, practicing staying tight by making small changes to power. Despite our best efforts, keeping the draft or not shooting past the group remains a challenge even for some of our most experienced Zwifters.  With practice, everyone will continue to get better, but it definitely takes consistency to fine tune that skill.

    After our brief warm-up and group dynamics practice, we began working on the skill of the day, chasing down the break.  Like IRL racing, Zwift races often have a break get away from the gun.  If the race is long enough, you may decide to let a small group of riders burn some matches trying to get away early and remain with a much larger group of strong riders.  Over time, the larger group, if it works together, will often be able to go faster at an easier effort than the smaller breakaway group.  Like outdoors, the drafting effect greatly impacts the speed of the group, and the bigger the group, the bigger the draft.

    For our purposes, we conducted the drills at less than race pace to ensure that everyone could stay with the group and learn.  For the first set, two riders went up the road for 20 seconds as hard as they could while remaining together.  They then backed it down to 2.0 w/kg, and the rest of the group chased at 2.5-3.0 w/kg, using a rotating paceline, sharing the workload.  After about one minute, the chasers shut down the break, barely raising their heart rates above what we had been riding during warm-up.

    We repeated the drill a few more times using a number a variations in the number of riders in the breakaway and chase groups, also changing the composition of the strength of the groups.  Two key learning points were emphasized in the latter part of the class.  First, the chase group has to be organized.  In one instance, we sent a weaker rider solo up the road, but the chase group took a while to get organized.  The lack of organization was actually due to power drop issues and traffic on the course rather than planned.  However, those disruptions created a great opportunity to learn. Despite the fact that the breakaway rider was not going much harder than our regroup pace, the chasers couldn’t get a consistent paceline, leaving the gap yo-yoing between 5 and 20 seconds for a couple of minutes.  Finally, the chasers got sorted out and shut down the breakaway in short order. Second, stronger riders can allow a larger group of weaker riders to get a fairly good lead, as it can be shut down in quick order with a well-coordinated effort from the group of stronger riders.

    Why does this matter?  Well, in many Zwift races, the breakaway is the winning move because the race is less than 30 kilometers.  But, in longer races like the upcoming Team Worlds on 19 November or the staggered start races like the ODZ Cat & Mouse races, the breakaway and chase group scenarios often play out.  In those cases, the battlefield calculus or cycling math needs to be done quickly to determine which group to join and how much of a leash to give.  Sometimes, a Zwift teammate may serve as the Director Sportiff and do the math for you, but it is usually left to the individual rider.  If you are able to play the part and get the other temporary allies to work together, you may be able to pull back a group while saving energy for a late-race attack.

    Next week, we hope to be back in the event module and to finalize the recording of the event complete with the Discord discussion.  I thought I had it today, but my microphone failed me.  That’s it for this week.  For the next ODZ SkillZ and DrillZ, we will be riding on Richmond.  We’ll take advantage of the course and practice two skills, climbing and taking a sprint victory.  We won’t focus on the Zwift jerseys, but we will go over some tactics and techniques to give you that edge.  Hope to see you all out there next Wednesday and on Discord.

    For more info, check out www.teamodz.com and www.evilelfracing.com.

    Related Posts

    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    ReddIt
      Ian Murray
      Ian Murrayhttps://www.endurancelab.fit
      As a cyclist and triathlete for the last 16 years and a coach for the past 6, Ian has competed at national and world championship endurance sports events and served as a loyal domestique on cycling teams in both the US and Latin America. Ian is the owner of Evil Elf Racing Endurance Sports Coaching and of The Endurance Lab, and is a member of Team ODZ on Zwift. Follow on Strava
      Subscribe
      Notify of
      guest

      guest

      0 Comments
      Oldest
      Newest Most Voted
      Inline Feedbacks
      View all comments

      Get Started on Zwift

      Sign Up (Free Trial)
      Buy Zwift Ride
      Buy KICKR CORE One
      Read More...

      Newest Featured Posts

      Zwift Offers Free Play Controllers To Level 85+ Riders

      Hardware/Equipment

      Join the CommuniTTTy: On-Demand Zwift Time Trialing!

      Racing

      Support This Site

      Write a post, shop through us, donate or advertise. Learn more

      NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

      Zwift tips and news every 2 weeks! Click to subscribe.

      More Posts

      Zwift Will Not Be Hosting an Elite Zwift World Series This Fall

      Racing

      Zwift Charts: Climb Portal Growth

      Routes & Maps

      Friday Night Fun Races Announced

      Events

      Zwift Releases Fitness Trends Charts on Companion App

      Game Updates

      This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs.

      This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts.

      Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy

      Privacy Policy | Privacy Consent

      [email protected]

      Latest articles

      Zwift Route of the Week Schedule

      Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of July 12-13

      Tiny Race Series – July 12 Routes – Lazy Race Organizer

      Popular Categories

      • Racing1509
      • Events1014
      • News833
      • Training & Nutrition712
      • Interviews564
      • Routes & Maps446
      Comment Author Info
      :wpds_smile::wpds_grin::wpds_wink::wpds_mrgreen::wpds_neutral::wpds_twisted::wpds_arrow::wpds_shock::wpds_unamused::wpds_cool::wpds_evil::wpds_oops::wpds_razz::wpds_roll::wpds_cry::wpds_eek::wpds_lol::wpds_mad::wpds_sad::wpds_exclamation::wpds_question::wpds_idea::wpds_hmm::wpds_beg::wpds_whew::wpds_chuckle::wpds_silly::wpds_envy::wpds_shutmouth:
      0
      0
      Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
      ()
      x
      | Reply
      You are going to send email to

      Move Comment

    • Related Posts