With less than two weeks to go before the big event, the hype for the Team Worlds 2016 keeps building. With a very special set of rules and a system for registration, this race is putting team racing in the limelight. Let’s get a quick tour of what this event’s meant to be this year, with the main organizer: Thomas “Tam” Burns.
This is the second edition of the Team Worlds, how did the first one go ?
T.B : “It was a big success, number-wise. It was also very hard to organize, since we didn’t have all the resources we have this year: ZwiftPower, event module, staggered starts… We had 283 riders coming from 25 different countries, huge event. We had a couple of bumps in the road, some technical issues but it all ended up okay. The biggest challenge back then was the registration, because we didn’t have the system we have this year. We used to do it all via e-mailing, so that was pretty hard to manage. I think I sent almost 2500 e-mails, and received even more, that was absolutely crazy. ”
Talking about registrations. How will the “non-branded” riders will be included ?
“The riders without brand team are going to be affiliated to national teams, divided by categories, as much as possible. I really want to make it a team event. And finally, the last remaining riders will be affiliated with composite teams, but will have a chance to run for gold as well. I’m also looking into filling the the brand teams who need a couple of guys to complete their roster.”
“Put all the categories into light”
There’s also been a lot of question about the point system. In a few word, can you explain it ?
“Of course. You have 2 ways of scoring. First, the simplest: the 4 first riders of each team will score a certain amount of point, equal to their ranking. First will get 1 point, second will get 2, thirty-seventh will get 37…and so on. With that part, every team is going to have a certain number of points. Second part is the sprints. At every sprint banner (not KoM, just sprints), the 3 fastest riders will score points. These points will be substracted to their team counter. At the end of the day, the team that scored the less point will win.”
What will the different awards be?
“There will be 5 of them. One for each category, and one overall. Last year, one team got all the focus, but this year, I really want to put all the categories into light, so that everyone has a chance to shine. It’s all in the spirit of making it a team event. ”
In the future, will this event become a regular rendezvous in the Zwift season?
“I hope so, yes. This year, it’s been partnered with the ODZ team. And even though they’ve been rather quiet, it happened for a reason. They did a lot of background work, including securing the deal around the event’s kit & jersey. I don’t think I’ll run it solo next year like, I did last year, but I won’t be too far either.”
About Tam Burns:
Living in Ayr, western Scotland, Tam Burns is a 55-yo married man, with 3 children. Involved in sports for quite a long time: athletics, lifting (with several national caps), even 4 times his weight at some point, he joined the army for 23 years before going into logistics. Cycling-wise, he “started about knee high to a grasshopper, and never stopped.” Never taking it too seriously, he went on to run mostly triathlons and IronMans. The competitive spirit is more alive than ever, he describes himself like this: “I’m just an older version of my young self. Always looking to get better, always looking to beat myself, and not necessarily others.”
-the q/l Report-
