So a couple things.

1.) Some races will let you enter whatever your current Zwiftpower category is and not DQ you for exceeding cat limits. So if you are a C racer in Zwiftpower and enter a C race you won't get DQ'd, but will most likely be upgraded to B on Zwiftpower and therefore not able to enter C races anymore.

2.) Zwiftpower categories are more than just the w/kg limits, there is also a FTP power minimum. So for C the limit is 3.2 w/kg with an FTP over 200 watts. If they person in question was small (possibly female) then they could have done 3.5 w/kg under 200 watts if they weighed less than 57 kgs. Also, the Zwiftpower limits are based of 95% of your 20 minute power for the race, not you total average power for the race.

3.) What is your current Zwiftpower category? If you are a B racer, you'll be DQ'd for entering a C race regardless of you power output.

I was C at the start of the race.

The other athlete was small and under 200 watts

My 20 minute was 3.8

Too much time pulling the eventual winners to victory. Also attacked before the last hill and got done anyway. Zwift Power is really hard when you are a genuine C rider but can get power numbers that end up with you in B.

In B its simply too hard from the start to be any fun and I can't compete. In C I can compete maybe place and sometimes get dropped, but I get bumped into B because I put out a lot of watts in comparison to others in the grade.

oh well I can enter any race and not care about zwift power

The rules are the rules ... just because they don’t work for you, you cheat ???

The rules don’t work perfectly. I can enter any grade I want if I don’t do Zwift power.

All that happens is I end up back in C anyway. None of which is cheating.

Zwift power categories are flawed when the person who finishes first stays in C and 4 th gets bumped up.

Seems pretty cut and dry. You should be in the B race, but you like the C better because you can finish higher and it doesn’t hurt as bad.

Are you desperate to fight some body on the internet. I asked a simple question about why this happened. A polite respectful answer was given.

I lamented being stuck between B and C on zwift power rankings which is a truly sucky place to be. I can enter any race I want on Zwift if I don't care about the third party site seems cut and dried to me.

Also I will race B, be bumped back to C and place well or win a few C races and be back up to B, yo yoing every couple of weeks.

I do find it odd that a person who is better does not get bumped up because of the rules as they stand

bam back in c, i am a horrible cheat for not being able to hold b power today

For what it’s worth, most of us would like to see Zwift racing categories based off actual race performances, instead of an arbitrary fitness metric, but that’s the system we currently have. Being on the low end of a category can be hard for sure.

Thanks, I'll just have to get fitter or slower and stay there. Compounded issue when the race strategy of B is to hang with A for as long as possible

Bewteen 3.5 and 3.8 W/kg is a place you don't want to be on Zwift. Lol.
I have roughly the same numbers.
I quit almost every event (races-series) I start after 12-15 minutes, I "blow out"...then I simply keep riding at low pace ( after I found out it's impossible to bridge back to a pack on Zwift after a few meters behind, the pack just "dissapears" like in Star Wars, wooooshssh!!), then I find a few "B's" and "C's" along the way, and ride at less than 3W/k for the whole remaining of the event...meeeehh.
BUt it helps my winter form and it's less boring than just staring at some numbers on the screen.
Curiously, I don't have more difficulty in races registering as an "A" rider than a "B" rider.
I also found that there are some "special" events, where everyone kind of "agrees" to ride steadily for the whole event. Those are the ones where I did my best long avg. efforts.
FWIF I don't use any of the game's "tactics" ( pushing on buttons to make me more aero, or lighter, or whatever double draft blah,blah).
And I use "dumb" free rollers, and my gears to adjust the power needed. I feel I'm always late to respond to attacks, hills, etc...
Still l like it. Will register again next winter. Zwift that is.
Zwift Power I follow to see all the events coming. BUt I don't care about ranks or points.
If I lived in a country with no winter, I would never ride inside.

Louis :-)

Yes its not a great place to be as the start of a B race is hell for people on the margin. If I'm racing I have to be really up for it rather than I'll just do this race today.

Even the SAS big 200 which is B can be hearty. Suppose depends how much we care about the zwift power tables as you can do any category you feel like if you don't care about those rankings.

For me C is the place where I can race rather than try to hold onto somebody else's race.