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Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS)
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It is hard to imagine that practically the first professional cycling I'm watching in 2020 is composed of avatars on Watopia. The presentaion seems quite thoughtful, trying to replicate the IRL coverage - helicopter sounds, writing on the roads, graphics of the race status, etc. I do find the side-by-side of the field plus an individual in their pain cave to be strangely interesting. They are showing watts and watt/kg, another interesting component. When they show an individual in the pain cave, there is an option to show that rider in colar and the rest of the peloton as 'shadow riders' - also interesting (this was used to good effect in the women's race)/
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [giorgitd] [ In reply to ]
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Hmmm...so the answer to the Q in the subject is ... nobody. I watched the Zwift feed and there were 3-4k peak viewers on that channel, fewer than I imagined. The gamificaiton (power ups, mostly) detract from the competition, I think, as there is an element of luck in which power up a specific rider receives and when. I understand that there is also some strategy in all of this - hold on to a power up useful in the future (tactics) vs use as received, etc. - but I don't think that that trumps the negatives.

In terms of my experience as a viewer...I ride the same 'roads' in Zwift, so it was fun to see the pros riding a course I know well. And, isn't the connection between the personal experience of riding a bike IRL and imagining yourself in the peloton one of the attractions of 'normal' professional cycling? I had sort of the same attraction here, having ridden on Zwift on the same roads. I could empathize with the riders in their pain cave, even if my agony occurs at 50% of their wattage. If you grew up riding outdoors (all of us here), Zwift experiences are recent. I do wonder how the next generation will feel. Current juniors riding virtually this year may find a deeper personal connection to pro racing on Zwift that we do.
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [giorgitd] [ In reply to ]
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giorgitd wrote:
It is hard to imagine that practically the first professional cycling I'm watching in 2020 is composed of avatars on Watopia. The presentaion seems quite thoughtful, trying to replicate the IRL coverage - helicopter sounds, writing on the roads, graphics of the race status, etc. I do find the side-by-side of the field plus an individual in their pain cave to be strangely interesting. They are showing watts and watt/kg, another interesting component. When they show an individual in the pain cave, there is an option to show that rider in colar and the rest of the peloton as 'shadow riders' - also interesting (this was used to good effect in the women's race)/

should have caught the two actual IRL classic races that took place.

The presentation is certainly a lot better than the one that was done for the virtual Joe Martin races, but that isn't saying much

It beats having nothing, but that's an awfully low bar to clear

Agreed on the power-ups. Does nothing but to introduces a bit of uncertainty and chaos into the mix
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [giorgitd] [ In reply to ]
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Much more effort put into this, nice layout, you could actually see the finish sprint, still a bit fast to get the overview compared to real life. I think the stream quality is a bit low (iknow zwift is not super high quality but still stream was a bit blurred). Much more exciting than i thought!
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [echappist] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, I was super busy transitioning to working from home, late nights, etc. and never did see those pre-pandemic races. The best I could do is listen to podcasts about them. :(
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [giorgitd] [ In reply to ]
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giorgitd wrote:
...I watched the Zwift feed and there were 3-4k peak viewers on that channel, fewer than I imagined.

In most (all?) of Europe the virtual TdF-races are broadcasted by the tv-channels normally broadcasting the real TdF, so viewing might be done through tv and not Zwift. Is there no TV-broadcast in the US?
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [giorgitd] [ In reply to ]
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I watched both races today and enjoyed seeing them out on the same routes I use in my training. What surprised me was the wide variance of the setups the riders were using. Geraint Thomas had a simpler setup (bike, trainer, iPad, didn’t see a fan) than most people I know, while some of the others, especially some of the women, had team green screens, multiple TVs, etc.
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [FFigawi] [ In reply to ]
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FFigawi wrote:
I watched both races today and enjoyed seeing them out on the same routes I use in my training. What surprised me was the wide variance of the setups the riders were using. Geraint Thomas had a simpler setup (bike, trainer, iPad, didn’t see a fan) than most people I know, while some of the others, especially some of the women, had team green screens, multiple TVs, etc.

I think a lot of that has to do with future plans. Riders like Geraint probably aren't planning on racing through Zwift over the long term whereas other riders might be looking at this as a permanent fixture in their training/racing/marketing
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [slow_bob] [ In reply to ]
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In the US, I think that it is on NBCSN Gold, which is an extra $ subscription. Previous years had the TdF on NBCSN (not Gold, so no extra $, I thought), but Saturday at least, the only things on that channel were football/soccer - no virtual TdF (but I didn't check today).

EDIT to emphasize no 'gold' for TdF in previous years
Last edited by: giorgitd: Jul 5, 20 12:15
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Re: Anyone watching the virtual TdF? (SPOILERS) [echappist] [ In reply to ]
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I go back and forth on the power ups. How much of a world tour sprint stage comes down to luck? Obviously most is skill and positioning which you don’t get in zwift but I’m sure luck plays a part. Positioning and lead out trains just aren’t going to play a factor in a virtual race so the power ups add a little something to an otherwise basic w/kg competition.
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