Doing Tour Du Zwift has got me thinking I should try a zwift race someday. If I'm able to do 3.2-3.5 W/kg for a Tour rides if I decide to race should I race in B or C? I feel that I'm right on the upper edge of C and low edge of B.

That would be B in most series.

I tried something different this time and mounted go pro on bike to record Zwift race for first time. The I went through and chopped 43 minutes down to 9 min and added color commentary! Different affect then written word, for sure. Enjoy!


watch

Pushing for the PR on the ADZ! Gotta break 49:09

don't know how to embed...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iClIvRZ4u6s

Stage 4 was a doozy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TITrWYd18fo

Enjoyed your play-by-play.

Thanks! Every race has a story . What is more entertaining, ‘I got tired and gave up’ or ‘ I almost barfed, that was fun’ ...?

Standard categories are:
B: 3.2-3.9W/kg
C: 2.5-3.1W/kg
If it differs (I don't think it ever does) it'll be specified where you sign up.

If you can do tour rides at between 3.2 and 3,5W/kg then you are NOT on the upper edge of C. You're a B. End of story.
If in doubt, use ZwiftPower and let it tell you what category you should be.

Technically you would be a "B" (Note: they are based on your FTP, not on avePower target for the ride....some rides/races are shorter).

That being said, lots of people in your situation (unfortunately IMO) race in C because they want to be at the pointy end of the race vs. packfill. No one likes just hanging on at the back praying not to get spat out. On zwift it's a lot harder to stay in the blob than it is to surf the pack in an IRL road race.

Zwift really needs a cat system like USAC so there is prestige in catting-up. That way people would rather race B BOP than C FOP.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Is it just me or it's still impossible to schedule Stages 7 and 8 rides of TdZ 2021 even though it's 2 days out?

They are not showing up in the companion app for me either.

I'd definitely suggest trying a race.

And I'd definitely suggest trying C. You're still likely to get dropped! Zwift is very different to real life. Takes some getting used to.

Best bike for stage 7? I don't really want to switch bikes after the climb, although I'm so far back in the pack on rides it won't make a difference.

I knew I was saving all those drops for a good reason....

MTB

I just finished stage 7 and used the Canyon Grail.

I actually stopped and switched to a mtb right after we hit the loop, and more than made up for the lost time.

+1

The MTBs are the fastest on the jungle circuit. ZwiftInsider has done testing.
"This is where it gets a little weird, though: the fastest mountain bike completes a Jungle lap in 13:52. You read that right! All of the mountain bike rigs are significantly faster in the Jungle than the gravel rigs."

https://zwiftinsider.com/gravel-bike-results/

That's about 15-20sec. faster than the gravel rigs per ~14min. lap (so not insurmountable, but you do need a few extra watts).

I saw a couple of gravel guys hanging at the pointy end of the field (there was one in our blob), but the tron bike folks got shelled pretty quickly.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Stage 6 was fun!

I had a technical difficulty while doing Stage 5. (drunk wife fell down steep galley stairs landing behind trainer and I was already irritated by her inebriation so I was torn between helping her and giving up on staying with the lead pack up half way up the volcano. Pretty funny video clip in domestic dysfunction sort of way, you can count the seconds between the thud and me actually stopped pedaling. lol she is fine)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucOjyeTdJ4I

Getting dropped in the correct category is not a problem. Riding intentionally in the wrong one is a problem.
Not much satisfaction to be had, surely, if you manipulate the game to make it too easy? (i.e. cheat)
Why would you recommend misusing Zwift?

If you are averaging 3.2 to 3.5 w/kg you are one-hundred percent a B Rider and should be riding in the B Category, as per the very simply stated category rules. Serious Zwift Racers only look at ZwiftPower.com results. You can also join a proper Zwift league like the Zwift Racing League or WTRL league, where w/kg are strictly adhered to. https://www.wtrl.racing

I went with the Canyon MTB. It was fun to ride, if only in a virtual world. I miss my real life MTB days.

I think you may have intended this response for the OP?
I share your position. If you can perform beyond the specified maximum W/kg, then you belong in a higher Cat, regardless of whether that means it'll be hard to be competitive. Any other assertion is silly at best.

Because it's training, not racing.

Getting dropped and not finishing results in less training.

I don't train to race in Zwift. I train in Zwift to race in real life.

Works for me. If it doesn't for you, no worries.

What an ignorant and deeply stupid response.
It's racing and you know that, the clue is in the name. Whether or not you personally consider it as such is utterly irrelevant.
Whether you regard your participation as serious competition or training, others are racing, as you are well aware, and you are interfering with that by not respecting the rules. You are completely free to treat races as training, but do so in the correct category. I'd love to know how getting dropped prevents you finishing your training? If it's because you value the camaraderie and feel lonely and unmotivated without them, it's a pity you don't have any respect for those comrades.

How would you feel if higher Cat racers decided to take part in your real life races for the purposes of training? No need to answer, we all know.
You say "It works for me" but contrary to what you may think, that's not the point.

The only race I ever won was a C race. The again it was only called C based on length not Category as per my OP. Interesting it calls me out as B rider but I can do alright in the A.

I really like the first year TDZ when there was like 1000 people at the start line. Then last year was weird because the 'race' lineup were small while the 'group rides' were big.



https://www.zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=927476