Most group rides I've done at C level have been at a C pace, even as a 63kg guy who'd expect to have to do a slightly higher w/kg to stay with the group. lots of people who aren't C do these rides (I'm A cat for example) but still ride at the set pace. I can't talk for normal C races as I haven't raced in C, but I know that the ZRL is way ahead of anything else in fair racing, where cats are adhered to (bar those that have just upgraded through the series to the next cat but are allowed to finish the series in their league). I get in ordinary races sandbagging is an issue, and means true C's may often be dropped, but hopefully the ZRL is paving the way for this to become much less of an issue.
I agree that D cat covers a very large area, but its difficult... at what point are there too many categories and not enough riders? even with only the four pens there are often tiny fields (at least in A cat)
I think when it comes to zwift racing the cats themselves don't work anyway; 90% of zwift races are about 1-5 minute power... at least in A races its not the strongest rider that wins very often but the punchy guy who has drafted the hell out of everyone until it becomes time to make a difference. saw an interesting post about using the zwiftpower race ranking system to divide entrants into groups based on those with similar race rankings.. that has a lot of merits in my opinion.

Overwhelming majority of amateur road races are about 3-8 minute power, and the guy with the biggest diesel engine rarely wins. That aspect of road racing doesn't change appreciably, IRL or otherwise.

What changes is that there's a lot less incentive for people to attack in Zwift, b/c of the large aero penalty imposed on smaller groups (CdA ~0.25 for group <5 people, CdA ~0.17 for group >10)

my experience waffling between A and B crit races.

For these shorter (~20') races the big difference is 1' to 1:30 power. If you're on crit city, basically every lap is relatively steady paced and then the "climb" gets drilled. On the final lap, the last laps climb gets drilled but then the effort extends up to the final turn to the finish, at which point you need to be able to go from that pace full sprint to have a shot at the podium.

The difference between A and B is that that final 1-2' of power goes up A LOT in the A's although the final kick stays similar'ish overall. IME at least

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

I got dropped in B after averaging 4.2 wkg (310w) for 28 min just to stay in the B pack. Took me by surprise to be honest, i decided to try the B category so i could learn a bit about racing and despite my 4.1 wkg ftp, it ended up being an ftp test. Just brutal

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Strava

Drafting will save you a lot, are you on zwiftpower? Look at what w/kg others in the group with you did to see if it was a lack of draft skills, they can make a world of difference, knowing when to sit at the back with the lowest possible watts and when to move up. Also, some A races are easier than B races from my experience because its effort when its needed to try to make gaps, not just all the time for no reason like you get in some b races! I've done plenty of races where we A's have gone slower than the B pack.

Try a race on RGT - seriously. The drafting dynamics and cornering are far better. Nobody is adhering to the category system on zwift and its spiralled out of control more than ever this year. I honestly don’t know how anyone takes it seriously on there as a racing event.

I raced my first C crit race last night and finished in 29th place. In looking at the results, only 4 people who finished ahead of me were technically within the C range of 2.5-3.1 w/kg. I really don't have a problem if someone pushed themselves in a race and finished with a 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 etc., but like Jason noted, some of the top finishers were much higher than 3.1.

I think it's difficult, however, to know exactly when to move up in category. When I started racing in D I told myself I wouldn't move up to the Cs until I was consistently finishing above the D w/kg range or finishing in the top of the standings. Admittedly, in hindsight, my last 3-4 races should have probably been in the C category based on w/kg, but I never finished above 6th place in any of them until I finally won a D race. Then I felt really guilty with my 2.9 w/kg! I guess I'll apply the same principle for the Cs, but I'm curious how others decide when its time to move up in category.

the answer is zwiftpower. filters the flyers and tells you what category you should race in. example of my zwiftpower here; Zwift Power - Tommy Blake (Peak Health Pedal Power)

I have a user experience question. Sometimes I find myself wanting to exit a ride to start a new one. Yesterday for example, I was riding along for fun and decided to do an FTP test.

The only option it seems is to save and exit completely. So you have to restart Zwift and go through the whole process.

The other thing I find slightly annoying is after the step where it confirms all my devices, I get to the screen where I have to say click "Ride." I can't find that option on the companion app. To explain why it's annoying, let me explain my sequence. I start zwift, get on my bike to wake up the devices, and then get off my bike to click ride on the computer. Am I missing something?

Sadly that’s how it goes in Watopia to change what you’re doing. Full exit and then back in.

And with the companion app you can’t actually start the ride from there. Maybe get a cheap wireless mouse so you can click Start while on the bike still?

slowsanta may have a gift for you under the tree.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Looking forward to it!

In 2019 I use to podium in C races. That same power today puts me mid-pack. I even dropped down to a D race and still couldn't hit podium.

For me, racing on zwift is more about training. When I need high intensity, I race. Don't care about results. I am on ZwiftPower but rarely go there.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Aside from boosting your morale, you accumulate Drops, the in game currency, faster if you get a ride on. I think it’s double the current rate for 15 seconds. Multiple ride ons will stack the time.

When someone gives you a ride on, sets a segment PR, hits a distance goal, or maybe a few other events, then in the rider list when you’re riding, you see an orange thumbs up button next to their name. I like to click it if I can. Sometimes the list scrolls by too fast and you miss people, or someone way ahead of you gives you a ride on and you never see them. If I can remember their name I try to hunt them down using the nearby Zwifters button in the companion app. That last is taking things to an extreme, though.

From the map screen, if you hit your own icon, you give ride ons to up to 5 nearby riders. I try to do it regularly. Some people will reciprocate. It costs you nothing.

If I am racing, I do try to give ride ons, especially if I am passing someone, or they’re passing me, or they’re far back in the race, or if they’re leading the race. You can click on someone’s name on the rider list to have the camera follow them, and a ride on button will show. You can lose situational awareness in this case, so exercise some caution (but remember you can’t crash, it’s more like you might get dropped or go off the front of a group).

You can only give one ride on to each rider in the same event. When you’re not Zwifting and you hit the Companion app, the Home Screen shows you anyone you follow who is Zwifting now, and you can give them a Ride on. I’ve had people do this to me. I try to do it to others. It helps us afford virtual fancy equipment.

I'm a "D", and in most races I've done, the "winners" (until Zwiftpower weeds them out) are in the high 3s/low 4s. In last night's race, the first 2 across the line were at 3.86 and 3.51, and finished way ahead of everyone else...

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"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

I assume you were wanting to run an FTP test from a custom workout or one of Zwifts. All you need to do is hit the menu button and then hit workouts and choose a workout any time you want. I have done a workout, and wanted to keep riding and decided to do the workout again, easy to do. You do not have to exit completely, hit menu and workout. Lots of other reasons you do have to exit and restart, but to choose a workout after you have started, isn't one of them.

Thanks, that helps fill in the gaps and explains why everyone was freely giving out ride ons when I did Alpe du Zwift. Much appreciated!

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Live long and surf!

Speaking of the Alpe! Among other things, gradient influences how many Drops you accumulate, so you get a bonus just for doing the Alpe. And Ride Ons stack with that. Zwift Insider (linked earlier) thinks the main factor is your power output. I'm not sure if he meant power output or something more like your intensity factor. However, at all of 59 kg with a small absolute FTP, I seem to have been able to get the wheels and frame I wanted. On Zwift, I mean, not IRL.

Those Ride Ons really are key. You'll get some just from people throwing them out. What really helps is getting followers. Follow people who gave you Ride Ons, or who you finished close to, or who you spoke with in chat. They follow back. Then open your Zwift app a few times during the day and hit the generic ride on button. People will see your name at the top of their screen. If you throw out Ride Ons during the ride, at least a few people will notice and follow you. And then of your followers, some are going to figure out that you can give Ride Ons from the Companion app's home screen.

Oh, and the pace partners! There are 4 bots roaming Watopia. From the game home screen, select Watopia, then see under the ride with list. They'll be at the top. The bots ride a set W/kg throughout the ride. When you're near one, you get a bonus rate to your Drops that increases with time. I think Ride Ons have to stack multiplicatively with this, or at least additively. Anyway, people are very trigger happy on the ride with the C bot. With the B bot, people seem less so, but that one is harder. I haven't tried the A bot yet, but that's going to be right at my 20 minute power, so I'd be hanging on for dear life. I don't mean to humble brag, but the D bot is a bit too slow for me to easily keep up with considering the draft. (That said, keep in mind you could ride a TT frame; they will not receive a draft from anyone else, even if they are faster on their own than a road frame).

Now this explains why complete random strangers send me follow requests on Zwifts, I was always wondering why I keep getting them

Nope, right now the pace bots are not riding in a range. A is doing exactly 4.2 W/kg (or whatever it is, I thought it was 4.0 but I haven't dared poke my head into that ride). B is doing exactly 3.2 W/kg, and C is doing exactly 2.5. Those are at the bottom of the stated range. I want to say that I think D is doing 1.6 W/kg, but I can't remember exactly.

For rides involving hills (mainly A and B), you want to note that the pace bot is doing their specified W/kg both up and down the hill. I usually pull away from B naturally, because I'm a lot lighter. On the downhills, he/it catches up pretty easily and I can't really ease up there.

Maybe the range is more like a suggestion that you want to be capable of producing power in this range if you want to keep up. Also, who knows, Zwift may be planning to make their behavior more complex.

It's constant power for the bots, but depending on the group your watts may be above or below to keep up. If the bot is caught in a good draft and you're not, you might have to put out more power. Or that's what I understand it to be.

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

General tech/hardware question, hoping for suggestions/experience:

I have a weak wifi signal in my pain cave (basement). I experience a choppy graphics experience (apple tv 4th gen), and I constantly have trouble pairing to the companion app (I've done all the standard troubleshooting with that - same wifi network, force closing app, wifi router resets, etc.) companion only pairs about 25% of the sessions I do. My wifi can do either 2.4 or 5GHz, I used 2.4 for a bit, switched to 5, and I haven't really noticed one to be better than the other in either regard...

Ive watched GPLama's video on apple TV (https://gplama.blogspot.com/...-full-to-z-user.html) which does side-by-side comparisons of various devices and the graphics. watched it many times. my graphics on 4th gen look nowhere near as good as his do in that video (and yes, I'm looking at 4th gen clips in the video, NOT 4k. I know 4k would be better). And the graphics get way worse if I am riding in a group, or a group passes me, or I ride by a spawn point with lots of riders, or there's lots of riders on the other side of the road.

Will making efforts (i.e., spending money) to boost my wifi signal with a range extender or google wifi unit (or similar) result in tangible improvements in the graphics? And could that be the culprit of the companion app issues? I am NOT tech savvy - but I downloaded some free wifi analyzer and speed test apps, and the signal is clearly weaker down there. I could also just swallow a few bucks on the resell and get ATV 4k, that may improve graphics experience but my companion app issues would remain, presumably.

thanks

I'll reply from a standpoint of the wifi in general.

In a house we used to have, I tried the range extenders and other stuff. You can run into latency issues.

IMHO, the best solution is always to have a good cable between each transmitter instead of relying on transmitters to play tin can telephone with each other. Sure, the tech is better these days. But really, if you have challenging environments for the transmitters in the first places it's going to get a bit silly trying to buy and place the repeaters.

So, buy another WAP and place it in your basement. Run a physical cable between the normal WAP and the second one.

Qualifier: I used to work as an automation systems integrator/engineer for manufacturing plants.......you simply don't do the whole daisy chaining repeaters thing in plants.......so why people do it in houses is beyond me. We only ever used that kind of thing unidirecitonally: you have a transmitter for a little flow sensor counting your waste water effluent for the city that's 1/4 to 1/2 mile from your plant that you only report the updated total once every second. Fine.

there is a fantastic group on FB, zpcmr zwift pc master race. tons of helpful hardware info, definitely worth taking a look. from what i've read, internet speed is not as important as zwift doesn't move tons of data. are you getting actual internet drop outs? where everyone in zwift disappears but you? that would be an internet or wifi issue. if the problem is more graphics and frame rate, then it is more of a hardware issue. it sounds like the latter, so the FB group could be helpful. i think ATV will only give you a basic graphic profile at best, and also i've heard that the slowdown in large groups is inherent to zwift code so hard to get around. i am not a tech guy at all, so don't quote me on any of this. but i did use the group to put together a <$300 zwift dedicated PC from craigslist, and it is MUCH better than my old laptop or the ATV i use on the treadmill.

also helpful https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-pc-guide/ written by the guy who runs the FB page