As per the subject line, i’m just curious how long on average it takes to complete the mega pretzel, and now that i’m thinking about it, how long it takes to do the uber pretzel.
Any special recommendations for completing these?
Mega took me 4:16 at 2.23 w/kg. Uber took me around 5:25 at 2.39 w/kg
Get a ton of sugars in, like 50-80g per hour, alongside 750ml water/hour and eat a bowl of easy carbs (banana/oatmeal is what i ate) every 2 hours. Salt too of course. Drown yourself in sugars post ride to replenish glycogen rapidly to recover quickly
I had no issue doing these so long as i got plenty of sugar and food in. I did both on consecutive days and kept tabs on how much weight i lost
Consecutive days? Amazing, nice work! Appreciate the suggestions.
Consecutive days? Amazing, nice work! Appreciate the suggestions.
Thanks man, i say that just to emphasize sugars. Sugar sugar sugar. Pre, During and post. I literally used sugar in water with a dash of salt. Youll burn off your glycogen halfway in and bonk into a sufferfest otherwise. Sugar,!!!
For me 2.65 w/kg gave a 3:54 on mega pretzel consuming 2 bottles of water and zero grams of exogenous carbohydrates. Not an aggressive effort 0.67 IF and 115 bpm. Gonna do Uber Pretzel soon.
Here is the Strava segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/16939150
Looks like lots of people between 3:30-4 with pretty manageable wattage
KOM @2:31:42
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Is there something to be said about doing these rides on a TT bike to say they were done without a draft? Or do people use a normal bike and try to draft off as many people as they can?
Haven’t done Mega yet. Think I will do it sometime during winter as the route seems a bit more fun (and shorter 
) than Uber.
Uber took appr. 4h16 ride time (3.4W/kg avg). I took a couple short breaks to change shorts and fill bottles. it wasn’t too hard in the end, just a bit boring when saving the legs on the long flat part before the Alpe.
I did switch my bike a couple of times, started on the climbing-bike until epic, switched to TT for downhill, then MTB in jungle, then back to TT for the very loooong flat part after leaving jungle until reentering jungle; back to MTB and then Alpe on climbing bike again. (finished of with descent and Titans grove to complete the century and cover all roads of Watopia).
Did them both in the same week in September
Mega Pretzel 3hr30mins at around 3.2w/kg.
Uber Pretzel 5hrs4mins at 2.9w/kg.
Like the others, nutrition is needed. Mega pretzel isn’t actually too bad, it’s just a longish trainer ride. Lots of chance to recover on descents etc.
Last hour of Uber Pretzel wasn’t as pretty!!
Join a group ride! The draft will save you a ton of time and the camaraderie is motivating. Plus the banter can be very funny as well. I just did the PRL Full with the DIRT crew. Boy that was tough.
The DIRT crew is doing the Uber Pretzel on Jan 2nd, Saturday @ 6AM ET start.
As for tips, I calculate about how long will take me and then I have 1 water bottle and 1 gatorade bottle per hour available, plus gels, bars and an extra energy drink (Monster or Red Bull) for toward the end of the ride. Have more than you think you’ll need next to you. If you finish the ride with extra liquids and nutrition that’s good. If you’re riding the Uber Pretzel and you been sitting on the trainer for 4.5 hours and now you have to climb Alpe de Zwift and you’ve run out of something and have to get off the trainer to get it – that’ll suck!!!
Oh, and my best Uber Pretzel was 4:58 @ 2.4 w/kg. Did it 2 addt’l times but both slower 5 hr+. Mega Pretzel was 3:38 also @ 2.4 w/kg. As the other poster mentioned, you have a solid 10+ minutes of descending after each time up EPIC KOM climbs, so just left your avatar super-tuck (which happens when the gradient it is a negative 3% grade or greater; and your speed is 58Km or 36 mph or greater; and you’re producing zero watts – no pedaling). Those descents are a good time to eat a bar or something solid. GOOD LUCK! Happy Zwifting.
P.S. I actually got my Ironman Bike split PR after doing the Uber Pretzel twice in the month leading up to my Ironman race. So Zwift really works.
I did switch my bike a couple of times, started on the climbing-bike until epic, switched to TT for downhill, then MTB in jungle, then back to TT for the very loooong flat part after leaving jungle until reentering jungle; back to MTB and then Alpe on climbing bike again. (finished of with descent and Titans grove to complete the century and cover all roads of Watopia).
Oh yeah, and that’s a great point. They changed the rolling resistance in the jungle dramatically, so when doing Uber jungle section it’s high advised to switch to the mountain bike. The difference in time is drastic.
Here’s the quickest way to switch bikes – key if you’re riding in a group. This is from ZwiftInsider.com
Stop pedalingHit “A†to bring up the pairing screen, which also applies the brakes on your riderAs your rider slows to a stop, hit “OK†to close the pairing screen, and hit “T†to bring up your garageSelect your bike, then start pedalingHit OK to return to the game
Wow, ok i wasn’t ready for that. First three hours went well but the last 80 min were a disaster. That jungle portion is long and a killer.
Thanks for the tips! Even though it was ugly, i finished. I think i need more training next time.
Wow, ok i wasn’t ready for that. First three hours went well but the last 80 min were a disaster. That jungle portion is long and a killer.
Thanks for the tips! Even though it was ugly, i finished. I think i need more training next time.
Congrats on sticking it out to the end and finishing! Did you switch to a mountain bike for the jungle? Zwift Mega Pretzel looks easy on paper but is truly a beast!!
Time trialed the Four Horseman course last year, thought I was basically done at the bottom of Alpe du Zwift, boy was I wrong, the jungle is an absolute slog haha. Definitely switch bikes… I didn’t.
The first loop at the beginning i didnt bother as i didnt want to lose momentum. Not a smart move. On the second loop at the end i wised up and switched to the gravel Canyon bike. This as good as a mountain bike?
The Gravel Bike is much faster than any road bike in the Jungle. But the mountain bikes are still slightly faster. Always choose MTB in the future if you want the fastest bike.
Join a group ride! The draft will save you a ton of time and the camaraderie is motivating. Plus the banter can be very funny as well. I just did the PRL Full with the DIRT crew. Boy that was tough.
The DIRT crew is doing the Uber Pretzel on Jan 2nd, Saturday @ 6AM ET start.
As for tips, I calculate about how long will take me and then I have 1 water bottle and 1 gatorade bottle per hour available, plus gels, bars and an extra energy drink (Monster or Red Bull) for toward the end of the ride. Have more than you think you’ll need next to you. If you finish the ride with extra liquids and nutrition that’s good. If you’re riding the Uber Pretzel and you been sitting on the trainer for 4.5 hours and now you have to climb Alpe de Zwift and you’ve run out of something and have to get off the trainer to get it – that’ll suck!!!
Jan 2nd I like this idea!!!
The Gravel Bike is much faster than any road bike in the Jungle. But the mountain bikes are still slightly faster. Always choose MTB in the future if you want the fastest bike.
Now is it faster to stop and change bikes then stop and change back?
mid race I would be very reluctant to change bikes … only scenario I could think of for it to make sense is a race that starts with a long stretch of road and then finishes with a couple loops in the jungle; change to MTB then and try to ride away from the peloton (have to get back to the group first first though!)
If there is some more road after the jungle than don’t change as you wont be able to make any significant gains when the 2 bike changes are included (and it doesn’t make sense to exit the jungle with ~15sec. advantage over a peloton … you cannot outride a group anyway)