Zwift Chat

[<Tommy>]

It’s a funny one

I don’t personally think the zwift algorithm is skewed. If it is then not by much. Trying to get back onto a fast moving bunch in real life is near impossible if you’re at your limit.

I definitely think the time differences are exaggerated as a result of drafting. But that’s life I guess. What I try and do is focus on catching the guy in front of me and not getting caught by the guy behind me. Because the time gaps don’t really tell the story.

Every race is different and you’ve just got to push as hard as you can. Then the improvement comes is my conclusion.

But I’m definitely up for handicap style races. It gives everyone a chance of winning and being involved in the action. And from what I remember it’s quite tough to get the handicaps exact but they’re just a great laugh.

 

[bridgy]

I agree with a lot of what Andy says. The zwift algorithms favour perhaps disproportionately those in the draft. We are a smallish number of racers and this means the fast guys get away quickly and can draft each other/work together to increase the gap leaving other riders, more variable in power stretched out and riding alone. The more CC’ers that ride the greater the opportunity to have someone to ride with. But it is what it is. Getting dropped and stuck in no mans land has made me work harder and get stronger which , after all, is why we are all doing this. I am not giving up on chasing the fast boys down. In the meantime I think I think we just have to accept that the time differences are a little exaggerated .
A hare and hounds should spice/mix things up a little .

To be fair Bob it varies from race to race - I've had plenty of races where I've been solo for most of the race myself.

Talking of drafting though that reminds me of another reason we can't really compare meetup race times with Zwift races on the same course - many races now use "double draft" which gives a further drafting advantage. Also, the downhill braking effect is turned off in official races making descending quicker for less effort

 

[bobinski]

To be fair Bob it varies from race to race - I've had plenty of races where I've been solo for most of the race myself.

Talking of drafting though that reminds me of another reason we can't really compare meetup race times with Zwift races on the same course - many races now use "double draft" which gives a further drafting advantage. Also, the downhill braking effect is turned off in official races making descending quicker for less effort

Paul, I agree. Each race is different. I suppose the best any of us can do is chase the guys in front and stay away from those behind and hope to catch a draft along the way.

 

[mjd1988]

The downhill braking effect is turned off in official races making descending quicker for less effort

Oooh. This explains why I lose so much ground when I'm coasting downhill in the meetup Vs in races! Whoops.

 

[mjd1988]

I'm happy with whatever happens; although it sounds like a fair amount of work for the handicap races no?

 

[Whorty]

Paul, I agree. Each race is different. I suppose the best any of us can do is chase the guys in front and stay away from those behind and hope to catch a draft along the way.

That's my whole strategy. With a main aim of getting/staying fit

 

[bridgy]

With regards what races we do - I don't mind really. Tuesday at 7 and Thursday at 6 were chosen after everyone said when was best for them so that's what we went for. Absolutely nothing to stop you @<Tommy> setting up a regular meetup on Saturday to repeat a stage - it's a good idea.

I also like the big Zwift races but it boils down to whether we prioritise having a league vs one off races. Because unless the races are part of a Zwift series and are repeated regularly at various times and days its inevitable that a lot of people will miss the race we pick to do and they'll be massively disadvantaged doing it separately for the reasons mentioned above. So if we use a Zwift race for the league I think it will mean a lot more people don't complete that league which is a shame.

If Zwift do one of their winter tour series - which they hopefully will soon - it would definitely be good to use those races for a league though.

Also, happy to try a handicap race - we have some timings from the last TT to base start times on. I was thinking of doing this for the last stage of this month's league

 

[BurningLegs]

i must be the only one who thinks it works well the way it is currently being run

 

[CXRAndy]

Paul, I wasnt knocking the meetup events, they work and are organised perfectly. I was just highlighting that with lack of riders, obvious splits result in a lonely ride.

I realize that Zwift events can be non repeat and that will screw up bi weekly events.

Like you suggest hopefully Zwift series is on the horizon

 

[Alongo]

Like you suggest hopefully Zwift series is on the horizon

I remember when the Tour of Zwift was on how people tried more than once to improve their times, it was a bit different , more flexible and fun too.
The CC league has a personal feel as you get to know other riders which I like and to finish off with some sort of handicap race as you suggest Paul may be a good incentive for everyone .

 

[BurningLegs]

I posted a time of 40:23 on the Greater London 8 segment this evening @peterob
https://www.strava.com/segments/15158866?filter=club&gender=all&club_id=126532

Not a bad time in C but not a leading time so still playing catch up!

What segment will it be this week, chaps?

 

[<Tommy>]

I remember when the Tour of Zwift was on how people tried more than once to improve their times, it was a bit different , more flexible and fun too.
The CC league has a personal feel as you get to know other riders which I like and to finish off with some sort of handicap race as you suggest Paul may be a good incentive for everyone .

Yeah it’s all good really isn’t it. The cc league and zwift tours. Just for different reasons. But I love the racing. I came to the conclusion in last months league that I’ve just got to race each race as they come. Because when people are racing at different times or doing multiple attempts (as I’ve done myself sometimes) it’s kind of out of your control.

What I thinks really cool about this group is most if not all of us have people going at a similar pace to us. So we can try and either catch or avoid being caught by our rivals. And everyone gets in better shape because of it.

 

[<Tommy>]

I'm happy with whatever happens; although it sounds like a fair amount of work for the handicap races no?

@gbrown, who’s more of a bkool guy than zwift worked out a system for giving out handicaps. It wasn’t bullet proof but you can kind of tweak it as you go. It helps doing the same course multiple times to zero the number in. I think in. Some ways it might be easier on zwift because the power numbers are more predictable.
It really was a great laugh though. It’s bloody horrible being hunted down and it really urges you on. I remember when I first started bridgy and bill in particular really made a point of accelerating as they went past you. It felt like going down the motorway in a Morris minor and being overtaken by a lorry!

I’d don’t mind playing a part in trying to set handicaps, but as you may have learnt from my excuse scoring I’m not the most sympathetic of souls

 

[Norry1]

My coach now has me doing a couple of weights sessions a week. One for core and one for legs. Anyone else weight train for cycling?

 

[Whorty]

My coach now has me doing a couple of weights sessions a week. One for core and one for legs. Anyone else weight train for cycling?

I pick my wife up, 10+ times a day, does that count?