Zwift Chat

[JuhaL]

Don't know about you guys, but I'm a bit of a 'talker' in these big group rides. I try to interact with those around me, build a bit of a 'team-spirit', with the aim of keeping the group together and ultimately I get a faster ride If everyone is on their limits then this does work - just a gentle reminder that we're faster together, and encourage people not to drop off the back, normally helps. Worked a treat on Monday

I'm a bit loner these group rides, barely stick in group when i need to drop back and wait next group if it suits me better. If my physical shape would be good instead of talker i would be a stalker . Anyway i hope that my Trainerroad workout plans build me as a better rider and my body can handle better lactic acid as well in a future.

 

[peterob]

Good spot Carl - that segment is only about 4 seconds out at worse compared to most ZP times so you could use that for me if you like @peterob (1:13:39)

Oh and thanks for adding an extra 30 seconds to my time Carl - nothing like kicking a man when he's down!

Done!

League updated with yesterday's efforts. Some strong performances yesterday with @Milzy nabbing his 2nd (current) stage victory. Just Nick left to go in C cat who can topple @Whorty from his current lofty perch.

 

[Whorty]

Good spot Carl - that segment is only about 4 seconds out at worse compared to most ZP times so you could use that for me if you like @peterob (1:13:39)

Oh and thanks for adding an extra 30 seconds to my time Carl - nothing like kicking a man when he's down!

Sorry about that

It's interesting to compare your ride to mine ... after the final KoM descent (after you leave the jungle) to the end you lose 1 minute to me. Given I'm in a small group and you're on your own that's not a big surprise, but I reckon had you been in a decent group for that section you'd have been a minimum 60 seconds faster, but almost certainly even more. Something to aim for when you re-do the stage

 

[Whorty]

I'm a bit loner these group rides, barely stick in group when i need to drop back and wait next group if it suits me better. If my physical shape would be good instead of talker i would be a stalker . Anyway i hope that my Trainerroad workout plans build me as a better rider and my body can handle better lactic acid as well in a future.

I'm always looking at who is around me and what they are pushing. I find it's always better to ride with a group than on my own, so I'll always be considering pushing for 30 seconds to catch a group up front, or resting for a minute to allow a chasing group to catch me. This is just my personal preference, but I find I'll work harder if I'm with others so, for me, it helps my fitness too.

 

[bridgy]

Sorry about that

It's interesting to compare your ride to mine ... after the final KoM descent (after you leave the jungle) to the end you lose 1 minute to me. Given I'm in a small group and you're on your own that's not a big surprise, but I reckon had you been in a decent group for that section you'd have been a minimum 60 seconds faster, but almost certainly even more. Something to aim for when you re-do the stage

Yeah, even riding with just one or two others - as we see sometimes in our meet-up races - can make a big difference. In these TDZ events where you can be in much bigger groups, the speed difference if you're stuck on your own can be huge. It's a double whammy too because I kind of lost motivation once I was on the course all alone

 

[<Tommy>]

@peterob looking at Strava, my time for this segment - https://www.strava.com/segments/16360998?filter=following&gender=all - which pretty much covers the whole of stage 3 was 1:12:18. Looking at other people's times for this segment compared to their ZP times, the ZP time is pretty consistently 50 seconds more. So can you put me down for a time of 1:13:08 please - in case I can't face doing it again!

Looking at the segment comparison, I was a minute behind Adam & Tommy at the top of the KOM, but on the descent and most of the jungle, I was steadily gaining on them and got the gap down to 33 seconds by 28km in. Then, I had the final IT glitch and lost all the other riders and in the last 14km riding alone I lost 3 minutes - not surprisingly! Shame, because if that hadn't happened and I continued gaining at the rate I was (which may not have actually been possible!), it could have been an exciting finish!

Good ride by the way guys!

I saw you as close as 31 seconds the time I saw you pop up in my screen. The group I was in was going pretty slow at times, I was looking at low watts on my screen. But no one seemed interested in taking turns at the front so I lost interest too. Another group of 10 or so caught up with our group and it picked up a bit. Maybe that was the group you had been in before you lost connection. Were you in a group?

I’m glad I read the posts during the day because it made me think that I’d need to hit a pb up the kom to have a chance against lee. In the end my time was only 16 seconds worse than his pb and I guess this made the difference at the end. This tour seems brutally hilly to me.

Really bad luck about the connection loss bridgy. I had it briefly near the start where I lost all the other riders but it only last 30 seconds or so and it was when I was climbing so it didn’t make any difference to me.

For what it’s worth milzy has the victory outright so it’s not a tie. I made the cardinal sin of taking my foot off the gas at the line and I saw him go past. I’ve done it a few times now and I just have to tell myself to push through when my brain is telling me to take it easy 😄

 

[Edwardoka]

And also the route for Stage 5 (New York) has now been announced. Everything Bagel - 21 miles / 34 km. Two ascents of the KOM (one in each direction), first one starting just one mile into the stage, second starts at the 15 mile point.

Oh no, I did 95% of the Everything Bagel course the other day and bailed before the end.
The idea of racing it

As an aside, I see stage 4 is called Bologna TT, does anyone know if it's going to be an actual TT i.e. staggered start and no drafting, or is it just a standard ride re-using the TT course from the Giro stage?

 

[Whorty]

Done!

League updated with yesterday's efforts. Some strong performances yesterday with @Milzy nabbing his 2nd (current) stage victory. Just Nick left to go in C cat who can topple @Whorty from his current lofty perch.
View attachment 501602

Cheers for the updated league Pete

I'm on day 6 of my attempt to get the Unemployed Badge (14 days on the bounce) on Zwift. Fatigue will set in and I'm sure this will impact my TdZ stage times, so still all to play for in Cat C. Can't see me holding Nick off, unless I can keep bribing my mate at Vodafone to continue to pull out Nick's internet connection at the exchange

 

[steverob]

As an aside, I see stage 4 is called Bologna TT, does anyone know if it's going to be an actual TT i.e. staggered start and no drafting, or is it just a standard ride re-using the TT course from the Giro stage?

No, just a normal group ride on the TT course. In fact it looks like you're not even allowed to use a TT bike, so that must mean there will be drafting enabled - last time I did this route as a group ride, you could use any bike but drafting was disabled regardless, so that's why I'm expecting a lot faster times.

 

[Whorty]

Oh no, I did 95% of the Everything Bagel course the other day and bailed before the end.
The idea of racing it

As an aside, I see stage 4 is called Bologna TT, does anyone know if it's going to be an actual TT i.e. staggered start and no drafting, or is it just a standard ride re-using the TT course from the Giro stage?

Just had a look on ZP and it says "No TT bikes", so it's the TT course but normal bikes and drafting.

It's 6km mostly flat from the pens to the climb. Start off controlled; there will be loads of other riders there so you'll get dragged along nicely. The climb is 2km at average of 10%. It's tough! At the top you'll turn around, come back down in about 2 minutes (having take 20 minutes to get up ), then it will be 6km back to the pens, 6km from pens back to KoM then one more climb up the hill.

That second climb will create some time differences in the league - I'll be looking to get into a group on the flats to keep it relaxed, saving all my energy for the KoM's.

 

[mjd1988]

These hills are killing me, but I'm officially reducing my weight on zwift by a kg so I imagine I'll fly up now

 

[mjd1988]

I'm a bit loner these group rides, barely stick in group when i need to drop back and wait next group if it suits me better. If my physical shape would be good instead of talker i would be a stalker . Anyway i hope that my Trainerroad workout plans build me as a better rider and my body can handle better lactic acid as well in a future.

I find it very difficult to type - by the time I've said "great group at 34km" I've usually been dropped and/or fallen off the bike

 

[bridgy]

I saw you as close as 31 seconds the time I saw you pop up in my screen. The group I was in was going pretty slow at times, I was looking at low watts on my screen. But no one seemed interested in taking turns at the front so I lost interest too. Another group of 10 or so caught up with our group and it picked up a bit. Maybe that was the group you had been in before you lost connection. Were you in a group?

I’m glad I read the posts during the day because it made me think that I’d need to hit a pb up the kom to have a chance against lee. In the end my time was only 16 seconds worse than his pb and I guess this made the difference at the end. This tour seems brutally hilly to me.

Really bad luck about the connection loss bridgy. I had it briefly near the start where I lost all the other riders but it only last 30 seconds or so and it was when I was climbing so it didn’t make any difference to me.

For what it’s worth milzy has the victory outright so it’s not a tie. I made the cardinal sin of taking my foot off the gas at the line and I saw him go past. I’ve done it a few times now and I just have to tell myself to push through when my brain is telling me to take it easy 😄

You're climbing really well mate - to match Adam and be so close to Lee who are both a lot lighter is really good going on the KOM. I got a PR up there as well and still lost a minute on you. Bit annoying with the IT glitches but that's the way it goes sometimes - mainly I'm pleased that I was going a bit better than recently even if it didn't feel like it at the end, and the time gap to you,lee and Adam ended up being much the same as previous stages!

 

[Freelanderuk]

I opted to ride the Quatch Quest route this morning on Zwift ( https://zwiftinsider.com/quatch-quest/ ) 5521 feet of climbing , got the epic KOM out of the way and Zwift threw a wobbly lost connection and when I finally got it back it asked if I wished to continue and put me on the bloody hilly route ,not very happy☹️ So no route signed off today but another 3000 feet towards the tron bike 97% complete now

 

[peterob]

I opted to ride the Quatch Quest route this morning on Zwift ( https://zwiftinsider.com/quatch-quest/ ) 5521 feet of climbing , got the epic KOM out of the way and Zwift threw a wobbly lost connection and when I finally got it back it asked if I wished to continue and put me on the bloody hilly route ,not very happy☹ So no route signed off today but another 3000 feet towards the tron bike 97% complete now

You're just that little bit closer than me @Freelanderuk - I'm at 96%.

Hopefully we'll both get there in the next week - not sure how much climbing there is on stage 4.