Zwift Chat

[CXRAndy]

I actually went quicker up it on the second lap so clearly I wasn't tryinmg hard enough first time

I did too, but mine was intentional, because I knew I would burn far too many matches trying to hold a fast light pack. Probably end up solo which would have brought me back into the slightly heavier powerful riders, but I would have had nothing left to try a sprint

 

[steverob]

Out of interest has anything similar happened within Cat C? Have you noticed it being harder for riders to get upgraded to B, or has it stayed relatively similar to before the Category calculation changes?

Yeah, similar to Carl I noticed that when I got promoted from D to C late last year, that it took me a little longer than it had previously done. On past promotions I felt I was just starting to get good at D races when the promotion happened, but this time I spent a good few weeks dominating the D category before I got bumped up to C - almost as though it was harder to make that next step upwards.

 

[bridgy]

He's a sprinter. He SHOULD get spat on climbs longer than a minute if he's riding in the right category.
Just as you, a lightweight will struggle to stay in the main pack on a flat route.

The problem is that Cat B is so wide. You get people all the way from Gold/Platinum to Ruby and Diamond in B. It's nonsense having such a wide range of abilities in one category, which is why I don't bother with it.

The only Cat B races I can win are the short hill-climb segment-only races if nobody really good shows up

Zwiftapp thinks I'm a sprinter too though which I'm definitely not!

 

[Legs]

He also did the same race as me last night! He came 87th - 47 seconds ahead of me. He's definitely Cat B level!

In hindsight I can see I should have dug much deeper on the first ascent of the KOM so I would have got dragged around by a faster group rather than be on the wrong side of a split - I actually went quicker up it on the second lap so clearly I wasn't tryinmg hard enough first time

I pushed a bit too hard first time up - one guy came over the top first, then I was within a second of the second-placed guy, and, although I'd not pushed super-hard, I'd obviously pushed hard enough that I couldn't recover sufficiently in what was a fast-paced second lap.

When I was an A, I could hold my own in the most races, and would have rated my chances against a field of Bs. Now that the boundaries have adjusted, I'm not right at the pointy end of B, but am enjoying the racing nonetheless.

 

[bridgy]

I pushed a bit too hard first time up - one guy came over the top first, then I was within a second of the second-placed guy, and, although I'd not pushed super-hard, I'd obviously pushed hard enough that I couldn't recover sufficiently in what was a fast-paced second lap.

When I was an A, I could hold my own in the most races, and would have rated my chances against a field of Bs. Now that the boundaries have adjusted, I'm not right at the pointy end of B, but am enjoying the racing nonetheless.

Oh yeah me too, I'm still enjoying the racing and the acrogorie are just what they are. Just adjusting to the new reality of where I should expect to be in a B race!

Having said that I think most people do enjoy racing more if the ability level within the race is reasonably similar - which is the whole point of categories after all - and I think I agree with Alex that B Cat does seem to be very wide in ability levels right now (maybe the same in C and D I don't know). Series like ZRL do help with this a bit with their league system, and DIRT racing series with their intermediate C+, B+ etc categories

 

[alex_cycles]

Zwiftapp thinks I'm a sprinter too though which I'm definitely not!

I've ridden with and against David Hivey enough to know he's a sprinter. He was about the only person in Cat C ZRL last year who could beat @Whorty

 

[bridgy]

I've ridden with and against David Hivey enough to know he's a sprinter. He was about the only person in Cat C ZRL last year who could beat @Whorty

Oh yeah I'm not saying they have that wrong about him - just me!

 

[steverob]

They have my category as sprinter as well - as someone who has never managed above 850W or 9 w/kg, not even for one second!

To be fair they do have TT as my (very close) second best category, which is probably right.

 

[alex_cycles]

Oh yeah I'm not saying they have that wrong about him - just me!

It goes on power metrics and assumes you have a full set of maximum values for 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 300 & 1200s
Obviously most people don't have a full set and it's only an algorithm. It's fairly good for most people with a good set of data though.

Then you've got the whole philospohical debate about what constitutes a maximum effort too. And whether it should be a maximum effort you can do in a race or standalone. People who have done true maximum efforts (muggins here) tend to have an accurate phenotype, but higher handicaps for the route types that suit them. (You can't bloody win )

 

[Peter Salt]

Need some racing on a Tuesday so will be doing the 17:35 Team Sportslab race. Harrogate UCI Course - which always delivers an exciting event. Someone will probably drop me on a climb but the finish suits me.

 

[CXRAndy]

Stage 2 sprint series, has a leg sapping end to it, which seems to go on forever

 

[Peter Salt]

Need some racing on a Tuesday so will be doing the 17:35 Team Sportslab race. Harrogate UCI Course - which always delivers an exciting event. Someone will probably drop me on a climb but the finish suits me.

Went rather well

 

[mjd1988]

All this talk of cat systems,anyone doing the dirt series?

https://zwiftinsider.com/dirt-racing-series-s8/

 

[CXRAndy]

View: https://youtu.be/KygIHlxFwc8?si=yLAJ73Y5_sHpYRJi


Enjoy, get into the pens early,or like me you will never see the front pack

 

[alex_cycles]

All this talk of cat systems,anyone doing the dirt series?

https://zwiftinsider.com/dirt-racing-series-s8/

Yes. The 1045am version in Atlantic time zone.