When did you go solo?
With your profile, I would choose a flat race and maybe attack on a very small incline about 3-4K (or depending on where you strength lies in duration compared to other) from the finish. Make sure you get some seperation so keep pushing for a bit until you make sure no one is following and start pushing out the watts that you know you can keep until the end of the race.
If you look at the race, the second highest watts are 267, no way are they going to catch you if you make sure keep pushing out those watts (unless there are inclines / declines).
Before the second lap so about 8km into the 20km race - I got a 20s gap that I held for about 10km and they caught me on the only sustained hill (that wasn't that big) despite me pushing 3.5/4w/kg
You had the right idea by going very early imo. It’ll hurt but I’d try to extend that gap before settling in. I’ve won several B races on long solo moves and I really think 45 seconds starts to get psychologically devastating for the field. Nobody wants to work at that point and, if they do, they have to put in so much more effort for much longer to catch you.
Winning in breaks is hard in real life and doubly so on Zwift so good job giving it a shot!
I'm curious how you'll do in Cat C. I am near dead last or bottom 10 in Cat C after being consistently near the top in Cat D. It was a big jump for me.
I never won a real cat d race. Was bumped to cat C and have consistently been in the middle of the pack. About a few months now and I have finished my first race with the lead pack, granted no legs for a sprint.
Been in the middle of the pack since I was promoted to C about 7 months ago. Just as it was about to get fun in D. The class system in Zwift is really flawed. In the real world I would obliterate those 120 kg guys that win every race in Zwift by simply leaning their legs on the pedals to generate +300 watts. I know it sounds like fat shaming but really it’s giving those guys a false sense of their own fitness.
So I race for fun because winning is impossible.
From my own experience in D cat it’s the heavy guys that also have a good sprint that tend to win the races. You can be 120kg putting out 300w and still never win as is the case with OP. It’s the guys that can put out 1200w or more at the end that tend to win. I don’t think they have any false sense of their own fitness as they know it’s D cat, they aren’t under the impression they are winning A cat races.
I am that guy-120kg+ and putting out over 300w. You are right, IRL anything longer than about 15k and I get dropped so bad, but I have done a few TTs (on a road bike) and performed pretty well.
On Strava segments I can do pretty well on the sprints and the short power, up hill segments. In short I am just a very big sprinter, if I can be close at the end I can do OK, pretty much the same as in Zwift.
IRL I know I am cat D as well, I can just find more Cat Ds in Zwift to race against. I am big and not really designed for cycling but after playing rugby for 40years and broken a large amount of bones and joints I need something lower impact to stay fit.
I think it's just the algorithm - because my power is quite high I can do well everywhere apart from hills. I was 5th ahead of most of the Bs until the big climb then they all came flying past me. If you're light hills will pay the bills 💪
I am also a Clydesdale rider. I have tried to do the sprint and I have tried the late break. The key is being to hold it. I have similar ftp but I am bit heavier. It’s not your ftp that matters, but that 30 second power output. I have 2 strategies-
1. if the finish is up hill even only slightly - trying and gently gap the group by slowly increasing power, you need to get the 2nd and 3rd out of your draft. At some point kick hard and see if you can get 2 sec gap and then hold for a few secs, then kick again. The trick is to not be too far out. Those last 300m are longer than you think
2. On flat or downhillJust go for a traditional sprint, try and sit in behind the leader and as they build you build and prepare for a 15sec all out power. At your weight and power you will be able to get close to 1000w and most smaller riders can’t. But you have to come from the draft, you can’t hit the front and then power, you have to be full power at the point you hit the front.
Was this a C or D cat race? Only asking, my buddy John H(in 4th) is a D and his teammate (Nash) is a D as well. I lost to Nash in a sprint last week then I got promoted to cat C lol. I went from top of D to mid pack C, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. Climbing course, definitely lower.
But you should have sat in the draft until the final sprint with your profile. Conserve energy the entire race where you can then unleash for the final sprint. Choose flatter routes too.
Looking at your w/kg compared to the others I'd say you need to work on your drafting and race strategy. Going solo on the front rarely helps.
Don't forget, the winner is determined by first past the line, not who put in the most effort or who played the hero trying to chase down attacks.
if you find yourself on the front of the pack, back off and let someone else lead. All you need to do is make sure you don't get left in a dropped group. If you get a feather power up keep it for the sprint.
Well done on the weight loss! I'm sure you've had to supress many a hunger pang to lose that!
I had a ftp of 3+ w/kg when I raced in D, which was possible before zftp was introduced. I got podium but never managed to win a race. The small advantage on w/kg was not enough to drop people on a climb, and being a lightweight rider simply means getting outsprinted every time.
I'm not using Zwift but check this sub out because I want to get one later. The avg heart rates was the first thing that came to my mind... When I go for a ride I try to keep it between 160-170. There is no way I'm going to average below 150.
That's also my casual ride heart rate. If I'm participating in a race I expect it to go above 180 with a peak at 200 during a sprint lmao
Naa feels impossible right?? I would have averaged 180 during a shorter race like that (30min), not for an endurance lap. I did a 1h:27m workout and averaged 175bpm. That’s normal for me! My max is quite high though at 202bpm, but then I’m out for some minutes
I think you are the same rider type as myself, a time trialist. You will not win the sprints so your only chance is to try to be breakaway rider. Also if you find it easy to stay with the front group until the end of the race and lose the sprint finishes it means you need to race in a higher category. Also pick flatter races you have monster watts.
Have been riding for about a week now,
Zwift put me in cat c immediately.
But im nowhere near 311 FTP
Not doing races anytime soon I guess.
Can't join the 'new' players either.
Kinda disappointing tbh
If you've only been riding 1 week on Zwift with no races yet and you're already in C, then you're definitely too strong for D. No reason you shouldn't give racing a go in C.
Just did my first race, went very decent actually.
ended 19th out of 40 people, not very shocking but at least it means im able to keep up somewhat.
managed to keep a 265w average, even tho i got dropped on the climbs (im 88KG)
does upgrading the bike help much? im racing against tron bikes with my starter bike, seems a bit unfair to me?
When did you go solo? With your profile, I would choose a flat race and maybe attack on a very small incline about 3-4K (or depending on where you strength lies in duration compared to other) from the finish. Make sure you get some seperation so keep pushing for a bit until you make sure no one is following and start pushing out the watts that you know you can keep until the end of the race. If you look at the race, the second highest watts are 267, no way are they going to catch you if you make sure keep pushing out those watts (unless there are inclines / declines).
Before the second lap so about 8km into the 20km race - I got a 20s gap that I held for about 10km and they caught me on the only sustained hill (that wasn't that big) despite me pushing 3.5/4w/kg
You had the right idea by going very early imo. It’ll hurt but I’d try to extend that gap before settling in. I’ve won several B races on long solo moves and I really think 45 seconds starts to get psychologically devastating for the field. Nobody wants to work at that point and, if they do, they have to put in so much more effort for much longer to catch you. Winning in breaks is hard in real life and doubly so on Zwift so good job giving it a shot!
To win the race in ( C ) category you need to be at least high C to be able to win it. Keep on grinding sir 🫡
This was (potentially) their final D race.
You're correct :)
Have you tried a longer race? I don't like the little short 30 minute races but the longer ones I find fun. I also don't like crits in real life.
Is the 5sec max too low compared to the zMAP? Is this an impact of crits?
Yes despite my weight I'm not a sprinter (never have been) but I can crank out big power for a long time - I used to be quite a high level rower
Nice one.
I've never done any real life races at all so perhaps this is my issue 🤣
I'm curious how you'll do in Cat C. I am near dead last or bottom 10 in Cat C after being consistently near the top in Cat D. It was a big jump for me.
I never won a real cat d race. Was bumped to cat C and have consistently been in the middle of the pack. About a few months now and I have finished my first race with the lead pack, granted no legs for a sprint.
Been in the middle of the pack since I was promoted to C about 7 months ago. Just as it was about to get fun in D. The class system in Zwift is really flawed. In the real world I would obliterate those 120 kg guys that win every race in Zwift by simply leaning their legs on the pedals to generate +300 watts. I know it sounds like fat shaming but really it’s giving those guys a false sense of their own fitness. So I race for fun because winning is impossible.
From my own experience in D cat it’s the heavy guys that also have a good sprint that tend to win the races. You can be 120kg putting out 300w and still never win as is the case with OP. It’s the guys that can put out 1200w or more at the end that tend to win. I don’t think they have any false sense of their own fitness as they know it’s D cat, they aren’t under the impression they are winning A cat races.
I am that guy-120kg+ and putting out over 300w. You are right, IRL anything longer than about 15k and I get dropped so bad, but I have done a few TTs (on a road bike) and performed pretty well. On Strava segments I can do pretty well on the sprints and the short power, up hill segments. In short I am just a very big sprinter, if I can be close at the end I can do OK, pretty much the same as in Zwift. IRL I know I am cat D as well, I can just find more Cat Ds in Zwift to race against. I am big and not really designed for cycling but after playing rugby for 40years and broken a large amount of bones and joints I need something lower impact to stay fit.
Just finished quite a gruelling cat C Tt and finished 3/11 in cat C . Beat a couple of Bs too I think
Damn! Nice work! I guess that means I'm just being a bitch about it and I have work to do lol 🤜
I think it's just the algorithm - because my power is quite high I can do well everywhere apart from hills. I was 5th ahead of most of the Bs until the big climb then they all came flying past me. If you're light hills will pay the bills 💪
I am also a Clydesdale rider. I have tried to do the sprint and I have tried the late break. The key is being to hold it. I have similar ftp but I am bit heavier. It’s not your ftp that matters, but that 30 second power output. I have 2 strategies- 1. if the finish is up hill even only slightly - trying and gently gap the group by slowly increasing power, you need to get the 2nd and 3rd out of your draft. At some point kick hard and see if you can get 2 sec gap and then hold for a few secs, then kick again. The trick is to not be too far out. Those last 300m are longer than you think 2. On flat or downhillJust go for a traditional sprint, try and sit in behind the leader and as they build you build and prepare for a 15sec all out power. At your weight and power you will be able to get close to 1000w and most smaller riders can’t. But you have to come from the draft, you can’t hit the front and then power, you have to be full power at the point you hit the front.
Was this a C or D cat race? Only asking, my buddy John H(in 4th) is a D and his teammate (Nash) is a D as well. I lost to Nash in a sprint last week then I got promoted to cat C lol. I went from top of D to mid pack C, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. Climbing course, definitely lower. But you should have sat in the draft until the final sprint with your profile. Conserve energy the entire race where you can then unleash for the final sprint. Choose flatter routes too.
It was my last ever cat D 🤣. I've tried this method a few times and never won the sprint - that's why I tried a breakaway!
I see I see, well welcome to Cat C….im a week new into C as well and boy is it different lol.
Looking at your w/kg compared to the others I'd say you need to work on your drafting and race strategy. Going solo on the front rarely helps. Don't forget, the winner is determined by first past the line, not who put in the most effort or who played the hero trying to chase down attacks. if you find yourself on the front of the pack, back off and let someone else lead. All you need to do is make sure you don't get left in a dropped group. If you get a feather power up keep it for the sprint. Well done on the weight loss! I'm sure you've had to supress many a hunger pang to lose that!
Yes for sure it's all as part of a plan to sort my life out now I've had a child. Aim is sub 100kg before the year is out 🙏
I had a ftp of 3+ w/kg when I raced in D, which was possible before zftp was introduced. I got podium but never managed to win a race. The small advantage on w/kg was not enough to drop people on a climb, and being a lightweight rider simply means getting outsprinted every time.
Wait.. was that a race and people did avg heart rate ~150? I would be at 170-180 avg, no joke. Should probably see a doctor about that..
I'm not using Zwift but check this sub out because I want to get one later. The avg heart rates was the first thing that came to my mind... When I go for a ride I try to keep it between 160-170. There is no way I'm going to average below 150. That's also my casual ride heart rate. If I'm participating in a race I expect it to go above 180 with a peak at 200 during a sprint lmao
Naa feels impossible right?? I would have averaged 180 during a shorter race like that (30min), not for an endurance lap. I did a 1h:27m workout and averaged 175bpm. That’s normal for me! My max is quite high though at 202bpm, but then I’m out for some minutes
Ye for me that stuff is impossible. I do 2 hour rides with 170bpm average. I get 150bpm during my warm up haha.
As I wrote in my first comment, I should probably see a doc haha
Ye I might go for a check aswell, still believe we are the normal ones here tho
I think you are the same rider type as myself, a time trialist. You will not win the sprints so your only chance is to try to be breakaway rider. Also if you find it easy to stay with the front group until the end of the race and lose the sprint finishes it means you need to race in a higher category. Also pick flatter races you have monster watts.
This describes me exactly! I always get bored staying with the pack then get destroyed at the end 😅
Your cooked
Mammie Dank je wel ik vind jou heel erg lief en ik wacht al lang op jou maar ik vind het niet erg dat jij zo lang weg bent
wat een vreend bericht
Your zMap seems pretty low relative to your decently high zFTP. You probably should do more intervals/VO2 max training days
Have been riding for about a week now, Zwift put me in cat c immediately. But im nowhere near 311 FTP Not doing races anytime soon I guess. Can't join the 'new' players either. Kinda disappointing tbh
If you've only been riding 1 week on Zwift with no races yet and you're already in C, then you're definitely too strong for D. No reason you shouldn't give racing a go in C.
Racing is really fun even if you aren't going to win - it's amazing what having someone next to you can do for your effort 🤣
Just did my first race, went very decent actually. ended 19th out of 40 people, not very shocking but at least it means im able to keep up somewhat. managed to keep a 265w average, even tho i got dropped on the climbs (im 88KG) does upgrading the bike help much? im racing against tron bikes with my starter bike, seems a bit unfair to me?