So ive recently hit 4 w/kg in a Zwift ramp test and im getting very close to holding the front of a group in a Cat B race but im not quite there yet. Another month or so and i think i will be in the mix. What do you think?
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19 Comments
Yes 😝
Hard race today in the C had one guy with 4w/kg average which was a killer.
4-5meters gets best draft but yeah sitting in the pack is best place in the blob imo. Good video mate.
Good step forward today! 🎉Great racing and so nearly kept with that front group. Won’t be long now and you can watch the sprinters disappear at the end like I do 😂
Looking great there, big improvement. Nothing wrong with hitting your limit and dialling it back a notch for self preservation! Nice to see the sprint too 👌
That was hard today. Second gravel sprint almost got me, I wasn’t paying attention 😂.
I just about cling on to the group and carry on. Didn’t realise you came off after that.
With fresh legs you’ll stay on the group.
Hopefully see you in another one soon
At the time when you threw it in you were holding the Aero Helmet,. I don't think it may have mattered too much today, but get use to using your powerups at the point where you are going to throw it in…. you never know if it is just enough to keep you in the game and if the front are going to ease in the next 30seconds. There will be a day where that will keep you in the bunch. The Drafting powerup is great sometimes to use as a recovery as it is a really long powerup… they are not there just to make progress. Make sure you use them on lap races as all of them give you a relative breather that you would not have had… and that mounts up in races.
You could have totally held on!! Only a few more seconds of pain before the group chilled out after that kicker.
awesome work. It's great when you see the gains from putting in the time to do structured work.
Great racing, and top Watts! What workouts are you doing? Are you following a zwift training plan?
Saw the bug with the wrong turn once. One of us had to race alone 😮
Hi Max – good going. I follow your racing as all our numbers are remarkably similar and we ascended to B at the same time – so it is interesting to compare our progress. I also did Stage 1 yesterday but 2 hours earlier. I just managed to stay with the lead group to the end but had nothing at all for the sprint. PS, you've done well to get 1.53K subscribers already!
Scott Addict RC at level 33 👌
…. and to answer your question – Whilst higher FTP helps, it is your ability to go hard and then recover repeatedly that typically makes the difference between staying with the pack and getting dropped.
Good to see you are trying to stay towards the front. It avoids having to sprint at the back when the front goes a bit quicker.
If you look at your graph, there is not a lot of yellow. Try and keep it yellow. At this point, you may not have the ability to repeatedly go into the red. Yellow is your FTP. You should be good for at least about 30 – 40 minutes. You are progressing nicely. Keep doing intervals focussing on 1, 5 and 8 minutes.
Respect Max! – I was just upgraded from C to B this week and daunted by the fact of riding with so many strong B's. I think you have the right attitude and just get stuck in! I don't believe the majority of riders that join zwift are content staying in their comfort zone and not pushing themsleves to become fitter and stronger riders.
Well done mate! I really enjoy your journey her on yt! Keep it up in the future since it gives me alot of motivation to keep trainin!
I agree Max – in theory you should get maximum draft at the back of the group, but reality is that the slightest move at the front and you're sprinting to play catch-up. Much better to try and hold a position around 10th to 20th in the bunch.
At almost 55yr, I've no chance of winning Cat B, but any race where I can hold the front group till near the end is a victory for me 😄
After 3 years of more formal training and some IRL racing, FTP become less important over time to me. Ramp test is pretty much useless (it's good for a first timer who has no idea of FTP , then should move on to 20 minute test or even longer). Top end B group FTP can be more than 4 wkg due to they never really ride solid 20 minute max effort in zwift to detect, so they can sandbag the category. A lot more important point in a race is the muscle power and repeatability of surges which has only small relation with FTP value. Good fitness take time and consistency and a few "key sessions" of really push over the limit. keep going!
For race and power curve, my opinion is to look at the key session – like the 15 s sprint, or 1 minute climb. that could give a better insight to your competitiveness, rather than look at too big of a picture.
Some of them join to gain the double XP, they still get the points even if they go off course… a Zwift glitch 😉 Just means you can cycle for days for the points, till you teleport or finish the course
One of the best Zwift sprinters taught me this for the sprint. Around the 350m to go mark, head down, out of the saddle MAX effort for 50 strokes of the pedals. Count them in sets of 10 and do 5 sets. Ignore the screen. Just keep your head down and count sets of 10 max strokes. Empty the tank completely. I've won many sprints using this 50 MAX stroke sprint method.