Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). There is enough variation in power profile to make it interesting without weight, what makes racing fun is trying to create tactics that favour yourRead more , Interesting & well reasoned article which answers a lot of things which were puzzling me. Chip on the shoulder there or what? EDIT Found my answer: 250w, Theres a chart about halfway down this page: https://zwiftpower.com/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=5528. Last week I did the prl full and Uber pretzel and tried to get #1 by weight on those segments. Im not sure Id say the algorithms help heavier riders in descents. hanging with the front group is very though for me because i am exactly at the bridge between A and B. I have climbed well and I have suffered on climbs but also sprinted well. Well, its adding weight to gain an advantage. I was going flat out the whole race, and by no means cruising along watching my watts. Lucky forRead more . As soon as there is a single bit of flat cheerio! In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. I love reading it. We can name and shame these few. 1 - Manually Set Your FTP Let's say you already know your FTP, then you can go into Zwift and manually change it to whatever you'd like. For example the threshold for cat B is FTP over 200 watts and over 3.2 w/kg. I mean I never lied about my weight, I am a very light rider working and eating hard to get some extra pounds. points based), riders can win by any margin any number of times and remain in their category so long as they do not exceed category limits. Or theyll ignore leaders instructions and ride off the front of a group (flyers). How come I get beat in sprints when a 60kg guy puts out 700W, when I put out over 1000W at 76kg? Have you considered age category racing. They are not, and never were, skill classes of any kind (ie. Is it doping though? Two months ago he had a magic weight loss on zwift. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. See https://zwiftinsider.com/how-does-zwift-calculate-my-speed/, I think if a racer doesnt want to cat up in order to keep winning in their current cat, she or he would likely just go the traditional sandbagging route (as others have suggested here). Sandbagging is pointless if winning means youre going to move up (unless you want to take 3 months off after your win. The key phrase is assuming both riding at the same W/kg, so for the same watts, if I claim to be 10kgs lighter than I really am my W/kg will increase considerably. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). Thats not what I recall at all, everything is a race, even if you werent aware . Read on for our guide on how the app works, how to get set up, and how to analyse your racing. 1. While most Zwifters seemed to understand and even appreciate the intent behind the change, there was concern that removing this information would result in increased height/weight doping. Zwift posted a follow-up message on the forum, Zwift x UCI To Host Cycling Events for the Olympic Esports Series 2023, Race London ZRacing March Series Details, Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of March 4-5. I have seen riders weighting 56 kgs and week later they are 35 kgs. Nice work! Obviously, these are generally accepted rules in the Zwift Community. Since strava is all that matters of course. SoggyAlbatross2. Totally agree with you. They do however have a disadvantage on any flat or downhill. As Zwift racer James Eastwood so aptly put it, The community dont want to see peoples weight they want fair racing.. Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! In theory (at least) weight dopers could game the results based categories as well. Threshold HR is around 151 bpm. I dont think any of my shorter (under 5ft10) running or cycling friends weights more than that. 2022 Primr RWB League - Cycling Ireland eRacing Winter League. Now you'll have to head over to ZwiftPower.com and register there. Thats hilarious. Absolutely impossible. Not everyone has the same HRmax. Good question. If you gave the power, it will come out. I currently weigh 59kgs but my BMI is 25 which technically overweight. Yes us heavier riders have the downhill advantage definitely. Check out this FAQ for some of our frequently asked questions: Q:&. triathlon). And atRead more . There are two ways to do this. Just like the CEO promised us rowing years ago, right? Its more fun and engaging that way, for me at least. I agree with what you say Eric but the weight doping does negatively impact the casual rider if they are following other riders in a casual/social ride. Future state can add a nominal cost to said license to support clean racing via Zwift tech updates. What anyone wants in any game or competition is to feel its fair, and as they look to make changes going forward, I hope people at Zwift always keep asking themselves this question: How can Zwifters see these races are fair?. Mike, Great article as ever Eric. Find some hilly races As a result your suggestion of the watts vs w/kg different systems is already baked into the game physics in a way. It certainly didnt feel like I had taken it easy when IRead more . I said if its not done during a competitive Zwift event, its not a problem. I would include chasing Strava Zwift KOMs as a competitive event (but I could see how what I said could be interpreted otherwise. I know a woman who is 5 feet tall and almost 200lb. So what! Its a huge problem. Ive done multiple races where my main goal was to keep the watts as low as possible while hanging with the front group. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). It impacts the Group Rides and as you said the performance statistics individually. Theres also fitnesssyncer.com that is free up to 4 sync services. Dont worry about your weight fluctuating through the week and remember you gain 0.5kg by drinking a half-litre bidon and lose it again through sweat (and by going to the toilet). Keep writing this sort of thing. I am about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. This is how racing is supposed to work. 2022 SNOW Sprint Series Connecting to ZwiftPower Before you can start using ZwiftPower, you'll need to create an account. A recent Crit City A Race is a very good example of this: I finished in the front pack, sprinting it out for 9th place. Im the opposite. I would thought with how sensitive the sensors are they could place another one somewhere on the unit that simply does the job and takes away all the manual input. . But youre not affecting anyone elses experience. When a rider can change categories by modifying their virtual body weight, thats an issue. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? If you were to meet meRead more . The six-digit number highlighted in bold will be your Zwift ID. Here it is in its entirety: Last week we outlined a number of planned changes to address harassment and further safeguard the health and wellbeing of the Zwift Community. Especially for the C and D groups but even for the Bs albeit to a lesser degree. Most of my ZwiftRead more . Zwift essentially encourages people to be less than truthful about their weight. Introducing a horrible measure that addresses a problem that doesnt exist, and subsequently retracting it following mass protest is not exactly what I would call revolutionary change. However, I do understand Kens point. Remember - Zwift is a trainingplatform.. and if a rider feels his/hers motivation to ride, is higher when entering 'wrong' it's ok with me..AND obviously with Zwift too. I put my real weight 95% of the time. The categories are the cycling equivalent to weight classes in boxing. Im new to Zwift and its racing and what I like notice is how well I do compared to theRead more , This is not just about cheating. Is a very strong rider for his age and trains hard. what does help identify and stop cheats is formalizing race series and having them use an organization like Zada (whether effective now or not, this is the correct path). I tried racing a D race, and finished way off the front behind about 2/3 of riders after Id ridden at 2.9W/kg for the race. But theres one problem: this puts you into the B category, and you dont want to race the Bs. 2. Goodness. Had assumed I just rode inefficiently. I may of course be wrong, and these are all true weights, but Id be very surprised if that were the case, in the races where this matters, riders have to submit a private youtube weigh-in video <2 hrs before the race. Not true, at least not absolutely. Adjusting Difficulty Before Your Workout. I think a once-weekly weigh-in is acceptable. The race categories end up looking something like this (taken from the current Tour of Watopia race events): ZwiftPower, home of official race results for community races, adds some pure wattage breakpoints to the above list to help lightweight riders stay competitive. As there is no official A+ CAT there is nothing to worry about, but if there were, I would be right between A and A+. Not sure why its hard for you to believe that there are a lot of riders under 70kgs. First, you need to sign up for an account. for example,Read more . Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. I do find it amazing, funny and sad that IRL at several Ironman events me, a C rider, beat many A riders in the cycling segment. Just from riding regularly I went from 166 FTP to 187 in 800 miles over a 2 1/2 months. You'll receive a four-digit code, which you'll then have to add to your. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Yes thats completely unacceptable, you should never be at a disadvantage at any time in your life, just as your mother raised you. IRL cycling pros are not exactly heavy weights and lean-ness is highly encouraged. If I feel happy in my body thats the most important thing for me, and why I rarely weigh myself. The winners are almost always people with recorded weights sub 70kgs, more typically 65kgs, even 59! Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. No one is going to lose or gain 5kg overnight or shrink a 1cm. If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. Theres a bit of a fuss on the ZP forums at the moment about this form of sandbagging where people deliberately ride within the w/kg limits but are riding well below their potential ability. No race Chester worth their salt pops in and changed weight ahead of a race, what they do is post the wrong weight and leave it there. Hes asking for a fair race. While the benefits of being light fully kick in while climbing a mountain (as it is easier for smaller guys to achieve certain w/kg), the benefits of being a tall and strong guy dont fully apply in the flats. Heavy riders not only have a huge advantage on down slopes (the steeper the more advantage); they also have an advantage on the flats; its only when it gets to above 5%+ you can start to break a heavier rider. Choose a Zwift workout, but before you start riding look at the workout breakdown on the left side of the screen. ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The best solution would be for Zwift to actively monitor all racing for people cheating. , Myself being a lighter rider who fluctuates some 2kg during a week I tend to always use my upper weight giving me a lower Wkg. Maybe also add weight change limit 2kg per week? I have long ago earned all of the challenges and levels. (and dont do organized rides for fairness) so I dont have resistance changes and sometimes zwift reports extraordinary power readings for a ride. This clearly shows the power of the Zwift blob it impacts more than just drafting. https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=697996. In spectacular and shocking fashion. Some people are clearly living in a fantasy on zwift. As a Triathlete, I have a different perspective when racing and riding on Zwift because the vast majority of Zwifters (according to Zwift and Strava) are only cycling; whereas Im also training by Running and Swimming. And this is why reverse weight doping is a thing. w/kg is partially based on real world physics. Taking that info away further depersonalizes the platform, and and may be fine in group rides, but it is a step closer to racing against bots. But since there are no clear rules on it at this time, its a bit of a self-policing thing with a fair amount of grey area. Taking weight out of the equation you could just make everyones avatar moving forward by holding down the up arrow on their keyboard. Some big Zwift races have specific rulesets, etc. It all has to do with the way Zwifts racing categories work. Generally weigh myself once a month. Hopefully when it comes time to hide height and weight from public view on ZwiftPower, Zwift will have some really useful tools in place which help race organizers do their jobs more quickly and effectively, while promoting wellness in the racing community. Do some races have split out start times so you are only racing with those of similar ability? Doing this will bring up a box at the bottom of the browser showing a web address something similar to: https://s3-fit-prd-uswest2-zwift.s3.amazonaws.com/prod/000000/a2e1b7f8-27610843. How big of a problem is reverse weight doping? 240W 50kg riders (4.8W/kg) beat 380W 95kg riders in B category Tempus Fugit time trials. Racing the As resp. As a relatively light 69kg rider, I often feel at a disadvantage in the flatter races, of which there are many more than hilly ones. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. Im not heavy (68kg), have a typical climber/TT phenotype (no short sprint but good FTP). USA Cycling has categories that are based on experience and performance. Currently trying to convince a friend who is new to Zwift not to reverse weight dope. The default position is midway between "Off" and "Max," or 50 percent of the grade resistance you'd find while riding the same grade of hill in the real world. Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. I use my average weight but I feel; guilty because my weight tends to fluctuate by 0.5K or more during the week depending on how much I eat during the day really interested to learn that there is a scale that auto updates Zwift. Ill remain skeptical until I see some actual changes. I still have no sprint kick so Im never winning anything anyway. ), So what is reverse weight doping? Not too many people actually want to see other peoples height or weight except to be able to verify race results are reasonable. Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. Other than that, I rarely look at weight unless some results are very weird. To move up to the next rank, ZwiftPower will take 95 per cent of your 20-minute average w/kg figure from your previous three races. Any thoughts on verifying? Im 170cm and currently 61kg with an ideal triathlon racing weight of 59kg. Context, Tim, context! Some races (many, in fact) on Zwift work exactly like that. I think Im just heavier than my competition. Everyone else in the race is riding flat out (your own HR was 174bpm) but these guys are just cruising along watching their watts and are then able toRead more , Not sure its that simple I am a heavy category C racer, and (funnily enough) finished 5th in both my recent Crit City races with average HR of 153 and 150. I dont think it can all be attributed to weight; it appears that some hardware tweaks can scale up the reported power output. However, I definitely recommend entering some races. Current system means that heavy weight top of cat riders climb at the same speed as skinny guys with same wpk but can have 60% more power on the flats. it's a good training tool. People with eating disorders, or a proclivity toward extreme dieting. I think the main problem with women and weight on zwift is regular weightdoping, magnified probably by all the wonderful social stigmas and judgment surrounding womens bodies. Once you have a number for your FTP in watts, divide it by your weight in kilograms. And one cheater leads to another and its an arms race of gaming the game. Would achieve the same thing. First, it shows that theyre listening to the community. Do you believe weight doping (reverse or otherwise) is a big problem in Zwift racing, and if so, what can be done about it? I did on one and second on the other. As others have said, your higher weight helps on flat courses. I use Zwift to get in shape and prepare for outside riding. if youre on zwift and intentionally cheating to get whichever fake virtual badge or win whichever fake virtual place in a race, then youre real-life literal loser. Zwift is full of cheaters and thats not going to change now. Honest mistake on my part and one I wont make again, so fair enough to be filtered outRead more , Related (and apologies if the answer is obvious but Ive only done one Zwift race), really what is the point of the categories? Ive lost 2.2kg over a 6 hour ride due to carb loading before, and burning that and hence losing a lot of water weight during the ride. He argues hes not gaining an advantage. If so, that makes sense to me and I can absolutely see the point of that. Next up is the most finicky part of the process finding your Zwift ID in order to connect your accounts. Light guys have the advantage on the hills, in the sprints, and because they have a higher w/kg, the flats too even if my absolute watts are significantly higher. Im quite heavy, at about 85kgs, but also 183cms tall (and 52 years old). On Zwift I look suspicous. Not knowing what to pick and with minutes until the my first race, I selected the C group and was thus filtered out of the Zwift Power race results when I then posted a 4.00w/kg over the 28 minute race. More of an issue than thisRead more . Zwift can wipe your Zwift Power profile and give you a clean slate to start over if you want, but I think you will lose all past data. Put simply, ZwiftPower is a community-driven website that complements the Zwift app. I ride B category races & never podium but have been puzzled as I always seem to have a higher w/kg than most of the other riders in the race. Exactly, although As arent that regulated, unless you hit the premier class, which is a very small section of A riders. I dont think so. I agree with your idea. If you are on the lighter side, try picking some climbing races. I am 42 years-old with a HRmax of ~169 bpm. I would suggest a free (for now) virtual race license that would outline racer behavior with consequences. Im surprised that (off wheel) smart trainers dont have the ability to weigh the rider when they get on the bike. What if you are super committed and gain the weight in real life just so you can stay in the category , Excellent posts on perhaps the most serious non-hardware problem in Zwift right now. However, I was able to navigate to the settings page by doing the following. light guys categorically do NOT have an advantage on the flats vs heavier guys, assuming both riding at same w/kg, heavy guy WILL be going faster on Zwift. It's possible to check just about any kind of Zwift result using ZwiftPower, with the website sortable by leagues, race series and segments. Withings scale that automatically updates your Zwift weight, a month ago in the final post of my race category series, https://smartscalesync.com/?utm_source=tr, https://zwiftpower.com/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=5528, https://zwiftinsider.com/how-does-zwift-calculate-my-speed/, Zwift x UCI To Host Cycling Events for the Olympic Esports Series 2023, Race London ZRacing March Series Details, Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of March 4-5. A great challenge for those looking for those training gains. If thats not something that needs fixing then why run any races? On a flat ride I would beat every sub 60kg cat B rider too. Using your Mac or PC, you can do it online on the Zwift website. Makes me happy to see that the community is able to speak with one voice if necessary. The COVID-19 lockdown period, now in its third month around the world, has seen an unprecedented boom in virtual cycling. (Its not the only part, of course! One question I have struggled to answer though which maybe is not a consideration is that on the flat watts is what is required and I also have to push high wkg to stay with groups. Everyone races at the same weight/height. Completing this first step means that you've given permission to share your results and activity history with ZwiftPower, so now all of your performance and race data can be transferred across to the website. Just the fact that you need a third party (ZP) to validate race results really says it all. Maybe they should display and categorise HR as a %age? If youre a 300-pound dude who wants to go a little faster uphill as a virtual 200 pounder, have at it. I never thought i should weigh myself with my kit on. We remain committed to protecting the health and well being of the broader Zwift Community, and we look forward to enacting additional measures in the future. I averaged between 300 and 310 watts for all segments and my heart sat pretty consistently between 140 and 144.Read more , saying x number of watts per kg at xxx hr is flawed anyways max and resting hr can vary alot. Great drafting skills!, Heres the thing: I probably am a fairly efficient racer, when I want to be. There is no cat C rider at 58kg who has a hope in hell of beating me in any race. I have been cycling since I was a kid and now close to 50. This isnt IRL racing it is e-racing. I completely agree with the last paragraph here. Email zwiftpower@zwift.com if you want to reset everything. thanks for the help with the graphs. 2.5w/kg (215Watts) is hard for me to hold for extended periods but I keep trying. Otherwise I stand by my comment. Think of ZwiftPower, then, as something similar to Strava, only entirely Zwift-focused, and free! You lose 10 liters of sweat during a medium long ride? MyRead more . If someone on zwift holds an avg power at a given heart rate, then goes out on the road and holds that same heart rate but cannot sustain even close to that power, I am sorry, but that isnt physiology; that is hardware. Tie that together with not letting people race in a lower (but letting them race in a higher) cat, and youll have fixed a number of the issues. He had fun laughing at fat dad, but I pipped him at the line! I take issue with the weight doping is okay in none competitive events because of strava. Bump your Zwift weight up to 84kg and even with your new and improved 260-watt FTP youre only at 3.1 w/kg! As soon as I start pedaling Im pretty much into threshold (around 170bpm). It lets Zwift racers and race organisers track results and check out all the details of the races they've participated in, as well as monitoring and analysing their data. A thank you to Zwift HQ for listening to the feedback from the racing community and taking action. Work over time is work over time. Best Zwift setups: Indoor cycling setups to give you the competitive edge. However, insecure Freds jumpingRead more , I am new to Zwift, but I do wonder how it is youll see a bunch of people finish at the front of a D race at 4-5 W/kg. Note how he wins races while his max HR is around 30 beats below his maximum. Last week we announced Zwifts plans to remove rider height and weight from ZwiftPower, among other changes (read the full post here). Theyre only cheating themselves and it all comes out in the wash eventually. My 3.9w/kg (a new PR!) I used to live next to the Alpe and later, next to the Ventoux. As a low to mid-cat rider, ImRead more . Why dont you start self-regulating then? With racer categories? I dont mind the low HRs but the low power and high w/kg really irk me! Im more concerned about the guy who finished 5th with 144bpm. Once I hit 185 its either sit up and catch my breath of fall of the bike. Yes, there are plenty of variabies, but power is power. IRL I am 85kgs and cant pretend to be 65kgs. It's a bit more complicated than most website sign-ups, but now you'll be all ready to get started. Im glad our collective voice was heard on this one, In the future, well continue to bring potential product ideas and changes to members of the Zwift Racing Community, with the hope that youll embrace this as a collaborative effort to help shape the experience.. But I also did it because I knew it was great practice! If someone dopes so they do 4w/kg then they should be racing with other people who do 4w/kg. Hardly true Say you train and commit yourself to being honest to achieve better fitness,and also better results, albeit virtually..then someone finishes better than you solely because of the BS numbers they entered. Hes not looking for a trophy every race. I think that point based system is an improvement, but it doesnt address the weight issue. I am alleging that weight cheating is endemic in zwift, especially among those who care about winning. But I get beaten by lots of other zwifters, even on flat courses. This would include preventing people from entering the wrong (too low) category, and multiple month suspensions (race events would not appear in that persons Zwift application event list, no ability to enter) for using a height or weight that cannot be verified, or miscalibration of a smart trainer. Youve got people putting out 5+ watts/kilo atRead more . Youd think theyd be the same but when Zwift and Strava dont even agree on stats for the same ride, Ill take any other comparisons with a big pinch of salt. Kudos to Zwift for listening to their customers and admitting they made a mistake. Response to our post as well as Zwifts own post in their forum were resoundingly negative from members of the Zwift racing community. Im curious to see this summer if I can do the numbers outdoors as I push out on Zwift but I cant even think of a road to use for 30 mins without stop signs, pot holes, lots of traffic, etc. Perhaps if you post a W/kg in excess ofRead more , So thats why I could easily keep up with a 3-3.4wkg group yesterday whilst keeping my wattage at some 2.5-2.7just my 107kgs.the rest were probably featherweight category :) Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. Honest and goal driven. Id never do this as my Zwift Power is an accurate log of weight and power but it does make me wonder how much easier itd be to be bigger. My FTP/kg is 3.88, which I now know would make me a B racer (3.2-3.9). I think theres another more interesting angle than just trying to stay down a category. It just makes a mockery of the whole system. It must be very hard to do with many, many lines of code to implement otherwise it wouldve been done by now, In reality these changes would not (will not) impact cheating. Too light and watts go down as does watts per kilo. Cheapest Zwift setup: Everything to help you onto Zwift for the first time Fact ! Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site.