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Thanks Robbo for sorting again.
Wasn’t sure I would make this one last night as I went from fine to feeling like I’d been run over within a few hours and went to bed at 8pm with a banging head, sore throat fearing the worst.
Felt better today as the day wore on so thought I’d give it a try and see how the warm up felt. The start didn’t feel quite as crazy hectic as normal and felt like we could have a large group for at least a couple of laps which didn’t fair well for the handicap gaps.
So once I was confident I could manage some efforts I tried to force the pace and prodded for a break on every ramp and the first sprint. Therefore burning a few too many matches a bit too early and leaving me a bit short of power needed for later. Once Savo and Nixie put the hammer down at the end of the 4th lap I doubted I had enough to bridge the gap and though even if I managed it then I would most likely be dropped by the pair plus paino after the turn and gentle climb. Thought I would just make life easier and work with paino for the remainder.
Well done everybody. Thanks Robbo for sorting again and it also looks like your hard works been paying off. I noticed during the TT last Thursday and the way you worked towards the front for a while early on tonight and closed me down a couple of times that your power (or ability to put it down) seems to have ramped up a fair bit from the previous series.
Unfortunately I know for sure I’m going to miss race 3 and 6 due to 10pm finishes, I’ll also be lucky if make all of the remaining 3.
@nixie you are just over 4.0 w/kg which makes you an A 🙂 I dont look at ZP data as it gets too complicated sp just do a w/kg calc and apply that as the cat. Put 1 kg on though and you would be in the Bs!
@gingerflash I have never gone straight to the world, always having to go via an intermediary world. That said your load time are pretty slow!
I had an OK race. Managed to stay with the fron group for as long as I could but lost touch on the small rise once. Dropped into a second group but there wasnt enough momentum to keep us away from the group behind, so settled in for a few laps. Each lap it went pretty deep on the little hilly section to maintai the connection with the group. I knew I didnt have a great sprint so I decided to try a long range attack but ran out of steam 300m from the end and you all came whizzing past!
Bologna next week!
😀 I prefer your maths robbo 👍.
Good to be back at it with you folks! It was just as i remember... manic, painful but ultimately good fun (type 2 obvs).
Really chuffed to finish 2nd after handicaps. We had a decent group throughout the race, from around 7th to 15th-ish (i think). Usual suspect, Robbo, southside johnny, scardypants etc, keeping each other honest!
Managed to must a small sprint at the end to finish 9th on the road.
Good stuff!
Thanks for sorting Robbo, I had a great time! Didn’t have a clue what I was doing as it was my first E race but I’m already excited for next weeks TT 😁. See you there guys!
Tuesday nights is it? If I can be late to the party that'd be great!
80kb and currently at 276 FTP.
My HRM is on the fritz at the moment so it makes every ride look like i'm cruising around having a brew though
OK so handicaps are live for tomorrow now.
It is a TT race so you will have an individual time. We go of at 10 second increments and drafting is turned of so it is you against the course (doesnt stop you catching people up for motivation though!).
Read up on the Zwift TT mode if you are unsure of what to expect.
https://zwiftinsider.com/time-trial-mode/
Choose the best bike for you and the course!
As I'm due to be at a meeting at 8pm tomorrow I won't make it to the race unfortunately (and I really mean that, I rather like bologna!) but good luck all.
I'm dog training, hoping to be back in time but it will be tight. Intending to log Zwift on before I go so it automatically takes me to the pen.
I'm sr tight on getting there, out for a fell run with son first, that hill could be extra tough
Well that didn't go as planned at all.
Thought I'd hop on quickly this evening and do a short race. Bloody ftp increase before I've even managed one of the series with a sensible handicap. 😭
316 now according to intervals.icu robbo
🤣🤣🤣
My goal for tomorrow is to just actually finish the race! I did really well on this course last time, hopefully that's a good omen.
My trainer is still winging its way to Garmin after dying 3k from the end of the last race, so I think I’ll need to skip this one 😢. Credit to Garmin inasmuch as it seems to be a no quibble swap under warranty, and they’ll post a new one out as soon as they get the broken one. Quite an expensive thing to post though, at 24kg or so - £40!
No new crank yet either (after that gave up at the start of last week’s race) so the old dumb trainer and power meter on my old bike is also out.
Hopefully the crank is heading to Madison at some point soon to be checked out, but they won’t let me send it direct to them and insist I do it via a bike shop. I got it from Merlin and they say they can’t help because they don’t deal with Madison. So…apparently I should take it to the LBS (that I didn’t but it from) and ask them to send it back. Seems a bit cheeky, but I hope they’ll be ok about it and I’ll happily buy some stuff and pay postage costs.
So, I’ll see you in the start pens if I figure something out, otherwise enjoy yourselves!
Quite an expensive thing to post though, at 24kg or so – £40!
Depending on how long since you bought it they should see you right for that...
I can already say tonight's race is going to be a struggle. Decided to enter and run a half marathon on Sunday (I'm not much of a runner although have had several sproadic attempts since the lockdowns began) and my legs have definitely not recovered. I think my ride up the climb is likely to be "lumbering".
I had a bit of an off on the mtb yesterday and am struggling to do anything involving my ribs, like putting on clothes, moving, breathing etc. so may struggle a bit with tonight's race if I can get onto the bike....
On the plus side apparently I looked impressive as I rolled down the hill with the bike in hot pursuit!
@Oblongbob I had the same thing with Canyon ref the Ultegra crankset. They said contact LBS who then wanted £20 to send off to Madison with no guarantee they'd accept liability/replace under warranty. I didn't bother in the end.
Sorry to see a few out this evening. Can't say I'm looking forward to 20 mins of pain. Despite burying yourself, you always feel you could have gone harder. TT's are a funny thing.
slowpuncheur
TT’s are a funny thing.
Apparently, Chris Boardman said that the first 13 mins of a TT are free.
So, really it's only a 7min or so ride today. Winner Winner....
Going to be an interesting one tonight, I did 'Orange Unicorn' last night and on the nursery/school run I could barely turn the pedals
Hmmmm just noticed that Zwift have schedule race 2 and race 3 tonight at 7:30! That is going to cause a lot of confusion when the join event buttons start appearing!
@nixie I saw that...but in the companion app it seems to have been fixed.
@savoyad, yes looks like it, was just about to message Rob and noticed the event links for 3a and 3b on zwift.com had the correct date. Hopefully its sorted!
Yeh it should be fixed and tonights event is showing up in Zwift Power
https://zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=2292932
Hope it all works out OK!
Soooo, who has been splashing out in the drop shop today 😀
I’m sadly going to miss the start line this week. Have been suffering with a crappy cold for a few days now, laying max effort in to a TT would just about finish me off. Enjoy all!
Are you on shiny new wheels @nixie? They are out of my reach still, but I did upgrade my frame this morning - P5 to a Speedmax so maybe the most expensive drops-per-second transaction ever made.
Take care @funkybaj, better to see you on the start lines later in the series than you make it worse tonight. Good evening to miss as well...
@savoyad I am yes, those and the new frame makes it the most drops I've ever spent!
Well, as I've not spent any drops in about 20 levels, I think I can spare a few to sling at a new frame/wheels 😎
I might have enough drops for a pair of socks 🤔😂.
I think I'll struggle with this evening's course. I didn't overly enjoy it last time.
I have just ridden 2 miles in the real world at a higher pace than i normally would to catch the post box collection and it has demonstrated my lack of fitness to me 😭.
I'll take it easy tonight and aim for a restart to my cycling fitness.
Well a poor start to this series with another DNS tonight, the kids managed to pass their cold onto me, raging throat head and ears today. Sat down with a coffee at lunchtime and woke up 75 minutes later. Hey ho hopefully make it next week, shame I quite like Bologna as well
I've never ridden the course. I've just had pizza and beer.
I'll be in the line though, however I may not be taking it as seriously as some
The first part of the course is 'flat' the last part is uphill and gets steeper and steeper towards the end 😭. I'll be taking it easy.
Wot he said.
The second half just seems to go on and on 😂
No beer yet but my spicy pasta, feta, tomato, broccoli Gousto meal is definitely making its presence felt. My Wife's just gone upstairs and proclaimed "Oh God, it bloody stinks up here...." 😆
I didn't consider buying any upgrades, although now you mention it I do have some drops to spare.
I'm off at 7:31 so there'll be a few people hauling me in, I reckon.
What's the best climb bike/wheels? I've got millions spare
I'm gonna just stick with the Tron bike. Had a quick look, but too much of a faff to decide.
Gone controversial- Spesh TT bike, climbing wheels 🙂
7:30 start so you can all admire it as you pass me 🙂
Failed to make the start. Left zwift running but for some reason was not automatically teleported to the start. I was hoping that as the timing starts from the line not the pen I could leave it running. Oh well, hope you all enjoyed it!
can i puke yet ?
Well that was absolutely hideous!
Started far too enthusiastically, tried to calm down ahead of the climb, and then went into the climb far too hot as well. The last km seemed to take a couple of hours.
Yeah, gonna need some handicap assistance this week, that was painful. Loads passed me I think 🙁
@nixie if you do a Bologna TT during the next week I will use the time for the GC (same applies to anyone). I cant count you in the points but as it is an individual challenge I can use the time
Can basically give the same ride report as gingerflash above, although I quite enjoyed it!!
I'd forgotten about the hill, got half way through it and was giving it the gas so I could empty the tank before the end, very nearly emptied my stomach. Good fun though, some of you lads are proper rapid!
Well I'm counting that as a win for me as I actually finished!
I managed to stick to my plan for the ride, just under FTP for the flat section then at FTP for the hill then empty everything for the last 2-300m. It worked too, pretty much collapsed on the bike as I crossed the finish line 🥵🤣🤮
No FTP increase and my average for the whole race was only 6w below the current FTP so I think I've got a lot of work to do, both on my weight and power.
As predicted, legs not quite there for that one but stuck at it. At least it’s relatively short!
I was about 15w above ftp on the flat and about 35w above on the climb.
96% of max HR for almost 17 minutes.
Awful when I was doing it but feels good now.
Thanks for everyone for taking part in the series!
The results are provisional in case I have made any mistakes. Please let me know.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1La3WIPQUrOIv7FQHkJ_SSKDJsRoQPgCCR8RtR15TrC0/edit#gid=58956244strong >Race 2 - Bologna TT
Cat A:
1. savoyad
Cat B:
1. Gingerflash
2. kirky72
3. BS (Straightliner)
Cat C:
1. yanboss
2. feed
3. stumpy01
Cat D:
1. Lewis Deacon
2. DD (Straightliner)
3. reluctantjumper
Overall Race Winner (with handicaps)
1. DD (Straightliner)
2. Gingerflash
3. retrorick
Sprint Points (The Mall)
No sprint points for this course
Green Jersey Standings
1. andeh
2. nixie
3. savoyad
KOM Points
1. savoyad
2. Gingerflash
3. kirky72
Series Top 3 (including sprint/fastest lap points) Best 6 race points counts
1. mahowlett
2. Haloric
3. Bails
Cheers Robbo! Holy crap. I am pretty pleased with tonight's race.
Sound like a **** but I felt like I had a bit more in the tank heading towards the end. I completely misjudged the distance left and had a bit more left to push. When I realised it was too late to do anything about it really.
My own stupid fault, but pleased with how I did overall.
Well done all. Some good scores on the doors!
Went conservative on the flat then pushed up the hill. Not sure what's going on but felt much easier than last week.
@robbo1234biking Thanks for organising. New FTP of 287 according to zwift
Looks like my 2 mile real world ride earlier paid off 😂.
I started off easy, sitting on a wheel until the bottom of the hill where I was able to ride up at a pace I could just about maintain. Pity my hrm is broke at the mo, last time I used it one of the press studs detached from the band.
Thanks for organising Robbo, that’s the closest I’ve come to throwing up on Zwift forgot how steep the end was and seem to go on for miles!!
Hells bells there's some quick times in there! Well done all.
I managed 19.15 in the 7pm ride if you don't mind chalking me up for the gc robbo.
I made a school boy error and upped trainer difficulty to 100% in the hope it'd push me into bottom ring for the climb rather than the usual desire to be somewhere between the two. In practice it saw me slamming up the cassette on every little upslope on the first few k and spinning out on every down. Whilst it did force me into the small ring for the climb I just ended up stuck at the top of the cassette to grind up the climb a few teeth short of where I'd want to be really then spinning like mad and dumping loads of Watts every time the gradient dipped below about 10%.
On the upside though I got the Tron bike at the end, which was a nice reward.
I always get an FTP increase in this race - @robbo1234biking, up to 285. That’s not going to help my handicap!
That wasn't as bad as last time on the mtb's. I was aiming to go slightly under FTP on the flat and slightly over for the climb... ended up doing the opposite. Felt fine on the flat, but on the climb my HR was hitting 97% of my max, so I had to back off the power. I still had the highest average HR and I'm not a spring chicken anymore. The finish came quicker than I remember from last time and I had power left in my legs. So at least I know my legs are ok, it's my base fitness that has dropped.
After nursing a slow burner of a cold and being on my feet for most of the fay today. I wasnt really sure of what to expect or even if Id make it through the warm up.
However as with all races and previous series once the race starts i give it the beans and empty my tank. these races really seem to drag out a big effort.
I picked a TT bike so tried to make the most of it with a big effort at the start (opposite tactic from my previous race here) but then felt it best to recover slightly before the climb proper. it it hard but after the drag up the viaduct i thought it got easier and totally forgot about the 16% section. my chain came off after the short flat bit after i had gone back into the big ring for a short time. somlost some momentum but the plus side was i had a mini breather.
happy with my time all things concsidered and was actually 1.24 quicker than last Januarys race, was that on the MTB? 48 seconds quicker on the KOM. Weirdly I keep thinking im miles off the fitness from last winters series but maybe not.
Massive well done to the lads who went sub 17minutes, amazing effort. Some big numbers all around and jusy as well for some it was sub 20 mins so didnt lead to a FTP increase. maybe those just other 20mins saw an uplift.
Well that was interesting 500m to go and my bb sheared off at the drive side so I finished the race with one leg...
Spent the rest of the evening slowly working the rest of the shell out of the frame using a notch and screwdriver!
Woah, good effort Lewis!
I was excited that I smashed my time from the last race....but we were on MTB....oh. Still, went alright, did the under/over job but tapered off on the 2nd half of the climb. HR monitor is glitchy as anything, but I was tickling max heart rate for a big chunk of that.
Thanks again Robbo!
Thanks @robbo1234biking. I need to do a 20 min effort so if there is a suitable event I'll post my time.
Some fast times there 😃, well done.
I hate TTs. I wanted to get this one right though after I messed up the pacing last time (when we were indeed on mtbs @kirky72... but you rode harder today).
I targeted 300/350 and rode 302/348 so executed pretty much to plan. This course is a killer tactically though, I think slower on the flat might have paid off still.
Well done @straightliner @gingerflash and @retrorick in the overall, this course hurts.
There's a fast Fridays, at 6pm on (not surprisingly) Friday nixie off that suits you. I think the 6pm Friday races are the thing I miss most about working at home. I guess I'm just weird.
Sounds like a shocker, Lewis! Hope you got it sorted.
Good result! 👍🏻
Savo, being so close to your plan just underlines that youve become such a machine.
my numbers are very similar to your 308 flat and 349, you must be a bit lighter to gain 40 secs on me.
If only i could shed some timber, i managed a little for a while but finding it hard and just entered a working enviroment where cakes seem to be the currency.
Have to say, I enjoyed that in a strange kind of way. When reading up on the route and "best" bike on zwiftinsider they suggested best approach for a TT is to do it as over\unders ftp. So tried doing 1 min over as much as possible and 1 min on or only slightly under. The overs gradually got less over and the unders got more under as the race went on 🙂
@robbo1234biking Zwift upped my ftp from 270 to 278 🙁
@feed the suggestion is under/over, 1 of each on this course. Under on the flat, over on the hill. Basically what Savoyd and kirky did.
New ftp for me 287, despite the one leg effort, can you update please
@robbo1234biking
@robbo1234biking i seem to be missing off the spreadsheet mate
Scaled = Kai Barrett [STW]
Just checked Strava, pre lockdown I was nearly 1:30 faster over that course
@scaled - you are on there. Race 2 Row 15 - you got 23 points. You wont show up on GC as you have to compelte all the races for GC
@dangeourbrain - I would add your time but you didnt race last week so you are out of GC anyway! 🙂
@dangeourbrain – I would add your time but [S] you didnt race last week so [/S] you are out of GC anyway! 🙂
I removed the superfluous bit 😉
Just checked Strava, pre lockdown I was nearly 1:30 faster over that course
I was 1.35 faster on the hill in January, in a mtb ffs 😂
Cheers man, that'll teach me to look at spreadsheets on a mobile!
@savoyad sadly it's not me who did well on the course, it's someone I know who has joined in so they get appended with my username for reference. I didn't score a point (oh, woe is me.... goes off to cry in the corner 🙂 )
Well done everyone! Emptied myself last night, really happy and got 6th and good points.
I always seem to over-perform in the TT (I did well last winter) which I guess maybe as I dont do any other Zwift racing so I'm not so hot on the tactics/drafting side of things.
Enjoying having a bit of focus for the week too, I'll not call it 'training' but I needed something to build on.
@robbo1234biking little win too!
81kg.
well i had a bit of a nightmare start.... entered the pen/conveyor belt. Saw someone was talking about which TT bike to use, so panicked and thought i would quickly buy one. By the time i had spent my drops my race had already started... a few seconds in and i realise my fan wasnt on... jumped off the bike jabbed at the buttons and got back riding.
Only to realise i clearly pressed the wrong button and i had no fan.... Lost about 10-12 seconds (which would have put me about half a dozen or so places higher after handicaps). I then got on the pedals whilst ringing my wife to come down and turn my fan on......
But after that drama i settled in and just went at it. I always get duped by the couple of false summits, just when you think its levelling of it turns a corner and gives you more burn!
But a weirdly enjoyable miserable 20 mins.
Roll on next week!
OK handicaps are live for the double header on Tuesday.
Good luck all. During the first race the button for hte second race should come up. Dont click on it until you have completed the first race! Then you should be able to head to Richmond!
New trainer inbound from Garmin, so hopefully see you all on the start line this week!
Sadly I can’t make it this week, my first week of actual physical work following a year and half of WFH and Teams sees me pulling a 12/10PM shift on Tuesday.
Love a crit as well, not sure about a race directly afterwards mind you. Good luck everybody.
I'm gonna try to make this race...
Too soon after the snip to go on thy MTB in real life, so will try to flog myself for a bit on zwift!
Feeling v tired and unfit, but will do my best!
Think I'll drop my FTP in the zwift app, to let it 'reset' during the crit....
DrP
How do you do that Ian, I might do the same to recheck FTP in my next crit.
I think you just put a low figure in (manually)...
Like, if i pop 200w in (old ftp was 301) then if I give it beans on Tuesday, it'll adjust the ftp to 95% of Tuesdays race figure
DrP
@drp That might not work this week, because you'll be riding for less than 20 minutes in each race. zwiftinsider still says the zwift auto ftp is based on 20 minute power. I thought they updated it to a curve, making it look at shorter durations as well, but I can't see that confirmed or documented anywhere. (It doesn't really matter, it will definitely work next week anyway)