In order to ride with him I have to drop my weight to allow me to keep up. Certainly it impacts the accuracy of race performance and results. With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. So I dont expect to be as competitive vs. a pure cyclist. (ignoring that it evens out and you have the advantage on the hills but lets ignore that because its all about you and you should always podium in every race in your life, because mommy told you that you were special and big mean Zwift is making you work so hard on the flats). This is done by separating riders based on their FTP (functional threshold power) a wattage test you can take part in on Zwift over a 20-minute, 45-minute or 1-hour period. (Its not the only part, of course! Leave the setting unchanged and climbs often feel challenging. Mike, Great article as ever Eric. Zwift is full of cheaters and thats not going to change now. 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. 5x5min, 4x8min but definitely never longer than 8 minutes. This is real frustrating as hes a top u12 racer and wants to see his efforts recognise. 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. For the time being, height and weight will remain visible on ZwiftPower. But theres one problem: this puts you into the B category, and you dont want to race the Bs. Since strava is all that matters of course. I am racing in the Cs finishing in the 40-50s but there are 30 + racers ahead of me posting watt/kilo of A, and strong B racers. Zwift now allows for hiding Zwift automatically connects If you don't own power meter pedals, Zwift's non-contract pricing for a Zwift cycling membership is $15 . My W/Kg has gone from 3.76 to 3.97 without me really improving my FTP. 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. As such, we have agreed to pause this change while we develop tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing while promoting wellness. Im in the same boat. It does not stop cheating at all. Some people, I think, just have a lower HR. Zwift should offer a Validated Racer package for a slight premium over normal membership. To change your profile to have to log in on the Zwift website and then edit the profile there. 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. Id be super interested in the timing you set your weight. This isnt IRL racing it is e-racing. My 3 race FTP is at 4.07w/kg (248w @ 61kg), but Im still in Cat B. Although does WTRL encourage reverse weight doping? This is pretty timely for me as my FTP is 283 and my weight is currently 71.2kg. First up, you'll have to head to Zwift.com and log in, then click on Settings > Profile > Connections and choose 'opt-in' under the ZwiftPower logo. Race specific phase: 3x10min 50-60rpm intervals with . It all has to do with the way Zwift's racing categories work. All the emphasis on physical metrics makes sense for putting together how speed is calculated but not how one can race. Or weight bonuses for completing events that last for a set amount of days or even hours. That's it! .Personally I one of the outliers on height and weight. Zwif: your ultimate guide Threshold HR is around 151 bpm. Well, its adding weight to gain an advantage. I never reverse weight doped. Not everyone has the same HRmax. I understand if someone has a banner day or just bumped up out of upper C to lower B. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Share your thoughts below, and you may also wish to share those thoughts on the actual forum post. You enter a real race,out in the world, you are ready to finish in the top 20 for your best result of your life,then out of the blue a dirt bike rides past you goes tabletop and crossesRead more . What stone have you been living under? They do however have a disadvantage on any flat or downhill. I love reading it. In some cases this even happens unfairly. https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=697996. But without any hard and fast rules, we cant say anything is illegalat least for certain races. In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Mark Cavendish, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen. 2 yr. ago. Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. Someone with my FTP should be CAT B, regardless of weight. people need to stop taking Zwift racing so seriously. You do you. Frustrating to someone who tries so hard to compete in my weight class to get beat by cheaters. Even at my age I still plan to compete in MTB races when the world gets back to racing. There was a problem. Hide the weight who cares let them upgrade all the way to As where you have strict reporting requirements. hanging with the front group is very though for me because i am exactly at the bridge between A and B. 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. it's a good training tool. This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. 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. Now you'll have to head over to ZwiftPower.com and register there. But youre training and racing and getting stronger, and eventually your FTP improves to 260 watts, which is 3.25 w/kg. I now know of over 20 category D zwift users that have said theyre not going to bother with the Zwift races anymore. See how you can support Zwift Insider! This raised concerns within the Zwift Racing Community regarding fairness in racing. Hitting G on your keyboard will do it, or swipe up on iPhone or iPad, etc then tap the graph button. 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.. Im not heavy (68kg), have a typical climber/TT phenotype (no short sprint but good FTP). Great article, Eric. It's a bit more complicated than most website sign-ups, but now you'll be all ready to get started. Is it doping though? 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. I am 42 years-old with a HRmax of ~169 bpm. My best race results as a Zwift B are on flatter routes, and I find my watts per kilo are consistently lower than most of the riders around me. It does the job as described. Case in point: in the A race I mentioned, only one rider was heavier than my 85kg dad bod. Hi Using HRM is difficult as well as you max HRM changes with age mine is 159 flat out but I am over 60. I argue that he is intentionally misrepresenting his weight so he can place higher in B instead of getting shelled in A (like I do). Whether w/kg is the appropriate way to categorise races is anotherRead more , As a 92kg rider, with a w/kg FTP of 289 (or 3.14 w/kg) I wholeheartedly agree. Its only a bit of fun at my level (solid B with the odd podium). Then save your ride and log out. Then everyone would know who is legit or at least somewhat legit. Any thoughts on verifying? I dont know why this is, but i dont care one bit if people are cheating. I have wondered about this subject on a few occasions. SoggyAlbatross2. I may try and snag a couple of cat C golds before taking the break, but definitely wont be reverse weight doping to do so the upgrade to B will be a bigger prize than any gold medal. My power to weight ratio would be the same, but Id get the benefits you get from being a heavier rider. If its a big hill, well then w/kg has us equalised. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? Bath 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. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. It's possible to check just about any kind of Zwift result using ZwiftPower, with the website sortable by leagues, race series and segments. I just we had a better system than category limits, racing license anybody? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Im not too concerned about weight doping really. 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. there's a million and 1 reasons why it is not a legitimate sport. If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. In fact, if in a long ride your weight could change by more than 1kg over the course of that one ride!!! If thats the norm, then I really dont see theRead more . there seems to be a lot of variability in power products and what people are using to feed into zwift. On Zwift I look suspicous. But I will, and Ill get hammered and hopefully improve. I think with a results based system would help as it would the sandbaggers, but it wont eliminate the weight cheats entirely, those that just want to gain a little more w/kg by losing a few virtual pounds. That guy who weighs 300lbs and gets 1st place in Cs for a month straight should be automatically upgraded to Bs and Bs to As. 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. True, but not necessarily in the way you think. And besides, my main goal on Zwift is to not get dropped in the hills during Team Cryo-Gens more hardcore Saturday rides! nothing more. I rarely race, don't care. 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. My FTP/kg is 3.88, which I now know would make me a B racer (3.2-3.9). There could be Zwift level weight bonuses instead of another pair of socks. Sandbagging is pointless if winning means youre going to move up (unless you want to take 3 months off after your win. So am I a super-drafter, the king of indoor efficiency? His 150 or 160 is not comparable at all to what mine would be, I have been Zwifting for a couple of years now I can honestly say I am completely addicted to Zwift. You have lowered your weight and skewed your power graph so it is inaccurate. I think Im just heavier than my competition. 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. Why can we just all race together and the fastest person wins? Hi, very impressive w/kg at 65. Youll move a little slower with the added virtual weight, but youll be able to hang with the front of the Cs instead of getting shelled off the back of the Bs. We mentioned categories earlier as one of the ways in which you can search through your results and statistics, but they're also a method by which you get sorted into races. This is how racing is supposed to work. Why we are treating this differently from actual racing? 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. High intensity: 30/30 and 40/20sec Rnnestad intervals like 3x (10x40/20sec). I completely missed these as I reinvented the wheel, trying to stir up the hornets nest on the Zwift forums the other day. On Zwift Power categories have both a wattage requirement and a w/kg requirement. Some weight dopers are obvious and blatant other times its much less egregious. Your voice is important to us. Work over time is work over time. Read on for our guide on how the app works, how to get set up, and how to analyse your racing. 2022 Race Like A Pro. Why dont you start self-regulating then? And this is why reverse weight doping is a thing. Gain a few (virtual) pounds. 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. As we said in the first post, Assuming race organizers can access the data via ZwiftPower, and the site includes simple tools for spotting potential weight or height dopers (perhaps flagging those who made dramatic changes recently), then hiding weight and height data from the public should work swimmingly.. This is especially true if you are trying to ride with riders you possibly know locally or otherwise. if someone is entering a fake weight on their Zwift profile, the only person they're cheating is themselves, cos they're going to get destroyed out on the roads where it really matters. We like this move from Zwift. I wouldnt personally do it since it throws off training metrics and just isnt true. Blaming Zwift for allowing cheaters is the system problem that gets more people frustrated, upset, etc. But it highlights a bigger problem, and that is the fundamental flaw of using watts per kilo for race categorization. Skinny guys get DQd if they match heavies on the flat for power so they can NEVER win, even in the mountains. All lists are full of 190cm lads weighting 65kgs. Nekkid and I only update my weight in zwift if it moves more than a KG. Yes, we need to be categorized by our race ranking, not power. This clearly shows the power of the Zwift blob it impacts more than just drafting. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. I should mention: many Zwifters have lied about their in-game weight for perfectly acceptable reasons. I think a once-weekly weigh-in is acceptable. With racer categories? 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?. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. Heres an idea: Take weigh out of the equation. I think theres another more interesting angle than just trying to stay down a category. Head to http://my.zwift.com/ and hover your mouse cursor over the 'Download' button under one of your activities. My performance IRL then probably looks pale compared to when Im racing in Zwift, I use the same power meter on Zwift as I do outdoors and I only push it outdoors during FTP tests and during closed road events (i.e. Just short of my 68th birthday I still dont see any point in cheating. Frankly I struggle to believe these are real. I would suggest a free (for now) virtual race license that would outline racer behavior with consequences. Most of the time, this will be what you use to figure out your race category. Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. As a 96kg, 51 year old with an FTP of 317 and a resting HR of about 48 (and a theoretical maximum HR of 174) Im not sure why my lower HR during an event should seen as suspicious. I agree WTRL ZRL races dont feel like they have cheaters. Next up is the most finicky part of the process finding your Zwift ID in order to connect your accounts. At least I can be best in one thing on zwiftpower. 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. nothing less. On one occasion I entered a flat race (Laguardia Loop) following my ZP category (class C), finished almost three minutes down (though since it was a small field I still got third place), and then was disqualified for averaging 3.6 w/kg and 206 watts. Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. I have tended to notice that a significant number of powerful zwifters real world Strava performances pale in comparison to their online achievements. If Zwift can be seen to be doing that then very little need toRead more . 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. First, you need to sign up for an account. Hahahahaha. Zwift lets you adjust the difficulty of your workout, before or even during your ride. I recently won a C race, but it didnt feel like winning as I knew there were 2 categories faster. That a cat rider may win a d race but on zwiftpower they will be DQd for not riding an A race. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. I am always passed by everyone on the way up but can usually catch up on the way down (190cm/93kg). It certainly didnt feel like I had taken it easy when IRead more . I guess I shouldnt be surprised. (I dont recommend this approach, but it proves the point that weight doping is an issue that concerns many Zwift racers. Would love your thoughts, please comment. As some others already mentioned, the bodyweight tends to oscillate over the week and even the day. 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. Stick a few more kgs on to stop you getting upgraded, would that get you a ban? I currently weigh 59kgs but my BMI is 25 which technically overweight. I just got upgraded to CAT A according to zwiftpower. EDIT Found my answer: 250w, Theres a chart about halfway down this page: https://zwiftpower.com/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=5528. The only trouble is the downhill doesnt take as long of course, so the light advantage is obviously better. Using your Mac or PC, you can do it online on the Zwift website. I dont think any of my shorter (under 5ft10) running or cycling friends weights more than that. 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. The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . I started started zwift four months ago as a retirement present to myself. In theory (at least) weight dopers could game the results based categories as well. Response to our post as well as Zwifts own post in their forum were resoundingly negative from members of the Zwift racing community. 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. Yes, smaller riders have less frontal area, but the difference in CdA isnt that much. Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! For me its the most fun to see the progress I make on strava, new PR on climbs or on flats (hanging in on the back of a group) If I would lie about my weight I throw off my goals to Improve atleast make them near impossible for the coming time in the End I dont see the funRead more , I reversed dopped by mistake when I first started Zwift putting my height as my weight and weight as my height. 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. Absolutely impossible. And as well as your race results, you can check your distance ridden, total metres climbed, power peaks from one second up to 75 minutes, and more besides. Keep it on. Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. 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. Youve got people putting out 5+ watts/kilo atRead more . Generally weigh myself once a month. Login Required The Zwift Engineering team is focused on improving security for ZwiftPower users. w/kg is partially based on real world physics. I have to say I weigh myself most mornings in the buff (just my glasses on so I can see the numbers)! . See how you can support Zwift Insider! Ugh! Exactly. Yes us heavier riders have the downhill advantage definitely. Additionally, well be moving forward on hiding height and weight from Zwift Companion and Web. yes, but you are missing my point. I agree Paul great idea. I think one of the biggest issues with weight (and height) in Zwift is that you get punished really hard for something you only have limited control over. 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. As long as people are using reasonable weight/height and arent cheating or changing it drastically all the time (my scales autoupdate my weight, so mine changes once a day, but by small increments), Im much more interested in being able to see the weight of my teammates so I can properly plan my TTT lineup than I am the weight of my competitors. You could attend races where all categories go together (same start, all riders visible) for a while if you find that to be more fun However, I have a lighter and faster son that smokes me head to head. Level 50. If you're putting out enough power, then you can make your way up the ranks and keep on racing. Zwift doesnt like this and disqualifies him on Zwift power. Then weigh yourself, and open Zwift, and see if it reflects the change. Have you considered drinking during a race? I dont really race so I am OK and any workouts are harder this way. 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. Context, Tim, context! You lose 10 liters of sweat during a medium long ride? The categories are power to weight divisions. Food for thought. No one is going to lose or gain 5kg overnight or shrink a 1cm. 240W 50kg riders (4.8W/kg) beat 380W 95kg riders in B category Tempus Fugit time trials. Other planned changes communicated last week, including plans to improve the reporting features in Zwift will be rolled out as planned. Some Zwifters go so far as to social-stalk other riders, comparing their photos to their Zwift weight and calling them out for weight doping. Its going to take a certain amount of calories for a certain person to perform a given amount of work in a given time. Riders weight will rise and fall but under normal circumstances within a range. Is a very strong rider for his age and trains hard. Makes me happy to see that the community is able to speak with one voice if necessary. How big of a problem is reverse weight doping? Racing the As resp. ZwiftPower use 95% of your best 20 minutes during the whole race, so it does not matter if the race is 21 min or 3 hours, you will still be categorized the same way. Thats the graph. The winners are almost always people with recorded weights sub 70kgs, more typically 65kgs, even 59! 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. Im surprised that (off wheel) smart trainers dont have the ability to weigh the rider when they get on the bike. Finally, just head back to ZwiftPower and click 'Connect to my Account'. It impacts the Group Rides and as you said the performance statistics individually. Are you efficient, or just heavy? First, it shows that theyre listening to the community. You weigh 80kg and have an FTP of 248 watts, which works out to 3.1 w/kg. angels stadium covid rules. Why no monitoring on this? If I get down to 52 kilos I can climb well but my sprinting is terrible. As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. Can someone answer why we need the different categories? Enforce race category entry and youll fix much of the problems with Zwift racing. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). Would achieve the same thing. In reality no under 12 is competing with a decent 2nd or 3rd cat (UK system) Ive ridden with enough talented youth riders that this is fact so letting young kids crush half decent amateurs on zwift would be unrealistic. As long as youre being honest with yourself I wouldnt worry about it too much. heavy riders have an advantage on flat courses.. https://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/ plus 60-70kg is perferctly normal body weight for adult cyclists, nothing worth complaining about. Currently trying to convince a friend who is new to Zwift not to reverse weight dope. As a 59/60kg rider who always seems to have a higher w/kg than the people I finish around, Ive been curious about adding 50% to both my weight and http://ftp. How does it work? He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. I use Zwift to get in shape and prepare for outside riding. I would say 1kg or more is more normal. otherwise no way in hell hes beating you. A good rule we follow is to take our FTP divide it by 3 and then put that in as our weight (in Kilograms). If the categories are split using purely w/kg a lighter rider doesnt have any advantage up the climbs at all. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.) The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! But your point is correct, if someone has a good string of results, upg them regardless of cat limits, and zwift needs to lock them out of cat in-game for it to be effective. this is how it is in real life , big ian stannard putting in hard fast miles on the front for (was) team sky , while all the small guys tuck in the peloton getting drafted along saving energy for later on in the race , because they can`t compete on the flat with the big boys . 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. The first way is to head into your profile. 2.5w/kg (215Watts) is hard for me to hold for extended periods but I keep trying. I do ZHR Masters on a Tuesday night. People still rode at B level pace in a C group. You only change it in Zwift and it should get picked up with regular backend processing periodically (maybe overnight). 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. Adjusting Difficulty Before Your Workout. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. I mean youve both got a point. Hes asking for a fair race. Keep hammering the point and finding ways that Zwift can improve controls. They CANNOT win. I have been frustrated with the GC results in the current Tour of Watopia series.
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