Originally Posted by
rubiksoval
Coming back to this because it's very much inaccurate.
A zwift race is physiologically nothing like a real race. I've said this a number of times. The power is 100% different in a zwift race and an actual race. Physiologically they are very dissimilar. Comparing a Zwift A race with a p/1/2 race, a zwift race is very steady state with little to no coasting and far fewer and lesser peak outputs (500 watts is typically more than enough for nearly any surge save for the finish). Real races are typically way more stochastic with way more and way higher peaks, and way more lulls and coasting. 700-1000 watt surges are essentially the norm in crits and road races with hills or attacks. And significant amounts of softpedaling/coasting are also the norm.
I'm sure there are differing power demands in a P1/2 race versus a similar level race in Zwift because of the drafting and such, I was stating that for me, as someone who is usually just a pack surfer in 3/4 races, my HR and power are remarkably similar between a Zwift race and a real race. There are surges on hills and out of corners, coasting on downhills, etc. Again, it's not exactly the same for all racers, I'm sure, but for me I've found that it's as close to a real race in terms of training as I can get. Have you done any Zwift racing yourself, or is this based on having looked at other people's data?