Events in Zwift
 

hi, the few times i have started an event in zwift i have missed them but not becasue i was not connected. it is pretty easy to join but i have not found a way to actually get to the event. it seems about half of the events i have joined i've been lucky enough to actually do. does anyone know the secret? i've poked around for a "get me there" button but it only randomly comes up on my screen. yesterday it came up only 30 seconds before the event.

i found what appears to be a weekly event called "Advanced Zwift Academy Finish Line Ride" and it was a blast.

I register for an event and on the bottom left of the screen the ‘Join Event’ button shows up in the bottom left of the screen about 30 minutes before the start. Also I get a notification in the companion app. Are you logging into to Zwift a couple minutes before the event starts and can you see your upcoming event in the companion app on your phone after you signup?

I’ve only had the button not show up a couple of times in the last four years. In that case I un-registered and re-registered then restarted Zwift and it was fine.

i usually join the event from the companion app while i am getting ready in the house. then i head out to the garage and fire up zwift and PC. i only tried the notification once just yesterday and i got it but hours after the event ended. sometimes i log in to zwift before i join via the companion app, sometimes after. i have found no correlation.

it is nice that you can join an event but would be even nicer if there were a clear way to actually participate. it is things like this that make me wonder why i still pay for this junk. zwift is the crappiest application i routinely use, thank goodness it is only during the off season.

You probably need Zwift support. They’ll probably be interested in the logs to find out what’s going wrong.

based on their track record for fixing bugs in their product i doubt that. zwift is a perfect example where past performance *is* an indicator of future performance.

edit: thanks.

Honestly it's much more likely to be some corrupted file or permissions issue on your PC that prevents the join event pop-up rather than a systematic bug. Especially if you can see that you've signed up for the event on the companion app.
Anyway there is always Rouvy and RGT!

Are on your bike and riding around in Zwift prior to the start of the event? To get the "Join Event" button on the bottom left of the screen you have to be on your bike in the game. It does not matter which world you are in when riding around, you get transported to the correct world for the event. There are several ways to see if you are registered for an event and ready to join. In the events listing of the Zwift.com website there will be a "Going" flag. I register for Fondos and special rides weeks in advance that this is the only place to see that your registration is active. In the Companion App there is a "Going" flag in the events page. On the home screen of the Zwift game (the screen where you choose which world to ride) on the upper right there is a list of upcoming events, and if registered it will have a "Going" flag. Lastly while riding around in the game, 30 minutes before the event start you will get the "Join Event" button on the bottom left.

In five years and hundreds of group rides/races I have never missed getting the "Join Event" button, so if you are missing that there is some other issue with your setup. What device are you using for the Zwift Game?

That's gotta be it. i rarely ever (never?) fire up zwift that far in advance. it is a long time to connect and wait. maybe that explains why i see so many riders not spinning when at the gate.

got in today. two times in a row, a new record for me. looking forward to trying again next week. tomorrow is Vo2Max day.

Spelger - my routine - start up at least 30min ahead of time. Do some free riding before the event and ride around for my warmup - you should get taken to the event automatically 5min before if you're just riding around, but if you don't want to cut it that close you can join the event (blue 'join event' button should be in bottom left) and spin there.

I have not gotten a join event button before - but it's been a long time, and every time it was when I was in the last couple minutes before event start.

This may not have anything to do with your issue, but make sure your phone app and computer are using the same wifi network -- eg. a lot of routers might have a 2.4g and a 5g option. If the 2 devices are on separate options, the 2 apps often won't sync. Jumpstarting the linking also can work (if they are indeed on same network), by turning wifi off and then back on again on your phone.

Yeah you definitely have to be in a world and riding (preferably several minutes in advance as it can take a while to get transferred to the event if it's a big one) before you can get into the event. Lots of people have issues because they thought they could get to the event from the homepage (maybe when they update the ui this will become a possibility but most people like to warm up by riding in world, so they probably haven't made it a priority).

The Advanced Zwift Academy Finish Line Ride will go away about October 25 because that's when the Road Academy ends. It's offered a number of times until then, but you'll have to find a different ride after that.

i do ride before the event but not always possible to ride in the proper world since only three are available on the start screen. if the world the event is in i';; just ride in that otherwise i pick something in watopia.

too bad teh finish line ride will be...finishing. it really was pretty fun. i got a nice workout trying to keep up with the two front runners. they were really fast. i know it is not a race but they really kept up the pace so i tried my best to catch them.

You don't have to be in the "right world" -- it will call you wherever you are. But you need to be somewhere in advance. Also, I found that booting Zwift app before Companion is more successful.

Yeah, any world will do, you just can't be in the home page.

As others said- log I and start riding earlier. Go to a world and just sit sit if you want- the 'joint icon will then pop up.

I fully agree- it would be nice to join directly from the main screen. I can't think of why that shouldn't be an option.

Last year I finally ditched my laptop as it would take 10-30 minutes to connect and then also sometimes drop the ant+ signal right before an event. I kissed countless events because it would take forever to load.

AppleTV changed that. Zwift is what's used on it 97% of the time, but its been worth it. Loading is immediate, the signal has always been perfect, and it's fewer cables to project onto a TV screen compared to my old setup.

As others have said, ensure you’re on, riding at least 5 minutes prior to the event. I say at least 5 minutes, but technically it’s something like 1.5 minutes. However it does seem to be variable and probably depends on a host of factors like how many riders are on Zwift at the time, your own network and setup, etc.
I have only missed two events that I scheduled, and both were because I jumped in at the last minute, within two minutes of event start.
Having said that, I’ll also mention that I’ve learned to focus more on a proper warmup. Not sure what kinds of events the OP is riding, but some group rides can start off pretty hot, and if you get dropped early then well, what’s the fun of that?
When I first started zwifting I would do what the OP did - jump in just in time to catch the event. So I would go from cold legs to 200+ watts in 30 seconds, depending on the event. That hurt, both during the ride and the next day.
At this point, before any event that’s not a very slow recovery ride, I’ll warm up for 10-30 minutes by just jumping in an on some easy route and ride that, up until a minute or two before the event. As everyone has pointed out, if you’re on early enough, the system will prompt you to join. But you do not have to accept that invitation right way. I wait to join so that I can accumulate as many XP as possible during my warmup - I ride around on my warmup until I hit an even km increment and cop the 20 XP, then I hit the join button to get into the event.

Same here. I usually do my warmup rides with Coco Cadence or Dan Diesel to force myself to keep the desired warmup speed (and get the extra drops).

You can go to Zwift.com, use your Zwift login, and sign up for events in advance. Then, when you're in the game before the event starts, you should be asked whether you want to join. You can also find events on Zwiftpower.com, which is now owned by Zwift, and has a more complete listing of events that extends out 7 days.

The Zwift Academy Finish Line ride you found was part of the 2021 Zwift Academy program which ended on Monday. It was intended as a test for those who took part in the Zwift Academy to see if the 6 structured workouts had made them faster. I did ZA this year, and I did get faster, but I think my biggest improvement came from discovering that I could put out more power over a 2 minute segment by spinning a high cadence seated than I could by pushing a low cadence standing.

One thing I would suggest that you might like are the Herd Winter Racing Series races. They're open (all category) races like the finish line rides so you just hop in (7 events each weekend) and race and there is always someone your level (and someone just a bit faster to push yourself to try to catch - and a bit slower if you blow up). This weekend, they're even doing the Legends and Lava course from the Finish Line Ride.

might try a race again. i did one and was honest with my category and i think that was a mistake. i was dropped so early by all others in my category that it left a sour taste in my mouth. just didn't want to do that again. i think my take away from that is to pick a level or two below honest. i don't mind getting dusted, i'm not a great rider, but it just seems strange that i was getting dusted by almost all of those in the next cat down.

i am finding the events to be fun. rode another last night that was essentially a threshold ride for me.

i did an event last week, something about chasing a group of riders or being chansed wiht a 10 min lead for the chasees. i decided to be a chaser. wow was that hard. i was the last A rider but not the last rider. my goal was to reach the end before the first C rider. i read the description incorrectly and there were three laps before the last chase up one of the hills in Austria. i thought there was supposed to be only one lap and i was so darn tired. was fun though becasue i pushed myself pretty hard that day and did a vo2 max the previous day.

Open races, if you don't care about finishing position are great if they're large enough because there are always people to chase.

Foxes and Hares (or whatever they choose to call them) chase races are lots of fun too. My online club team has a periodic club championship which is set up as a chase race. Someone from cat C usually wins because that's where we have the most riders and they can get the best draft advantage as a result (plus we usually have some bigger bodied Cs who are at the top of the W/kg of C and can put out a whole lot of W which really propels the whole group along on the flats - it's a lot harder to get to the top of the A or B W/kg ranks and still have a bigger body).

Ha ha, i'll try the Fox and Hare again but next time i'll be a C instead of an A. i almost gave up becasue of the extra two laps, i was nearing my time limit. glad i did not quit becasue it was pretty darn fun.

I've seen a couple videos by former pros and current Cat1 racers about Zwift races, and uniformly they are taken by surprise by how hard Zwift races are. EVERYONE sprints out of the gate, and then because there really aren't corners you never get a break where you're not pedalling. There's also some question about how realistic the drafting is. Personally, I don't think it's cheating to race in the category where you're actually competitive, no matter what category you theoretically fit into.

I figure everyone is weight doping. I never race, just do group rides, and they have a ridiculous pace most of the time. Although I guess ride leaders can set up a w/kg barrier? Not up on the specifics.

It would be nice if they fixed the wind model, but tbh I wouldn't really like it that much except for under group ride circumstances. I'm there to get exercise. Sometimes I get annoyed that the road goes up and down because I'm trying to hit a power number and then the gradient eases and my power drops.

My dumb trainer (actually rollers with a fork stand) make the resistance constant. Sometimes I spin out on sprints, but I can accelerate a bit more than most on downhills to catch folks who have gotten away from me going up (being fat also helps).