ancker

Are you in the wrong category? I was at my FTP or above pretty much the whole time in both of the races I've done.
I need to add a few more in. If it wasn't for the all-out sprint at the start, I'd almost call them fun.

Ttoc6

https://cvrworldcup.com/blog/racer-s...-cartwright-2/

This guy is one of the best zwift racers in the world. I'll take a quote from the article.

"The decision was made in July to ditch all my trainer based interval sessions and simply take part in three Zwift races per week,"

If you choose to do something like this, I think it could work. The basics of training principles still apply here. 2-3 hard days a week, never back to back, with recovery or longer rides in between as time and fatigue permits.

rubiksoval

A category. Guess it just depends on the races.

They were fun. At this point, though, I'm getting pretty sick of them. This has been a really crappy winter. Only ridden outside 3-4 times the last month and it's starting to totally suck out any motivation. I feel for those up North who deal with this on a constant basis!

rubiksoval

Ha!

Yeah, at 77 kgs and 5 w/kg, his aerobic threshold is everyone else's anaerobic!

Radish_legs

On Saturday I did my first outdoor group ride in a good while. I had about 23 hours of trainer work between group rides. I was curious how I would do.

The above threshold output was painful. I ended up having my garmin fall off my bike, and had to go back to get it. I caught back on when the group was stopped at a light. And then being at the back of a big group with guys dropping off, and a crosswind of probably 18mph with big gusts. I ended up letting the main group go. And rode with the remnants.

So, not too thrilled about my development with the Zwift FTP builder plan right now. But I've heard the TrainerRoad guys talk about this. Guy works on the trainer doing workouts, gets back to the group ride, thinks he is going to do well, and gets his socks blown off. And thinks he wasted his time. I think they made the point that the VO2max type stuff will come back very quickly. So I hope that is the case. I'm certainly in no shape to race right now.

I'm rethinking whether I want to do anymore of the Zwift FTP plan at this point.

TheKillerPenguin

It's simply too easy. You've already got racing in your legs, you more than likely need more stress to maintain fitness than a newer rider needs to gain fitness.

unterhausen

I over-trained last year on the mid volume TR plans. I kept up my plan when I started riding outdoors, and lost track of my training stress. Certainly should have tapered more due to the outside riding. I'm a little concerned about that this year.

hubcyclist

The thing with trainerroad plans is, if you follow them to the script, they will have you taper to near zero TSB (training stress balance, if you're using a performance manager chart). I'm on week 4 of the high volume sweet spot 2 and am pretty negative for tsb (-31 yesterday on my rest day) and will stay near that level for another 2 weeks but the week 6 rides help to bring the balance up.

Radish_legs

I did a zwift race tonight. I set a 30-minute power PR. I think that's a lot more stress than even one of the tough FTP workouts. On the other hand there might be an argument that the FTP workouts is what let me set the pr. LOL, I'm not sure what to do. I might just keep doing the racing.

furiousferret

IMO competition is great for training. There's no better interval than realizing if you don't put in a max effort you're getting dropped, or digging deep for a win. Even in a video game race.

The canned workouts are probably better but ultimately if you're having more fun doing the races you're less likely to burn out.

trainsktg

I achieved my three best 20-minute powers in the three Zwift races I've participated in.

Keith

rubiksoval

I think exactly the opposite.

This is precisely what I think leads to burnout.

Guys are killing themselves 2-3 times a week in these fake races that mean absolutely nothing, in the middle of January, and then by April and May when the real races take off (in many parts of the country) they are absolutely toast.

If your season is over by May, maybe it'll work, but if you're doing a traditional Mar-Sept. schedule, could be a bit much.

TMonk

Like me FF lives in SoCal, where races are shifter earlier in the year compared to most places. The big stage races here are Feb-April, with a few big crits going into the summer but not much really.

Ygduf

can you point me to an amateur race that actually means something tho?

tetonrider

sadly, it seems like racing (road racing) in most regions is done these days by june, maybe july.

Radish_legs

so which is more impressive? Winning the local weekly evening crit, or winning a Zwift "C" race with 100 entries?

furiousferret

People assume everyone but the A riders in Zwift are fudging the stats, so the evening crit.

We're done by mid August but even after that may have more races than most of the US... maybe. We lost a bunch of races this year so our region is in chaos (No State RR, TT, or Crit even on the schedule). Its supposed to all be replaced but that hasn't happened yet.

Ygduf

outside of either event, nobody cares. like all races.

mattm

I'm offended you even asked that question!

Ygduf

because the answer is so obvious!

rubiksoval

Eh, this is the bike racing forum, where the audience is assumedly (that's apparently not a word?) trying to race their bikes. And in that case, then actual racing trumps video gaming.

To a different audience, the opposite could be true.

Edit: and lots of amateur races mean something. Otherwise winning/doing well in them wouldn't get people pro contracts.

rubiksoval

One is an actual race, one is not.

Whether or not you find one more important isn't so much the question as figuring out what exactly you are or are not doing. If you care about winning a bike race, then winning zwift is not that.

rubiksoval

Seems like half the field in the Ds, Cs, and Bs are disqualified for one thing or another, so probably about right.

Thibaut Pinault raced in a C race the other day... Think he got 9th? Hope it didn't take too much out of him, what with the TdF still being 6 months away and all...

Ygduf

I mean you're conversing with that guy who is doing virtual races and seems to put some value into them.

I'm not being intentionally nihilistic or anything, I think all races matter in that they are fun, but fun varies person to person so I guess race value does as well. Do many actual pros go pro via winning amateur races? I thought most came from development teams and were identified before adulthood.

Ttoc6

A good result on zwift gets a fancy strava name. A good result in a "real" race gets a mushy instagram post cross posted to all my channels.