Last week I jumped into my first race and it was at the last minute on a whim because I was getting tired of my training ride. Its going to take a certain amount of calories for a certain person to perform a given amount of work in a given time. Certainly it impacts the accuracy of race performance and results. Doing this will bring up a box at the bottom of the browser showing a web address something similar to: https://s3-fit-prd-uswest2-zwift.s3.amazonaws.com/prod/000000/a2e1b7f8-27610843. If you are on the lighter side, try picking some climbing races. Most of the time, this will be what you use to figure out your race category. however 2 riders at the same w/kg, heavier riders have the advantage on flats & descents: https://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/. I love reading it. 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 . I climbed the Alpe last night for Stage 3 of the Tour of Watopia, missing my target of going under an hour by just over 12 seconds (Aargh!!). This is real frustrating as hes a top u12 racer and wants to see his efforts recognise. Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. You should do much better at your actual weight in that case. You have lowered your weight and skewed your power graph so it is inaccurate. I don't think you can do it from the game itself. Why you can trust Cyclingnews Racers who get top 1,2,3 more than a few times get upgraded period. There is no reason I should be gettingRead more , Sounds like its time to start racing the Bs, @guest_35522! Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. Current system means that heavy weight top of cat riders climb at the same speed as skinny guys with same wpk but can have 60% more power on the flats. We are taking an iterative approach to the ongoing upgrades to the back end of the site. Last week we announced Zwifts plans to remove rider height and weight from ZwiftPower, among other changes (read the full post here). I have tended to notice that a significant number of powerful zwifters real world Strava performances pale in comparison to their online achievements. I have wondered about this subject on a few occasions. See how you can support Zwift Insider! Otherwise I stand by my comment. Among the communicated changes were plans to hide the visibility of height and weight from ZwiftPower in an effort to encourage individual health and wellness. seeing a riders weight in ZP and any changes made to the reported weight may help internet stalkers feel better about their poor race performance but it doesnt actually help identify cheats. Updating Your Public Profile Zwift takes your physical measurements into account for things like leaderboards, speed, and your avatar's physical appea. This is why for a while I was ranked as a C even though my w/kg was higher than 3.2 since my watts werent over 200. As such, we have agreed to pause this change while we develop tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing while promoting wellness. People with eating disorders, or a proclivity toward extreme dieting. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? look at the article. 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. its only cheating myself, instead I would prefer to spend that 2 painful hours doing something honestly and feel proud of it than zooming through it in sub 60m and not reap the same benefits (or in my case, pain). Keep it on. Why dont you start self-regulating then? If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. Would depend entirely upon the bike geometry, how much weight is over the front wheel and how much over the back. My FTP/kg is 3.88, which I now know would make me a B racer (3.2-3.9). I dont think any of my shorter (under 5ft10) running or cycling friends weights more than that. I just we had a better system than category limits, racing license anybody? Or theyll ride races 1-2 categories below their actual W/kg so they can still win and feel like that theyre legends. It's also possible to filter results and data by categories, such as different age or power ranges. Exactly, although As arent that regulated, unless you hit the premier class, which is a very small section of A riders. Note how he wins races while his max HR is around 30 beats below his maximum. If the categories are split using purely w/kg a lighter rider doesnt have any advantage up the climbs at all. Would love your thoughts, please comment. the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. IRL cycling pros are not exactly heavy weights and lean-ness is highly encouraged. Thats not what I recall at all, everything is a race, even if you werent aware . In IRL there is a double draft. There is no cat C rider at 58kg who has a hope in hell of beating me in any race. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. The easiest way to qualify for a higher category is to cut weight. either a) ur starting ur sprint way too late or b) ur leading him out. 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 . We like this move from Zwift. Currently trying to convince a friend who is new to Zwift not to reverse weight dope. Zwift doesnt like this and disqualifies him on Zwift power. As an ambitioned A Racer with no smart scale, I stick to the higher end of the spectrum when setting my Zwift weight once a week. Absolutely impossible. Zwift should offer a Validated Racer package for a slight premium over normal membership. Other planned changes communicated last week, including plans to improve the reporting features in Zwift will be rolled out as planned. The Forerunner 265 series watches have become Garmin's lowest-priced AMOLED display endurance sports-focused watch, coming in at roughly half the price of the Garmin Epix series launched a year ago - but here with full multiband GNSS support on all Forerunner 265 units, while also adding in Training Readiness - a major Garmin endurance sports focused feature. It does the job as described. nothing less. Additionally, well be moving forward on hiding height and weight from Zwift Companion and Web. Someone with my FTP should be CAT B, regardless of weight. I think Im just heavier than my competition. I tried racing a D race, and finished way off the front behind about 2/3 of riders after Id ridden at 2.9W/kg for the race. Im 170cm and currently 61kg with an ideal triathlon racing weight of 59kg. (I dont recommend this approach, but it proves the point that weight doping is an issue that concerns many Zwift racers. 2022 Race Like A Pro. The race I did had all categories racing together with a mass start, so the categories felt arbitrary as my place was not within my chosen category but across the whole field anyway. And flags height and weight changes if they go up or down alot. On a flat ride I would beat every sub 60kg cat B rider too. The 33-pound Hub is 14 pounds lighter than the 47-pound Wahoo Kickr, even though the two trainers are almost exactly the same size. Just short of my 68th birthday I still dont see any point in cheating. Cyclingnews is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. That's it! Maybe with a KICKR Climb it might be possible. 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. also interesting about this equation are the: wattage data points and the zwift computations of W/Kg. That's pretty straightforward the usual email, username, password, terms and conditions so you won't have any trouble with this step. I use Zwift to get in shape and prepare for outside riding. I was just naturally heavy and it put me at the top of the C class in w/kg. 2 yr. ago. But It doesnt mean that that person is going to be the person riding the bike on the trainer during the race does it. Bikecalculator suggests not Go to http://bikecalculator.com/ enter an 85kg rider, riding on the drops for 16.2kms (ie an ITT) leaving all else unchanged. The only place where being heavy helps is on the decent, which are almost all short (except Ventoux and Alpe de Zwift), and as a heavy guy (85kgs) I need to recover on the decent. If so, that makes sense to me and I can absolutely see the point of that. I never thought i should weigh myself with my kit on. I started started zwift four months ago as a retirement present to myself. They CANNOT win. Then everyone would know who is legit or at least somewhat legit. It lets Zwift racers and race organisers track results and check out all the details of the races they've participated in, as well as monitoring and analysing their data. This isnt IRL racing it is e-racing. I rarely race, don't care. There are two ways to do this. My 3 race FTP is at 4.07w/kg (248w @ 61kg), but Im still in Cat B. The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . I am not saying that everyone with a low weight on zwift is cheating, but I am suggesting that there are many who are because zwift favours light riders, and people do like to win. I have a Withings scale and in the Zwift Settings, it shows up as connected. At least I can be best in one thing on zwiftpower. Some people, I think, just have a lower HR. As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also runs The Leadout newsletter and oversees How to Watch guides throughout the season. You can record your weight n height n have it verified by experts etc up to five minutes before an event. ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. would that be cheating then ? Bump your Zwift weight up to 84kg and even with your new and improved 260-watt FTP youre only at 3.1 w/kg! I suffer from excess sweating and will easily lose 10kg in a race on Four Horseman, for example (although Im certainly not the norm, but to say no one is untrue). Most of my ZwiftRead more . But youre not affecting anyone elses experience. Id say physics does! I have no idea. Im in the same boat. triathlon). Whilst this might be the case, as Eric implies in flat races light weight riders have to work harder to stay in touch with the heavier riders in the bunch. This covers name changes as well as weight/height changes during an event. See https://zwiftinsider.com/how-does-zwift-calculate-my-speed/, I think if a racer doesnt want to cat up in order to keep winning in their current cat, she or he would likely just go the traditional sandbagging route (as others have suggested here). 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). I think the Zwift algorithm is quite relevant because it implies a good workout in any race for any kind of rider (and thats what we are looking for). To change your profile to have to log in on the Zwift website and then edit the profile there. ur allowed +/- 5% weight for pro zwift races so +/- 0.5 kg is not going to make a difference :p. add weight if u want to stay in D. lower weight if u wanna move to C. up 2 u. The first way is to head into your profile. I am a long time racer in NorCal and cheating is cheating. With my question answered as to what I should pick for my next race, Id delete my original post if I could, but I cannot figure out how. My power to weight is decent at about 4w/kg. I am alleging that weight cheating is endemic in zwift, especially among those who care about winning. . Not everyone has the same HRmax. Using your Mac or PC, you can do it online on the Zwift website. You only change it in Zwift and it should get picked up with regular backend processing periodically (maybe overnight). Thats the graph. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips. I wont do and will rather try my very best to compete with the As. In real life, Id dust that guy. Nailed it. Sandbagging is pointless if winning means youre going to move up (unless you want to take 3 months off after your win. Zwift essentially encourages people to be less than truthful about their weight. They do however have a disadvantage on any flat or downhill. I do find it amazing, funny and sad that IRL at several Ironman events me, a C rider, beat many A riders in the cycling segment. As a Triathlete, I have a different perspective when racing and riding on Zwift because the vast majority of Zwifters (according to Zwift and Strava) are only cycling; whereas Im also training by Running and Swimming. I said if its not done during a competitive Zwift event, its not a problem. I would include chasing Strava Zwift KOMs as a competitive event (but I could see how what I said could be interpreted otherwise. Context, Tim, context! The only way for complete cheat free racing is in the zwift Pro race which is all done in a single room with all riders together. So am I a super-drafter, the king of indoor efficiency? (Its not the only part, of course! I understand if someone has a banner day or just bumped up out of upper C to lower B. I lost some weight during these few months and gained on FTP Now facing going to C and not getting any good results within the category, Eric, thanks for bringing this to light. Blaming Zwift for eating disorders is not sensible. I have been cycling since I was a kid and now close to 50. there's a million and 1 reasons why it is not a legitimate sport. Because narcissistic people want to get validation from somewhere/someone that theyre special/different and if they cant get it legitimately theyll lie, cheat, and steal to do so. This calculates that this heavy rider would take 23:14 to do the distance a justRead more , Everyone has a sweet spot for weight. Ive done multiple races where my main goal was to keep the watts as low as possible while hanging with the front group. 240W 50kg riders (4.8W/kg) beat 380W 95kg riders in B category Tempus Fugit time trials. This can be seen by comparing Zwift physics with real life physics (calculated by websites likeRead more . Great drafting skills!, Heres the thing: I probably am a fairly efficient racer, when I want to be. Had assumed I just rode inefficiently. I currently weigh 59kgs but my BMI is 25 which technically overweight. Frankly I struggle to believe these are real. I dont think so. I still have no sprint kick so Im never winning anything anyway. For example, if a rider has an FTP of 210 watts and weighs 75 kilograms, that means the rider's FTP is 2.8 w/kg. My power to weight ratio would be the same, but Id get the benefits you get from being a heavier rider. We are both lighter riders and find the w/kg categorisation system frustrating (unfair even) but its what we have at the moment I think most people feel like they have a right to be competitive but this simply is not the case and ifRead more . In order to ride with him I have to drop my weight to allow me to keep up. I currently use the Garmin Smart Scale so I may invest in the Withings scale. Kudos to Zwift for listening to their customers and admitting they made a mistake. If you've already created an accountcheck out the s. Riders weight will rise and fall but under normal circumstances within a range. IRead more , Aaron, do you know what is the wattage requirement for Cat A? Maybe they should display and categorise HR as a %age? And this is why reverse weight doping is a thing. What stone have you been living under? Level 50. Im surprised that (off wheel) smart trainers dont have the ability to weigh the rider when they get on the bike. 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. for example,Read more . What particularly annoys me is being beaten by light but moderately powerful riders doing individual time trials on flat courses. I am 42 years-old with a HRmax of ~169 bpm. Once you have a number for your FTP in watts, divide it by your weight in kilograms. below this level you just have to take people's word for it. Since strava is all that matters of course. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. However, I do understand Kens point. It's a real community hub. On the flats and descents she crushes her w/kg field. Threshold HR is around 151 bpm. That a cat rider may win a d race but on zwiftpower they will be DQd for not riding an A race. Ive connected my garmin scale with this app https://smartscalesync.com/?utm_source=tr Have you considered drinking during a race? Thats hilarious. Maybe also add weight change limit 2kg per week? Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. However, I definitely recommend entering some races. I have heard women admit on social rides that their zwift weight is their goal weightRead more . 2. As there is no official A+ CAT there is nothing to worry about, but if there were, I would be right between A and A+. 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. Too light and watts go down as does watts per kilo. 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. light guys categorically do NOT have an advantage on the flats vs heavier guys, assuming both riding at same w/kg, heavy guy WILL be going faster on Zwift. But maybe Im just thinking like a lady its hard for me to imagine a lady voluntarily gaining weight, even virtual weight. Click on the Settings button and you'll find the Trainer Difficulty slider. Stick a few more kgs on to stop you getting upgraded, would that get you a ban? Hahahahaha. Though our intent is to protect potentially vulnerable users by removing labels that can trigger unhealthy behaviours, we also hear the concerns of the racing community. If you're putting out enough power, then you can make your way up the ranks and keep on racing. It would be easy to deny it was intentional. Well Eric, my weight is plummeting, and Ill probably be taking a break from Zwift over the summer, so Im sure the upgrade is coming very soon!!! If you gave the power, it will come out. Also a really frustrating thing is why doesnt Zwift autoRead more , is he riding in the right category? If you were to meet meRead more . Well, imagine youre a strong C racer. I recently won a C race, but it didnt feel like winning as I knew there were 2 categories faster. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. (Image credit: George Marshall / Zwift) The first thing you notice when the flag drops, is Zwift racing is so much harder than your run of the mill bike race . Zwift doesn't need a fancy code fix, they don't need special anti-cheat software, special post race investigations, and they don't need to change anything other than when the game updates personal attributes. Any thoughts on verifying? How many cyclists do you see in real life who are 65kgs, but they are ten a penny on Zwift. bottom line for me, its a virtual training world, a virtual hammer isnt the same as a real hammer. This is pretty timely for me as my FTP is 283 and my weight is currently 71.2kg. Seeing someone race cat A/B on Zwift and then be at the back of the age group pack in a local tri/ bike race canRead more , I understand what you are saying, but the average racer who can legitimately churn out x watts/ kilo for minutes on end will be doing more with that than just being a zwift warrior (if they are getting onto the road to really ride and not just commute), and, traffic lights or not, their real-world rides will at least give resemblance to their zwift output, even if only for certain segments at a time. 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. In a race not in Zwift it is very easy for people to recongize who I am. It impacts the Group Rides and as you said the performance statistics individually. Or weight bonuses for completing events that last for a set amount of days or even hours. What is that!?! All lists are full of 190cm lads weighting 65kgs. was the lowest of top 15 riders. My HR numbers are almost identical to yours. Youve got people putting out 5+ watts/kilo atRead more . People still rode at B level pace in a C group. In spectacular and shocking fashion. Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. On the other hand, I am extremely anti-weight doping and agree with the post pointing out there is no incentive or even reason to be heavier. It doesnt appear that people are abiding by the categories. Nice work! My IRL time and my Zwift time are almost the same. As long as youre being honest with yourself I wouldnt worry about it too much. Dont worry about your weight fluctuating through the week and remember you gain 0.5kg by drinking a half-litre bidon and lose it again through sweat (and by going to the toilet). Zwif: your ultimate guide (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). Blaming Zwift for allowing cheaters is the system problem that gets more people frustrated, upset, etc. Im glad you wrote about this. I used to live next to the Alpe and later, next to the Ventoux. Two months ago he had a magic weight loss on zwift. nothing more. Yes, there are plenty of variabies, but power is power. This is especially true if you are trying to ride with riders you possibly know locally or otherwise. Okay, I now see in ZP where it has my minimum racer category (B) in my profile based on my last race, so I can choose B or A going forward. Tour de Zwift events were races? Chip on the shoulder there or what? Ride On. A thank you to Zwift HQ for listening to the feedback from the racing community and taking action. Why we are treating this differently from actual racing? Generally weigh myself once a month. I think that point based system is an improvement, but it doesnt address the weight issue. Future state can add a nominal cost to said license to support clean racing via Zwift tech updates. What you see a lot are riders who are (claiming) to be really light with decent but not exceptional watts. Connecting to ZwiftPower Before you can start using ZwiftPower, you'll need to create an account. Hitting G on your keyboard will do it, or swipe up on iPhone or iPad, etc then tap the graph button. How about simply showing a percentage variance. Race specific phase: 3x10min 50-60rpm intervals with . But I will, and Ill get hammered and hopefully improve. My W/Kg has gone from 3.76 to 3.97 without me really improving my FTP. Theres also fitnesssyncer.com that is free up to 4 sync services.