If you were to meet meRead more . 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. 2022 Primr RWB League - Cycling Ireland eRacing Winter League. Im older heavier and relativily fit. You do you. Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. When a rider can change categories by modifying their virtual body weight, thats an issue. Keep hammering the point and finding ways that Zwift can improve controls. I started zwifting about 2 1/2 months ago.I did the ftp test and put in the correct weight.Ive no idea how precise my trainer is tho.what i do know is,Ive managed to go from cat c to a. How does being heavier help a cyclist? you may ask. That is pretty low compared to most people on zwiftpower. I am 65 kg with FTP of 270 W, which equlas 4,15 w/kg. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. Thats not what I recall at all, everything is a race, even if you werent aware . Would achieve the same thing. How do you actually update your weight on ZP?? Sure, easy! At all. Tour de Zwift events were races? Not everyone has the same HRmax. As a relatively light 69kg rider, I often feel at a disadvantage in the flatter races, of which there are many more than hilly ones. Theyre only cheating themselves and it all comes out in the wash eventually. 2 Likes _Jynxy_EVO (:)) October 1, 2021, 1:41pm #8 thxs mike, Hes had to up his weight as he is only 35kg ( upped time 45kg) he but puts out 220watt so his ftp is 5.5-6w/kg in a race. Two months ago he had a magic weight loss on zwift. Absolutely impossible. Best Zwift setups: Indoor cycling setups to give you the competitive edge. Blaming Zwift for eating disorders is not sensible. While most Zwifters seemed to understand and even appreciate the intent behind the change, there was concern that removing this information would result in increased height/weight doping. My power to weight is decent at about 4w/kg. I think theres another more interesting angle than just trying to stay down a category. If you've already created an accountcheck out the s. I take issue with the weight doping is okay in none competitive events because of strava. What stone have you been living under? Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips. On a tablet or smartphone, you can download the. Noob question though, whats the etiquette around weighing with kit on or off. Future state can add a nominal cost to said license to support clean racing via Zwift tech updates. Last week I did the prl full and Uber pretzel and tried to get #1 by weight on those segments. I dont really race so I am OK and any workouts are harder this way. , Myself being a lighter rider who fluctuates some 2kg during a week I tend to always use my upper weight giving me a lower Wkg. I have a Withings scale and in the Zwift Settings, it shows up as connected. Most of the time, this will be what you use to figure out your race category. However, I was able to navigate to the settings page by doing the following. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. I was told that was possible but I couldnt see how. In IRL there is a double draft. 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. Exactly, although As arent that regulated, unless you hit the premier class, which is a very small section of A riders. Whatever your answer, some people will never like it, but there has to be a clear, credible answer for the majority to support. Zwift power usually looks at numbers vs the category race he entered. 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. Just like the CEO promised us rowing years ago, right? 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.. Or theyll ride races 1-2 categories below their actual W/kg so they can still win and feel like that theyre legends. They are not, and never were, skill classes of any kind (ie. Im in the same boat. bottom line for me, its a virtual training world, a virtual hammer isnt the same as a real hammer. Ive connected my garmin scale with this app https://smartscalesync.com/?utm_source=tr People still rode at B level pace in a C group. So its not that easy for light people to hide in the pack and benefit from the draft in Zwift, which is half the reality (in many ways its easier IRL). how do i change my weight on zwift power - popupafrica.com 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. Id say physics does! 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?. I currently use the Garmin Smart Scale so I may invest in the Withings scale. Note how he wins races while his max HR is around 30 beats below his maximum. Threshold HR is around 151 bpm. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? But theres one problem: this puts you into the B category, and you dont want to race the Bs. Problem solved! Its also why the Zwift Transparency Facebook group was created, where racers post videos of themselves weighing in using a particular protocol which makes it difficult to fake your numbers. Race specific phase: 3x10min 50-60rpm intervals with . 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. 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. Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. Zwift is full of cheaters and thats not going to change now. To change your profile to have to log in on the Zwift website and then edit the profile there. There could be Zwift level weight bonuses instead of another pair of socks. More of an issue than thisRead more . If you're on Zwift and planning to get racing, then signing up to the third-party app ZwiftPower (opens in new tab) is an essential step. Thats a good thing. Kudos to Zwift for listening to their customers and admitting they made a mistake. But youre not affecting anyone elses experience. The guy who got first weighs 106kg on strava but 45kg and only 411 on zwift. (Same effect in a sprint, just harder to isolate). In spectacular and shocking fashion. It's a real community hub. Even at my age I still plan to compete in MTB races when the world gets back to racing. And atRead more . 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. I am not in the least bit interested in competition cycling, so no point in doping in either direction as i would only be cheating myself. Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. yes, but you are missing my point. Nice work! 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. Why no monitoring on this? Chip on the shoulder there or what? Ive seen many A Riders with 300 FTP on Zwift who I beat by a HUGE MARGIN at triathlon events, including the cycling portion. They do however have a disadvantage on any flat or downhill. 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). All lists are full of 190cm lads weighting 65kgs. Garmin sets your zones based on your maximum heart rate, while Zwift defines it as 76 to 90 percent of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP), which is the highest power you can sustain for 20 . This clearly shows the power of the Zwift blob it impacts more than just drafting. It would be easy to deny it was intentional. 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 I know its just virtual but my godi hope they enjoy their lies. Just from riding regularly I went from 166 FTP to 187 in 800 miles over a 2 1/2 months. Im 70 inches tall and 156 pounds right now vs 166lb on Jan 1. How does it work? Though our intent is to protect potentially vulnerable users by removing labels that can trigger unhealthy behaviour What are they trying to protect? Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. Now you'll have to head over to ZwiftPower.com and register there. 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. Have you ever compared numbers for calories burned, power output and even elevation ridden for a Zwift ride uploaded to Strava? See how you can support Zwift Insider! My 3.9w/kg (a new PR!) (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). Fact ! Changing weight - ZwiftPower Community - Zwift Forums The other race, events, and activities are needed to display that data. Head to http://my.zwift.com/ and hover your mouse cursor over the 'Download' button under one of your activities. Honest mistake on my part and one I wont make again, so fair enough to be filtered outRead more , Related (and apologies if the answer is obvious but Ive only done one Zwift race), really what is the point of the categories? Enforce race category entry and youll fix much of the problems with Zwift racing. 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. Many riders is talking about cheating, when someone enters a lower category but it's not, in my opinion. 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. 2022 Race Like A Pro. My IRL time and my Zwift time are almost the same. Incrasing virtual weight would probaly downgrade me to B again. The key phrase there is have the same W/kg its very easy to boost your W/kg simply tell Zwift you are lighter than you really are. Once I hit 185 its either sit up and catch my breath of fall of the bike. Leave the setting unchanged and climbs often feel challenging. If you set your weight high enough that you fail to do well you will drop in the categories. Thanks I disagree with you on this point. 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. I got my 100kph badge on the Bologna course. As Zwift racer James Eastwood so aptly put it, The community dont want to see peoples weight they want fair racing.. In order to ride with him I have to drop my weight to allow me to keep up. Keep it on. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. If I get down to 52 kilos I can climb well but my sprinting is terrible. Im surprised that (off wheel) smart trainers dont have the ability to weigh the rider when they get on the bike. Im not heavy (68kg), have a typical climber/TT phenotype (no short sprint but good FTP). Lucky forRead more . I still have no sprint kick so Im never winning anything anyway. Thank you for signing up to The Pick. What particularly annoys me is being beaten by light but moderately powerful riders doing individual time trials on flat courses. The bottom line is that in any competition there will always be someone who wants to cheat to win.Read more . ZwiftPower - Login There's a forum, too, so that users can discuss ongoing race series, find out about upcoming events and have any queries answered and problems solved. Context, Tim, context! He argues hes not gaining an advantage. Zwift Hub Smart Cycling Trainer Review: An Affordable Way to Ride Good question. I have been frustrated with the GC results in the current Tour of Watopia series. Someone sandbagging will get promoted out of category and will not be allowed to reg for lower categories. First, you need to sign up for an account. Share your thoughts below, and you may also wish to share those thoughts on the actual forum post. (a is tough and im struggling at max h/r for most of the race).Ive gone from 87kgs to 80 kgs in this time and feel fitter than ever. Although does WTRL encourage reverse weight doping? Im about to end up in the same situation (last races at 3.99, 3.98 and 3.99 W/kg) and Im not really worried about being promoted to A. Yes us heavier riders have the downhill advantage definitely. 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. I have to say I weigh myself most mornings in the buff (just my glasses on so I can see the numbers)! Once you have a number for your FTP in watts, divide it by your weight in kilograms. Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. If it is.. someone must be able to point me to the rule where it says that it is forbidden..? Response to our post as well as Zwifts own post in their forum were resoundingly negative from members of the Zwift racing community. If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. ), So what is reverse weight doping? But It doesnt mean that that person is going to be the person riding the bike on the trainer during the race does it. 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. 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. 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. 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+. I have long ago earned all of the challenges and levels. Do some races have split out start times so you are only racing with those of similar ability? While the benefits of being light fully kick in while climbing a mountain (as it is easier for smaller guys to achieve certain w/kg), the benefits of being a tall and strong guy dont fully apply in the flats. 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. In fact, you can change a workout on Zwift about as fast as you can U-turn a bicycle on a real hill. We can name and shame these few. Mike, Great article as ever Eric.