Thursday, October 29, 2015

Zwift Thursday Early Bird Training Race Report 2015-10-29

Raw footage of the race. Includes last lap of C race and finish line footage of most finishers.

The folks at Zwift decked Watopia out in Halloween decorations for today's edition of the Zwift Thursday Early Bird training race. More than 50 racers showed up to start the race. As an experiment to make the race more accessible, the C&D group race was shortened by one lap to 4 laps including neutral. The A&B groups rode 5 laps (4 1/2 at race pace) as usual. We also experimented with a staggered start that was unfortunately not very successful.

M. Weulink* attacked the group on the second climb and wasn't seen again after the rest of the pack determined he was holding a power nobody could match. In the real race, J. T. (Team dZi) attacked on the KOM and managed to hold of four chasers to the line. M. Matteo HUN won the sprint from the chase over C. DalCin. See Nathan Guerra's excellent coverage linked below for details.

R. Grosch outclassed the rest of the B group, crossing 38 seconds in front of P. Pryor who finished just ahead of T. De Meyer.

19 riders finished the C group race. D. Los and T. Hammarberg managed to stick with a chase group from the front race to draw out two minutes on the chasers. E. Nekkers put in a strong attack at the steepest part of the KOM climb to win from the main B group with J. Thompson and A. Pisculla following.

T. Haugan rode strong to win the D group with D. McKay following some minutes back. C. Alfonso hung tough to finish off the race further back.

Note: due to technical issues I'm missing the Strava times for the C and D groups. I am hoping that the segment times will become available and I will be able to update this post soon.


Nathan Guerra's live coverage

Zac Herrod's highlight reel

The front of the pack at the top of the first KOM climb.
J. T. (Team dZi) first verified power finisher in Group A
R. Grosch wins the Group B race
D. Los crosses the finish line first at the end of the Group C race
T. Haugan wins the Group D race

Full Results:

Group A
1. M. Weulink* 0:55:42 (44.6 km/h)
2. J. T. (Team dZi) 0:02:06
3. M. Matteo HUN 0:02:09
4. C. DalCin s.t.
5. E. Chmielewski s.t.
6. E. Angeli s.t.
7. K. Little 0:04:04
8. J. Rooney (X) 0:05:13
9. A. Self 0:05:19
10. J. Samuels 0:06:31

Group B
1. R. Grosch 0:59:05 (42.1 km/h)
2. P. Pryor 0:00:38
3. T. De Meyer 0:00:43
4. M. F. (NOR1) 0:00:48
5. D. Ronan 0:01:03
6. M. Simnett 0:02:22
7. D. Churchill 0:05:08
8. C. Baldi 0:05:18
9. A. Torma s.t.

Group C
1. D. Los
2. T. Hammarberg 0:00:11
3. E. Nekkers 0:02:03
4. J. Thompson 0:02:10
5. A. Pisculla 0:02:16
6. M. Steffens 0:02:24
7. J. Mora 0:02:44
8. B. Warren 0:02:49
9. A. Nascimento 0:04:07
10. M. 0:04:42
11. A. Withey 0:04:49
12. M. Martinez s.t.
13. K. Szijjarto s.t.
14. N. Wisisperger 0:05:03
15. M. Ede 0:05:19
16. R. Kennison 0:05:41
17. B. Afonso 0:08:17
18. D. Jones 0:12:14
19. T. Groves 0:16:02

Group D.
1. T. Haugan
2. D. McKay 0:04:30
3. C. Alfonso

* unverified zPower

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Zwift Wednesday Watopia Ride Race Report 2015-10-28

The last lap "race"

Wednesdays mean its time for the Watopia Ride on Zwift. After three laps at a moderate place, the green flag was waved for those who wished to race the last lap. The race for the last lap was very close, with  a group of six riders coalescing after the KOM climb and riding most of the lap together. N. K. led out the sprint, but A. Urso managed to grab his wheel and pass him 5m before the line. T.J. pipped D. Ronan by a tire-width with S. Hedgehog following.

Full Results:
1. A. Urso
2. N. K.
3. T. J.
4. D. Ronan
5. S. Hedgehog
6. B. Erto
7. T. Hulatt
8. C. Sinclair
A. Urso comes around N.K. just before the line

The photo finish for 3rd.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Zwift Tuesday Night Worlds Report 2015-10-27

D. Seib takes the Group A victory
As winter looms on the horizon, 33 riders joined this edition of the Tuesday Night Worlds on Zwift. Today's race was 3 laps of the Richmond World Championship Road Course, with the first quarter lap being a neutral rollout to allow the pack to group up. The relatively short race distance resulted in a high pace even on the flat sections.

In Group A, D. Seib managed to outpower C. Schumm to the line with M. Desrosiers taking the third place. A group of six riders managed to establish a gap over the first set of climbs. Riders in the group traded attacks, but the group managed to get to the Governor St. climb intact. M. Desrosiers set a very hard pace at the base, but D. Seib managed to catch him and counter the move. C. Schumm chased to within a 30m of Seib but ran out of road before the finish line. Desrosiers hung on for third.

J. Baumgardner outclassed the rest of the B group by hanging with the leaders to the end. N. Hetrick managed to stick with the chase group, taking second. A. McGregor was first of the rest of the B group, clinching the third podium step.

The high pace strung the C group out into groups of one or two riders as the wind blew them off the back of the pack. T. Schneider* stayed with the chase for more than two laps to outdistance the rest of the C riders. S. Flores took second place, with I. Stickney third.

Here is the Strava Flyby

Full Results:
Group A
1. D. Seib 1:04:35 (41.6 km/h)
2. C. Schumm 0:00:01
3. M. Desrosiers 0:00:02
4. A. Swanson 0:00:08
5. C. MacLeod 0:01:39
6. J. Brazeal 0:01:42
7. C. Wiedmann 0:02:29
8. F. Garcia 0:05:11
9. S. Marchildon 0:06:20
10. P. Merrick 0:06:23
11. D. Desrosiers 0:19:58

Group B
1. J. Baumgardner 1:04:49 (41.4 km/h)
2. N. Hetrick 0:01:41
3. A. McGregor 0:04:18
4. M. Bierlein 0:05:30
5. W. Viljoen 0:07:33
6. P. Schmidt 0:07:56
7. J. Dixon 0:09:27
8. >. Roofrak_CT 0:09:33
9. J. Elliott 0:12:11

Group C
1.T. Schneider* 1:06:36 (40.2 km/h)
2. S. Flores 0:05:57
3. I. Stickney 0:09:10
4. N. Wilson 0:12:04
5. D. Bock 0:15:52
The riders take off at KM 0

The pack takes the turn off of Monument Ave. onto N. Lombardy St.

M. Desrosiers pushing the pace just before the turn onto Governor St.

C. Schumm couldn't quite catch D. Seib

Raw video coverage of the race.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Zwift Thursday Early Bird Training Race Report 2015-10-15


raw footage of race - see below for commentary by Nathan Guerra

48 racers attended this week's Thursday Early Bird training race.The large group led to a very fast race. The race segment KOM was set today by Craig Hoskin with a 27.6 mph average over 56 minutes and 21 seconds.

In Group A, J. Tempelaar won a four-up sprint with F. Coppex (X1), P.K. (Team dZi) and C. Hoskin close behind. A group of 10-15 riders made it to the last lap in this group, leading to a blistering pace. A group of four managed to create a split over the KOM and sprinted for the win.

In Group B, P. Martin* crossed the line first. In the group sprint K. Berntzen edged out a hard charging S.G. (Team dZi), with F. Vullum coming third.

In Group C, N. Richards* was first to the finish. Following him were A. Pisculla, D. Ronan and G.Z. (Team dZi).

Here is the Strava Fly-by

Live commentary by Nathan Guerra here:


J. Tempelaar wins the Group A sprint
The field sprint in Group B
A. Pisculla crosses the line in Group C


Group A
1. J. Tempelaar 1:16:41 (44.2 km/h)
2. F. Coppex (X1) s.t.
3. P.K. (Team dZi) s.t.
4. C. Hoskin s.t.
5. S. Tytgadt 0:00:18
6. C. DalCin s.t.
7. B. De Vriendt 0:00:20
8. M. Matteo 0:00:24
9. P. Clark (X2) 0:00:26
10. K.C. (Team dZi) s.t.
11. N. Law (X1) 0:01:09
DQ C. Schumm (X1) - powerup on last lap

Group B
1. P. Martin* 1:01:49  (40.2 km/h)
2. K. Berntzen 0:00:15
3. S. G. (Team dZi) s.t.
4. F. Vullum s.t.
5. M. Fredholm (NOR1) s.t.
6. E. O' Brien 0:00:16
7. E. Angeli 0:00:17
8. M. McIntosh (X2) 0:00:19
9. K. Hoaas 0:04:09
10. T. Jendrusch 0:06:06
11. A. Nascimento 0:12:38

Group C
1. N. Richards* 1:03:43 (39.0 km/h)
2. A. Pisculla 0:00:25
3. D. Ronan 0:00:29
4. G.Z. (Team  dZi) s.t.
5. A. Torma 0:00:46
6. M. (Team dZi) 0:02:28
7. S. Tanner 0:02:40
8. H. Johansson 0:02:47
9. A. Ek 0:03:43
10. J. Mora (VISION) 0:05:11
11. E. Franken 0:06:01
12. A. Otten s.t.
13. D. Wright 0:06:14
14. B. Afonso 0:10:22
-1 Lap
15. S. Manwill

* - unverified zPower on podium spot.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Zwift Thursday Training Race Report 2015-10-08

More than 30 riders showed up for today's five lap Watopia training race. N. K. rode the A field off his wheel on the last lap with some incredible power bursts with GCN race winner C. Hoskin winning the sprint for second over J. Tempelaar. C. McLeod out-sprinted S. Tytgadt for the B group win, with R. Lindqvist following half a minute later. B. Afonso again took the C group honors (time for an upgrade?) with D. Los edging out M. Ede for second.

The large field resulted in a somewhat chaotic start that makes us all look forward to built-in race start mechanics in Zwift. Apologies to those who were further back at the start line. I hope the large field meant that most of you had a group to race against anyway. As I had a last-minute schedule conflict I did not see the progression of the whole race, but did note some interesting things. The entire A group stayed together to the finish this time, with 12 racers finishing within 15 seconds on the road. Further back, there was one large B group and two significant C groups that came to the finish together, leading to several interesting sprints.
The sprint for 2nd in Group A

The rest of the Group A field

Photo finish for 6th in Group B

First group sprint in Group C

Second group sprint in Group C


Full Results:
Group A:
1. N. K.  1:10:09 (38.9 km/h)
2. C. Hoskin 0:00:01
3. J. Tempelaar s.t.
4. A. Self* 0:00:03
5. N. Law s.t.
6. B. De Vriendt s.t.
7. M. Douglas* s.t.
8. J. Rooney s.t.
9. P. K. s.t.
10. D. Salmon 0:00:10
11. F. Garcia 0:00:11
12. J. Traeholt 0:00:12

Group B:
1. C. MacLeod 1:14:26 (36.8 km.h)
2. S. Tytgadt 0:00:01
3. R. Lindqvist 0:00:49
4. M. Fredholm 0:01:07
5. J. Bergmann 0:01:13
6. T. De Meyer 0:01:57
7. C. Baldi s.t.
8. E. Gaillard 0:08:24

Group C:
1. B. Afonso 1:17:48 (35.2 km/h)
2. D. Los 0:00:10
3. M. Ede s.t.
4. Ian T2D s.t.
5. S. Gemmell 1:19:08 (34.6 km/h)
6. D. Ronan s.t.
7. J. Thompson* 0:00:01
8. Turbo Garry s.t.
9. A. Torma s.t.
10. C. Campbell 0:00:05

Here is the Strava Flyby

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Zwift Tuesday Night Worlds Report 2015-10-10


The last 3 climbs

11 racers joined the Zwift Tuesday Night Worlds Race this week. M. Desrosiers pulled off a solo win in the four lap race with an attack over Libby Hill. J. Brazeal and C. Little followed in second and third.

As usual in Richmond, the three climbs proved to be the undoing of many in the field. Each lap, riders were dropped from the lead group. After the first set of climbs, a group of six managed to regroup and found a brief respite following a non-participant on a TT bike. This group was reduced to four after the next set of climbs: M. Desrosiers, J. Brazeal, C. Little and M. Boudreau. Boudreau announced he was pulling out of the race at the next set of climbs, leaving the other three to continue the podium battle. Desrosiers managed to pull out a gap on the climbs but suffered a technical issue around start/finish. Brazeal and Little rode easy and Desrosiers managed to rejoin the group shortly thereafter. This set up the fireworks on the last set of climbs. Desrosiers attacked on LIbby Hill, splitting the group with Brazeal about 10 seconds behind and Little a further 5 seconds after that. These gaps extended on 23rd street, sealing the deal for Desrosiers. He finished solo with Brazeal and Little following.
The pack following a TT bike (camera bike ?) on the second lap
The lead group of four on the third lap

Three leaders on the final lap

M. Desrosiers attacks on Libby Hill

M. Desrosiers wins
Here is the Strava Flyby.

Full Results:
1. M. Desrosiers 1:32:21 (39.7 km/h)
2. J. Brazeal .0:00:41
3. C. Little 0:01:00
4. J. Thynne 0:03:32
5. F. Hartman 0:05:20
6. C. Wiedmann 0:08:51
7. N. Hetrick 0:09:40

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Zwift Thursday Night Training Race Results 2015-10-01


Casey Schumm's video of the race

15 racers came out for the later Thursday training race this week. I wasn't able to watch the race, but Casey Schumm shared his video of the event (he also rode both races today!).

Strava is still working on populating the race segment, so I only have the top few spots:

1. F. D. 1:00:51 (40.8 km/h)
2. R. Sines 0:00:15
3. J. Rooney s.t.
4. M. Minn 0:00:20
5. C. Schumm 0:00:39
6. M. Taylor 0:03:35

Please post in the comments if you have any additions to this list.

Zwift Training Race Report 2015-10-01

raw video of the race

41 racers joined the reverse Watopia training race this week. Two teams were organized in the A group to debut team tactics in Zwift. The two teams were Team dZi (wearing the red and white inGamba jerseys) and Team X1 (wearing the blue and white Richmond 2015 jerseys). Several independents raced alongside these teams in the usual killer bee outfits.

The race was hard-fought with a strong group contesting the finishing sprint. Neil Law (Team X1) barely edged out Francois Coppex (independent) and C. Schumm (Team X1) in the sprint. R. Lindqvist took the B crown with D. Neirinck second and C. Baldi winning the sprint for third over D. Ronan. B. Afonso was on the top step of the C group podium with A. Torma and R. Gousheh on the steps beside him.

A large group of 16 riders made it over the initial KOM, but this was the start of a race of attrition. By the second lap the lead group was whittled down to 11 riders with small groups behind. One larger group of 9 B and C riders managed to work together to try to keep going as fast as possible. By the last lap the lead group had shrunk to 7 riders. None of the final lap attacks stuck, though, leaving five riders contesting the final sprint.



Nathan Guerra recorded live video with commentary for this race:

16 riders survived past the first KOM
The A group sprint
The sprint for 3rd in the B group
Full Results:
Group A
1. N. Law 0:58:24 (42.6 km/h)
2. F. Coppex s.t.
3. C. Schumm s.t.
4. K. C. s.t.
5. M. Jones 0:00:02
5. J. Alldridge 0:00:33
6. S. Tytgadt 0:00:38
7. V. Hugo 0:02:50
8. F. Garcia 0:03:38
9. J. Tempelaar 0:05:01

Group B
1. R. Lindqvist 1:01:30 (40.4 km/h)
2. D. Neirinck 0:02:30
3. C. Baldi 0:02:34
4. D. Ronan s.t.
6. P. Team dZi 0:03:11
-1 Lap:
7. J. Sharp

Group C
1. B. Afonso 1:04:44 (38.4 km/h)
2. A. Torma 0:00:28
3. R. Gousheh 0:02:16
4. J. Dodsworth 0:02:41
5. A. Pisculla 0:03:26
6. A. Otten 0:08:54
7. J. Bartsch 0:10:00
-1 Lap:
8. D. Chandrisingh

Strava flyby: Strava Flyby for ZTR