Sunday, November 8, 2015

What is ZTR?


The Zwift Training Race series is intended to bring the excitement and training benefit of mass-start cycle racing to your home using the Zwift (http://www.zwift.com) online virtual cycling service.

Why ZTR?

For many of us, head-to-head competition provides unparalleled motivation to push ourselves to the limits. While Zwift doesn't have built-in race functionality yet, a group of us get together regularly to test our strengths against each other in an open race format on Zwift. The goal of these races is to have fun while working out at the highest possible level. The races are intended to be low-key with an emphasis on good racing rather than being a strict, realistic race with results that match real life.

When are the races?
The best place to see the ride schedule is here: http://teamup.com/ks4861763bd63ce3d8/. The ZTR races are currently Tuesday and Thursday evenings, but there are other race series at other times of the week. There are races in multiple time zones, so hopefully there will be one that fits your schedule. You can ask questions and see more details on Facebook in the Zwift Racers group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ZwiftRacers. Check the event listings in that group for news and updates on the races.

Who can join?

This race series is open to everyone, regardless of equipment. If you are using a setup that doesn't measure power (i.e. zPower/virtual power calculated from a speed sensor), we ask that you try to make sure your performance is as close to your real-world performance as possible.

What group should I race in?

To join a race, you should first pick a group to race with. The groups are identified by letter A-D, from fastest to slowest. Women may use the letter W ahead of the group to indicate they wish to be placed separately from the men in the group. The rough FTP levels of the groups are the following: A greater than 4.0 w/kg, B 3.2 w/kg to 4.0 w/kg,C 2.5-3.2 w/kg, D below 2.5 w/kg. Note that when needed, there will be separate results in the A group for unverified zPower riders. If you outperform the group you race in, you will be asked to upgrade and will no longer be eligible for future results in that group.


How do I identify myself as a racer?
To identify yourself to other racers, simply edit your last name on your Zwift dashboard (https://my.zwift.com/dashboard) and add a space then ZTR dash your category (e.g. I set my last name to "Wiedmann ZTR-A"). In the race, you're encouraged to wear the Basic 1 jersey if you have no other preference.

What course should I pick?
Races now offer a course choice. The best way to avoid wrong turns is to pick the course matching the race description. The "Group" option can get confused because we share the course with non-racers, so if others around you are not racing and turning the other way, you could be led astray.

What should I expect when the race starts?
Races will usually use Zwift's event module. When starting the game, simply click on the race and start riding your warmup. Shortly before the start time, you will be prompted to join the other racers in the staging area. There, you will see a countdown timer to the start of the race. Start pedaling a few seconds before the countdown reaches zero to ensure you start with the rest of the group.

For certain special events, the races will be organized outside of the event module. For those, the following instructions apply:
The meeting place for ZTR races is the start/finish line. The race leader will announce when the race starts. Note that there may be more than one race leader if the race has a staggered start for different groups (lately we have been splitting into separate A/B and C/D starts 2 minutes apart for the larger races). When the ride leader starts rolling, start riding too. The races start with a short (about 5-10 minute) neutral ride which allows the pack to form. This section should be ridden at a steady pace, and all riders should try to stay behind the ride leader until the real start. The ride leader will announce the start at the real start point, but be alert to the start as sometimes chat messages get delayed on the Zwift servers.

What race rules should I be aware of?

Here is an overview of race rules that are useful to keep in mind:

Please don't use TT bikes - road bikes only for races.
We encourage use of heart rate monitors.
If you're in contention for a race, please do not draft non-racers for extended periods of time.
Please do not motorpace off of riders with obvious setup issues (for example a rider riding above 5w/kg consistently with a heart rate less than 130), even if they are in the race.
Power-up etiquette:

  • You may use power-ups to stay with a group if you're in danger of being dropped, or to catch back up to a group from which you've been dropped.
  • Please do not use power-ups to attack or off the front of a group.
  • Please do not use power-ups on the final lap of the race (or the final 10km for races with longer laps).
  • If you accidentally trigger a power-up, go to the back of the group you're with.

40 comments:

  1. Where does it show your exponents heart rate ?

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    1. If you click on someone else's name in the rider list, the top left will show you that rider's power, cadence and heart rate.

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    2. Does that change camera view to that rider? If so, what's the easiest way to get camera back on your rider?

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    3. To get back to your own perspective, use the orange arrow button on the bottom left.

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    4. There is a little return arrow in the bottom left of the screen for returning to your own rider. That or you can simply click on your own name in the rider list. When looking at another rider, you will see a message saying something about "Currently watching Jimbo" where Jimbo is replaced witht he actual rider name.

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  2. Today's race was 3 laps but the teamup calendar says 4. Is there anywhere else info is posted about the next race besides teamup? Also, how is the neutral rollout started. I saw a thumbs up at the start time but no text and people started rolling, but my category started later apparently. thanks for organizing

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    1. I can't seem to edit all the teamup events. The most up-to-date listing is on facebook in the Zwift Riders group: https//www.facebook.com/groups/zwiftriders/

      I'll try to make sure the teamup calendar is also as up-to-date as possible.

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  3. Christian, do you have an email address to send you some Strava rides to have our zpower verified?

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    Replies
    1. Sure - just mail to cw underscore zwiftverification at wiedmann dot org.

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  4. Wher do I find the different groups (A, B, C, D) and how do I join?

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    1. Right now this just means editing your last name to add the race and group designation and showing up to the start line at the right time.

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  5. What is a power up and how do you engage it?

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    1. Lots of information here: http://www.titaniumgeek.com/cycling/zwift-user-manual-unofficial-running-updates/

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  6. Where can I find race results?

    Thanks

    Bill

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  7. Same question as Bill, where do we find results.

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    1. For the races I'm responsible for, I usually post them in the Facebook event as well as here on the blog. Note that I do results from video manually, which takes some time.

      Most of the races also have automated results here: http://zwift.freestyler.dk

      Note the automated results are derived from Strava and rely on every rider's PC clock being in sync, which means there usually are discrepancies in those results. The video results I generate usually are the same as everybody sees in-game.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Can you email me the link to the activity at cw underscore zwiftverification at wiedmann dot org?

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  8. Thanks for all the good info!
    Question: Seems there are only two routes on Zwift: Richmond and Watopia, based upon the day of the week. How does one get to 'Reverse Watopia' ??

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    1. To join a reverse Watopia race, log in, ride past the start/finish banner, then hit the down arrow on your keyboard or hold down the U-turn button in the mobile app while moving. Your rider will turn around.

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. I am pretty new to ZWIFT and have never done a ZWIFT race/group ride. But I am interested. However, I am not a "public enough" person to put myself "out there on Facebook". So if you see a Facebook group join request from "Gargen Gurgel", it is actually from David Lee on ZWIFT or Dave Lee on Strava.

    Thanks for the good work here. This is not simple as I see it and I hope folks appreciate what you do here.

    dave

    ps. Deleted and re-posted. Don't see an edit function

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  11. No problem. There are quite a few people who create a new account on Facebook and use it only for Zwift. See you soon at the races!

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  12. So you raced. followed all the rules but weren't included in the results. What now?

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    Replies
    1. Let me know which race and link your Strava activity and I'll try to get you included.

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  13. Thank you for all your work, this stuff truly is awesome, I have a question, to verify my power with an outside ride, but I don't use a power meter?? can you still verify?

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    1. I can if you have a solo ride with a hard effort of 5 minutes or longer, ideally going uphill. I'm just looking for performance that's in the same ballpark.

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  14. Where is the start for the Richmond Flat Course?

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  15. Is there a place to find my w/kg when not actively riding? I've got an ftp of 209. Want to place myself accordingly. Thanks!

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    1. Simply divide your FTP (209) by your weight in kg. That's the w/kg number to use to determine category. Let's say you way 150 lbs (68.2 kg). You would take 209w/68.2kg = 3.06 w/kg. This would make you a Group C racer.

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  16. How do you do this?

    Please save your ride ZTR (X) in the Strava activity name where X is your chosen group.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm going to assume you've linked Zwift with your Strava account. If so, simply add "ZTR (A)" to the end of the name when you end the ride in Zwift. Zwift will send that name to Strava.

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  17. The ZTR race on Tuesday shows 1 1/2 laps of Figure 8. Where does the 1/2 lap end?

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    1. The 1/2 lap ends back at start finish, but going in the reverse direction. So, after the first complete lap, you continue onto Ocean Blvd, then go straight up the reverse KOM, back to start/finish.

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  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  19. Well it's been 3 hours since the Tuesday Night Race and I am not in the results. But checking others' Zwift activities I see they have included TNW in their activity name. Is that a prerequisite for inclusion?

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    1. All that should be needed is ZTR and your category. The results system had a glitch today, so the results may end up inaccurate, unfortunately.

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