This is pretty timely for me as my FTP is 283 and my weight is currently 71.2kg. I should mention: many Zwifters have lied about their in-game weight for perfectly acceptable reasons. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts. With racer categories? Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy I have wondered about this subject on a few occasions. 240W 50kg riders (4.8W/kg) beat 380W 95kg riders in B category Tempus Fugit time trials. Theres a bit of a fuss on the ZP forums at the moment about this form of sandbagging where people deliberately ride within the w/kg limits but are riding well below their potential ability. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. Yes us heavier riders have the downhill advantage definitely. Some races (many, in fact) on Zwift work exactly like that. Many riders is talking about cheating, when someone enters a lower category but it's not, in my opinion. If people want to cheat, they will and can do so in any uncontrolled situation. The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . Food for thought. Taking weight out of the equation you could just make everyones avatar moving forward by holding down the up arrow on their keyboard. Read on for our guide on how the app works, how to get set up, and how to analyse your racing. 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. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. And as well as your race results, you can check your distance ridden, total metres climbed, power peaks from one second up to 75 minutes, and more besides. No one is going to lose or gain 5kg overnight or shrink a 1cm. I am a long time racer in NorCal and cheating is cheating. ThatRead more . 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. https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=697996. If it still doesn't work email zwiftpower@zwift.com and they should be able to sort. I know a woman who is 5 feet tall and almost 200lb. Heres how it works. I put my real weight 95% of the time. Good heavens man, the sentence before You do you says If its not done during a competitive Zwift event, I dont see it as a problem. Obviously weight doping in races is cheating and not acceptable. A strict w/kg classification isnt perfect. If its not done during a competitive Zwift event, I dont see it as a problem. 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 . Once I hit 185 its either sit up and catch my breath of fall of the bike. 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. Just short of my 68th birthday I still dont see any point in cheating. Category systems are complex beasts, of course, I agree, people can have fun with weight doping and such aslong they dont enter competitive races. But youre not affecting anyone elses experience. yes, but you are missing my point. Todd_S (Todd S) March 12, 2015, 3:09am #4 I'm new to the app. Maybe they should display and categorise HR as a %age? I am currently 145kg and have not experienced any bullying so far. Frankly I struggle to believe these are real. It's harder than real racing. Zwift lets you adjust the difficulty of your workout, before or even during your ride. He argues hes not gaining an advantage. There is enough variation in power profile to make it interesting without weight, what makes racing fun is trying to create tactics that favour yourRead more , Interesting & well reasoned article which answers a lot of things which were puzzling me. 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. As a 59/60kg rider who always seems to have a higher w/kg than the people I finish around, Ive been curious about adding 50% to both my weight and http://ftp. Most of the time, this will be what you use to figure out your race category. People still rode at B level pace in a C group. MyRead more . I think the main problem with women and weight on zwift is regular weightdoping, magnified probably by all the wonderful social stigmas and judgment surrounding womens bodies. Thank you for signing up to The Pick. In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. They are not, and never were, skill classes of any kind (ie. But youre training and racing and getting stronger, and eventually your FTP improves to 260 watts, which is 3.25 w/kg. Hopefully when it comes time to hide height and weight from public view on ZwiftPower, Zwift will have some really useful tools in place which help race organizers do their jobs more quickly and effectively, while promoting wellness in the racing community. . I disagree with you on this point. Ive lost 2.2kg over a 6 hour ride due to carb loading before, and burning that and hence losing a lot of water weight during the ride. I dont think it can all be attributed to weight; it appears that some hardware tweaks can scale up the reported power output. My power is often in the top few. I was wondering is it possible to get the graph at the bottom of the screen that shows youre power and other stuff on a normal ride and not doing a FTP test or workout. The only trouble is the downhill doesnt take as long of course, so the light advantage is obviously better. This is real frustrating as hes a top u12 racer and wants to see his efforts recognise. plain and simple. How many cyclists do you see in real life who are 65kgs, but they are ten a penny on Zwift. if someone is entering a fake weight on their Zwift profile, the only person they're cheating is themselves, cos they're going to get destroyed out on the roads where it really matters. Its going to take a certain amount of calories for a certain person to perform a given amount of work in a given time. Not too many people actually want to see other peoples height or weight except to be able to verify race results are reasonable. In fact, if in a long ride your weight could change by more than 1kg over the course of that one ride!!! Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Just like the CEO promised us rowing years ago, right? 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. The bottom line is that in any competition there will always be someone who wants to cheat to win.Read more . When a rider can change categories by modifying their virtual body weight, thats an issue. What you see a lot are riders who are (claiming) to be really light with decent but not exceptional watts. In the 2 months Ive been on Zwift Ive become a stronger rider than ever, because Zwift encourages me to push myself harder than I do in real life. Zwif: your ultimate guide Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! Great article, Eric. I may try and snag a couple of cat C golds before taking the break, but definitely wont be reverse weight doping to do so the upgrade to B will be a bigger prize than any gold medal. Introducing a horrible measure that addresses a problem that doesnt exist, and subsequently retracting it following mass protest is not exactly what I would call revolutionary change. I mean youve both got a point. IfRead more . ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. That was my first thought when a fellow Zwifter commented on my recent race, Somehow you always get your w/kg down. All this makes me laugh. At least I can be best in one thing on zwiftpower. Kudos to Zwift for listening to their customers and admitting they made a mistake. I did this because I had a particular effort level planned for my workout that day, and didnt want to exceed it. What particularly annoys me is being beaten by light but moderately powerful riders doing individual time trials on flat courses. He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. She can crank but her w/kg is low. Some big Zwift races have specific rulesets, etc. Response to our post as well as Zwifts own post in their forum were resoundingly negative from members of the Zwift racing community. I may of course be wrong, and these are all true weights, but Id be very surprised if that were the case, in the races where this matters, riders have to submit a private youtube weigh-in video <2 hrs before the race. We would like to thank the community for your passion and feedback. Then lets stop with all athletic competition! How does it work? He had fun laughing at fat dad, but I pipped him at the line! My FTP/kg is 3.88, which I now know would make me a B racer (3.2-3.9). Whats the cheaters solution? One question I have struggled to answer though which maybe is not a consideration is that on the flat watts is what is required and I also have to push high wkg to stay with groups. Nice work! 2 yr. ago. 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. True, but not necessarily in the way you think. They CANNOT win. Thats the reason why a results category would be more interesting like Erics suggested in his topic. Weight doping is a key challenge for cycling esports to overcome, and its one reason why many big races (e.g., those with prize money) require riders to show up and weigh in on-location in a supervised environment. Im not heavy (68kg), have a typical climber/TT phenotype (no short sprint but good FTP). 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 about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. ZwiftPower use 95% of your best 20 minutes during the whole race, so it does not matter if the race is 21 min or 3 hours, you will still be categorized the same way. First, it shows that theyre listening to the community. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. I ride B category races & never podium but have been puzzled as I always seem to have a higher w/kg than most of the other riders in the race. If other people want to obsess about my weight thats up to them but I wont. Updating Your Public Profile Zwift takes your physical measurements into account for things like leaderboards, speed, and your avatar's physical appea. 8 months ago I was 96kg, but didntRead more , As a light (58kg) rider racing in the Bs it is very frustrating on flat routes where since the main thing that matters is raw watts and not w/kg I would have to put out well over 4 w/kg to keep up with the heavier guys and therefore I pretty much always get dropped before too long. If there are problems, Zwift already has a reporting function and everything is recorded police that properly andRead more . For me its the most fun to see the progress I make on strava, new PR on climbs or on flats (hanging in on the back of a group) If I would lie about my weight I throw off my goals to Improve atleast make them near impossible for the coming time in the End I dont see the funRead more , I reversed dopped by mistake when I first started Zwift putting my height as my weight and weight as my height. 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. You will receive a verification email shortly. Mate youre a legend. If the categories are split using purely w/kg a lighter rider doesnt have any advantage up the climbs at all. Someone with my FTP should be CAT B, regardless of weight. You only change it in Zwift and it should get picked up with regular backend processing periodically (maybe overnight). Ive seen many A Riders with 300 FTP on Zwift who I beat by a HUGE MARGIN at triathlon events, including the cycling portion. Would love your thoughts, please comment. I have tended to notice that a significant number of powerful zwifters real world Strava performances pale in comparison to their online achievements. Id never do this as my Zwift Power is an accurate log of weight and power but it does make me wonder how much easier itd be to be bigger. I wont do and will rather try my very best to compete with the As. Good question. For example the threshold for cat B is FTP over 200 watts and over 3.2 w/kg. thanks for the help with the graphs. Now in A i get dropped all the time. Im more concerned about the guy who finished 5th with 144bpm. i was just having a similar discussion with my old lady about watts and weights, etc. Taking that info away further depersonalizes the platform, and and may be fine in group rides, but it is a step closer to racing against bots. It impacts the Group Rides and as you said the performance statistics individually. 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. However, I definitely recommend entering some races. I have heard women admit on social rides that their zwift weight is their goal weightRead more . the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. IRead more , Aaron, do you know what is the wattage requirement for Cat A? My weight is showing orange everytime. for example,Read more . People with eating disorders, or a proclivity toward extreme dieting. This isnt IRL racing it is e-racing. Id say physics does! Similar to the announcement of the European Super League in soccer, Zwift failed to read the room. It does not stop cheating at all. But It doesnt mean that that person is going to be the person riding the bike on the trainer during the race does it. As a low to mid-cat rider, ImRead more . Im using a quarq crank power meter on my rock and roll while I save up for direct drive. Do some races have split out start times so you are only racing with those of similar ability? Bob, what on earth is that all about? angels stadium covid rules. As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). The easiest way to qualify for a higher category is to cut weight. , 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 just accepted that at my height I will always be heavier than the average cyclist. The issues with e-racing remain the same, and largely ignored for years now. Or are you looking for a participation trophy on every race as well? This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. SoggyAlbatross2. The guy who got first weighs 106kg on strava but 45kg and only 411 on zwift. In order to ride with him I have to drop my weight to allow me to keep up. I dont think so. 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!!). Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy Blaming Zwift for allowing cheaters is the system problem that gets more people frustrated, upset, etc. 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. Check out this FAQ for some of our frequently asked questions: Q:&. Well, its adding weight to gain an advantage. How big of a problem is reverse weight doping? It all has to do with the way Zwift's racing categories work. Ive connected my garmin scale with this app https://smartscalesync.com/?utm_source=tr First up, you'll have to head to Zwift.com and log in, then click on Settings > Profile > Connections and choose 'opt-in' under the ZwiftPower logo. Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. Are you efficient, or just heavy? Choose a Zwift workout, but before you start riding look at the workout breakdown on the left side of the screen. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Included with this license agreement can be the approval to show height and weight. 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. My power to weight is decent at about 4w/kg. 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. I take issue with the weight doping is okay in none competitive events because of strava. 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. Totally agree with you. It's a real community hub. Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. As long as youre being honest with yourself I wouldnt worry about it too much. Im quite heavy, at about 85kgs, but also 183cms tall (and 52 years old). Why not only require weight and height for entry to A and B races? And besides, my main goal on Zwift is to not get dropped in the hills during Team Cryo-Gens more hardcore Saturday rides! Someone sandbagging will get promoted out of category and will not be allowed to reg for lower categories. But the vast majority do not. See how you can support Zwift Insider! It just makes a mockery of the whole system. was the lowest of top 15 riders. If thats not something that needs fixing then why run any races? They do? Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). If I get down to 52 kilos I can climb well but my sprinting is terrible. That's pretty straightforward the usual email, username, password, terms and conditions so you won't have any trouble with this step. You weigh 80kg and have an FTP of 248 watts, which works out to 3.1 w/kg. Absolutely impossible. Secondly, Zwifts statement says they agree there is a need for tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing. Thats good to see, and we completely agree! however 2 riders at the same w/kg, heavier riders have the advantage on flats & descents: https://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/. I completely agree with the last paragraph here. On a tablet or smartphone, you can download the. So I just bumped myself up to the B group and went faster overall simply because there were faster people to draft off of. Why no monitoring on this? I guess I could play the same game and pretend to be 65kgs (350/65 = an impressive 5.38w/kg), This is where Zwifts scaling of CdA on height and weight gets out of whack with reality. Id be super interested in the timing you set your weight. heavy riders have an advantage on flat courses.. https://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/ plus 60-70kg is perferctly normal body weight for adult cyclists, nothing worth complaining about. This calculates that this heavy rider would take 23:14 to do the distance a justRead more , Everyone has a sweet spot for weight. I would thought with how sensitive the sensors are they could place another one somewhere on the unit that simply does the job and takes away all the manual input. Ive done multiple races where my main goal was to keep the watts as low as possible while hanging with the front group. So I dont expect to be as competitive vs. a pure cyclist. That is pretty low compared to most people on zwiftpower. IRL cycling pros are not exactly heavy weights and lean-ness is highly encouraged. I have climbed well and I have suffered on climbs but also sprinted well. Now I know it is a thing. Joining ZwiftPower isn't the most straightforward series of steps, but we've broken it down so you can get started as soon as possible. As long as people are using reasonable weight/height and arent cheating or changing it drastically all the time (my scales autoupdate my weight, so mine changes once a day, but by small increments), Im much more interested in being able to see the weight of my teammates so I can properly plan my TTT lineup than I am the weight of my competitors. And this is why reverse weight doping is a thing. With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. Everyone races at the same weight/height. Frustrating to someone who tries so hard to compete in my weight class to get beat by cheaters. 2 Likes _Jynxy_EVO (:)) October 1, 2021, 1:41pm #8 thxs mike, points based), riders can win by any margin any number of times and remain in their category so long as they do not exceed category limits. Yes, there are plenty of variabies, but power is power. Find out more about how we test. But I also did it because I knew it was great practice! Zwift should take accountability for what matters most to start with and thats the cheaters. Tour de Zwift events were races? If you're putting out enough power, then you can make your way up the ranks and keep on racing. Why we are treating this differently from actual racing? Why not ride to your strengths? The license would be needed to participate in ranked races, however if you dont have a license, other races would be available to participate in. Some of the reasons Ive never pushed as hard on a real ride include: Stopping / slowing for junctions Traffic / pedestrians / other hazards Appreciating the view No watt meter on my real bike I dont race in real life I dont do workouts in real life Changing wind Threat of a headwind on my home journey And the biggest: WantingRead more , Agree with the above. Then everyone would know who is legit or at least somewhat legit. 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). Whatever your answer, some people will never like it, but there has to be a clear, credible answer for the majority to support. I guess I shouldnt be surprised. I am 65 kg with FTP of 270 W, which equlas 4,15 w/kg. Put simply, ZwiftPower is a community-driven website that complements the Zwift app. As some others already mentioned, the bodyweight tends to oscillate over the week and even the day. If you need to cheat to get the results you want then why even bother. Youd think theyd be the same but when Zwift and Strava dont even agree on stats for the same ride, Ill take any other comparisons with a big pinch of salt. That a cat rider may win a d race but on zwiftpower they will be DQd for not riding an A race. Weight would be updated as normal throughout the month. And atRead more . I think theres another more interesting angle than just trying to stay down a category. 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. How Do I Change My FTP On Zwift? I think you can force it with the Refresh Profile button in your ZP Profile but again, not sure if that triggers it immediately or overnight. Level 50. I think one of the biggest issues with weight (and height) in Zwift is that you get punished really hard for something you only have limited control over. Or theyll ignore leaders instructions and ride off the front of a group (flyers). Example: have you ever purposely avoided weighing yourself (especially you who have a Withings scale that automatically updates your Zwift weight) because you know youve put on a few pounds over the weekend? 5x5min, 4x8min but definitely never longer than 8 minutes. What if you are super committed and gain the weight in real life just so you can stay in the category , Excellent posts on perhaps the most serious non-hardware problem in Zwift right now. Race them if you want, but Rides like Tour de Zwift are not based on rider category, they are based on distance. But then you could have someone in the same age group who maxes out at 170. Racing on the Zwift virtual platform has only increased, with the professionals getting in on the act, too, via the Zwift Tour for All, the Virtual Tour of the Gila, and e-races organised by Team Ineos. Conserving energy is a key part of successful bike racing. Not everyone has the same HRmax. There is no reason I should be gettingRead more , Sounds like its time to start racing the Bs, @guest_35522! If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. Have you ever compared numbers for calories burned, power output and even elevation ridden for a Zwift ride uploaded to Strava? Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Unless a youth rider, height is generally going to remain the same. The winners are almost always people with recorded weights sub 70kgs, more typically 65kgs, even 59! Last week I did the prl full and Uber pretzel and tried to get #1 by weight on those segments. Ill remain skeptical until I see some actual changes. Connecting to ZwiftPower Before you can start using ZwiftPower, you'll need to create an account. I have long ago earned all of the challenges and levels. (Its not the only part, of course! 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 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. However, insecure Freds jumpingRead more , I am new to Zwift, but I do wonder how it is youll see a bunch of people finish at the front of a D race at 4-5 W/kg. either a) ur starting ur sprint way too late or b) ur leading him out. Why can we just all race together and the fastest person wins?
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