(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 . I have been light and I have been heavy. 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. Work over time is work over time. Some weight dopers are obvious and blatant other times its much less egregious. 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. Some big Zwift races have specific rulesets, etc. 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!!). I got my 100kph badge on the Bologna course. I do ZHR Masters on a Tuesday night. Included with this license agreement can be the approval to show height and weight. In fact, you can change a workout on Zwift about as fast as you can U-turn a bicycle on a real hill. Someone with my FTP should be CAT B, regardless of weight. I rarely race, don't care. I think it would be best if there was a separate cat system for flat routes (based on watts) and for hilly routes (based on w/kg), My understanding is that Zwift still applies real world physics to this situation, and maybe the article doesnt allude to it, in that on the flat Zwift wont use w/kg to drive speed but your pure watts. Response to our post as well as Zwifts own post in their forum were resoundingly negative from members of the Zwift racing community. 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. My 3.9w/kg (a new PR!) I agree with your idea. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. 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. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. I dont really race so I am OK and any workouts are harder this way. Cyclingnews is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. My power to weight is decent at about 4w/kg. Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy Is it doping though? I just we had a better system than category limits, racing license anybody? 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. 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. Yes, smaller riders have less frontal area, but the difference in CdA isnt that much. MyRead more . When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. If you need to cheat to get the results you want then why even bother. Keep it on. (ignoring that it evens out and you have the advantage on the hills but lets ignore that because its all about you and you should always podium in every race in your life, because mommy told you that you were special and big mean Zwift is making you work so hard on the flats). We can name and shame these few. More of an issue than thisRead more . (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.) 2022 Primr RWB League - Cycling Ireland eRacing Winter League. .Personally I one of the outliers on height and weight. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Weight doping is only a serious issue when its done in competition. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips. And this is why reverse weight doping is a thing. 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. See how you can support Zwift Insider! 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!!! For example the threshold for cat B is FTP over 200 watts and over 3.2 w/kg. A good portion of that weight difference is in the Hub's 10.3 . Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. below this level you just have to take people's word for it. IRL if your weight is 85kg, itll take you longer to climb the Ventoux than if your weight is 65. Maybe with a KICKR Climb it might be possible. How does it work? there seems to be a lot of variability in power products and what people are using to feed into zwift. How big of a problem is reverse weight doping? How come I get beat in sprints when a 60kg guy puts out 700W, when I put out over 1000W at 76kg? Other planned changes communicated last week, including plans to improve the reporting features in Zwift will be rolled out as planned. Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. Id be super interested in the timing you set your weight. Mike, Great article as ever Eric. Knowing when to go hard and having the fitness to do so are also vital skills.). I have a Withings scale and in the Zwift Settings, it shows up as connected. If other people want to obsess about my weight thats up to them but I wont. Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. But I also did it because I knew it was great practice! In real life, Id dust that guy. At all. . If there are problems, Zwift already has a reporting function and everything is recorded police that properly andRead more . thanks for the help with the graphs. That's it! My HR numbers are almost identical to yours. Maybe they should display and categorise HR as a %age? Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. You must be a much better person than me, because thats something I will Never make peace with. I wont do and will rather try my very best to compete with the As. My last ride I spotted 35kg lad who last week was 56kg. But It doesnt mean that that person is going to be the person riding the bike on the trainer during the race does it. Lucky forRead more . 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. It certainly didnt feel like I had taken it easy when IRead more . Best Zwift setups: Indoor cycling setups to give you the competitive edge. Kudos to Zwift for listening to their customers and admitting they made a mistake. I dont know why this is, but i dont care one bit if people are cheating. 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. what does help identify and stop cheats is formalizing race series and having them use an organization like Zada (whether effective now or not, this is the correct path). for example,Read more . So am I a super-drafter, the king of indoor efficiency? 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. 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. This is how racing is supposed to work. Thats hilarious. Bump your Zwift weight up to 84kg and even with your new and improved 260-watt FTP youre only at 3.1 w/kg! Why try to force IRL parameters that can not be enforced. , 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. Great article, Eric. Put simply, ZwiftPower is a community-driven website that complements the Zwift app. The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . In theory (at least) weight dopers could game the results based categories as well. But youre training and racing and getting stronger, and eventually your FTP improves to 260 watts, which is 3.25 w/kg. If it still doesn't work email zwiftpower@zwift.com and they should be able to sort. Have you considered age category racing. Everyone else in the race is riding flat out (your own HR was 174bpm) but these guys are just cruising along watching their watts and are then able toRead more , Not sure its that simple I am a heavy category C racer, and (funnily enough) finished 5th in both my recent Crit City races with average HR of 153 and 150. All the emphasis on physical metrics makes sense for putting together how speed is calculated but not how one can race. Im assuming you should weigh just before getting on the bike with all kit including shoes and not just before stepping into the post-ride shower (shorn of all kit and approx 1kg of sweat). Race specific phase: 3x10min 50-60rpm intervals with . Would love your thoughts, please comment. I havent even used my road bike outdoors since 2012. Well, imagine youre a strong C racer. LOL. I know a woman who is 5 feet tall and almost 200lb. My power to weight ratio would be the same, but Id get the benefits you get from being a heavier rider. You'll receive a four-digit code, which you'll then have to add to your. IRL cycling pros are not exactly heavy weights and lean-ness is highly encouraged. We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? 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 . Or theyll ride races 1-2 categories below their actual W/kg so they can still win and feel like that theyre legends. 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. Whats the cheaters solution? If you are on the lighter side, try picking some climbing races. Additionally, well be moving forward on hiding height and weight from Zwift Companion and Web. Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. Then save your ride and log out. Not too many people actually want to see other peoples height or weight except to be able to verify race results are reasonable. If I lose 1 more pound Ill go to 4.0 and its a daunting thing to think of going to As when I am often cruddy in the Bs. Many riders is talking about cheating, when someone enters a lower category but it's not, in my opinion. Whether w/kg is the appropriate way to categorise races is anotherRead more , As a 92kg rider, with a w/kg FTP of 289 (or 3.14 w/kg) I wholeheartedly agree. A strict w/kg classification isnt perfect. I am 42 years-old with a HRmax of ~169 bpm. As long as the button to enter a lower cat is active, riders will Press It. 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. You have lowered your weight and skewed your power graph so it is inaccurate. 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. 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. I agree with what you say Eric but the weight doping does negatively impact the casual rider if they are following other riders in a casual/social ride. The key phrase is assuming both riding at the same W/kg, so for the same watts, if I claim to be 10kgs lighter than I really am my W/kg will increase considerably. You make a good pointthere isnt a published race ruleset that clearly states that riders are 1) required to use accurate weight and 2) enter the correct race category. Someone sandbagging will get promoted out of category and will not be allowed to reg for lower categories. 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. Last week we announced Zwifts plans to remove rider height and weight from ZwiftPower, among other changes (read the full post here). We are taking an iterative approach to the ongoing upgrades to the back end of the site. I did on one and second on the other. He argues hes not gaining an advantage.