Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. Hide the weight who cares let them upgrade all the way to As where you have strict reporting requirements. If I feel happy in my body thats the most important thing for me, and why I rarely weigh myself. This raised concerns within the Zwift Racing Community regarding fairness in racing. My 3 race FTP is at 4.07w/kg (248w @ 61kg), but Im still in Cat B. Makes me happy to see that the community is able to speak with one voice if necessary. If you're putting out enough power, then you can make your way up the ranks and keep on racing. BA1 1UA. If thats the norm, then I really dont see theRead more . Using your Mac or PC, you can do it online on the Zwift website. Hahahahaha. Mate youre a legend. I dont really race so I am OK and any workouts are harder this way. Best turbo trainers: Smart trainers to improve your indoor cycling experience Read on for our guide on how the app works, how to get set up, and how to analyse your racing. 2. (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). Someone with my FTP should be CAT B, regardless of weight. I love reading it. This afternoon, Zwift posted a follow-up message on the forum. Not too many people actually want to see other peoples height or weight except to be able to verify race results are reasonable. 2022 SNOW Sprint Series Here it is in its entirety: Last week we outlined a number of planned changes to address harassment and further safeguard the health and wellbeing of the Zwift Community. 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. No race Chester worth their salt pops in and changed weight ahead of a race, what they do is post the wrong weight and leave it there. Zwift should take accountability for what matters most to start with and thats the cheaters. i was just having a similar discussion with my old lady about watts and weights, etc. Racers who get top 1,2,3 more than a few times get upgraded period. Nailed it. Im surprised that (off wheel) smart trainers dont have the ability to weigh the rider when they get on the bike. I dont think it can all be attributed to weight; it appears that some hardware tweaks can scale up the reported power output. 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. Nice work! When a rider can change categories by modifying their virtual body weight, thats an issue. 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. Same reason there are categories and age group races outdoors! Work over time is work over time. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). Dont worry about your weight fluctuating through the week and remember you gain 0.5kg by drinking a half-litre bidon and lose it again through sweat (and by going to the toilet). 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. 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? Manually change your weight in Zwift by adding 10 pounds. If Zwift can be seen to be doing that then very little need toRead more . But It doesnt mean that that person is going to be the person riding the bike on the trainer during the race does it. 5 year age categories and incredibly competitive a in most age groups, Thanks so much for your helpful comment. You must be a much better person than me, because thats something I will Never make peace with. 1. Frustrating to someone who tries so hard to compete in my weight class to get beat by cheaters. You should do much better at your actual weight in that case. https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=697996. Tough to recover after attacks in a race when youre always near maxing out. The race categories end up looking something like this (taken from the current Tour of Watopia race events): ZwiftPower, home of official race results for community races, adds some pure wattage breakpoints to the above list to help lightweight riders stay competitive. I am about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. Some races (many, in fact) on Zwift work exactly like that. 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. The categories currently used in most Zwift events are based on your FTP watts per kilo- that is, your FTP in watts, divided by your weight in kilograms. People still rode at B level pace in a C group. I do find it amazing, funny and sad that IRL at several Ironman events me, a C rider, beat many A riders in the cycling segment. Also a really frustrating thing is why doesnt Zwift autoRead more , is he riding in the right category? I started started zwift four months ago as a retirement present to myself. Why can we just all race together and the fastest person wins? There was a problem. Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. Among the communicated changes were plans to hide the visibility of height and weight from ZwiftPower in an effort to encourage individual health and wellness. That gives me more hope for the future of the platform than any announcement from Zwift ever could. it's a good training tool. In fact, you can change a workout on Zwift about as fast as you can U-turn a bicycle on a real hill. We remain committed to protecting the health and well being of the broader Zwift Community, and we look forward to enacting additional measures in the future. Heres how it works. Obviously, these are generally accepted rules in the Zwift Community. My 3.9w/kg (a new PR!) ), So what is reverse weight doping? . However, I have a lighter and faster son that smokes me head to head. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Just sign up for A races from now on. You have lowered your weight and skewed your power graph so it is inaccurate. Last week I did the prl full and Uber pretzel and tried to get #1 by weight on those segments. The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . You enter a real race,out in the world, you are ready to finish in the top 20 for your best result of your life,then out of the blue a dirt bike rides past you goes tabletop and crossesRead more . Yes, there are plenty of variabies, but power is power. Especially for the C and D groups but even for the Bs albeit to a lesser degree. You can record your weight n height n have it verified by experts etc up to five minutes before an event. 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). That guy who weighs 300lbs and gets 1st place in Cs for a month straight should be automatically upgraded to Bs and Bs to As. In theory (at least) weight dopers could game the results based categories as well. Seeing someone race cat A/B on Zwift and then be at the back of the age group pack in a local tri/ bike race canRead more , I understand what you are saying, but the average racer who can legitimately churn out x watts/ kilo for minutes on end will be doing more with that than just being a zwift warrior (if they are getting onto the road to really ride and not just commute), and, traffic lights or not, their real-world rides will at least give resemblance to their zwift output, even if only for certain segments at a time. stop worrying about whatRead more . 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. Great article, Eric. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts. 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. Races can use different schemes to categorise riders, but most of them use this scheme: You can, of course, progress through the ranks as you race. At least I can be best in one thing on zwiftpower. Launch Zwift and go to the Menu. Sure, easy! below this level you just have to take people's word for it. 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). Once you have a number for your FTP in watts, divide it by your weight in kilograms. 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. As soon as I start pedaling Im pretty much into threshold (around 170bpm). 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. We like this move from Zwift. Next up is the most finicky part of the process finding your Zwift ID in order to connect your accounts. I once made myself much heavier so I could compete against my 11-year-old son in a head to head Zwift climbing race. Ride On. Some people, I think, just have a lower HR. I use Zwift to get in shape and prepare for outside riding. It will not eliminate this behavior but the races will be much more realistic and enjoyable. Zwift power usually looks at numbers vs the category race he entered. Riders weight will rise and fall but under normal circumstances within a range. Other planned changes communicated last week, including plans to improve the reporting features in Zwift will be rolled out as planned. Thats hilarious. 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. Note how he wins races while his max HR is around 30 beats below his maximum. Im sure it happens, but I would guess its pretty rare certainly less of a problem than normal weight doping. Updating Your Public Profile Zwift takes your physical measurements into account for things like leaderboards, speed, and your avatar's physical appea. What is that!?! The only trouble is the downhill doesnt take as long of course, so the light advantage is obviously better. Remember - Zwift is a trainingplatform.. and if a rider feels his/hers motivation to ride, is higher when entering 'wrong' it's ok with me..AND obviously with Zwift too. Yes us heavier riders have the downhill advantage definitely. Weight would be updated as normal throughout the month. How about simply showing a percentage variance. Either these racers need to calibrate the trainer or they are sandbagging big time. Whats the cheaters solution? As we said in the first post, "Assuming race organizers can access the data via ZwiftPower, and the site includes simple tools for spotting potential weight or height dopers (perhaps flagging those who made dramatic changes recently), then hiding weight and height data from the public should work swimmingly." Unless a youth rider, height is generally going to remain the same. But Its hard to confirm whether or not its transmitting the weight to Zwift. If its a big hill, well then w/kg has us equalised. Or are you looking for a participation trophy on every race as well? To move up to the next rank, ZwiftPower will take 95 per cent of your 20-minute average w/kg figure from your previous three races. Too light and watts go down as does watts per kilo. As for the weight, I weight 190lbs, (86Ks) I put in 190lbs. Why dont you start self-regulating then? The six-digit number highlighted in bold will be your Zwift ID. As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. I recently won a C race, but it didnt feel like winning as I knew there were 2 categories faster. This is pretty timely for me as my FTP is 283 and my weight is currently 71.2kg. Had assumed I just rode inefficiently. I am currently 145kg and have not experienced any bullying so far. 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. Zwift doesn't need a fancy code fix, they don't need special anti-cheat software, special post race investigations, and they don't need to change anything other than when the game updates personal attributes. Have you considered age category racing. I have wondered about this subject on a few occasions. Response to our post as well as Zwifts own post in their forum were resoundingly negative from members of the Zwift racing community. With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. . The categorization system is, like you say, fundamentally flawed. On Zwift, weight dopers seek to gain an advantage by entering a lower-than-life weight into their Zwift profile. Is a very strong rider for his age and trains hard. 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. I am always passed by everyone on the way up but can usually catch up on the way down (190cm/93kg). As a low to mid-cat rider, ImRead more . 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!!). Kudos to Zwift for listening to their customers and admitting they made a mistake. If you were to meet meRead more . Heres an idea: Take weigh out of the equation. 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. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). Bob, what on earth is that all about? ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. No one is going to lose or gain 5kg overnight or shrink a 1cm. People can be far to either direction im 25 and my max that I have hit is 217. are clay hart and sally flynn still married; composite chart 12th house; tupperware party points; st francis of assisi school jobs Zwift excessively rewards the athlete for being light and small. Conserving energy is a key part of successful bike racing. It points to the need for a results-based categorization system, which I discussed a month ago in the final post of my race category series. On a flat ride I would beat every sub 60kg cat B rider too. 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. I am a long time racer in NorCal and cheating is cheating. Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. It impacts the Group Rides and as you said the performance statistics individually. If you set your weight high enough that you fail to do well you will drop in the categories. I wouldnt personally do it since it throws off training metrics and just isnt true. You only change it in Zwift and it should get picked up with regular backend processing periodically (maybe overnight). I never reverse weight doped. So I dont expect to be as competitive vs. a pure cyclist. I was going flat out the whole race, and by no means cruising along watching my watts. A strict w/kg classification isnt perfect. The COVID-19 lockdown period, now in its third month around the world, has seen an unprecedented boom in virtual cycling. I would say 1kg or more is more normal. Because narcissistic people want to get validation from somewhere/someone that theyre special/different and if they cant get it legitimately theyll lie, cheat, and steal to do so. Well, its adding weight to gain an advantage. Skinny guys get DQd if they match heavies on the flat for power so they can NEVER win, even in the mountains. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.) Someone sandbagging will get promoted out of category and will not be allowed to reg for lower categories. This covers name changes as well as weight/height changes during an event. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Keep it on. If you've already created an accountcheck out the s. I know Ive done it! That is pretty low compared to most people on zwiftpower. 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. I rarely race, don't care. They do? You will receive a verification email shortly. The first way is to head into your profile. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. With racer categories? MyRead more . The guy who got first weighs 106kg on strava but 45kg and only 411 on zwift. I dont know why this is, but i dont care one bit if people are cheating. A thank you to Zwift HQ for listening to the feedback from the racing community and taking action. She can crank but her w/kg is low. Bath Zwift is full of cheaters and thats not going to change now. How does it work? angels stadium covid rules. 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. I said if its not done during a competitive Zwift event, its not a problem. I would include chasing Strava Zwift KOMs as a competitive event (but I could see how what I said could be interpreted otherwise. there's a million and 1 reasons why it is not a legitimate sport. Now in A i get dropped all the time. 240W 50kg riders (4.8W/kg) beat 380W 95kg riders in B category Tempus Fugit time trials. Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. However, I definitely recommend entering some races. look at the article. Doing this will bring up a box at the bottom of the browser showing a web address something similar to: https://s3-fit-prd-uswest2-zwift.s3.amazonaws.com/prod/000000/a2e1b7f8-27610843. My HR numbers are almost identical to yours. The winners are almost always people with recorded weights sub 70kgs, more typically 65kgs, even 59! On a tablet or smartphone, you can download the. It doesnt appear that people are abiding by the categories. 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. As such, we have agreed to pause this change while we develop tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing while promoting wellness. 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. Bump your Zwift weight up to 84kg and even with your new and improved 260-watt FTP youre only at 3.1 w/kg! I have a Withings scale and in the Zwift Settings, it shows up as connected. The issues with e-racing remain the same, and largely ignored for years now. But many people (including myself) prefer categorized races because we want to have a chance to actually battle it out for a win. (I dont recommend this approach, but it proves the point that weight doping is an issue that concerns many Zwift racers. Its going to take a certain amount of calories for a certain person to perform a given amount of work in a given time. 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 is especially true if you are trying to ride with riders you possibly know locally or otherwise. 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. What particularly annoys me is being beaten by light but moderately powerful riders doing individual time trials on flat courses. The only place where being heavy helps is on the decent, which are almost all short (except Ventoux and Alpe de Zwift), and as a heavy guy (85kgs) I need to recover on the decent. 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. 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. How doRead more . I currently weigh 59kgs but my BMI is 25 which technically overweight. 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. As a Triathlete, I have a different perspective when racing and riding on Zwift because the vast majority of Zwifters (according to Zwift and Strava) are only cycling; whereas Im also training by Running and Swimming. Then lets stop with all athletic competition! USA Cycling has categories that are based on experience and performance. First, you need to sign up for an account. Your voice is important to us. Youll move a little slower with the added virtual weight, but youll be able to hang with the front of the Cs instead of getting shelled off the back of the Bs. Theyre only cheating themselves and it all comes out in the wash eventually. 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. A recent Crit City A Race is a very good example of this: I finished in the front pack, sprinting it out for 9th place. Yes, smaller riders have less frontal area, but the difference in CdA isnt that much. I mean I never lied about my weight, I am a very light rider working and eating hard to get some extra pounds. See how you can support Zwift Insider! Im the opposite. 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. Hardly true Say you train and commit yourself to being honest to achieve better fitness,and also better results, albeit virtually..then someone finishes better than you solely because of the BS numbers they entered. 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. If it is.. someone must be able to point me to the rule where it says that it is forbidden..? hanging with the front group is very though for me because i am exactly at the bridge between A and B. yea but realistically is it worth it for them to dedicate the resources to that $$$$$$$, Well, thats good news. Currently trying to convince a friend who is new to Zwift not to reverse weight dope. Look at ZP results. The easiest way to qualify for a higher category is to cut weight. Hi Using HRM is difficult as well as you max HRM changes with age mine is 159 flat out but I am over 60. ThatRead more . (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). Check out this FAQ for some of our frequently asked questions: Q:&. Hes asking for a fair race. They are not, and never were, skill classes of any kind (ie. Thats a good thing. 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. The categories are the cycling equivalent to weight classes in boxing. In order to ride with him I have to drop my weight to allow me to keep up. Best Zwift setups: Indoor cycling setups to give you the competitive edge. Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. however 2 riders at the same w/kg, heavier riders have the advantage on flats & descents: https://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/. IMHO, enforcing in-category entry for races will be a quick, easy and effective change.