I think with a results based system would help as it would the sandbaggers, but it wont eliminate the weight cheats entirely, those that just want to gain a little more w/kg by losing a few virtual pounds. Since strava is all that matters of course. Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. Mate youre a legend. ur allowed +/- 5% weight for pro zwift races so +/- 0.5 kg is not going to make a difference :p. add weight if u want to stay in D. lower weight if u wanna move to C. up 2 u. Id be super interested in the timing you set your weight. IRead more , Aaron, do you know what is the wattage requirement for Cat A? I dont care anyway. All the emphasis on physical metrics makes sense for putting together how speed is calculated but not how one can race. There is no disqualification for going over your w/kg limit. for example,Read more . Im in the same boat. Your voice is important to us. I am 65 kg with FTP of 270 W, which equlas 4,15 w/kg. Mike, Great article as ever Eric. its only cheating myself, instead I would prefer to spend that 2 painful hours doing something honestly and feel proud of it than zooming through it in sub 60m and not reap the same benefits (or in my case, pain). Other planned changes communicated last week, including plans to improve the reporting features in Zwift will be rolled out as planned. Whatever your answer, some people will never like it, but there has to be a clear, credible answer for the majority to support. I have heard women admit on social rides that their zwift weight is their goal weightRead more . In a race not in Zwift it is very easy for people to recongize who I am. You lose 10 liters of sweat during a medium long ride? Bath This is especially true if you are trying to ride with riders you possibly know locally or otherwise. yes, but you are missing my point. 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. I agree Paul great idea. Is a very strong rider for his age and trains hard. (and dont do organized rides for fairness) so I dont have resistance changes and sometimes zwift reports extraordinary power readings for a ride. This is real frustrating as hes a top u12 racer and wants to see his efforts recognise. IRL cycling pros are not exactly heavy weights and lean-ness is highly encouraged. You can record your weight n height n have it verified by experts etc up to five minutes before an event. 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. But I also did it because I knew it was great practice! 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. Whats the cheaters solution? Cheapest Zwift setup: Everything to help you onto Zwift for the first time 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. Take one of our four FTP tests to determine your FTP. 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. If its not done during a competitive Zwift event, I dont see it as a problem. 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. I did on one and second on the other. 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. If I get down to 52 kilos I can climb well but my sprinting is terrible. Taking weight out of the equation you could just make everyones avatar moving forward by holding down the up arrow on their keyboard. angels stadium covid rules. Using your Mac or PC, you can do it online on the Zwift website. In IRL there is a double draft. Why not ride to your strengths? It impacts the Group Rides and as you said the performance statistics individually. IMHO, enforcing in-category entry for races will be a quick, easy and effective change. But theres one problem: this puts you into the B category, and you dont want to race the Bs. The guy who got first weighs 106kg on strava but 45kg and only 411 on zwift. Some weight dopers are obvious and blatant other times its much less egregious. But your point is correct, if someone has a good string of results, upg them regardless of cat limits, and zwift needs to lock them out of cat in-game for it to be effective. I know its just virtual but my godi hope they enjoy their lies. Blaming Zwift for eating disorders is not sensible. look at the article. Race them if you want, but Rides like Tour de Zwift are not based on rider category, they are based on distance. Im glad you wrote about this. I used to live next to the Alpe and later, next to the Ventoux. I now know of over 20 category D zwift users that have said theyre not going to bother with the Zwift races anymore. As long as youre being honest with yourself I wouldnt worry about it too much. This can be seen by comparing Zwift physics with real life physics (calculated by websites likeRead more . otherwise no way in hell hes beating you. If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. If you're putting out enough power, then you can make your way up the ranks and keep on racing. indispensabile essere sinceri nel dichiarare il proprio peso , per se stessi e per il rispetto degli altri . 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. See how you can support Zwift Insider! In reality no under 12 is competing with a decent 2nd or 3rd cat (UK system) Ive ridden with enough talented youth riders that this is fact so letting young kids crush half decent amateurs on zwift would be unrealistic. Yes, we need to be categorized by our race ranking, not power. Hahahahaha. SoggyAlbatross2. On a flat ride I would beat every sub 60kg cat B rider too. Last week we announced Zwifts plans to remove rider height and weight from ZwiftPower, among other changes (read the full post here). 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. Zwift excessively rewards the athlete for being light and small. Bump your Zwift weight up to 84kg and even with your new and improved 260-watt FTP youre only at 3.1 w/kg! As soon as there is a single bit of flat cheerio! I am a long time racer in NorCal and cheating is cheating. 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). I wont do and will rather try my very best to compete with the As. If I am racing I want to be able to look across at the guy/girl next to me (ie on the Companion app) and get an idea if they are going to kill me on the next hill, or not are they a 185cm/90kg guy versus my 172cm/74kg. Chip on the shoulder there or what? Weight would be updated as normal throughout the month. 2022 Race Like A Pro. In theory (at least) weight dopers could game the results based categories as well. 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. Just like the CEO promised us rowing years ago, right? With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. Hes not looking for a trophy every race. But I get beaten by lots of other zwifters, even on flat courses. I have just accepted that at my height I will always be heavier than the average cyclist. 1 - Manually Set Your FTP Let's say you already know your FTP, then you can go into Zwift and manually change it to whatever you'd like. I rarely race, don't care. So am I a super-drafter, the king of indoor efficiency? Generally weigh myself once a month. If thats the norm, then I really dont see theRead more . If youre a 300-pound dude who wants to go a little faster uphill as a virtual 200 pounder, have at it. Why can we just all race together and the fastest person wins? Additionally, well be moving forward on hiding height and weight from Zwift Companion and Web. On the flats and descents she crushes her w/kg field. As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. Find some hilly races As a result your suggestion of the watts vs w/kg different systems is already baked into the game physics in a way. Skinny guys get DQd if they match heavies on the flat for power so they can NEVER win, even in the mountains. Great article, Eric. Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. 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. Had assumed I just rode inefficiently. Many riders is talking about cheating, when someone enters a lower category but it's not, in my opinion. Nekkid and I only update my weight in zwift if it moves more than a KG. I think the Zwift algorithm is quite relevant because it implies a good workout in any race for any kind of rider (and thats what we are looking for). So its not Zwift putting you at a disadvantage but the situation itself, just as you would be in the real world in that situation. Leave the setting unchanged and climbs often feel challenging. Im 170cm and currently 61kg with an ideal triathlon racing weight of 59kg. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). Everyone races at the same weight/height. The categories are the cycling equivalent to weight classes in boxing. If its a big hill, well then w/kg has us equalised. The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . 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. Lucky forRead more . The six-digit number highlighted in bold will be your Zwift ID. In order to ride with him I have to drop my weight to allow me to keep up. I should mention: many Zwifters have lied about their in-game weight for perfectly acceptable reasons. , 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. Ugh! 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. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Im curious to see this summer if I can do the numbers outdoors as I push out on Zwift but I cant even think of a road to use for 30 mins without stop signs, pot holes, lots of traffic, etc. I am about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. BA1 1UA. 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. Why try to force IRL parameters that can not be enforced. Next up is the most finicky part of the process finding your Zwift ID in order to connect your accounts. Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. 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. 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 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. 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. Theres also fitnesssyncer.com that is free up to 4 sync services. With my question answered as to what I should pick for my next race, Id delete my original post if I could, but I cannot figure out how. Bob, what on earth is that all about? Their hr should also correspond, which they often dont. However, I was able to navigate to the settings page by doing the following. 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. Cyclingnews is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Zwift essentially encourages people to be less than truthful about their weight. If other people want to obsess about my weight thats up to them but I wont. Do you believe weight doping (reverse or otherwise) is a big problem in Zwift racing, and if so, what can be done about it? As long as the button to enter a lower cat is active, riders will Press It. Im a heavy rider at 102kgs and 193cm tall I once reverse doped my weight at the top of the radio tower to try and achieve the 100km/HR badge It had the opposite effect in that I was actually slower than when descending at my actual weight lol I dont race other than against myself so Ive never weight doped as such My observations recently however have created an awareness of how many stick insects ride bikes on zwift . nothing less. Im more concerned about the guy who finished 5th with 144bpm. 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. Makes me happy to see that the community is able to speak with one voice if necessary. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. 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 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. On the other hand, I am extremely anti-weight doping and agree with the post pointing out there is no incentive or even reason to be heavier. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips. I have seen riders weighting 56 kgs and week later they are 35 kgs. The bottom line is that in any competition there will always be someone who wants to cheat to win.Read more . People with eating disorders, or a proclivity toward extreme dieting. Login Required The Zwift Engineering team is focused on improving security for ZwiftPower users. They CANNOT win. The only way for complete cheat free racing is in the zwift Pro race which is all done in a single room with all riders together. My power is often in the top few. Thats hilarious. Although does WTRL encourage reverse weight doping? 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. The issues with e-racing remain the same, and largely ignored for years now. Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. A good portion of that weight difference is in the Hub's 10.3 . (Its not the only part, of course! If you are on the lighter side, try picking some climbing races. Its ridiculous. 2022 SNOW Sprint Series They are not, and never were, skill classes of any kind (ie. Well, imagine youre a strong C racer. Hes asking for a fair race. I know Ive done it! This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. Im glad our collective voice was heard on this one, In the future, well continue to bring potential product ideas and changes to members of the Zwift Racing Community, with the hope that youll embrace this as a collaborative effort to help shape the experience.. This would cover submission and review of a private video showing height and weight which would result in a check mark on ZP showing this rider was height/weight verified. I dont think so. The default position is midway between "Off" and "Max," or 50 percent of the grade resistance you'd find while riding the same grade of hill in the real world. They do however have a disadvantage on any flat or downhill. Frustrating to someone who tries so hard to compete in my weight class to get beat by cheaters. Absolutely impossible. This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. triathlon). I am currently 145kg and have not experienced any bullying so far. Most of my ZwiftRead more . There was a problem. Some big Zwift races have specific rulesets, etc. Especially for the C and D groups but even for the Bs albeit to a lesser degree. People can be far to either direction im 25 and my max that I have hit is 217. the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. Zwift now allows for hiding Zwift automatically connects If you don't own power meter pedals, Zwift's non-contract pricing for a Zwift cycling membership is $15 . But then you could have someone in the same age group who maxes out at 170. Or are you looking for a participation trophy on every race as well? Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. What stone have you been living under? Same reason there are categories and age group races outdoors! Not true, at least not absolutely. (a is tough and im struggling at max h/r for most of the race).Ive gone from 87kgs to 80 kgs in this time and feel fitter than ever. If I wanted to win I just drop my weight to 65kgs 350w/65kgs is a lot better than 350w/85kgs, of course 350w/65kg is better than 350w/85kg, its a massive increase in w/kg. We can name and shame these few. It all has to do with the way Zwift's racing categories work. Tough to recover after attacks in a race when youre always near maxing out. Keep it on. And this is why reverse weight doping is a thing. Zwift power usually looks at numbers vs the category race he entered. How come I get beat in sprints when a 60kg guy puts out 700W, when I put out over 1000W at 76kg? 5x5min, 4x8min but definitely never longer than 8 minutes. Since we know that lighter weight=higher virtual speed, this is a very easy way to cheat the system on Zwift. You do you. Food for thought. Once I hit 185 its either sit up and catch my breath of fall of the bike. Current system means that heavy weight top of cat riders climb at the same speed as skinny guys with same wpk but can have 60% more power on the flats. I put my real weight 95% of the time. Not sure why its hard for you to believe that there are a lot of riders under 70kgs. Just from riding regularly I went from 166 FTP to 187 in 800 miles over a 2 1/2 months. Even at my age I still plan to compete in MTB races when the world gets back to racing. I lost some weight during these few months and gained on FTP Now facing going to C and not getting any good results within the category, Eric, thanks for bringing this to light. ZwiftPower FAQ We're sure you have several questions about ZwiftPower and what it is. But I will, and Ill get hammered and hopefully improve. 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. If you need to cheat to get the results you want then why even bother. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). (I dont recommend this approach, but it proves the point that weight doping is an issue that concerns many Zwift racers. 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." There is no reason I should be gettingRead more , Sounds like its time to start racing the Bs, @guest_35522! 1. 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. 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. Find out more about how we test. Share your thoughts below! Incrasing virtual weight would probaly downgrade me to B again. either a) ur starting ur sprint way too late or b) ur leading him out. This clearly shows the power of the Zwift blob it impacts more than just drafting. Not knowing what to pick and with minutes until the my first race, I selected the C group and was thus filtered out of the Zwift Power race results when I then posted a 4.00w/kg over the 28 minute race. Would depend entirely upon the bike geometry, how much weight is over the front wheel and how much over the back. Yes, there are plenty of variabies, but power is power. Good question. Zwift should take accountability for what matters most to start with and thats the cheaters. It's also possible to filter results and data by categories, such as different age or power ranges. First, you need to sign up for an account. How many cyclists do you see in real life who are 65kgs, but they are ten a penny on Zwift. Have you considered drinking during a race? I recently won a C race, but it didnt feel like winning as I knew there were 2 categories faster. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Nice work! 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. Zwif: your ultimate guide 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. I know a woman who is 5 feet tall and almost 200lb. Im the opposite. 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. 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. How Do I Change My FTP On Zwift? It doesnt appear that people are abiding by the categories. Zwift is full of cheaters and thats not going to change now. Simply put, the system cannot measure weight it can only measure power, so for racing, peoples weight should be disregarded by that I mean, just as everyone in a zwift academy race has the same bike, they should be given the same weight , then it is a race based on FTP banded categories with point based promotion. 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. Just short of my 68th birthday I still dont see any point in cheating. I did this because I had a particular effort level planned for my workout that day, and didnt want to exceed it. https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=697996. 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. 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. What anyone wants in any game or competition is to feel its fair, and as they look to make changes going forward, I hope people at Zwift always keep asking themselves this question: How can Zwifters see these races are fair?. hanging with the front group is very though for me because i am exactly at the bridge between A and B. High intensity: 30/30 and 40/20sec Rnnestad intervals like 3x (10x40/20sec). The easiest way to qualify for a higher category is to cut weight. IRL if your weight is 85kg, itll take you longer to climb the Ventoux than if your weight is 65. 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. Not too many people actually want to see other peoples height or weight except to be able to verify race results are reasonable. 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. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts. Would achieve the same thing. And flags height and weight changes if they go up or down alot. Then lets stop with all athletic competition! Included with this license agreement can be the approval to show height and weight. 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 . Shame I cant edit my post for the horrendous spelling and autocorrect gaffes. ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. Manually change your weight in Zwift by adding 10 pounds. In spectacular and shocking fashion. Email zwiftpower@zwift.com if you want to reset everything. Threshold HR is around 151 bpm. 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). Any thoughts on verifying? I may try it just to see what difference it makes. 2.5w/kg (215Watts) is hard for me to hold for extended periods but I keep trying. If the categories are split using purely w/kg a lighter rider doesnt have any advantage up the climbs at all. The first way is to head into your profile. Adjusting Difficulty Before Your Workout. I tried racing a D race, and finished way off the front behind about 2/3 of riders after Id ridden at 2.9W/kg for the race. Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. If people want to cheat, they will and can do so in any uncontrolled situation. 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. Best Zwift setups: Indoor cycling setups to give you the competitive edge. 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).
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