10 Tips for Competing on Zwift
1. SELECT THE RIGHT RACE
Today, with the pandemic, the number of races on Zwift have multiplied. To find the best race for you, you have to look at several aspects: duration, profile, drafting (with drafting, double drafting or without drafting), schedule, number of entries and categories.
Let me give you an example: I am a triathlete, I do better with long efforts and my sprint skills are limited. I'm not going to choose a race in the criterium circuit with double drafting where it will be impossible for me to escape and I will lose in the sprints.
On the subject of categories, Zwift is experimenting with a system to automatically remove people who have entered a category lower than their own. Do your calculation (FTP/kg) and register in your category to have fair races.
One piece of information: there is a page called zwifthacks.com that has a race search engine, the page is very well done, use it.
2. CHOOSE THE BEST POSSIBLE GEAR
Bikes and wheels on Zwift are NOT all the same. Each bike and pair of wheels has a specific weight and aerodynamics. You can start by looking at the starred notes on each one, but even between two bikes with the same stars, there can be significant time differences in the race.
The zwiftinsider.com site did the flat and uphill tests for all bikes and wheels! They also have guidelines for recommending bikes and wheels to buy in the drop shop, depending on each one’s level. The lower levels do not always have access to the best bikes or wheels, but will always find more accessible ones with an excellent level of performance.
Be careful, not only the altitude matters but also the pavement: on dirt roads gravel bikes and MTBs are faster than the best road bikes.
3. THE IMPORTANCE OF WARMING-UP
We'll talk about it in more detail later but it's important to know that Zwift races start very hard and if you get caught with cold legs you won't be able to keep up with this first push. I recommend warming up for at least 20 minutes before the race starts.
For very high-intensity races I do the next warm-up:
10min in zone 2 (blue) / 80rpm
5min in zone 3 (yellow) / 90rpm
2min in zone 4 (orange) / 100rpm
1min in zone 5 (red) /110rpm (in the lower zone of the red zone)
5min in zone 3 / 90rpm
5min in zone 2 /80rpm
10min in zone 1 (grey)
4. ARRIVING EARLY TO THE START ZONE
30 minutes before the start of the race, you will be given the option to go to the starting point. Click as soon as possible. People are placed at the start line in order of arrival. In mass races, this is of fundamental importance! If you have to go back 500 places from the start because you were late to the warm-up area, I can assure you that you will never see the top of the race.
5. START AT FULL SPEED
On Zwift the first 2-3 minutes of the race are key. It's a full-blown race to make the top selection at that point. You can be stronger than the others, but if a gap opens up in front of you and you don't fill it immediately, all your chances of winning are gone. I recommend being ready and willing to make these first 2-3 minutes at 110-120% of the FTP. After that, the pace usually drops (a little).
Here's a little trick: Zwift has a bit of inertia which means that if you wait for the start to pedal, you will immediately lose 2-3 key seconds. So, start raising the watts about 5-10 seconds before the race actually starts.
6. KNOWING THE CIRCUIT
Races are lost on the climbs. Even if it ends in a massive sprint there are always small climbs on the circuit where the selection is made between the best and those who were not attentive or didn’t have the legs. It is very important to know exactly how many climbs there are, where they are and the elevation of each one. In order not to get dropped on a climb, I recommend you position yourself at the front of the group and accelerate before the climb. Zwift has small inertia and it is always better to enter the climb with the highest watts.
The pace increase should be especially strong if it is a short and steep climb. Typically when I get out of the London Underground, I don't even look at the watts, I just give it everything I've got to stay in the group.
If it is possible, I strongly recommend doing a low-intensity circuit reconnaissance in the days before the race.
7. KNOW HOW TO USE POWER-UPS
There are 5 different Power-Ups in a race:
The truck improves your drafting by 50% for 30 seconds. It's very good for a sprint or resting in a group on a downhill course. Besides, it's the power up that lasts the longest!
The feather decreases your weight by 9,5kg during 15 seconds. Ideal for making a difference on a climb, but much less useful on a flat.
The aero helmet reduces your aerodynamic resistance by 25% for 15 seconds. It is more efficient at high speed. It is useful for sprints or times when you are not drafting (escaping or covering a hole).
The donkey makes you fart, which doesn’t permit people to draft you, it lasts 10 seconds. Ideal for hitting an attack and getting out of the group.
The ghost makes you invisible to other runners for 10 seconds. It's also good for attacking without everyone jumping on your wheel.
If you don't have the power-up you want, use it quickly to have a better chance of passing under the next arch. If you pass under an arch with a power-up in reserve, you will keep it.
8. DRAFTING
We are not doing a triathlon, drafting is authorized and very useful to keep your legs fresh. In fact, if you finish a race and you see that you did less W/kg than the other cyclists that came with you, it means that you did a smart race.
Drafting effectively on Zwift needs experience, the idea is to make as little effort as possible without taking off, and, if you do take off a little, speed up but not so much that you overtake the person in front of you. I'll give you 2 tips on how to draft better:
Don't stop pedaling! If you stop pedaling you will be fine for two seconds, but by the third, you will have lost the wheel and will have to push hard to get back.
Unless you use the Tron bike, you can see if your avatar is drafting or not. Look at the position of the hands and the trunk: if you are drafting, your avatar will have his hands above the handlebars and the trunk will be more stopped but, if you are eating the wind, your avatar will have his hands below the handlebars and the trunk will be more horizontal. Keep an eye on this so you don't throw the group away if you don't have to.
9. RECOVER ON DESCENTS
During descents, the watts must be increased a lot to achieve a small increase in speed. Knowing this, take advantage of the descents to recover and hydrate. Slow down and do some drafting. There is a specific case in which it can be even faster to stop pedaling. If you meet the following 3 conditions, your avatar will sit on the horizontal tube of the bike and reach a super aero position. For this you need to:
Go faster than 58km/h
Be in a descent with more than 3% inclination
Pedal less than 11rpm
This is great to recover however, anyway I recommend you to pedal again a little bit before you get to the flats, or else you will have to do a sprint to not lose the wheels.
10. USE A FAN
I saved the most important thing for last: thermoregulation! I will give you a piece of information that will allow you to realize how fundamental the fan is: for every watt you produce to push the pedals, you generate 3 to 4 additional watts that dissipate in heat. That is if you go to 300W your body is the equivalent of a 900 to 1200W stove! The fan is what will allow you to evacuate this layer of very hot air that is continuously generated around your body. If you do not use a fan, your body will not be able to cool down and will overheat very quickly resulting in a significant drop in performance.
To give you an idea, I spent my entire winter without a shirt, the window open and the fan on!
NOW YOU ARE READY TO RACE!
