Women's Racing - The State of the Union Address
We are into the thickest part of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the peak indoor racing season. Women's racing is still short of full participation. Sure, there aren't as many women as men on Zwift. But, did you know how much is being done to promote women's racing?
Certainly, the 2017 Zwift women's Academy attracted a lot of female riders. The women's only races were suddenly full. Group rides were large packs. But, completing all of the requirements for the Academy was less than desired. Was it the eight workouts or the five mandatory group rides? I would like to see group ride requirements reduced. I also think one of the races could be a time trial event or a roll-out start to keep new racers from dropping out. It can be a lonely ride if you aren't prepared to have heavy combat for the first few minutes of a race. Integrate, not isolate. Time trials are an even effort that compliments 'from the gun' races.
The September 2018 Academy is a ways away. So, what's on tap now?
CVR Series CVR info here
It is pretty simple to get involved. There are the basic four levels of A,B,C, D. Each week, the race is held in 8 different time zones. You get to pick which one will work with your schedule. Then, you race and receive points. You get points for 3 of 4 races each month, with your total of six races. A season is eight weeks long. There are prizes and a grand annual World Cup Final. The second and third overall from each season race head to head and can qualify for the next season finals. Pretty good deal. Did I mention cash prizes? This years final will be held in Los Angeles March 24 and 25. This competition features paid travel and over $100,000 in total prize money. Insane.
Currently, the season is wrapping up Feb 25. After the championship, there will be four annual series. Spring - March 26-May 20. Summer June 18 - Aug 12. Fall Sept 10 - Nov 4. and Winter not announced, but likely Jan 1 2019 again and not before Dec 9, 2018.
Also right now, CVR holds training classes for those who want to get a taste of racing and prepare for the next season. Women's participation is still low. Big credit to CVR for stepping up with men's and women's racing. They have set up these races for the long haul. Participation should rise annually.
You might like their series XRS races. One is coming up Thursday Feb. 8. See Zwiftpower or Zwift events.
The down side of a women's league? Some zones are small, with women and men sharing the course. In larger zones, CVR has a separate start for the women in their own module. Which is harder? Competing against 20 other women or competing with four other women in a sea of a hundred men?
KISS Europe and North American Series
KISS Wonen's Euro Crit Series KISS NA Women's Crit Series
This series was born from the Australian Zwift Crit Series. Kudos to KISS who stepped in and took up the responsibility after Zwift started the competition. Race modules were problematic in the early part of the season (almost always with the women being unable to log in). Once resolved, the series started anew in December 2017 and has a few weeks left. The final races are in April, the 14th for Europe sponsored by Tacx and the 21st for North America sponsored by Cycleops.
KISS has done great things for racing on Zwift. They are at the forefront, presenting several races each week live on Zwift Community Live (Facebook and YouTube).They have a 100 km race on Sundays (if you dare) and a four part 2 km race series on Saturdays (which I love).
ODivaZ Women's Races
ODZ has had a few races for women in the Diva series. I've done their Saturday race a few times. You might love the start, a fairly easy roll-out for a few kilometers. A nice change of pace. In the 'A' group, expect a sprint at the end of the warm-up. The ODivaZ Race is generally held twice a month.
Zwift Team Racing
There are a number of brave gals running the show as race team captains and team group administrators. You'll find most teams on Facebook. The best location for a list is at ZwiftPower; see Zwift Race Teams. Look at the women's race results and you will see a list of teams that the riders are associated with. I ride for Team Fearless. Some teams also ride and train using DISCORD. It's the best way Zwifters have found to communicate on a specific channel. It has been used by gamers since May 2015.
Jump In
Watch our events. they are sure to be broadcast live. CVR weekly races can be seen here every Tuesday on live streams every 3 hours starting at 2 am EST. KISS broadcasts their Thursday races at 2 pm and 8 pm EST races. Broadcasts appear at Youtube Zwift Community Live and you can comment live at Facebook Zwift community Live. By watching, you may get the 'bug' and start racing too.
My Plans
As an impatient person, I would rather start building what I want rather than writing posts about what I wish would happen. To that end, I am starting a Powerhouse Series of 4 or 5 segments to race. Points are awarded for each stage. It will run on Strava League just like the Smackdown Series Eric ran here last year. It isn't perfect. The system pulls your best time out of Strava for a given period of time. I love short powerful tests like these and I want to see how many other people, men and women, want to have a whack at it. I will run that in March. I will post a specific link but here's their site. If you want to test your best time on The Pretzel Course or 25 laps of the Volcano Circuit, you'll have to find someone else.
I am also trying to find an organizer for a Match Sprint Race. Sprinters would have to qualify on a time trial bike sprint with a screenshot of their sprint time. The top 16 will be invited to live matches just like a real track meet. Racers will line up on the London 1 km banner and go off by pairs using the Classique course finish line. I'm still not sure how we can handle the finish, short of a race module. We could just use the 'live sprint results', which means if you do a 1 km flyer that only your 200 meter time would count. Obviously, drafting will be crucial. No power-ups. First night would have the round of 16 and round of 8 settled in single matches. #1 and # 16 race, then #2 and #15, just like real track races. Next night, Semi-finals and Medal Finals to be best of three sprints.
I have been looking at the smart Trainers. I will do more research and put out an article. We all know the Neo is the best race model. But, for fitness and price value, I want to look at the Direto, Hammer, Flux, and Kickr. So far, you can't beat the look of the Elite Pink Giro version. Barbie's Trainer for sure.
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