Serious Competition

Thanks for reading my cycling dribble. Sorry, this page is a little bit messy with updates.

Zwift Academy Sprint Champion - Richmond 23 Street Climb

1. Zee Kryder 23.902 @698 watts 10.7 w/kg

2. S Etienne 26.62 @ 426 watts 8.8w/kg

3. G. Guerra 26.70 @476 watts 8.4 w/kg

*As you may or may not know, this is what I was training for, this segment for the Academy sprint title. I went so strong here I put myself in the top ten of all time. My all time record on Strava is 22.63.

Zwift Academy Segment - Richmond Libby Hill

1. K. Fuhrer 1:09 (7.7w/kg)

2. Z. Kryder 1:13 (7.4w/kg) * Very happy to take second here. Congrats to Fuhrer.

3. E. Wiseman 1:13 (7.0w/kg)

4. E. Dyrhovden 1:13 (6.2 w/kg)

Zwift Academy Segment- Scotland Breakaway Brie (this is really a drafting segment)

1. M. Wilkinson 44.18 

2. I Alton 46.34

3. M DeBoer 47.41

*I was 15th place at 49.90

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Below are my notes from the start of ZA:

So, I plan to go for all three segments that the coaches are marking. There's one in Scotland and two in Richmond.

Libby Hill: (Nov 20) I'm an unlikely candidate on this one. I didn't even try for this today. I was concentrating on the other hill.

(Nov 26) Raced for finish 36/101 1:34 @313 watts was good for first lap.

I see K. Fuhrer is in lead at 1:09 457 watts (my new goal but almost out of reach. wow.)

(Nov 28) Hit it just about right. 1:13.8 @ 478 is probably my full max. Almost hit my best minute for this year.

I'm in second place here, tied with two others but ahead in w/kg. This is a brutal climb.

Breakaway Brae: (Nov 20 ) I went hard but with limited results as the race start was very hard, over 200 in this first event of the ZA race series. I had a 49.822 at 407 watts. It was a little slow as I was out of the draft for the last 15 or 20 seconds.

S. Etienne at 47.95 358 watts and 6 racers over 400 watts. Her w/kg are crazy numbers, such a pro effort.

M Wilkinson smashed it with 44.18 @ 497 watts

(Nov 28) 49.798 @ 516 watts puts me about 6th place. I got into the wind too early.

23rd St: (Nov 20) I was anxious to do really great on my first day. I had a fast first climb and an even faster second effort. Ready for it? Z Kryder 25.439 at 651 watts. That effort puts me third on the all time list behind Verhaaren and Elise Murray. 10 w/kg is nearly pro level, I think. (for a road rider, they say track sprinters are way beyond 10w/kg)

(Nov 26) 37.98 @390 watts was going smooth on first lap.

(Nov 28) Z Kryder  23.902 @698 watts. I'm trying to put this one out of reach. This is my only strength. I'm not winning any races any more. I just can't go fast for very long. 

I'm in the lead!

My Last Academy

 It's finally time to bring in the show. I expected this in September. Now it is November 6 - December 17. Six weeks to do some hard efforts: 30 seconds, two minutes, 5 minutes, 8 minutes, and a full 20 minute effort. Plus races. My first goal will be to try to stay on top of my 30 seconds and two minutes. I have a powerful kick to the line that I hope to bring to the battle. However, I'm not sure if Zwift will provide the list of top riders this year. If not, then that's okay. I'll have to drive some races really hard. I definitely will train Richmond before the big races begin. I already know the Scotland course pretty well. Richmond has those three hills back to back that can ruin your race. A point series would have been better for me or even a time trial. 

Here are my current numbers going in to the big show: current max - academy results below

30-648             short at 643  $$$$$ 10 w/kg

one- 488          long at 461  $$$$ 7w/kg (really want to try for 8 if I have time), 491 on Libby Hill!

two-401 (11/3)  short at 364  $$$ (will try again soon) and 403! $$$$$(378 avg) 6.2 w/kg

five-317           short at 325 a perfect 5 w/kg $$$$$ and long at 312 scores 96% 

eight-298     Short effort at 293 $$$$$, long effort at 282 scores 96% 

twenty-263   short effort at 262 $$$$ 4w/kg (fairly average but good for a sprinter)

I will write about the workouts soon. But there are two things. 

One: How good can one do fatigued compared to max? compared to long test? (for us mere mortals)

Two: How good are you at measuring your effort/power left at end of race? My example is my final 8 minutes effort. While I averaged 293 vs. 298 (I have broken into 301), the focus is not on average power. The coaches are looking more towards a great finish. So I averaged 277 for 7 minutes with the last 30-40 seconds at 450 roughly. The 7 w/kg finish counts more than the previous 7 minutes. If you start fast for 20 seconds and fade in the last minute, then that's a poor race finish even if you were to average more watts than me (like 325 average with only 275 for the last dying minute). This is just what I have been told. I hope to ask the coaches directly soon. I just did a two minute effort fatigued at 100% with 450 the last minute...sign me up (lol). I'm crushing these, unexpectedly. I may have a very difficult time trying to retire.