Tour de Zwift Fall 2025 (The Unlocked Tour)
Race 1 went pretty good. I did great for about 12th or 14 minutes, then fell back at the castle climb, losing about a minute, then doing a good two minute effort on the South climb. My time of 18:15 will probably hold me back but we shall see. I could do it again but is it worth it for me? I need a better time to race as there were only 25 people in this event. I just couldn't make the bigger race in time. At least I held on to a very high-powered group.
Wow, a lot of gals have clipped the 18 minute mark. And boy, have the cheaters come out to play. There's no referee, so anything goes apparently. It's back to being the Wild West that Zwift used to be before ZADA and Elite Zwift testing. I've done it twice (and a third time just for myself). There was an older test and then it changed a bit. Both times, I feel I did good, just always tire in the long test after a few super hard sprints and one and five minute turns.
Race 2 went good for only five minutes. I fell off a small group and didn't know why. It felt like the brakes were on. The next day, I felt terrible. I guess I was fighting a bug or something, and hungry, and tired. Wednesday, I did the long stage and felt pretty good. I don't know if I will do a late points race Friday or maybe do Stage 2 on Saturday or Sunday. Small groups are just much slower overall and there is no support when you fall back. Almost every rider dropped, drops out of the race. It's no big deal. I'm okay with knowing that I'm not going to win the overall.
Race 3 was not too good either. I did great for the first lap only, with three more to go plus the Sgurr North Face. I just rode it like a time trial with a time that proves I was not drafting, lol. I'm sure I could keep up in a B squad. Maybe tomorrow.
So the total women in Unlocked Tour was 30 in open with 6 returning in race 2. The Unlocked Advanced had 5 with only me in race 2. One was clearly extreme weight doping. Three riders are male accounts. Jamie, I do not know but 377 for twenty minutes and 744 for a minute (which would get a world record in women's kilo event and probably medal in the men's side too.) Come on. Where's the competition. I should have ridden in the B cat. My ego bit off more than I can chew. Maybe I could redo some races in Standard. But, with so few involved, it isn't much of a challenge. Nobody takes pride when they take third in a series with only six or seven in the mix.
Race four and five were about the same. I keep falling off on Brooklyn Bridge. I have lost my zeal for writing about this Tour. I am the only one to finish the Advanced Race series. There is a 60 year old male who looks about 90 kg racing 5 kilos less than my weight doing almost 6 w/kg who is likely to make-up the one stage he missed. He has since changed his picture from himself to a picture of a squirrel, but he still shows photos of himself working out at the gym. He's very muscular. LoL. He/She, I should be politically correct.
