Wyn Time Trial Series Week # Two

 A tough race to build time over the competitors in the series. The Bell Lap course times three laps was so short. I tried to hit it hard, especially the hill climb. I did pretty good the first two laps being about the same. Then I hit the last lap pretty hard averaging over 300 with the final sprint included. I went from around 80th place to 57th with my finishing minute effort.

I won my heat! Last week's winner didn't show up. So unless she races in the next two heats, I should move up from fifth to fourth overall. 

Spicer 8:23//Kiely 8:29//Deubel 8:35//Kryder 8:37//Bergkamp 8:39//Williams 8:43//Whte 8:53

(Brewer raced an 8:28 but in the men's A division. This may exclude her from future results)

Overall: 

1 Brewer       xx:xx

2 Spicer        21:18

3 Kiely          21:37

4 Kryder       21:48

5 Deubel       22:03

6 White         22:07

7 Bergkamp  22:10

8 Williams     22:21

9 Lee              22:54

10 Bohn         24:07

ALL NINE ORANGE JERSEY COURSES

It all starts with, 'I had this idea.' which grows into, 'Why not?' and continues to evolve into a full blown race scenario. The idea? Nine time trials in a row, one for every world on Zwift. The real reason for the course is not to win the jersey but to get an official time stamp. Only one course on Richmond, on Crit City, in Paris, in New York, on Bologna, on Yorkshire, on London, and Innsbruck will do that. For Watopia, the orange jersey is for the Hilly Route. (Volcano circuit and Jungle circuit will also get a time stamp. But we all know, the orange jersey is where its at.)

The rules? Time trial bikes only. Forward or reverse...doesn't matter. In any order, on one day. Ride as fast as you can, it's a time trial remember. You will have to jump into an event for Bologna and Crit City. Plan them carefully. The rest, you can hack or plan a meet-up if you must.

Racing all Nine Worlds of Zwift on their respective 'Orange Jersey' Course is a challenge I was wary of. I'm not built for endurance somehow. Sprinting Crit City , easy. Innsbruck long climb, well that's what probably broke me.

I started on Bologna, fine. Then Paris squeezed in with a minute to spare to drop into Crit City. I raced Watopia's Hilly Route. Four laps, four jerseys. Innsbruck was a bear. I took a break after, changing into dry clothes. (I sweat, not pretty)Richmond was next, riding easy until the last three hills. London was 7 on the list with only New York and Yorkshire to finish. But after Fox Hill, my legs both cramped. Bad, hard cramps. It took me a few minutes just to get off my bike. 

It just wasn't worth the risk of trying to complete the London course or the other two courses. If I had skipped Innsbruck, I could have finished the other eight. But I wanted to knock out the longest before I was too tired.

I hope someone will try this and set the bar for others. It comes to about 100 km all totaled. I probably went too hard on the first four courses. But, I didn't want to simply cruise around for six hours either. It got me to do more than the two hour limit I seem to have. Hopefully, I'll recover and race hard Monday. 

PS I'm a bit more bummed than I expected to be. I was going so fast too. It's a shame I didn't finish but I just didn't have the time after I recovered.

EDIT: Please see a more recent post where I did complete all nine courses! 

Wyn Time Trial Series Week 1/6

Week one: I had a great start in the first position! After 30 seconds or so, the A guys did catch and pass. I wanted to hit it hard until the early downhill. It worked well. I had a competitor pass me on the end of the first lap going 5 w/kg. I did good at 275 watts, just a hair over the 272 I need to hit 4 w/kg. In the end, I lost by 11 seconds.Two girls broke 13 minutes on the Queen's Highway course of Yorkshire.

Brewer 12:46//Spicer 12:55//McIver 13:00//Kiely 13:08//Kryder 13:11 (fifth overall)//White 13:14

I'll be tracking the top 24, basically all between 13-15 minutes this week. One event done out of six total.

Dirt Race

 I tried a race today, the Libby Hill After Party is a good course for my legs, albeit a little long. I need a group that's not too fast. I struggled to keep with leaders. I always seem to fall back right after the sprint line. I had to drop back to the fourth group today to find an endurable pace. I hit the finishing hill with a group of 14 and finished third with another gal taking first. That was 77 and 79th place on screen, of 209. But overall, I rode terrible. My avatar is still not drafting for the first minute of the race and it tires me out. 

Why do I try to ride with the big boys (and a pro named Alice)? I just can't plod along too slowly or I will end up with a group that I can too easily outsprint. I want that shot at the title. A true B with the mind of an A racer. I'm still waiting to see if Zwift can fix me being put as an A instead of B racer. One big mistake and I'm stuck for now. Today's wattage was a bit low for me, 243 with a 1:32 time on Libby which is not too shabby. But, I expected better. Maybe I'll race again tomorrow.

And again the next day, 10 laps of Crit City with 260 watts the first 5 laps followed by 190. I cruised for one lap at 150 watts. No excuses, just didn't have it when I needed it. I'm thinking of working the 2020 Tri program of five workouts. I remember it was tough but not too hard. Races can wait for a bit until I recover some oomph.

Toying with Retirement

 After the Tour de Zwift, I am left a little bit weak and tired. I've actually thought of retirement. I expect at my age to go down a bit every year and it is hard to accept mentally. I love racing. Recently, an error in my race weight has me stuck as an A racer for the next three months. LOL, I always said I wanted to be an A cat and now I am complaining. I set my weight but somehow it didn't set and I didn't notice my weight was way off. Zwift won't correct this. It is just my burden to bear or so they say. 

Maybe I should go back and re-ride all of my Alp sections. I do love sprinting each section (although Strava does not record every section). I still own a dozen or so sections. There's a few that keep getting taken away by 'fliers' that are in a group banded ride. They can get a slingshot at 40 kph. There's just too many to delete them all would be a waste of time. I like training at 400-500 watts, pure sprinter's delight. 

I don't see much on the horizon except a new Tokyo course to attack in July and Belgium in September. I'm sure this is a training lull that I will get out of. Right now, it feels quite sluggish in training. Got any ideas? 

EDIT: I did a race today, fell back from the lead group very early and just stuck with a small group. It went fairly well. Our group swelled to about 13 as the laps went on. Three of us took off on the final hill before the sprint in NY. I caught the draft, passed and then surged into the lead and won the group sprint. Doh! I wore but forgot to pair my HR. Still a decent race for  riding just under 250 watts when I use to race at 260 or 270. I have to keep my hope alive. 

Who is Zee Kryder

  Today is September 19 2020. I am preparing for the Zwift Academy. I missed the 2016 Academy but I have done fairly well in the last three years. I was preparing for the Zwift Time Trial World Championship, which is now cancelled.(I was last year's winner) I just did my best hour power riding up Ventoux today.

     I've done some work behind the scenes for Zwift. Here's some of my work that has come to fruition: Designed the Highline in New York, the Speed Wheel in time trials, the Invisible Power-up and a little more. I got the T-Rex thrown in Titan's Grove by talking directly with Eric Min. Still trying to get Campy wheels, Ventum paint special, and a Greek Marathon Running course. Trike bikes for para-cyclists is on my radar also. I started the social group ZwiftOff, a group that use Zwift for weight loss and hope for official recognition some day. 

     I've won a few titles. Several people will point out that the early days lacked a lot of competition, which is true. It was fun all the same. I won the Switzerland National Zwift Championship in 2018, the Zwift World Time Trial Race in 2019, and the Tour de Zwift in 2020. I've also finished top twenty in the CVR Race Series and I took fifth place in the KISS Europe Race Series. I entered and won one race in the KISS American Race Series beating Brit Mason by a hair (one of my most exciting finishes). EDIT: I also finished first in the Swiss Nationals December 2020. Woo Hoo!

     I interviewed for the Academy Semi-Finals but simply can't compete with the top amateurs. I don't have enough race experience. My goal this year will have to be the forward KOM. My 10 second sprint has diminished in the last year or so. My thirty second and one minute power are still pretty sharp. After five minutes, I slow again. We will give it a go. Maintaining top form is a difficult task. EDIT: I finished about tenth. Some of the competition was wicked fast, 1:40 to my 1:46.

     Some of this blog was to record what I was doing, more for myself than the readers. I appreciate you few readers and all those who follow and encourage me with ride-ons. I only wish I had Zwift when I was younger.  

     Edit: Feb 2 20121, I'm riding the Tour de Zwift but there is no GC compilation. I'm just doing it although. It used to be a race. I'm very disappointed in Zwift for this failure. They have left me down a lot this past year, from the Nationals (moved from Feb. to Dec.) to letting the Time Trial World Championship go, I've trained hard for nearly nothing. The Moviestar race is tomorrow, but I'm skipping it ( I think) because I don't have much of a chance of surviving the first lap and I don't want to skip dinner with my hubby just to burst into the race for 15 minutes all for nothing. I would like to say I finished in the top 20 or so. But, I don't think it matters unless I can compete for the win. If it was a flat course or just one lap, then maybe I would have a chance. 

     I'll find some goal soon, then we'll be at it again. Until then....

Tour de Zwift 2021

 I will add each stage as raced.

STAGE 1: Awesome. I had a time of 27:29 (27:49 on ZP) I started out of the draft again with a glitch but caught the front group and held the a group for about a lap and a half. There was some traffic and the lead ten got broken up with four escaping out the front. I just didn't have the extra power to catch them so I stuck with the other six in the now second group. I hung with them and sprinted way too early. I didn't have a power-up so it seemed smart but painful. I did twenty seconds at ten watts per kilogram. I got passed by someone but I managed to snip him right at the line. I finished sixth (but I think fifth place was a two lap rider error). I lost a lot of time to the front four. I had a great first race just like last year. Score some big points and put me on top of the leader board because that was some fast flying. It was really exciting. I hung in there despite feeling like I would break at any moment, especially that ten percent rise. Race number one is in the bag. Whoopee! Score 17 points (but I don't think the points system is working correctly)

STAGE 2: A pretty good ride. I was in the lead group hitting the hill I went from 20 to 70th place but I maintained a firm power on the pedals. I got in a group of six or so riders going down the hill. I turned up the heat on the Kleiner Hill and lost them all. It was just a steady push to the line at 4/kg or a bit higher. Didn't really sprint, just powered to the line for time. 43:42 was my time. I think that is faster than what I would do on the Harrogate circuit but I may ride that on Monday or so...for fun. Total time is now 71:31. Zwift has no leader board or total time so I'm just riding for the sake of competing. 

I did a second race on the C course and got 8th place. That's 14 points. Did a super hard first lap and then let it go. I didn't think I could pull out a second fast lap to beat my previous time. Good training.

STAGE 3: Felt strong today as we took off on the Watopia Mountain route. My goal was to try to break an hour. 58:05!!! (71:31 +58:05 =129:36 total for three stages) I stayed up front before the climb. I was in about 15 and dropped to 30 but there were at least 20 late joiners that jumped in front even really late in the climb. Stupid group ride (races don't have late joins) Anyway, I passed a few people toward the finish, about the same number that passed me on the radio tower climb. LOL that was painfully slow. With a small group I could go much faster but everyone seemed to try to drop me along the climb. Score 5 points for a total of 36. NP says 242 which is near my hour power, so I did go pretty hard. I outsprinted someone at the very end but I just wanted to go hard and keep my time down. Feeling good after. I may race the Alp on Sunday but I doubt highly I could beat 58 minutes.

STAGE 4: London Greater Flat. Hard start. I had to sprint to catch the front four which turned out to be ten of us with a 3 second gap that stretched into almost a minute. Eventually, we lost some time and the second group was only down by 40 seconds. That is a buffer I need for Box Hill. I only let two people pass me by besides the leader (a 12 year old 40 kg rider who beat us all. He was flying up the hill. Congrats) I kept a firm pace , then tried to recover on the downhill. I put in a dig on the staircase and kept in front of my pursuers. Only four people ahead of me. 5th place is awesome result! A great result for me today. 33:31 in time plus 17 points for 53. I averaged 260 watts. I'm very happy...and tired. Total time is 163:07.

STAGE 5: I was doing great at 4 w/kg for the first ten minutes...then I jammed my chain and once the fast groups were past me, what's the point? I finished way back. The event was too full anyway and it was nearly impossible to navigate in the front group. I just wish I had had the chance to finish with a fast group. I guess we will retry on Tuesday. Again, no draft for the first 20 seconds which I had to put out 400 watts to keep up. Zwift, you are killing me with this windows bug!

Monday was take 2 finishing in 46:23. I fell off the A group where I needed to be timewise but I was a bit tired and just didn't push it to the max. I came in 21st position. So still only 54 points and total time is 209:30 for five events. Not bad but I should have been over a minute faster if I had stayed up. Small consolation prize was out-climbing the second group of 25 riders. Just nicked the three leaders with a few meters to go. Yeah, it happened boys. You got chicked!

STAGE 6: 35:16 17th place for 5 points. 59 points and 244:46. I took second in the second group's sprint. I was out front and got nipped by a fast dude with a power-up. I went out hard because of no power up. I was a bit tired, I stayed with the lead group for twenty five minutes before being tailed off at the turn into the snake roadway. I lost about a minute or more with that dump. Rats. I really wanted to contest for a win one of these days. It is a lot harder on the first day of a stage. By the fourth or fifth day, there are a lot more cruisers and riders. All the racers want to be in the biggest groups on the first day. I was mad enough that I did more than half of the next race, staying in the third group until we caught the second group. After twenty minutes, I had had enough torture and quit. Next is dirt race.

STAGE 7: 34:24 today in 11th place! Sounds good to me since I don't like the dirt or the mountain bike feature. Done and dusted. I hung with the lead group for 15 minutes but got tailed off at the end of the first lap. I dropped into a small group behind me and managed to hang in. It was tough on the climb but not too hard on the descent. I had a feather, so I jumped at 400 to go but a flying German zipped by me near the line. That's two pips in a row. Only one stage left now on Monday! 

total time is now: 279:20 with 70 points. 

STAGE 8:Finally done! I felt a little uncertain today how my legs were doing with only a short warm-up. I took off a little slow and hard pedaled when I got shut out of the early draft again (Arg, Zwift bugs!) I managed to stick with the front group of 25 for the whole first lap but it was a hard pace and down to about 16 when I fell off. Less than 10 would stay there. I was a little slow on the second lap waiting for the group behind to catch two or three of us stragglers. The third lap was a bit harder in one or two spots but we came up to the end with about 10 or 15 in the group. I sprinted a little late trying to draft a bit but the leader had a gap on me and I was catching him but not before the line came up. This is the third race in the series where I got second in the second group.9th place today. I better work on my sprint soon. Score 13 points and 32:33 time for a total of 83 points! (I don't like to consider make-up rides. Today was 780 in our race alone.) Total time 311:53 or 5:11:53 (avg 38:58?)

Except for the derailed chain and 21st place, I did really good, averaging 11th place in a field of 500-1000. Sure, the lead group almost always finished a minute or two up on me. But, I'm satisfied with what I was able to do. Now it is back to training and to see what a month or more of racing has brought and/or diminished. Love you all.