The Mythical Alp

 The best riders come out on top in this climb. As a fairly good time trialist, I wanted to give it a shot after getting in peak condition for the Academy finals. Having won the sprint competition, I began to focus on training for the Alp. 

 The Alp is beautiful, with 22 turns. I can usually guess my time by how well I am doing at the half way point (turn ten). In training, I rode my goal pace past the half-way point, under twenty minutes. The goal was under forty minutes.

Under forty minutes requires a lot of power, steady grinding power. I have been taught to race in a smaller gear but time trial in the big gear. I trained in the big gear, but on race day, I went half way before going big. I just felt the big gear might be too big and I would tire out before the finish. This day, I got it just about perfect. My holo pacer did not work (?), but I was just glassy-eyed and focused on my watts. Be consistent or waste energy and lose time. 

 The leaders are first and foremost, Ille Gardner at 38:21 at 265 watts. Lucy Barkley has the most power at 301 watts. Etienne and Gigante have gone under forty as well. Gigante had a fantastic climb, but her power meter had a twenty watts error. (that is easily two minutes here). Kulchensky is under the forty mark as well. 

 For me, I broke the 48 minute mark in the first week and basically similar times recently. I'm not the skinny climbing specialist for sure. But if I was, I could match the best of them in power. I think races based on watts would be very exciting. After all, cda is purely guesswork on Zwift. 

I was very steady and calm, keeping my watts around 240 for the first half. I must have pushed good on the second half, bringing up my power and heart to top off at 245 watts at...drumroll....38:47. When the board came up near the finish, it read 38:58. I was so happy, I just kept focused on bringing the time down, I pulled up and had a good finish to trim ten more seconds off. 

 Would I do this again? I really planned on this being my last hurrah. I've already trained a long season, expecting this academy in September, not December. I really need a break from being sore, tired, or just firing myself up for a heavy training session or race. What remains ahead, I'm not sure. I want to focus on fun. I have plenty of great moments and memories. I am amazed how a few older gals have kept at the top of their field. Mary Wilkenson is a legend. Ditto for Rachael Elliot and a few I don't know their age but i know they aren't the new young generation of Zwift racers, like Langham and Guerra. I've grabbed a few Q's this fall. That was some great challenges. I even achieved some real brilliance in the ZA workouts, hitting nearly top watts and %'s. (Gabby smashed the 20 minute mark.) 

 Thanks Zwift. I will always love you. Can I buy a home in Richmond?

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.

ZADA power test

Before the Academy, I was required to do a full 20 minute ftp test and a zada power test.

Here's my zada test: https://www.strava.com/activities/10006461262 

My numbers were wonderful, especially looking over the past year.

Here are the results: 15sec=753    ( way better than 700 goal) needed 600+

                                 60 sec=481   ( better than 450 goal) needed 400

                                 4 min=327     (better than 300 goal) needed 280

                                 7 min= 297    (better than 280 goal) needed 260

                                 12= 272         (better than 260 goal) needed 245

This was awesome! (if I may say so)

Larson had a 760 to my 753

Again, I have the best minute out there. (that is last 90 days on ZwiftPower)

Asa Fast B. had a 343 four minute, a 302 7 minute, and a 298 12 minute. That's insane.

I will retest my 4, 7, and 12. The 12 seems out of reach, but you never know some days what you can do.

FTP Test: I came in at 263 (262 on ZP) . I used a new workout to ride this. It is a bit of a work around since my twenty minute endurance is a bit down from riding so much in short intervals and sprints. It was basically ten minutes at a hard pace, right at ftp pace. Then five minutes of threshold power 235-240. Finishing with five minutes all out 280-300 watts. Coaching brilliance. I may try again before the Academy.

The only trouble with lifting your ftp by sprinting the finish is that your workout intervals can become artificially high. I think on my best day, I could top out at about 270. Soon maybe.

Finally - QOM Makuri Island World

 Why this one? I choose it for two reasons...It is a short effort under ten minutes and also that the record holder was an obvious fake. I have done a few 'beat the cheat' efforts. There are several efforts that no human could ever beat. I didn't really think this was possible at first. On my first effort I did an 8:23 to a 8:18 effort. I thought that I could just up my effort a bit and take it. But it proved to be very difficult. I did a third attempt with a great climb, super fast. But I was slow towards the end and I saw my pr holo pass me. After that I just let off the gas and cruised across the finish. I had done a stupendous 5 minute trial but a lousy one minute effort to close.

I was amazed.This time, I went out about 5 watts less and did not sprint all out at the top of the climb. Instead, I caught my breath and was ready to go hard for 1:18 at 375 watts. (I wanted to hit 400 but I was a bit afraid to go too early.) 

This was as hard as New York and Richmond. That makes up the Holy Trinity of races.                                  Bridges and Boardwalks at 8:12 Richmond Reverse Hilly at 12:31 and Reverse Grand Central at 10:00

30:43 total. All of them are challenging climby routes. Now, back to Academy training.

Queen of the Downhill

 I have already gotten caught up in past hunts for 60 second power, 20 minute power, most repeated efforts on Richmond and Yorkshire (nobody even cares about local legends on Zwift.) and less we not forget the hunt for ten orange jerseys. Why? I don't really know. Why was I obsessed about each Alp section for two or three months? Why did I train for an all out session on Ventoux? Because I need goals. 

So why in the world would I want to climb twelve stupid red, yellow, and blue mountains when I hate climbing? Answer, to race down as fast as I can. Why do I try to shave off two or three seconds on a downhill of ten minutes? I recently rode on Watopia for a short warmup. I sprinted down the hill, taking the virtual qom on the descent. I have all of the France descents. (not that anyone should care about their best time on a virtual downhill anyway.) I don't want to start on Watopia, so I decided to let someone else have the Watopia crown. (I beat them by 3 seconds) She will never know. And when I looked at her ride, she tried really hard to get her time down. But, the sprinter in me just takes it from the very start. It was the same way I beat LVH in last year's sprint by half a second. She put in a huge sprint. But I had so much speed going into the sprint that I didn't need to hit 12 or 13 w/kg to win. I admit, it took me about seven attempts to beat her. My first attempt put me in second place by only 0.02 if I remember correctly. But I threw everything aside to beat her. Training and racing that same sprint until I got it just right. My time in practice before the Academy was under 22 seconds! But breaking 23 that month was a huge, huge task.

There are three new climbs coming to France and the Madone is rumored to be coming but only in Watopia I'm told. While the Alp and Ventoux are sort of manly macho climbs, the French view the Madone as a weaker climb. I'm not sure if I can explain it. I guess it is just softer, less steep. Ille Gardner ripped the throat out on her ride this year, demolishing the former times. Maybe it is in the name. Maybe it's because it has never been included in the Tour. All of its rides are pure time trial performances. It is a climb for purists, a virgin climb. It is a bit too long for me to perform well. I hated training on Ventoux. But if your coach was an hour specialist on the track, sooner or later you get forced to make a long attempt. Riding an hour at full intensity is so exhausting physically and mentally. 

I love sprint training and racing. It has taken Zwift years to finally start real sprint races. I won two of them! Scotland was by far the hardest because it included two climbs up the Sgurr with three sprints. I won all five that race. I took six or seven sprints in a Richmond race, skipping the first of two climbs to save my strength for the sprints. I wish we had this years ago. I could use a race like that now. But they are very rare.

In between now and the Academy, I will be doing some pointed workouts and probably another attempt on the Makuri route. I will probably do the Madone even though it is 3 km longer than in real life and it will take over an hour. I think both Ventoux and the Tourmelet sit at 62 and 61 minutes for me, and no I will probably never break the hour on either of them. 

I'm excited for the last Academy in November. I hope the races will be good for a sprinter to win. See ya!

September

Looking forward to the next two months. Zwift will announce the Zwift Academy very soon. It will be my last hurrah, my seventh and final academy ( I believe ). It just feels like the time is right. After a few bad months, I've trained and fought my way back into top condition. No, I'm not going to beat any all time records. I can't even get close to my top one minute, perhaps my best effort ever in the Academy.

In August, I searched through a lot of routes looking to get or regain some QOM's. They have never been too important. But the efforts really boost my power and condition. I fought and fought for my forward Richmond hilly route back in the day. But with the pack dynamic super blobs, a good number of racers put in times even a time trial bike couldn't match. Then there were a good number of 'glitches' where riders were able to do 46 kph steady, even uphills at only 100 watts. Add banded cheat rides on the Alp and you have a sort of wild west theme on Strava segments. Strava refuses to police records for bots, weight doping, and other forms of cheating in virtual cycling. They use to in the beginning, but I think it just got progressively harder to filter results. So Strava is sort of anything goes, even e-bikes are popular now.

I have two Q's on Watopia from the old days, my FloJo efforts with zpower. I regained two of my London laps, one last year and one recently, which was very hard. I trained and captured one in New York (super hard), Richmond (very hard), and added Scotland (hard) and Innsbruck (not as hard as I expected). I may need to do another Innsbruck or two in case some others come to hunt my times. As for my downhill efforts, it started when someone at Zwift said the Alp will have auto braking soon. So I went all out a few times. Then, it just seemed fun to do it on the portals. 

I am going to follow some coaching tips from Nathan Guerra to see if I can sharpen my sprinting. I've mostly worked on one to ten minutes. FTP test is coming too. 

I have two attempts coming up. One is a France route that may be achievable. This is because the pack in the race did not go very hard on the flat section. The climb on the petite however, was first class. I'll have to ride my best the last five minutes. Then we have a 'beat the cheat' effort. This one seems out of reach but I will run some test efforts. I will have to 'bomb' the downhill to strive to get ahead. The time trial bike will have an advantage in this section. My husband crunched the numbers I need for the uphill: 313 for the first part and 461 for the last part. That will be 387 average. In this lap, the dq 'winner' beat the men in the race by 14 seconds. I'll see if I can even get close to this one, over 50 kph. (nope, this one seems impossible. I was 16 seconds too slow. I can't see a way of gaining this much time.)

ADD: I ran the Rebel route on France today. I got the Q by 6 seconds. It was a hard session. It was another case of tt bike versus a pack of riders. In the compare efforts on Strava, we went a bit back and forth. I got the 6 seconds in the last 30 or 40 seconds with a hard charge to the line. One thing to reflect on: I was doing an all out effort for one lap. Maddy had the previous best time in a fondo with 100 km to go. In that perspective, that was one fast effort in a 100 mile event. NP was 260. I had 20 extra watts with a faster bike and ran the same exact speed on the flat sections, and I was pushing harder everytime there was a small incline. This kind of racing is really hard, really challenging, and really rewarding.