Alpe du Zwift first attempt - I OVERTOOK A PRO!

I take on Alpe du Zwift for the first time, do I finish it?
Shout out to two channels here:
‪@MarkLewisfitness‬ Alpe du Zwift: • Alpe du ZWIFT in 60 mi...
‪@RyanCondon‬ Four Horsemen: • The Four Horsemen on Z...
Kit:
Bike: Boardman Carbon 2015
Trainer: Wahoo Kickr Core
HR monitor: Wahoo Tickr
Music from bensound.com
License PT51QW5MGP8X0KL3

[@RyanCondon]

Yes Omar! You smashed it. 💪 I told you it was easy... 😅😉 I was cheering for you not to quit, you looked close to quitting but you didn't and THAT IS HOW WINNING IS DONE! 🙏💪 Thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate that. 🙏 Is The Four Horsemen next week's video?! 😅

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you so much! 🎉😀 it was a proper slog but really enjoyed it. I'm going to look at getting different cycling shoes before doing the longer rides as it's ruining my toes, but the Four Horsemen is on my list! I just need most of day for that 🤣

[@davowood1]

I tried it after watching Mark Lewis too. Put the kids to bed, hopped on assuming it would be 90 minutes max. 2h41 later, well past midnight, 3 bottles of water and sweated through a bathtowel. That route is no joke! Well done mate.

[@TheGamingLander]

Mark Lewis was my motivation aswel hahahaha

[@KatieKookaburra]

You did so good! The Alpe is no joke. Well done :)

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you 🤩 🙏

[@stevenmatthews4203]

Mate I watched this and decided to give it go. I am a novice rider , aged 59 , 84 kgs with a very arthritic knee. But you inspired me. If was bloody hard I just slowly ground my way up without stopping, my quads were burning so badly and my body was screaming to stop but eventually made it up in 2 hrs 1 min. Next time I’ll see if I can get under the 2 hours. Great to see someone like me struggling up , we done you inspired me to do it and I managed it but I hear you you have to keep talking to yourself to get up

[@user-kj6ww2mr1c]

Well done, Omar. AdZ is a huge achievement! I was intrigued that I also watch Lewis and Condon and love their content..

[@NihilimZA]

As a fairly lightweight rider I'm amazed at the power you put out on sections where you are going steady for a bit. I think a few more months of fitness and you will smash it without having to stop. Job well done!

[@FLiPtgc]

Its all about pacing. If your FTP is setup correctly, try to stay in Zone 2 (60-75% FTP) and Zone 3 (76-89% FTP), blue / green on the graph. Then the effort should feel much easier and sustainable. According to your graph you are pushing way to hard, to hard to sustain it for 1 hour+. Well done for finishing the climb.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you for the advice! 🙏😁

[@L-dw5sx]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmaryes way to hard for your ftp no wounder you blew looks like your sustained effort should be about 140 watts also think about turning down trainer difficulty so you get smaller gearing Try tailwind for nutrition 100g of carbs per bottle 3 scoops and full of sodium salts and all the good stuff

[@louiskirkham9845]

Well done Omar, top effort. I still haven't attempted it

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thanks! It’s a tough climb so don’t be put off by seeing the leaderboards of people doing it in under an hour. It’s achievable but take your time. You can do it! 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

[@FranzJosef-ts8gz]

Go fot it man! All the best from Austria

[@SwimBikeRunStu]

Big effort, well done 💪

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you! 😄

[@johnstypa8974]

Fantastic first effort and congratulations on completing the Alpe climb! Try to keep doing it every so often. Though it won't necessarily be easier on subsequent trips up, you'll find that you'll get up that thing without needing a break and your time up it will improve also. Well done!!!

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you! I think I'm going to give it another go soon, probs next week or 3 weeks time (I've a mid-distance charity ride in between), and I'll take on board a lot of the advice and comments I've received on this video

[@BVIGrockle]

Love this. I’m a 110kg rider and did the Zwift Games climb up part of the climb today. Just found your vid… inspired me to try the full ride next

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Give it a go! I'm 121kg (was 124kg when I did this attempt). There's loads of great advice in the comments

[@BVIGrockle]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar legend. Also a West Country boy!

[@serratore_domenico]

congrats man! i will try to climb it one day

[@gja2000]

I felt that with you all way. Good for you. It took this 53 year of old carcase a third try to finish it.

[@AyupStuggy]

Well done on Alpe du Zwift, that is a beast of a workout! I think it took me hr1:45min for my first time up, plus time to get there from the start line. It's seriously hard! Well done on growing your KZbin channel too. I may do a zwift video sometime, but don't yet have a nice indoor space like yours that's acceptable for the world to see! 😀

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you! I'm going to give this another attempt and take on a lot of the advice given in the other comments - main one being to slow down to make it easier and complete it without being too shattered. 1h45 is really good! I'm wanting to get under 2h. Re the YT channel, go for it! I set this channel up on a whim to see where it would go

[@psymanj73]

Inspiring stuff, Omar! 🎉 You’ll look back on this, in a years time and say, “what a journey it have been on: as you take at least 30 mins off this time! 😉 💪 🚲

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thanks Simon! I'm going to give it another go soon to see if I can knock some time off 😄

[@L4Y_SP]

stunning determination

[@romeo.ardael]

Oh man.. I remember when I first attempted this. I died too.

[@paulcummins6216]

Well done buddy !

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you! I think I’ll give this another try very soon

[@gavinstubbings4271]

I have been wanting to do this ride for a couple of weeks now keep putting it off but great effort I will do this one

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Go for it! Take your time with it. I didn't and used far too much power getting up it so I burned out. There's a lot of good advice in the comments for this video too!

[@esfitz09]

Well done sir... well done !!!

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you! 🤩

[@chrisoliver6690]

Well done my man, I do think you're pushing way too many watts at times. Pace is everything, both on Zwift and IRL.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you! Looking back I realise that I overcooked some sections, I spent a very long time in zones 4, 5 and 6, roughly a quarter of that climb!

[@chrisoliver6690]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar zone 3 max is where you need to be, even that is tough for so long. I will say you have real mental fortitude to stick to that ride, I have quit on much easier challenges

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

@@chrisoliver6690 I got quite far in and I felt the sunken cost fallacy. I got that far and I would have felt annoyed with myself if I had to do the whole lot again 😂

[@99cya]

i admire your determination :-) i had to chuckle a bit when you mentioned the three points: 1. food, 2. mental attitude, 3. can do same as other people. i mean ok, if thats your three points thats fine :-) for me its more a balance of aerobic capacity and weight. half a year ago i did that in 90mins. now im doing it in 65min and in a month ill be below one hour. but for that i need to increase my aerobic capacity. tbh, this ride can be done without having big calories first, you can even do it on empty stomach and if your performance is adequate for this ride, the mental attitude comes free. and no, in cycling you cannot just do the same as people passing you. its not a question of wanting it, its a question of the abilities. when im in a group riding and they are riding well above 3.5w/kg constantly, i will fall behind at some point. no matter how much i wanna stay there. its not a wishing game. so keep pedaling and make sure you do as many rides possible in zone 2. thats where you build your engine. doing too hard rides wont really bring you forward. enjoy 🙂

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

That's a good point! I think for me, seeing other riders of a higher ability spurs me on a bit but obviously I know it's not a sustainable pace, just gives me a bit of a boost. My aerobic capacity is definitely improving - I did the Muckle Yin yesterday and surprised myself that I did a huge majority of it in Z2 with only a small amount of Z3 and tiiiiny bit of Z4 uphill absolutely sending it up the final ascent.

[@99cya]

that sounds fantastic. doing an all out session can be fun but i need to make sure that i dont do that too often. it can burn you out. @@CoffeeFuelledOmar

[@thecaptainthecaptain150]

You are good I don't remember much but I think i did it in about 2 and 30 min and I was in a good shape back then u make me wanna go back to the pain cove

[@FoobsTon]

The world definitely needs another person recording their Zwift rides.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Yes, yes it does! Thanks for the comment! 👍

[@2wheelsonline]

Well done, Omar! Very entertaining... for all the wrong reasons! I've ridden the Alpe about 9 times, 3 of them this year. I'm getting faster up it and it does still hurt but not as much. The one climb on Zwift that is tougher than Alpe Du Zwift is Mont Ventoux. It's longer than the Alpe and steeper for longer in places. I've ridden that once and said 'never again!' when I got to the top but it was over a year ago and feel fitter now so going to give it a try soon. Maybe you should give it a go and give us your thoughts on that. 🤐

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

I'm practicing smaller climbs to get used to the harder effort, so I think if I can do something like the Volcano Climb a few times in one ride and pace it properly, I can give the Alpe another try after that! 😃

[@2wheelsonline]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar Another climb that I think is like a mini Alpe Du Zwift is the Mountain 8 route. Very similar gradients but nowhere near as long and the short very steep climb to the Radio Tower before the downhill is optional if you have the legs to try that.

[@garypoyntz6948]

Says a lot that you suffered through this. Can tell you it get's a lot easier. Do it mid zone 3 and yes fuel up and re fuel as you climb. Then it becomes sustainable. I did this during the winter leading into spring once per week but it's important that you don't push into zone 4 during the ride. You can do zone 4 on a max attempt but as a weekly workout a zone 4 attempt is a bit of a soul destroyer and a unproductive fatigue builder. Impressive tenacity Omar.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

I redid that ride a month after and stayed in Z3, so much easier!

[@uncleyemen]

A lot of people have already mentioned pacing, which is obviously quite important. If you find that you're in the small ring up front and the big cog in the back and still can't drop the watts enough, it's worth adjusting the "trainer difficulty" setting. It essentially adjusts how realistic the gradient feels, so it may be worth dropping that value to allow you to get to the target power.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

I think I may do that, and in time bring it back up to normal :D

[@risky_scalps]

Congrats - huge effort! If I can add a note for your next times, try to focus on your graph bottom screen and stay in the green zone as much as possible without ever exceeding yellow. Also don’t forget to fuel: 60-80g of carbs per hour minimum for such an effort. You’ll be quickly under 100min

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you so much for the advice! 🤩

[@warwickzwifts]

So impressive to keep going despite how long and tough that was! When I am doing long rides I tend to aim for 60g of carbs per hour as I believe that is the most the average person can absorb in that time. Didn’t sound like you ate much at all which would have made it tougher than it needed to be.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Yeah I definitely did not take in enough carbs at all. Coupled with the bad pacing made it a by tough ride!

[@PotatoOrANut]

Good on ya mate!! The first time is the hardest. Sub 90 minutes by the end of the year??

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thanks! I reckon so!

[@SilentM1337]

Good effort. Next time, try to pace it better. Try to hold an even powerline without going into the red. Start with the average power you did on this climb as a target.

[@ryancraig2795]

Good job finishing. You may have gone a little too hard early on. I really started to fade about 2/3 of the way up, my legs were getting really rubbery.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you! I really overdid it in the first half, but it's given me motivation to give it another go just backing off the power a little bit

[@ryancraig2795]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar yeah I've only done it once so far, after doing the Epic KOM several times. Thought about trying it this morning but after racing Tuesday night, riding again Wednesday night, and skating on Thursday, my legs just weren't up for it, lol. Good luck on the next attempt!

[@TarmacSL8]

Smashing it 👊. Keep it up but like many comments on here for climbing you need to pace. Find a comfortable gear and herat rate and spin. Again keep the cadence up 80/90rpm soon the legs of your grinding away your legs will die 😂 All a learning curve keep up the good work

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thank you so much! What I might do is use all the advice and just do the first few corners to see how I go (and keep doing this to get used to the incline). I found this climb a ton of fun but I went all in and didn’t know how to pace it so really found it a slog.

[@TarmacSL8]

It’s always a slog when you do it for the first time! 😂 But as Greg Lemond once said It never gets any easier you just get faster

[@Koen030NL]

Nice video! Warning ⚠️ don’t think “O I managed alpe du Zwift, let’s do another famous Tour de France climb. Let’s do Ven-Top!” That’s what happened to me. I managed to do the Alpe du Zwift in 1:06, and Ven-Top was 2:20 of torture… hate that climb. I’m also quite a heavy guy at 93kg so I feel your pain.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Oh I'm gonna take a step back from this and work on the Z2 and Z3 and holding that for a while, and I'll give this one a go again! Those are impressive times too!

[@Koen030NL]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar great plan. Also strongly recommend to do a lot of outdoor riding when the weather allows it. I’m from the Netherlands so we have comparable weather types that suck for cycling in winter times. Make the most of the summer and next autumn/winter you will smash that ADZ in 1:30 I’m sure !

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

@@Koen030NLI've got a load of autumn/winter clothing turning up next week so I'm not gonna freeze! It can still be very cold here in the UK through March and April as our winters tend to be a lot warmer now.

[@Koen030NL]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar same here, last year april was still very cold. I just finished antoher try on AdZ (1 hour 12m). Not to break any PR or anything, just wanted to wake up the climbing legs for upcomming trip to Limburg region (gonna watch Amstel Gold Race on sunday and planning to a group ride on friday and saturday). Hope it will help to pace myself on the hills.

[@WCIIIReiniger]

As somebody who is only riding fixie (with a powermeter though) and does not own a zwift bike I am wondering why you are getting exhausted. Can't you just "shift down" and ride the whole race at 80-90rpm at ~150 Watts or does this bike have a quite hard easiest gear?

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

I was already in my lowest gear, I’m not that fit as well, and in a lot of sections I was pushing over 300W so wore myself out pretty fast. I was also using the heaviest bike (just the base bike) and Zwift seems to take that into account. I have definitely got to drop the cadence next time

[@jackdavis8786]

Prob best to not try pushing 300w your fist time up there, keep it zone 2/3

[@WCIIIReiniger]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar so the swift bike artificially limits your gearing to match a real bike is what I get from your comments. Yeah in that case I can imagine it is quite hard.

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

@@WCIIIReinigerPretty much. I use my actual bike which is 2x10 so it uses those gears and applies the resistance. I think on a Zwift Bike (or similar) you can go through a much larger gear range. It's pretty close to what it might be out on the roads but at the end of the day this was a pretty challenging climb for me, so even at a lower effort I would have still found it incredibly hard, given it's around 10% for 12km I struggle with that IRL.

[@WCIIIReiniger]

@@CoffeeFuelledOmar I can imagine. I am riding a 40/18 gear on my fixie an when there is a climb higher than 6% i usually stand up. I can't imagine doing that for 12 km :)

[@CyclingwithVovo]

That was grueling to watch....I am surprised you did not get a heart attack...Good job!

[@IvarBosonn]

Congratz on finishing AdZ , I'm still working up to that.. our TTT must have seemed so easy 😉

[@CoffeeFuelledOmar]

Thanks Ivar! 😃 The TTT ride was rather refreshing, as I'd fully recovered from AdZ by then!