Brutal Zwift Race - City and the Sgurr - Cat A - Dropped after 10min at 380 Watts NP (5.0 W/Kg)

I love/hate Zwift Racing, am I good at it, no not really, as I mostly train for long endurance doing triathlon. But there are no better high intensity sessions than 20-40min Zwift races. Just give it a try, sign up for it, see how long you can hang on and over time you will get better at it and enjoy it more and more, can't wait for the winter racing season where I actually loose a bit endurance but gain strength racing a lot setting me up beautfully for the new season in the coming year.
This race was The City and The Sgurr form the Race the Worlds Series - Stage 5, a 15km long course with 5 climbs between 1 and 1.6km length, doesn't sound to hard but it was ridden in a brutal tempo. I got dropped before the 4th climb so I skipped after that to the finish and spare you seeing me riding around Solo. As the road is part asphalt part gravel the Specialized Crux was teh fastest bike combined with Roval Gravel wheels.
I finished 20th in the end, over a minute down on the winner, our team the Dragons placed 6th people in the top 20, good result in a strong field and hard race, looking forward to the next one.

[@dsmhiggins67]

as a terrible cat c - this fills me with fear.

[@XX-is7ps]

His heart rate data is junk - what makes you confident his power data is any more accurate?

[@cryptocretin]

@@XX-is7ps Not even the same device measuring it. His watch isn't measuring his power.

[@TheGamingLander]

@@XX-is7pshe has a smart trainer which is very accurate and even if he was worse than the stats say he still looks like a monster of a cyclist

[@oxanexios]

@@XX-is7ps Usar relogio pra medir HR é uma merda. Cinta cardiaca é a melhor forma.

[@FaiscaaaH]

Zwift is the land of pure world tour level amateurs LoL Nice effort mate.

[@volkervoit]

Absolutely, just got top 10 today in the Red Bull Hill Chasers Race in Gelnhausen but get dropped in every Zwift Race 😂

[@izmael_kneafcy]

Too much Zwift doping.

[@waterdeptworker]

Lots of cheats on Zwift even on Cat D...I got dropped doing 280 watts for 15mins....The front group was bouncing from 280 to 400 watts like nothing.

[@volkervoit]

Yeah it’s sad, but I have the feeling that the harder the race and the higher the category the less cheats there are and if it’s obvious people get flagged and taking out of the races right away 👍

[@L-dw5sx]

I know it’s ridiculous even in cat D pro triathlon guys only average about 330 watts and D is supposed to be beginners 😂

[@BFin26]

to many people weight and stat doping on zwift but i have noticed the same but guarantee you put half these people in a real world race and they can't hang

[@L-dw5sx]

So many cheaters on Zwift I don’t bother racing

[@brutalclimb]

I have DEF noticed the same. I gain endurance massively during the summer season and once back onto Zwift I have lost tons of strength.

[@DontGetDroppedCycling]

This man is a certified BEAST! Wait till you see his sprint 🤯

[@volkervoit]

😂😆 I am merely avg in sprinting on Zwift, long way to go to have any chance of winning sprints there - but thank you :)

[@waterdeptworker]

Erik why are you here? This is for normal crappy riders, hahahaha

[@ATLTraveler]

Isn’t your wattage also dependent on whatever weight you enter into the program? That’s what seems a bit unfair to me, like all you have to do is put in a lower weight and boom you either gave your self a small slight advantage by taking off 5 or 10 kilos and still don’t consider yourself a cheater, OR you’re just full on the 6 foot tall 45 kilo stud from Missouri, you know? Are there any ways to catch this? Sure you can request ID but I put 6 foot 160 on my ID and I’m 5’10 200 lol, they don’t care.

[@volkervoit]

Absolutely and there is a lot of cheating on going, but in the. Giver teams and races you need to show weigh in videos to prove your weight and have also HR data to show that you are having a high effort when putting out high W/KG numbers. But in the end, those who want to cheat will find a way to cheat

[@patbriggsmbr]

Not sure your bpm is correct, you were struggling but you hr was 96. 🤔 then you spotted it 😂. Good effort man. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@volkervoit]

Yeah, had some reading errors in the first half of the race, second half was correct (Hr around 170)

[@MusicLover-kx1ry]

You got dropped by e-bikers 😂

[@volkervoit]

That is not entirely impossible 😅

[@zanperko3932]

Great effort. Your are a beast! One constructive critique. Video would be much better quality if you would improve the audio quality of when youre talking. Otherwise you deserve much more subs than you currently have. I can easily imagine you having 100k+ subs. Just as long as you will keep improving at the youtube game at the same rate as w/kg:).

[@volkervoit]

Thanks, testing different settings and setups. With a 100 Watt fan blowing into the face it’s tricky to get clear audio but will continue improving. Also will get better lighting soon. Thanks for the input

[@zanperko3932]

@@volkervoit No problem, keep at it🙂👍

[@thepixelcyclist]

Awesome racing mate! It's crazy to think that a beast like you is getting dropped :O Well done!

[@volkervoit]

Almost every A race 🫣

[@kaptanpedal]

@@volkervoit don't be discouraged. Always a bigger fish. I race irl and online and can say it is pretty much the same brutality :) You need a good +1 w/kg @20mins to get close to the top of A. And there is a whole another level on top of that.

[@volkervoit]

@@kaptanpedal Zwift and IRL are so different, i get regular top 10s in Competitive Gran Fondos, like Eschborn Frankfurt or many in Portugl, win TTs, even got top 10 in the Red Bull Hill Chasers, real life is a very different race than virtually, so much more factors are important than pure W/Kg, plus no room for any weight cheating and same conditions for all :-)

[@volkervoit]

@@kaptanpedal And +1 W/Kg, that would be close to 6W/KG, that’s Continental or close to World Tour Pro Performance, not sure about that

[@neil3274]

Thought you were superhuman with that HR 😂 chest strap next time? All the Cat A are 50kg 🤥

[@CyclingwithVovo]

For some reason I think in REAL life you would have been top 3 in that race...Massive pushing and these guys just dropping you like a fly.

[@smat1x]

I got bumped to cat A ... I guess I'm never racing on Zwift again. These numbers are insane.

[@volkervoit]

Fortunately not all races are like that, this was a super stacked field, I enjoy racing in A more than in B as there is no sand bagging in A

[@smat1x]

@@volkervoit yes, but my w per kg ftp is 4.25. I will just be racing to not be last. :D

[@mustafasalihates2866]

Ppl calling cycling is lgbt symbol. And his effort proff thats totaly wrong. What a beast. Note (Do not symbolize sports with your ideas !!!)

[@spojce9]

more than half of these guys are on E bikes

[@baranakin2]

Is that a thing?

[@CyclingwithVovo]

Is it just me or does it seem like the men's avatars look way worse than the actual person but the women on Zwift are the complete opposite. Their avatar looks extremely in shape but the actual video of the girl riding looks much heavier, haha

[@patrickjoseph3618]

Is his heart rate accurate? Pushing 450 watts when his HR is 105? Insane! OK. His HR monitor is not working right.

[@volkervoit]

Yeah, had issues in the beginning, second half of the race it worked normal (160-180HR)

[@HopyHop1]

I would have made this comment if I didn't see yours.

[@quivicben]

my god 380 wat stil getting dropped i am a good c beginning b racer/rider

[@srh148]

People lie on Zwift

[@L-dw5sx]

Like most things in life if people can cheat to gain an advantage they will but they could never put out those numbers in the real world or in a controlled virtual environment with verified weight, height and equipment I see people riding around at 5 per kilo and when look up their activity they held that for 30k at 130 heart rate 😂 that’s beyond world tour level

[@MorganBrown]

Time to lose some "weight" 😂

[@zanperko3932]

Plus do better thumbnails, they matter a lot.

[@volkervoit]

You mean the look or the wording? Suggestions?

[@zanperko3932]

@@volkervoit Imho, I like the wording, just the look so it's more clickable and clickbaity, if that makes sense. So that thumbnails are more aesthetic and made separately. And maybe not like a screenshot of a moment in a vid (although that works sometimes).

[@baglioni6663]

what happened to your heart rate at 8:18 😳

[@JoseMendozaLifeLearner]

400 watss with 98 beats per minute is a complete fallacy. Eitehr your heart beat monitor is wrong or you are not having as much resistance as you claim to hVE. 400-600 WATTS WOULD ELICIT A HEART BEAT OF AT LEAST 160 BPM. I walk briskly with 108 bpm. Stop faking it !!!

[@volkervoit]

Maybe watch the full video before commenting like that 😂

[@JoseMendozaLifeLearner]

@@volkervoit Im glad you brought this comment to my attention. It wasn't meant to go public. I started writing at the beginning of the video. Then I thought I had deleted it, but it seems not. I must therefore apologize. I did see that the problem was teh heart sensor. Again My apologies 😇😇😇

[@MorganBrown]

I live at 1800 m above sea level (6-10% ftp penalty). So frustrating to get smoked by dudes living at sea level

[@volkervoit]

You will do that in reality then 🤘

[@ronp5615]

Nice effort I hope someday, you will challenge me ;-)

[@pi286]

Oh man im in for a rude awakening when my smart trainer comes in. Ive legit never rode a cycling ike only mountainbike but I wanna get on these leaderboards xD

[@jaypieh_]

for me it helps when I actually start a workout on the Garmin as it then measures more frequently. when I only connect my watch to Zwift the values are lower

[@robertfeather610]

J scar auto is he really 56kg? Sounds implausible

[@radoino9938]

Your HR monitor was broken in the begining :)

[@nicksteel877]

Lol why are you using a broken heart rate monitor

[@YannickLB]

To be fair. There's some pro's in this field. I see Christophe Laporte for instance.

[@volkervoit]

Laporte is not that uncommon as a name, C. Laporte is not Christophe :) but still a good rider

[@YannickLB]

@@volkervoit AAh okay okay

[@ac4486]

What's the music that starts from 2:42?

[@JeffreyThistle]

In my opinion, you know something is wrong with zwift racing when professional riders are getting dropped easily. Doesn't seem right.

[@volkervoit]

Yes and no, for one, no top level pro would go all out in a Zwift race, then Zwift is also a lot about the gamification, using the right bike, power up and I would guess quite some pros don’t use the game factors in the right way. Thirdly I would say the top level Zwifter are definitely able to compete with pros on shorter efforts they usually just don’t have the mileage and big engine but for a 5-20min effort or sprints there are some crazy strong guys on Zwift.

[@jimfaber1443]

Is your HR broken over 400 watts and it never gets over 110 ish? What your max if you don’t mind me asking?

[@volkervoit]

192, if you watch the whole video your question is answered - started working correctly half way through, had issues

[@theolemaigre3829]

Super strong Volker, unfortunately your HR was not right in the start off the ride. 👏💪

[@volkervoit]

Yeah, mentioned that in the video, the watch sometimes has issues indoors, in the second half it was correct, will switch to the strap for Zwift in future

[@gabkoost]

@@volkervoit Wrist watches are useless for the most part, spescially in anything bike related. The tention you put on your wrists while riding can and will corrupt readings more often than not.

[@volkervoit]

@@gabkoost that’s just plain wrong

[@gabkoost]

@@volkervoit Pretty much an established fact.Wrist monitors use light reflection to distinguish blood color between heart beats. If they fail to pick it up during quick raise in intensity they can get stuck into wrong reads. And the fact that you bend your wrist and put pressure on it holding the bars only exarcebate this issue.

[@volkervoit]

@@gabkoost I fully understand your argument but I have approx 3-4000h of data with wrist measured heart rate and maybe 15-20min in total over 5 years where I had issues. So overall it’s working pretty well and if it does the accuracy is on par with chest strap, where it struggles is short bursts and intervals. For steady riding and long efforts it’s absolutely fine

[@funkydisciple]

Nicely done Volter.

[@volkervoit]

Thanks, still lot to improve

[@benturp3492]

Just like a normal TT then 😂

[@franciscolourenco4450]

Its normal how low you bpms are? 400 w and 103 bpms its crazy. If i keep 300 10min i would be 185 lmao

[@volkervoit]

If you watch the whole video it gets clear :) had a failure in the watch the first minutes

[@F1TZGER4LD]

Hi mate, new viewer here. Great video. I’m just looking at your RPM/w.kg numbers and I’m curious as to what chainrings/ cassette you’re using please, if you don’t mind sharing that is? I’ve recently purchased a kickr bike so I’m fortunate to be able to play around with different set ups and would like to give yours a go.

[@volkervoit]

On that bike I had a 52/36 with an 11-30 cassette

[@F1TZGER4LD]

@@volkervoit thank you for the reply. I will give it a whirl

[@刘琼-r9l]

heart meter looks like unwork

[@w00jt4ss]

100bpm at 400w wtf. meanhile i have 150 at 200w xd

[@volkervoit]

Watch the whole video :)

[@Dangling_Carrot]

really enjoyed the video first time viewer.

[@karlburningham3604]

Crazy number brother. Well done💪💪💪

[@evallari1]

Very low BPM versus Power, is it real?

[@volkervoit]

Watch the whole video and you’ll find out :)

[@evanpar5447]

how can the heart rate stay so low???

[@dsmhiggins67]

It’s zwift Apple Watch problems. It’s never worked reliably for me. In the end I went to a chest strap over ant to the computer.

[@zikaperic2133]

awesome HR

[@gabkoost]

His watch was bugging for a long time. Wrist wacthes can't be trusted when ridding bikes because of the tention on the wrists.

[@mathewt4309]

Nice! So fit. We’ll get there soon.

[@p.0788]

Something is here wrong, no one pushes 350w with 105 pulse...

[@volkervoit]

True, that’s why I’d recommend to watch the rest of the video and you get the explanation 😄

[@p.0788]

OK, so you hadn't bound your sensor to the watch... The optical sensor are useless when you're doing real sport. But anyway great value you're demonstrated.

[@volkervoit]

I think they work very well, tested them with my chest strap and data (besides in sprints) was identical. I do seem to have an issue with interference sometimes at the start of a session as once the signal is normal it stays without any issues. And that issue only happened maybe 3-4 times in the hole year, I just dont like chest straps.

[@lesrelaisdemanolo3494]

after it was good

[@alleywatson]

That Anvil came at the right time

[@sirbrochill7757]

you're breathing heavy with 100 hr? lol what

[@volkervoit]

No, more like 165-170 - watch further you’ll get the explanation:)

[@sirbrochill7757]

@@volkervoit you're right i realized this later when HR shot straight up instead of steadily climbing

[@lesrelaisdemanolo3494]

your cardio is wrong ! 100 bpm ?

[@volkervoit]

Watch malfunctioned - will use chest strap next time

[@fatdave111]

Ust set the weight down, as everyone else 🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@volkervoit]

I rather get dropped 😂

[@L-dw5sx]

@@volkervoityou’d drop most of these guys like a bad habit in the real world or if everyone is verified weight height and equipment on Zwift If they could do that sort of power for real they would be to busy training with their world tour team on big money contracts to be on Zwift

[@volkervoit]

@@L-dw5sx I think you over estimate me. I just participated in the Gran Fondo Vosges, and while i am maybe a quite strong rider compared to the average cyclist I only placed 220th out of 2000 in the race there. The top end amateur level these days is crazy.

[@199801314]

Hammer time 😂

[@BoogieMan568]

there is watt doping on zwift big time

[@volkervoit]

How do people do Watt doping? I get the weight doping (reduce weight in system) but watt doping? 🤔

[@ermag6920]

@@volkervoityes, it’s possible, people come with many different ideas..for example using spinning bike that is compatible with ZWIFT but that spinning bike produces way higher wats than smart trainer, completely inaccurate, showing 100wats more at least..400wats on that bike is 300wats on your smart trainer..this is just one of the ways

[@antonbedarev2295]

Hi there, great work! What's your current vo2max?

[@volkervoit]

Around 67mmol

[@bicycleyoung]

this race map is brutal lol intervals all over.. nice race!!

[@benjapolcycling]

If the tron and disc wheel can keep up with the group that must be another 1.5 wkg extra compare to Spe Crux with roval gravel wheel... It's crazy race for sure.

[@99cya]

are CAT A races somehow supervised?

[@volkervoit]

Not really, but big races need double power meter, HR sensor mandatory and if somebody pushes 10W/KG for 5min or so they get flagged and taken out of the race

[@99cya]

to win a race i can guess that a few of the right moments of peak performance can be enough. on this level. if i had the ability to participate in such races i could never shake off the thought of being cheated.@@volkervoit

[@a.mynttinen5130]

What is your max heart rate? 110?😮

[@volkervoit]

192bpm

[@a.mynttinen5130]

@@volkervoit then it was a malfunctioning heart rate monitor🥹

[@volkervoit]

@@a.mynttinen5130 if you watch the whole video you would find out and get it all explained :)))

[@stevevinck4452]

the pack dynamics 4.1 is just horrible

[@abelbejiga2763]

i wanted to get impressed by the hr, but @4.9km it jumped from 104 - 176 in a second, which made me wonder if it was masuring correctly prior to that. anyways great effort man 👍🏽

[@volkervoit]

Absolutely right, second part was correct, had some interference that messed up the readings before

[@lukevirtualgameruk3523]

Don't hate when there are better riders then you.

[@volkervoit]

Who’s hating? 🤔

[@lukevirtualgameruk3523]

@@volkervoit You, Lots on there say cheating who cares there only cheating themselves your not playing to be a pro.

[@volkervoit]

@@lukevirtualgameruk3523 no, I’m not a pro, and I am happy not to be, but I earn money with the sport and good honest race results are always nice to have no matter if pro or amateur. And no, I dont hate the cheaters, I just feel sorry for them 😅

[@lukevirtualgameruk3523]

@@volkervoit Happens in all sport I ride but run more and lots of these youtube boys on steroids facts what can you do I also feel sorry for them.

[@volkervoit]

@@lukevirtualgameruk3523 definitely, i don’t want to know what would happen if they’d make anti doping testing compulsory in amateur marathons and triathlons - big chunk of the field would be out

[@KuriReevel]

Race in Indievelo, Zwift racing is pointless.