My Race Perspective // 2023 UCI CYCLING ESPORTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS on Zwift

[@DarenC]

You animated that first race and made it a lot more exciting to watch than everyone sitting in for a sprint. Shame it didn't pay off, but massive kudos! #EDMODE

[@kasperwestphalpedersen5299]

On your tactical question: In Danish media Bjørn Andreasen has explained that the team had two riders dedicated to covering all attacks in race one, and he was one if them.

[@edlaverack]

That’s awesome!

[@Zwift]

Serious commitment! 🚀🧡 We appreciate the feedback Ed!

[@74_Green]

9:34 Talking about "Hi Mom, I'm on tv"... Daniel Turek causally waving. lol

[@glennicol1361]

The races were exciting!, the new format was good to watch!

[@darrenricketts2685]

I think you did the right thing by giving it a go and getting in the mix. Should be proud of your ride! 👍

[@povl1000]

Good effort! Re tactics: Andreassen had decided beforehand with Danish team that he would attempt to go with any breakaway. And also that he would go from the start in the final. He also said regarding format that he felt first race was too short, considering it eliminates 70% of the field.

[@edlaverack]

Thanks for the info! Awesome teamwork from him and going from the gun in the last race was so smart

[@mrt.7146]

Great racing - loved seeing you go full effort and risk! Looking at your face during the last part of the break away you left it all out there 🤩.

[@irondistance4313]

Much respect, it takes balls and brains to race your race and own it. I know you gave 100% on the bike we all wish you could have made it to the climb but way to animate the race❤ 🔥 ❤

[@AJCCycling]

Well done, Ed! Mental to see Andreassen came in to the final sprint as first and he still ended 6th!! The dude can push the pedals!

[@NeilXDavis]

100% behind your plan and execution in the race Ed. Top effort. I hope they make future events longer - seem to be pandering to the audience attention span which I kinda get.

[@daniel_turek_cycling]

It was mainly you and me pulling. Others wanted to sit on

[@RideWithGerben]

The chat expected to race to go bunch until the last double climb castle/brae. That you went all to force a break was a suprise and a good one. It turned the race from sprintfest to something proper exciting to watch. Loved it!

[@colinswan786]

Nice analysis and awesome effort. Was proper excited when I saw you go the 2nd time as thought it had a chance. Unlucky but well done on trying it!

[@TheWelshtart]

Ed, someone once told me that there is no "what if?", you are the living proof of that when you race. You make the call and stick to it and it's awesome to watch, chapeau Ed. #respect 😎❤👍

[@johndirom8999]

I don't believe that that format and the length (short)/elevation (lack of) suited you, ED. Having said that, you lit up the first race and made it really exciting to watch. Your attack after attack was inspiring to watch, the effort you put in was top notch. Given your weight/make-up that was probably the only way you could race it. The quote. 'you have to be prepared to lose, in order to win' is really appropriate here. You did your country, and followers, proud. Chapeau.

[@ctrabon]

I appreciate you taking the chance and pushing the limits in Zwift racing. Agreed with top 50. Also, you mentioned break and people working hard. You really do need a break with riders killing themselves to get away. 15-20 sec. or more needed.

[@MultiGjuro]

Ed..you did the right and only possible tactic because you are not a sprinter and have to small peak power.....but your mates didn t react good enough...and it is what it is..anyway I apreciate you as much as always.BRAVO!!!

[@crapilanofridge7745]

Great to see you so active in the first race. You had your plan, rolled the dice and it didn't quite work. It happens I guess. Massive respect that you gave it a go rather than just sitting in and waiting for the sprint lottery.

[@mrm95]

You are right, but to add to that as a climber like Ed, there is no lottery when riders like Jason Osborne or Freddy Ovett etc. are riding. You are only going to lose in the sprint.

[@gearmonger8616]

Thanks for the insight, Great attempt to bring some tactics to Zwift. Really feel like the course they opened today, Muckle Yin, would have been a much fairer way to test high level riders for the first phase of the Worlds. It would have given climbers, TTers, Punchers, and Sprinters opportunities to employ tactics.

[@dblodgettyou]

good going man! 12:25 dudes are 1000% sitting on you and that's too bad.

[@thequickorangefoxjumped]

You did great Ed, you did great no matter what!

[@mickboekhoff]

I was surprised the break got 5s but as expected the pack closed it without much effort. At least you tried and animated the first race, it made it fun to watch. Great to see that Andreassen was in this group, seems like he went just before the pack went & maintained his gap as he was not influenced by burritos

[@Skw-lincs]

I love your philosophy and outlook on the race (and in general) , its a true winners mentality so dont ever lose that. You did awesome!

[@iskyyyyyyy]

Great strategy! Didn't work out, but you had to put yourself in the best position for success. You gave it a good go. Solid effort, Ed! 💪

[@ShawnIsBatman]

You put it out there, well done! You live and learn to ride and race another day. You are accountable to no one but yourself.

[@bentaylor2607]

I really enjoyed this video and would love more like this! Really insightful for you to explain your thought process.

[@kevinosborne8071]

Most combatant for that race Ed! You raced your race, it was great to see!

[@shaylorcyclingwahoo]

Great effort Ed! It was a brave move and could have paid off on that course. Great to see Marc get 3rd and Zoe getting 2nd (I’ll be honest I was more interested in WLC riders than just GB, although Zoe and yourself being both, even better!). Love these videos, great to see the last one did well! Anybody saying the group had zero chance has not been watching enough GP races with many of the same riders.

[@ethangodridge6833]

A cracking effort regardless Ed. A great performance by our Backpedal friend Mr Power too.

[@PierreAlainMaire]

That was fantastic to watch. You deserve a bonus from GCN for the entertainment ! You all were strong riders, and I believe you were right, it's only by doing "strange/unexpected/unusual" moves that you can be sure to be in the top 30. Big respect.

[@wrxzboost]

your thinking was spot on...i don't know if the course helped since this is a very flowing course where drafting gets you through it easy, but at least you gave it your all and left no stones unturned.

[@ShakeNBakeUK]

watched it live, loved to see the aggression in the race. no point sitting in and getting spanked in the sprint. very strong ride playing to your strengths. gutted it didn't work out this time, would have loved to see you on the climb event. maybe one day they will make some changes to drafting mechanics to make breaks a bit more feasible ;) #FULLSEND

[@59ncycling]

Brilliant effort Ed, still a world class effort in a field of great riders. very impressive ether way!

[@martinandrews2860]

Big Kudos Ed. It was great viewing. Top effort.

[@leebaxter8654]

Correct tactics for me Ed. On another day it would have stuck.

[@crankgreenwatts]

Kudos Ed 🙌 You shook the boat and made two great attacks; which GCN picked up on 👌Everyone whom raced went hard and did what they could so Chapeau 🙏

[@dankvartfilm]

Massive kudos for trying, Ed - the rider who wont dare can never win❗

[@kimberleycody8288]

Great job Ed!! I think you should be proud of yourself and how you represented yourself and your country. I agree with your thoughts on the breakaway needing to work harder together. 15 sec would have got you through and I know you’d have made the final and would have had the same plan as the eventual champion. Congratulations on a great race.

[@ewanmackenzie6777]

Way to go Ed, you put it on the line and gave it your best shot, it didn't work this time but as we know that is bike racing and tomorrow is another day!

[@fraserstewart5210]

Well done - great effort.

[@karenjones3051]

You did your best Ed, tactics wise you had the right plan

[@SwimBikeRunStu]

Such short races for anything to happen. Well done for making it worth watching.

[@AlejandroMallea]

For those who say breakaways *never* work at this level: sure, they never work... until they do. We've seen it a few times in Premier League, Grand Prix, ZRL in the top EMEA categories, and even the World Championship qualifiers. It is unlikely, but not impossible. After the battle everyone is a general, and there are too many saying it was the wrong decision, but if you really pay attention to Ed's races and numbers, you know he can't produce a 20 second sprint at 800 W at the end of a stage like this, where the sprint would be from Z5 and not from Z2 with rested legs. And even if he could, he would be going against guys who can do 900+ W for the same period and even longer, so even then it would've been unlikely to succeed. At least with the breakaway strategy there's more uncertainty, which is why it was the right card to play.

[@johnsanderson1809]

I hate the phrase 'Mum and dad break'. No-one burns matches unnecessarily, especially in a race this short. Really enjoyed this insight - great effort mate.

[@spou20]

Firstly great effort and congratulations for being part of the race. I've watched you for a few years and I'm going to have to disagree with your race tactics. These are the strongest riders in the world, your words. The course was short and it would have been so difficult to soften them up and / or get a split. You have the credentials; I just believe that you would have been better going with a 1km or so to go. Yes you may have got swamped but your engine and staying power may have got the job done. Onwards and upwards and good luck for the rest of the season Ed.

[@edlaverack]

Thanks Spoop. Weighing it up though, there is less of a chance of me getting through in the top 30 EVEN if I go in the final KM. I would not have made it through, just need to look at the numbers the top 50 we’re doing and in hindsight was the right call

[@beyond990]

Interesting race and sometimes you have to gamble and try these moves when you know your top end sprint aint going to cover it. One thought mentioned in the interview of Bjørn after the he had won was may be the first race should have been longer, i think i agree maybe 2 or 3 laps to give the endurance boys a chance to get away and to tire the legs more for the next two 😜 Great effort heres to next time 🎉

[@AppuntiDiZwift]

Enjoyed the new format of the racing. Tough to make any splits with each race so short, but you made a great shot at it. Must have been strange tactics in the bunch to be saving yourself for the second race without knowing if you've made it through the first race or not.

[@MattSwain1]

I’m mostly in favour of the new format but there’s still just that inescapable thing in Zwift where the bunch has it’s own momentum making breakaways so hard. It’s not a physics problem as such, just that the general churn of people on and off the front of the bunch makes the bunch operate cohesively without the riders having to co-operate. IRL this needs people to choose to swap turns which is where it sometimes goes awry. Maybe race 1 also needed a punchy climb to give a break some chance? At least you gave it a go Ed 😊

[@bababaanarama]

nice attacks, Peoples Champion! ;)

[@simonoxenham5493]

Great effort dude

[@nicolaskirkland7095]

I did catch a couple of your race prep videos and got the impression that the new format required you to change your approach and tactics - so wasn't surprised when you attacked. Didn't look like a 'Hail Mary' attack to me. You'd be daft to have chanced a bunch sprint hey! IRL, if I'm up against 5 sprinters at the end of a crit, I'm coming 6th (if I'm lucky...lol). You had to try to make the race something that suited you.

[@RasmusKramerSchou]

LOVED your analysis, and it made a lot of sense watching. On this course, your power profile gave you one chance, and you took it. Question: would it be possible to ‘team’ up with other country-riders with same power profile prior to race 1 and attack together to get you through the next round?

[@marccale9890]

Great effort and the tactics make complete sense...what was the point in sitting in the group and being swamped by the monstrous power they had in the sprint. One question...if you'd of reached the final, would you have tried what the winner did? We never saw the start of the final, so it's unknown how much of an effort the guy had to make to make the break.

[@garrettchurchey]

Even if you got dropped out after the first round, you got yourself lots of attention on a “world” stage. Great effort.

[@jonathang3087]

Enjoyed the format. From a viewer that it felt that the courses, whilst great for us slower riders were a bit short for you guys given how fast you go - do you think having the first race be about 10mins more of racing (and maybe the second having 5mins more climbing) would provide more opportunities/scope for different tactics?

[@Steve-cc8zg]

I was totally not surprised that you attacked like you did. That kind of fits, doesn't it? Watching a few of the other prep races you did it seemed pretty obvious you didn't want this to come down to a sprint, especially on that brutal punch up at the end. It was a great effort that didn't work out. That's how it goes. Fair play though.

[@glennicol1361]

Do you prefer the previous race format or the new one?

[@ZwiftyZwifter]

If the parcours had been, as you say 2, 1, 3 I think you’d have stood a great chance of winning. You did what you had to do and did it very well. Not sure that supertucking took any speed out of the group, though? At least reasonable to think that it’s the way to increase overall speed afterwards. Although I know this course probably nearly as well as anyone, I think you’d have better places your cam window away from the minimap so we can better see the gradient and split.

[@leeomurchu1213]

I assume all bike set ups in this race are neutral. Some lads will have sponsor bikes and I see some others on the Tron bike. Well done Ed you raced it well and tried to draw a break away out relentlessly. 💪💪

[@soulglowdeej]

They were neutralised :)

[@Apostroph418]

I know I should say well done Ed, too bad it didn't work out etc but honestly no offense you are an elite rider on Zwift. You've been racing Zwift for a couple of years and I really can't believe you looked at a course profile and you didn't realize there was no chance of successful breakaway because the track is super rolling and you will have a huge group of the same or even better riders. There was literally about a 0.00001% chance that everyone would close their eyes and let this group go. The best decision after the attack, when you saw that this front group wasn't creating a major gap, was to come back to bunch recover as much as possible and try to sprint. This is not real life, this is Zwift with current dynamic pack, this attack had no chance. It would be perfect plan for second or third race as Bjorn did. it's not meant to be hateful or smth like that, that's just my opinion about decision. You did great job anyway. :)

[@edlaverack]

Your opinion is valid of course. But I don’t have the ability to recover in a short space of time with 1.5km to go to produce 700w for 40sec. Others might, like Bjorn maybe, but by that point I was all in. Your compliment as an elite zwifter is a nice one, thank you.

[@shaylorcyclingwahoo]

Breaks go away in the GP level races all the time. Riders have insane power at this level so they can get away, and those following are too tactically savvy to chase sometimes. Not this time, but the chances were way higher than you claim

[@gasgano8255]

Chat would generally have been right to criticize because the chance of a breakaway sticking on that course with that length and that field is like less than 1%. But beating 7 out of 10 of the best zwifters in a Sprint is a tough ask and chat was not thinking about that properly.

[@soulglowdeej]

Doesn't help when someone in the breakaway drops a burrito either 🤦 ... You got on the start line, gave it a go, and shook things up. At any elite level of sport, that's more of an achievement than many will realise. So big respect 👊 On to the next with more experience and knowledge. On the format...I'd prefer one of the races to be longer, but it was a good watch...until the video froze at the end of the womens race🤦)

[@EmrysJones]

I think you gave your self the best chance I'm not really a sprinter but can hang in there with them but in your shoes I'd have tryed to break away the same, went with your strengths and on another day could of swung the other way, sitting in until a mass sprint was definitely more risky and alot more boring a race

[@iancarson8614]

i thought you rode brilliantly ed and represented the jersey well. i was willing your break to make it. however, i'm not so sure how relevant the whole concept is as a uci event. the pack dynamics are such that breakaways are less likely to stick than in real life, and the draft and speed afforded to even the front of the pack are unique to zwift. the winner was deserved though.

[@paulyz8534]

How can doping be controlled in swift racing?

[@LD-bv1pm]

I thought the format was poor. First round was way too short and second and third weren't much better. Very "instant gratification" assuming their audience didn't have a decent span of attention. WRT to your race, Zwift group modeling makes it very difficult to stay ahead of any sized pack, but the nature of the finish didn't give you any other option than to try what you did. Very ballsy, fun to watch, I was gutted with the outcome though. I did say it was fun to watch the two Germans absolutely refusing to work with each other in the final and letting the Dane win lol. And I agree, you could have ridden the last round the same as the winner did, and I'd say at the same numbers or better.

[@ezeekwheel]

I hate people who say you should just sit in and wait till the end. If you loose doing that then it's a complete waste of time. You have to try somewhere

[@bitminerbob6731]

Thought it was the best card for you to play as the worst case scenario for you would be the bunch kick there. Pity they didn't have a long hill climb race too as that would have played to your strengths for sure!!

[@mrm95]

You had no shot to wait for a sprint if the first parcours is this way. It's quite unlikely to qualify if you don't push 1200-1300W in the sprint. So you really had to other option than to try to break away. DIdn't come off, c'est la vie! 👍👍

[@wyclif06]

Good analysis... could you remove 'your face' from the mini-map top right next time... be interesting to know what it looks like behind then

[@marcus_velo_9970]

ed, top effort buuuuut .... I had to replay the end, are you kidding whilst everyone else was doing 10+ w/kg you backed right off, where was your surge - you rode in isolation from the group dynamics? the thing about champions is they know when to dig deep to succeed, not to win but to do their best 110% effort, I didn't see that - at your level there's no excuse for getting the pacing so wrong. you almost rode to set yourself up to fail to avoid the pain of a sprint. not personal mate its a learning experience;, just looking at this from a layman's perspective on race tactics with a very experienced racer. We're all riding on your back as a vested interest to see you go well.

[@edlaverack]

I’m assuming when you asked “Where was my surge” you mean at the end in the final few hundred? The answer is, I was done, totally commited myself to get a small enough gap to slip in to the top 30. I couldn’t surge to produce 600+w for the final 40sec ones after racing like that, I’d drained the battery. Tactically that’s the best race I could have ridden, arguably may have finished higher in the sprint if I’d say in all race BUT I wouldn’t have finished top 30 in a field that strong in a sprint, you’ve only got to see who came 30-40th to see that. I’m sorry you don’t think I gave 110%, but that’s only really something that I should be evaluating myself on, and honestly, I believe I gave it everything. That’s all that matters.

[@marcus_velo_9970]

@@edlaverack appreciate your honesty Ed, dam spinters hey? would be interesting to see how riders of your ability rode the race - what tatics etc for next time. keep up the great videos mate.

[@danjo1967]

Bjørn was surely covering, he didnt want to push, and let you guys push for the gaps. his tactics won the day, even though he clearly was the worst rider in the final

[@Daniel-ng8fi]

genuine question, I'm not trying to shit on anything, the algorithm served me this video and I watched it all, but dont follow the "scene", did you get anything for winning this or it was just the top 50 advance? If it was the latter what was the point in trying to get in a breakaway? Or did you not like your chances of finishing top 50 in a bunch sprint?

[@sbrusgaard]

30 riders got into round two, meaning 50+ (85 started IIRC) were eliminated. 10 progressed from round two to the final knockout race, where two riders were eliminated each lap.

[@davenielsen413]

There were three races. 1st race only top 30 move on. Ed had no real chance in a bunch sprint on a short course to do that, so had to try going "long." It's a prize just to race at a UCI championship.

[@Daniel-ng8fi]

@@sbrusgaard I see, thanks!

[@luzzyrogue]

Go out the road, and stay on someone's wheel. Get aero on the false flat and fear of the descent. That's cycling. Zwift is a game for geeks to sweat

[@74_Green]

First race should have been at least one more lap...

[@williamric-hansen3983]

I was disappointed this was the first stage, and so short. Let's be honest, except for the 2nd stage, it was basically like a track sprint event. The mens race was only exciting because of the break, but 10 people is too little... But hats off to you for trying, you had to break but really just didn't suit you.

[@davidnsquires]

Good effort, but rubbish event. The "punch" and the "climb" were neither for a high quality field. Do you plan to get involved with the myWhoosh event that is coming in March, with a possible decent payday?

[@alanflear]

Daadadadz

[@MB-pq4hx]

I thought the course and format was terrible. Basically being run as a track race. Why? Run a race with hills, make it long, make it like a race worthy of a World Championships. Typical Zwift, completely clueless.

[@haucks]

What a cheesy race. The course needed way more steep long climbs to blast everyones legs and separate out the pretenders.

[@onlyfoolriding8223]

lmao. 6.7 watt/kg "easy to do" Maybe in my next lifetime.