When Should You Attack In A Zwift Race? - Learning Zwift

Have you ever seen a competitor attack on a Zwift climb and thought "Why is this rider attacking now"? Find out when is the wrong time to attack those big Zwift climbs and where you should put in a big dig in this video.
- Contents of This Video -
00:00 - Intro
00:31 - Don't Attack At The Base
01:58 - Attack The Steep Sections!
04:28 - Difference In Climb Length
07:18 - Know Your Cycling Strengths & Tactics
- Links -
Zwift Power: zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=...

[@ShawnMcAfee]

Another rock solid video. You are great at this Dave!

[@doomguyzwifting]

Love it ZAN, great video.

[@okayest_amateur]

Great Video. What about attacking over the top? People slow down at the top, if you get a 2-3 second gap and attack over the top it could be 10-15 seconds on the bottom. I cant coun't how many times i've survived the climb just to get dropped at the top of the hill.

[@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork]

Imo attacks over the top are very race situational: If it is a route that has a climb then downhill/flat and another climb to follow: 1.) I think if you still have a big group (let's say 15 riders), it is a good opportunity if you have the legs to up the pace, carry speed over the top, and see if you can widdle down the bunch. If two riders are sleeping and slow down letting a 5-second gap open, chances are they won't catch the 13-person group. Now your chances of winning have increased! 2.) If you're only in a group of 3, I would prefer to work together the rest of the way. Maybe you are in the lead group of 3 and you crest the top together then trade pulls the rest of the way. Or maybe your group number 3 on the road, and can work together to try and bridge to the next group on the road. If the finish line is at the summit, I'm not a huge fan of waiting till the last couple hundred meters (i don't have a huge sprint). I prefer to see if I can drop others 2-3km from the top, as it's much harder for them to tell their body to keep going with that much distance left.

[@Vempire123]

Yeah! That is frustrating. My personal endboss is the Mech Isle Loop. I always think I did it and then I‘m dropped on the last few meters.

[@FaiscaaaH]

Wooow I am in some of your zwift races 😉 Well ridden mate 💪💪💪

[@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork]

Cheers mate! im sure you will pop up in some of my videos to come!

[@reflectionsdetail]

as a 100KG racer, I go to the front and ride at my FTP(3.4w/kg) on the longer climbs; epic KOM, alpe zwift, ven top, etc if others want/think they can go faster so be it, I usually catch a bunch over the entire climb that burst at some point. I make it a race of attrition in my favor, full figure riders don't like constant acceleration changes. Staying with a group even over a steep section that will transition to flatter you will likely be faster in the group than bursting off the front.

[@narakdk]

You get help by staing behind other riders? So its not mano-o-mano? Did not knew that.

[@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork]

Yes, depending on the climb you will get some benefit. A climb such as the volcano Kom, you can get some benefit (although not as much as flat roads). If you're riding Alpe Du Zwift though, with high gradients, such as 10%. The benefit is nearly non-existent. The drafting benefit is actually based on the speed you're going. However, since speed decreases (I was only riding about 10kph on the radio tower climb and each rider is faster/slower) on steeper gradients, the benefit you gain is marginal. So it's still reasonable to think of climbs such as the radio tower or ADZ as mano-o-mano

[@Vempire123]

When do I attack when I‘m 100kg heavy?

[@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork]

That's a good question. I do know of a couple riders around 90kg that still have a high wkg ratio, and have been successful on the bigger climbs. If your wkg ratio is similar to the riders around you the tips in this video could still be used. However, I find most riders around this weight range tend to have different strengths. You may have a better sprint and have higher raw watts, which can be held over the duration of the race (diesel engine!). You could attack on flat, or the lower gradient 2%-4% (contrary to my video) sections, as your raw watt output will matter much more here. you could be successful by putting in a big kick here, and see who follows (ideally 3 - 4 riders from the bunch go with you), if you work together then you have a great chance of winning from the smaller group. Another option is you could ride a high tempo on these sections. You will likely not get away on your own, but will likely reduce the group. I always try and use my strengths to drop competitors who are weak at that certain skill. I think a course such as tour of tewit well might be a course that could suit you well. It is constantly either a slight uphill or downhill, if you can create gaps on the 2-3% sections and carry momentum on the downhill, you have a chance to be successful. Happy to chat more!

[@doomguyzwifting]

Downhill! :D .... not really. It completely depends on your power profile. Do you have a zwiftpower account we could look at?

[@okayest_amateur]

stay with the front group and drop the hammer at 250 meters to go 10-15 second effort

[@doomguyzwifting]

@@okayest_amateur that's a good plan!

[@Vempire123]

At the moment I‘m not fit enough to compete, but lets see whats up in 4-6 weeks. My w/kg should be 3,1 - 3,3 on flat or hilly courses. C class obviously. Right now its only 3,0. Last year I was competitive when standing at the volcano climb e.g. but that was before PD4 and auto-breaking when catching a breath. Need to check it out again. Attacking on flats is super hard for me as I’m not good with keeping the the HR up. Downhill is for rest😂. Probably hills with 2-4%, or really like roadbumps when getting raw watts out is getting followed by a short resting phase downhill, and repeat. Sprinting is hard. I need to find a new strategy. Last year 700w were doable for 10-12s, that was most of the time enough in C cat. Constant 500w for 20s were a little better when the races were long and the riders worn out. I will report back in a few weeks.

[@fatdave111]

Set weight down?

[@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork]

would you be able to clarify this comment?

[@dirtdiver3615]

How in the world are you racing E classification and pushing 350-400+ watts…….. 😑

[@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork]

The video that I'm in Cat E is from a series called FRR. It's organized as a mass start event, but all riders are in the Cat E pen. It's still mostly As and Bs (there may be a few Cs as well) in that pen, but I was only competing against others who had "(DRA)" in their name tag.

[@paulharper4162]

Often times...just say often

[@zwiftingwithdemonhunter]

When Should You Attack In A Zwift Race?As soon as the flag drops. It is a Zwift race, after all. 😊

[@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork]

haha sometimes it feels that way with how hard it is from the start line 😀