Zwift Primetime Racing! // Flat is Fast Stage 3 // Category B // Volcano Flat

[@antsmands]

Boy have I known this level of suffering! Being stuck in no-mans-land sucks! Kudos for hanging in there till the finish! I have done the same many times!

[@CaedmonCycling]

Getting dropped early is never fun haha, especially when you have absolutely nothing left and so far to go 😅 oh well, it’s part of racing!

[@RoadtoA]

Even though you might not feel like it that was clearly a very honest effort. Kudos!

[@CaedmonCycling]

Thanks! I can only get better from here 👍

[@Ad-my9kg]

I did this race on Monday, two hours before you did, and the same happened to me. I was dropped in about the same place on the first lap. Once you no longer have the pack draft your overall time for the course drops like a stone.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah it’s brutal getting dropped early 😅 it turns into a lot of lonely and slow riding haha

[@J.P.1.]

I did this yesterday as well, D cat. The front group was smashing it, and I rage quit as we hit the middle of the first lap. Come to find out in the results there were 2 C and 1 B in the race and they slaughtered us out the gates Oh, sorry - won by 1 of 3 C riders in the race with the B rider taking 3rd. Bunch of riders with private accts so who knows. Sucks.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Ahh that’s frustrating when it affects the race like that. Stick with it and that’s all you can do is race your race 👍

[@J.P.1.]

@@CaedmonCycling true! I'll take another run at this race. Might go with a climbing bike tho bc there's way more climbing on this stage than I like 😫

[@CaedmonCycling]

They are all pretty short hills, I’d suggest sticking with the aero setup and just bringing speed into the bumps each time you go up. Not that it worked for me though 😂

[@pjwillsr]

Nice 1000 watt plus end....wow...so much competition out there.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, there’s so many good riders out there. Lots of work to do!

[@RoyImahara]

Great job hanging in there after blowing up. It’s good to test yourself to failure. A couple of things you might try when your legs are toast. 1 slide back on the saddle a little and push your feet forward to engage your glutes and hamstrings. 2 slide forward a little onto the nose of the saddle to use a different portion of your quads. The second method is called “on the rivet” because the old leather saddles used to have a river on the front of the nose to secure the leather cover.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Ahh, thanks Roy! These are good tactics, and now I know where that saying comes from. Some strategy and some learning, appreciate it 👍

[@marccale9890]

I am grateful that there is no way on earth I can get my head right to zwift race straight after a day at work - so I'm never going to do a peak time race like this. I'm glad of it too! Brave effort!

[@CaedmonCycling]

It was a holiday in the US which is the only reason I was able to race so early. It’s safe to say I won’t be trying it again anytime soon 😅

[@marccale9890]

@@CaedmonCycling 😄

[@aquicktake]

I know your max HR - so when I saw that pegged, and I think you even hit 190ish, I knew that it was going to be a tough one for you. But, riding in PT and hanging with that front group on a consistent basis will result in some substantial gains! That 14 w/kg at the end was no joke - way to have some heart.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, it didn’t last long, but gave me a good idea of how fast the primetime racers can go! There a lot of work to do 👍

[@kevinderung8524]

just keep getting stronger with efforts like this

[@CaedmonCycling]

Always looking on the bright side :)

[@nedbowen]

Solid race! Those prime time B races always have a lot of people to drive the pace and make the race hard! I thought about doing this race, but instead jumped into the A cat to see how I would do. It went better than I expected :) For your drafting. Note the difference in your placement in the pack between 3:45-5:55 and 11:50-13:15. Sure you were blown from the effort on the climb in the flat after the climb, but you were able to hold on to the pack with the minimum watts there whereas before the climb you were further up the group riding harder than you needed to for that section of the race. You then only lost the pack when the effort from the climb and flat became too much to hold the wheel. That tail gunning position in a compact pack is definitely the most efficient place to ride. Of course, if you are that far back, you do have to anticipate the climbs/attacks and move up early/asap, so that you follow the most efficient wheels!

[@CaedmonCycling]

Hey, way to jump up and compete at a higher category, that’s tough to do! Yeah, your analysis is spot on after watching this back. Somehow I was actually more efficient when on the brink of getting dropped. I need to focus on that from the start as well. Thanks for the tips 👍

[@EvoZwifts-ex4nf]

Hey! Well done for staying with it 👍 I did Prime Time C Cat and must of thought about quitting at least twice 🤣

[@CaedmonCycling]

Haha, I’ll be staying away from prime time going forward 😂😂

[@ImGlossy63]

Yeah those prime time Euro riders don’t mess around do they 😳. Good motivation to keep working hard to try and get to that level though. Keep at it!!!

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, I have a long way to go to hang with this group, but we’ll keep working 👍

[@dmiller415]

Was thinking you would hang in on that one, there were some tough sections, good old fashioned suffering.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, it just wasn’t my day, but I’ll be back 👍 just maybe not for primetime

[@nicolas2838]

B races are just crazy. It always has a lot of people who are actually above average A riders. So trying to keep up with them usually ends in exploding.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, I think I learned that the hard way haha 😂 maybe I’ll be up there one day!

[@nicolas2838]

@@CaedmonCycling my second B race after the patch, adjusting the categorie from C to b was a 60km climb race. Did explode after one hour of continuous 5-6w/kg hill sprints and 3w/kg "regeneration" descents. Anyhow I'm so happy I'm not the only one having the heart of a 🐁.

[@BryanMontgomery28]

Saw the ranking before start. Super strong group. You always make me nervous riding on last wheel. Good effort tho, it’s a process!

[@CaedmonCycling]

Haha yeah, I know I can’t follow any attacks, so I hang out in the back! That’s where I end up anyway 😂

[@BryanMontgomery28]

@@CaedmonCycling no way, you are doing great buddy. Would love to see you in pen again, but likely switching to early am soon

[@CaedmonCycling]

Thanks, good luck in your racing!

[@BryanMontgomery28]

Got around to 2nd half of this ride. Hope you are well. Looked like serious bonk. Hope you aren’t getting sick. But that 5 min power you had was really good, no? And 11wkg sprint and over 1000w is real deal. You’ll bounce back

[@CaedmonCycling]

Hey thanks! I’m not sick luckily, I think it was just a bad day on the bike. It was a fast start and the HR shot up pretty quickly. I’ll be back 👍

[@doomguyzwifting]

Nice sprint

[@CaedmonCycling]

Nice when you come in recovered 👍

[@everydayzwifter]

You didn't quite seem yourself but when I saw the power numbers I guess it was just FAST! You managed 1000w in the sprint too. Nice.

[@geetee4037]

Easier when you've recovered and below FTP for 20 mins...

[@everydayzwifter]

@@geetee4037 Sure. I'd just be happy to do 1000 anytime. It's a notable achievement for some of us. 😀🥵🥳

[@geetee4037]

@@everydayzwifter not everyone is a sprinter with a high max power, so nothing to worry about. There are 16 year old girls who race on the track with 1000 watt sprints, doesn't mean they'd win a Zwift race though! I can't get near 1000 if I've been at FTP for 40 mins.

[@everydayzwifter]

@@geetee4037 no, me neither 😪😀

[@CaedmonCycling]

Thanks guys, yeah I need to up my FTP to stick in a race like this 👍

[@waterdeptworker]

Wow. Where was that 1000 wattts during the ride? You would have been top 5.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Haha, if only it worked like that 😂 I need to up my FTP or else that sprint means nothing

[@waterdeptworker]

@@CaedmonCycling yeah me too...My FTP is 218 and I can never get 1000 watts...Think I hit 800 once...I think I am doing it wrong..Do you use downward or upward pedal strook?

[@CaedmonCycling]

I focus on the downward pedal stroke and try to pull the handlebars up when my legs are pushing down. But I’m also not at all a trained cyclist, so take any suggestion with a grain of salt :)

[@waterdeptworker]

@@CaedmonCycling Thank you! I am going to try that...Also just letting you know most people I watch can not reach 1000 watts so your on the upper 20-30%....I usually get dropped from 1st group in 5 mins than second group by 10mins and then I am usually riding alone after 10 mins...lol

[@CaedmonCycling]

Keep it up and you’ll get stronger! It always sucks being at the bottom of the category, but it’s the best way to improve

[@thecoffeeblog]

That was a bonk. It feels weird to push that hard and not reach even 200 watts. I have been there. Take a good day off, lots of water, good night's sleep and you will be back in no time.

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, definitely a bonk. The HR just wouldn’t recover even at Zone 2. On to the next one, I’ll be back 👍

[@Paul.OKeeffe]

I watched this last night prepping for my C cat race on Saturday. Not looking forward to it now 🙄🙄Good effort though.

[@CaedmonCycling]

This was just a tough primetime race and I was a bit off. You’ll do great, good luck!

[@a_diverge]

Do you additional rides after the race? This was my first B race still not sure why they bummped me. 😂 You should do pace partner race simulations. (just an idea) Good racing with you 👊

[@CaedmonCycling]

Hey, good racing with you and nice job! I usually do a short warmup and cool down. On days I don’t race I try to do about an hour of Zone 2 instead

[@a_diverge]

Thanks...saw your name..oh KZbin time. 😅 Was extremely nervous being in cat B. Now need a way to stay upfront. Shorter crit races might help and Tiny Races on Saturday for all out efforts. 👊😎

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, I’ve only had a chance to get about 4 hrs/week on the bike so far. Need to up that if I want to improve. I do enjoy the shorter crit races!

[@a_diverge]

I'll send you an FR on Zwift. Usually ride about 270miles a week 13hrs.

[@geetee4037]

2.9w/kg is a bit low for a B but it's all about the effort so well done!

[@CaedmonCycling]

Yeah, I need to up my endurance for sure 👍

[@geetee4037]

@@CaedmonCycling endurance is not my thing on Zwift. I prefer short, fast stuff that is about an hour max.

[@matthias2447]

@3:55 how did you know the front pack consists of 77 riders?

[@CaedmonCycling]

I use “Sauce for Zwift” which is an overlay that gives me additional details that the normal Zwift screen doesn’t. One of those is pack sizes, so I always know how big the pack size is. Another is draft details so I know how strong the draft is based on where I am in the pack :) I definitely suggest it for anyone who races a decent amount.

[@mumblecake251]

@@CaedmonCycling Do you have sauce running on a separate screen or are you simply only screen recording the Zwift window/application rather the screen?

[@CaedmonCycling]

I have it overlayed onto the same screen, I just screen record Zwift only rather than the entire window

[@kswissu72]

What happened? You are much better than this!! I've seen you hold good power and kick at the end!

[@CaedmonCycling]

Haha, it just wasn’t my day 😅

[@mumblecake251]

You've disabled the red bar of pain :(

[@CaedmonCycling]

Haha, I have for now 😂 it didn’t seem to help during this race, but I think it’ll help my fixate less on how hard I’m pushing

[@mumblecake251]

@@CaedmonCycling Today was clearly pushing you way past your limits but if it gives you the mental edge/advantage (however small) in more marginal races I can totally understand that.

[@florianh.8273]

Please show your colors again,;

[@CaedmonCycling]

I can tell you it was all yellow and red the first 10-12 min and then probably a lot of blue for the second half of the race haha