Sweatfest Crit - B
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:06 am
Race 1 of season 2 of the Sweatfest Wednesday night Zwift series was last night. I believe MRC won season 1 (B) in December, and maybe Mark B. was the overall winner (or 2nd not sure). Anyway, we had 7 lining up last night (61 total), and the format was a 22 mile crit on the dedicated Zwift crit course.
I've done one of these, it was a bit shorter, but it was really hard. Not much recovery during these races. Perhaps a longer version would ease up a bit.
It was me, Chris(B and P), Mark, Brian M., Briana, and Mike K. We agreed on a strategy, we would have some coordinated attacks of 2 or more during the race to either break it up, or get away. At the end we would all sprint for a good "team" result versus a leadout which is pretty tough to coordinate on Zwift. We were also on Discord, but while I could hear everyone perfectly, they couldn't hear me well (or they were ignoring me which is very possible). Also note myself, Chris P and Briana had done a computrainer workout the night before, so I was downplaying my ability to hang/contribute.
The race started hard, about 4 minutes at VO2 Max for me, but then it settled down pretty good. About 9 minutes in someone else attacked, and I decided to bridge across. It lasted less than 1/2 a lap, and hurt pretty bad. We got caught pretty quickly and I needed to recover. From there the MRC chatter was to start our coordinated attacks. At the 17 minute mark, Busick, Massey and I attacked. We got up to 5 seconds on the field but again we got pulled back. Note on both of these attacks, many people were shelled, so they served a purpose. We were down to 25.
When we got caught, the field blew up, and I noticed I was behind a split. I spent an entire lap bridging back up. Chris P was discussing another attack and I begged him to wait. Not sure he heard me, but I made it back on, matches burned. Briana and Mike K may have been victims at this point (sorry guys).
At minute 25 Chris P and B attacked (not sure who else), I just followed wheels. It got shut down but now we're down to 21. Still me, Chris(s), Mark and Massey in the front group (nice numbers). Briana was cursing his apparent inability to Zwift (I'm sure he'll figure it out).
The race really let up at this point, and I was happy to see my average power finally dip below FTP. Coming in to the final few laps, it was clear everyone wanted an "Aero" power-up, so feathers and box trucks we're being used constantly. With 2 to go I had the box truck, and decided to hold it for a long sprint from the field, versus risking no power-up at all (the dreaded XP bonus). We had discussed the ideal sprinting point, so I decided to hit the box truck (which is a long 30 sec power up) 1 corner earlier and sprint through the field and try to hold it to the end.
This strategy worked well, I passed the field, past 2 riders who had already attacked off the front, led toward and through the final corner. I thought I had it, as the line is pretty close after the corner. Then at the last second Chris P passes me at a significantly higher rate of speed with the Aero helmet and took the win.
I got second, Massey 4th. Mark and Busick in the top 14 as well. Solid team effort and a great workout.
Let's get more people to the series.
I've done one of these, it was a bit shorter, but it was really hard. Not much recovery during these races. Perhaps a longer version would ease up a bit.
It was me, Chris(B and P), Mark, Brian M., Briana, and Mike K. We agreed on a strategy, we would have some coordinated attacks of 2 or more during the race to either break it up, or get away. At the end we would all sprint for a good "team" result versus a leadout which is pretty tough to coordinate on Zwift. We were also on Discord, but while I could hear everyone perfectly, they couldn't hear me well (or they were ignoring me which is very possible). Also note myself, Chris P and Briana had done a computrainer workout the night before, so I was downplaying my ability to hang/contribute.
The race started hard, about 4 minutes at VO2 Max for me, but then it settled down pretty good. About 9 minutes in someone else attacked, and I decided to bridge across. It lasted less than 1/2 a lap, and hurt pretty bad. We got caught pretty quickly and I needed to recover. From there the MRC chatter was to start our coordinated attacks. At the 17 minute mark, Busick, Massey and I attacked. We got up to 5 seconds on the field but again we got pulled back. Note on both of these attacks, many people were shelled, so they served a purpose. We were down to 25.
When we got caught, the field blew up, and I noticed I was behind a split. I spent an entire lap bridging back up. Chris P was discussing another attack and I begged him to wait. Not sure he heard me, but I made it back on, matches burned. Briana and Mike K may have been victims at this point (sorry guys).
At minute 25 Chris P and B attacked (not sure who else), I just followed wheels. It got shut down but now we're down to 21. Still me, Chris(s), Mark and Massey in the front group (nice numbers). Briana was cursing his apparent inability to Zwift (I'm sure he'll figure it out).
The race really let up at this point, and I was happy to see my average power finally dip below FTP. Coming in to the final few laps, it was clear everyone wanted an "Aero" power-up, so feathers and box trucks we're being used constantly. With 2 to go I had the box truck, and decided to hold it for a long sprint from the field, versus risking no power-up at all (the dreaded XP bonus). We had discussed the ideal sprinting point, so I decided to hit the box truck (which is a long 30 sec power up) 1 corner earlier and sprint through the field and try to hold it to the end.
This strategy worked well, I passed the field, past 2 riders who had already attacked off the front, led toward and through the final corner. I thought I had it, as the line is pretty close after the corner. Then at the last second Chris P passes me at a significantly higher rate of speed with the Aero helmet and took the win.
I got second, Massey 4th. Mark and Busick in the top 14 as well. Solid team effort and a great workout.
Let's get more people to the series.