Watching Zwift racing

[Elefantino]

Yeah, I know. The title pretty much says it all.

Trying to watch the Zwift Tour For All this a.m. It's just not making it for me.

God, I miss real racing.

[Spdntrxi]

I dont miss racing enough to watch old races on eurosport.. I certainly will never watch a zwift race (unless I am in it)

[charliedid]

The what?


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[unterhausen]

Never thought of watching a zwift race, don't think I would. I was thinking about racing. Sorta thinking about crit racing, it seems like it would totally miss the dynamics of a crit, doesn't matter where you are in the pack because you don't have to worry about being gapped in the corners.

[avalonracing]

I have such a hard time thinking of these as races any more than me putting my motorcycle on a dyno and competing with other people doing the same would be a race.

You could say, "But yeah on Zwift you are pedaling so it's really racing". And I could say "Well with the motorcycles on the dyno it is about who has the fastest reaction time to go wide open throttle so it's racing."

I just think to call Zwift "racing" diminishes all the variables that make bicycle racing the incredible sport that it is.

[echappist]

Never thought of watching a zwift race, don't think I would. I was thinking about racing. Sorta thinking about crit racing, it seems like it would totally miss the dynamics of a crit, doesn't matter where you are in the pack because you don't have to worry about being gapped in the corners.

The whole reason why this sport is worthwhile watching (other than the scenery) is due to aerodynamics (specifically, riders drafting saves a lot of energy); otherwise Cancellara would have cakewalked his way to at least 5 MSR, 5 Roubaix, and 5 Flanders titles.

The aerodynamic simulations in Zwift are utter bollocks. Not to mention that the "sticky draft" makes it nearly impossible to stay within a pack while doing less than 15% of what the front guys are doing. While not everyone in a pack is riding at the watts needed to drive the pack, no one drafting gets to actually soft pedal (or s/he would get an express trip to the back and then out of the pack). As mentioned elsewhere, in a real pack, if front is doing 320W, middle of pack does at most 240W, if not 200W. 320W is threshold effort (or more) for most in a cat-3 pack; 200W is probably middle-high endurance effort. In Zwift, no one in that pack would dare to do less than 270W. As a form of workout, not so bad; but utter shyte for spectating purposes.

I was watching Sagan's win at 2015 Worlds. Some of the gap was created by superior downhill bike handling. Nope, that doesn't get rewarded in Zwift either.

[mtechnica]

That’s this morning? I was thinking about checking it out later.

[FlashUNC]

All of the ambiance of dog track racing, none of the charm.

[redir]

Here in Virginia they have decided to do their Best All Round (BAR) races on Zwift. After a reasonably winter of training I simply gave up about a month ago so I'm in no shape for it. It was amusing to watch the races on zwift for a little while and sad to see riders in my cat holding 400 watts for an hour after I gained ten pounds and probably couldn't hold half that :crap: :)

[avalonracing]

All of the ambiance of dog track racing, none of the charm. :hello:

[choke]

Uh.....no. Not even if I was locked in solitary confinement.

The whole reason why this sport is worthwhile watching (other than the scenery) is due to aerodynamics (specifically, riders drafting saves a lot of energy); otherwise Cancellara would have cakewalked his way to at least 5 MSR, 5 Roubaix, and 5 Flanders titles.I totally disagree. IMO aero only plays a small portion....tactics and handling are far more important. You could even add panache. How else could Eros Poli win a TdF stage over Mt. Ventoux?

[echappist]

Uh.....no. Not even if I was locked in solitary confinement.

I totally disagree. IMO aero only plays a small portion....tactics and handling are far more important. You could even add panache. How else could Eros Poli win a TdF stage over Mt. Ventoux?

You misunderstood. Not aerodynamics as in rider position and equipment. Aerodynamics as in people sitting on having to work only 65-70% as hard as those pulling.

Do you ever ask why tactics are needed in cycling? Why can’t people just expect to ride others off the wheel? Why doesnt the strongest always win? And why no one wants to lead out in a 4-5 people sprint?

Because drafting offers a significant advantage, the strongest can’t just pull all the way to the line, b/c they’d get jumped. That’s what motivates the strongest riders into attacking (as opposed to riding a hard steady tempo) so they force a selection and ditch all but the other strongest. Very simple game theory stuff. And when people attack, it’s most often when benefit from drafting is decreased, whether that’s on hills (gravity becomes more important) or rough cobbles (Crr gets more important).

Drafting is what make road cycling a sport of tactic and strategy, and drafting follows directly from aerodynamics

If you really don’t think drafting is important, explain how Nuyens and Gerrans respectively beat FC. those two even get called a particular epithet for their strategy. You perhaps have heard of the term “wheelsucker” by chance?

[mtechnica]

Zwift racing isn’t bike racing. It’s a different and awful sport that does not favor punchy riders or those that tend to hide in the pack. In that regard the e-sports guys are no joke. Obviously the road pros are good too but zwift seems to be full of super powerful guys. That said it’s a different but still valid thing compared to bike racing. Well see how long the novelty lasts, I think a lot of people use it for training which it’s great for, but there are too many problems with zwift racing (power inaccuracy, the game itself, staying cool inside) to REALLY compare it to an actually bike race when it comes to being a bike racer.

[choke]

You misunderstood. Not aerodynamics as in rider position and equipment. Aerodynamics as in people sitting on having to work only 65-70% as hard as those pulling. <snipped for brevity>OK, I get what you mean. To me that falls under tactics/strategy rather than aerodynamics.

[pdmtong]

OK, I get what you mean. To me that falls under tactics/strategy rather than aerodynamics.

hierarchy: aero allows the tactics/strategy...

[kramnnim]

Today's race up the big virtual mountain was kind of cool to watch. Since you could see just how much power the riders were putting out.

[RyanH]

This was a fun way to watch the race the other day...happened by accident:

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