And as well as your race results, you can check your distance ridden, total metres climbed, power peaks from one second up to 75 minutes, and more besides. I did on one and second on the other. 1 - Manually Set Your FTP Let's say you already know your FTP, then you can go into Zwift and manually change it to whatever you'd like. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Frankly I struggle to believe these are real. If you're on Zwift and planning to get racing, then signing up to the third-party app ZwiftPower (opens in new tab) is an essential step. One question I have struggled to answer though which maybe is not a consideration is that on the flat watts is what is required and I also have to push high wkg to stay with groups. Obviously, these are generally accepted rules in the Zwift Community. It's a real community hub. This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. what does help identify and stop cheats is formalizing race series and having them use an organization like Zada (whether effective now or not, this is the correct path). If it is.. someone must be able to point me to the rule where it says that it is forbidden..? The issues with e-racing remain the same, and largely ignored for years now. IRL if your weight is 85kg, itll take you longer to climb the Ventoux than if your weight is 65. (I dont recommend this approach, but it proves the point that weight doping is an issue that concerns many Zwift racers. I think one of the biggest issues with weight (and height) in Zwift is that you get punished really hard for something you only have limited control over. Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. In some cases this even happens unfairly. My weight is showing orange everytime. You will receive a verification email shortly. I don't think you can do it from the game itself. How many cyclists do you see in real life who are 65kgs, but they are ten a penny on Zwift. Check out this FAQ for some of our frequently asked questions: Q:&. Not everyone has the same HRmax. Maybe with a KICKR Climb it might be possible. Completing this first step means that you've given permission to share your results and activity history with ZwiftPower, so now all of your performance and race data can be transferred across to the website. If thats not something that needs fixing then why run any races? Share your thoughts below, and you may also wish to share those thoughts on the actual forum post. Hes had to up his weight as he is only 35kg ( upped time 45kg) he but puts out 220watt so his ftp is 5.5-6w/kg in a race. But it highlights a bigger problem, and that is the fundamental flaw of using watts per kilo for race categorization. I argue that he is intentionally misrepresenting his weight so he can place higher in B instead of getting shelled in A (like I do). Weight would be updated as normal throughout the month. Sure, easy! In real life, Id dust that guy. ur allowed +/- 5% weight for pro zwift races so +/- 0.5 kg is not going to make a difference :p. add weight if u want to stay in D. lower weight if u wanna move to C. up 2 u. why because of weight, not power. I am 65 kg with FTP of 270 W, which equlas 4,15 w/kg. I mean youve both got a point. Youre having fun winning (or nearly winning) C races! How do I get started on Zwift? With my question answered as to what I should pick for my next race, Id delete my original post if I could, but I cannot figure out how. I mean I never lied about my weight, I am a very light rider working and eating hard to get some extra pounds. Thats hilarious. Im a heavy rider at 102kgs and 193cm tall I once reverse doped my weight at the top of the radio tower to try and achieve the 100km/HR badge It had the opposite effect in that I was actually slower than when descending at my actual weight lol I dont race other than against myself so Ive never weight doped as such My observations recently however have created an awareness of how many stick insects ride bikes on zwift . Makes me happy to see that the community is able to speak with one voice if necessary. There is no reason I should be gettingRead more , Sounds like its time to start racing the Bs, @guest_35522! While the benefits of being light fully kick in while climbing a mountain (as it is easier for smaller guys to achieve certain w/kg), the benefits of being a tall and strong guy dont fully apply in the flats. Are you efficient, or just heavy? Simply put, the system cannot measure weight it can only measure power, so for racing, peoples weight should be disregarded by that I mean, just as everyone in a zwift academy race has the same bike, they should be given the same weight , then it is a race based on FTP banded categories with point based promotion. Great article, Eric. How big of a problem is reverse weight doping? It's a bit more complicated than most website sign-ups, but now you'll be all ready to get started. Then everyone would know who is legit or at least somewhat legit. As we said in the first post, Assuming race organizers can access the data via ZwiftPower, and the site includes simple tools for spotting potential weight or height dopers (perhaps flagging those who made dramatic changes recently), then hiding weight and height data from the public should work swimmingly.. What you see a lot are riders who are (claiming) to be really light with decent but not exceptional watts. As a lighter racer 136lbs it pisses me off to see cheating. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. If I wanted to win I just drop my weight to 65kgs 350w/65kgs is a lot better than 350w/85kgs, of course 350w/65kg is better than 350w/85kg, its a massive increase in w/kg. Thank you for signing up to The Pick. Put simply, ZwiftPower is a community-driven website that complements the Zwift app. either a) ur starting ur sprint way too late or b) ur leading him out. Hi, very impressive w/kg at 65. Many riders is talking about cheating, when someone enters a lower category but it's not, in my opinion. Thanks! The categories are the cycling equivalent to weight classes in boxing. .Personally I one of the outliers on height and weight. indispensabile essere sinceri nel dichiarare il proprio peso , per se stessi e per il rispetto degli altri . Shame I cant edit my post for the horrendous spelling and autocorrect gaffes. 1. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). My power is often in the top few. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). More of an issue than thisRead more . Riders weight will rise and fall but under normal circumstances within a range. In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. I may try and snag a couple of cat C golds before taking the break, but definitely wont be reverse weight doping to do so the upgrade to B will be a bigger prize than any gold medal. Updating Your Privacy Settings in Zwift Companion To update your default privacy settings, sign in to the Zwift Companion (ZC) app on your iOS or Andro. Remember - Zwift is a trainingplatform.. and if a rider feels his/hers motivation to ride, is higher when entering 'wrong' it's ok with me..AND obviously with Zwift too. Honest and goal driven. Just sign up for A races from now on. Zwift doesnt like this and disqualifies him on Zwift power. Stick a few more kgs on to stop you getting upgraded, would that get you a ban? I am not in the least bit interested in competition cycling, so no point in doping in either direction as i would only be cheating myself. It this fair? Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Honest mistake on my part and one I wont make again, so fair enough to be filtered outRead more , Related (and apologies if the answer is obvious but Ive only done one Zwift race), really what is the point of the categories? Racers who get top 1,2,3 more than a few times get upgraded period. Why not only require weight and height for entry to A and B races? My solution would make everyones chances equal, while yours would strongly favor heavy riders. The categorization system is, like you say, fundamentally flawed. Look at ZP results. I hopeRead more . This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. What if you are super committed and gain the weight in real life just so you can stay in the category , Excellent posts on perhaps the most serious non-hardware problem in Zwift right now. Its also why the Zwift Transparency Facebook group was created, where racers post videos of themselves weighing in using a particular protocol which makes it difficult to fake your numbers. Well, imagine youre a strong C racer. Whats the cheaters solution? Thats why there are no top 40 Cat C riders in 70-75Kg range. Races can use different schemes to categorise riders, but most of them use this scheme: You can, of course, progress through the ranks as you race. My IRL time and my Zwift time are almost the same. Theyre only cheating themselves and it all comes out in the wash eventually. I may of course be wrong, and these are all true weights, but Id be very surprised if that were the case, in the races where this matters, riders have to submit a private youtube weigh-in video <2 hrs before the race. I was wondering is it possible to get the graph at the bottom of the screen that shows youre power and other stuff on a normal ride and not doing a FTP test or workout. I think that point based system is an improvement, but it doesnt address the weight issue. Please refresh the page and try again. Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. I just we had a better system than category limits, racing license anybody? Sandbagging is pointless if winning means youre going to move up (unless you want to take 3 months off after your win. With racer categories? stop worrying about whatRead more . The default position is midway between "Off" and "Max," or 50 percent of the grade resistance you'd find while riding the same grade of hill in the real world. My W/Kg has gone from 3.76 to 3.97 without me really improving my FTP. Though our intent is to protect potentially vulnerable users by removing labels that can trigger unhealthy behaviours, we also hear the concerns of the racing community. I love reading it. I once made myself much heavier so I could compete against my 11-year-old son in a head to head Zwift climbing race. This is real frustrating as hes a top u12 racer and wants to see his efforts recognise. (a is tough and im struggling at max h/r for most of the race).Ive gone from 87kgs to 80 kgs in this time and feel fitter than ever. Joining ZwiftPower isn't the most straightforward series of steps, but we've broken it down so you can get started as soon as possible. Zwift can wipe your Zwift Power profile and give you a clean slate to start over if you want, but I think you will lose all past data. Take one of our four FTP tests to determine your FTP. I dont think so. It doesnt appear that people are abiding by the categories. . there's a million and 1 reasons why it is not a legitimate sport. The book Fast After 50 is a good read on how masters athletes can train more effectively. ZwiftPower use 95% of your best 20 minutes during the whole race, so it does not matter if the race is 21 min or 3 hours, you will still be categorized the same way. Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. Im 70 inches tall and 156 pounds right now vs 166lb on Jan 1. Any thoughts on verifying? His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. There is enough variation in power profile to make it interesting without weight, what makes racing fun is trying to create tactics that favour yourRead more , Interesting & well reasoned article which answers a lot of things which were puzzling me. Also a really frustrating thing is why doesnt Zwift autoRead more , is he riding in the right category? While most Zwifters seemed to understand and even appreciate the intent behind the change, there was concern that removing this information would result in increased height/weight doping. If you need to cheat to get the results you want then why even bother. We are new to Zwift and My son Whos 12 has used it to race to make up for his list u12 crit season. 2. I am always passed by everyone on the way up but can usually catch up on the way down (190cm/93kg). its only cheating myself, instead I would prefer to spend that 2 painful hours doing something honestly and feel proud of it than zooming through it in sub 60m and not reap the same benefits (or in my case, pain). As we said in the first post, "Assuming race organizers can access the data via ZwiftPower, and the site includes simple tools for spotting potential weight or height dopers (perhaps flagging those who made dramatic changes recently), then hiding weight and height data from the public should work swimmingly." Hes asking for a fair race. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts. There is no cat C rider at 58kg who has a hope in hell of beating me in any race. I averaged between 300 and 310 watts for all segments and my heart sat pretty consistently between 140 and 144.Read more , saying x number of watts per kg at xxx hr is flawed anyways max and resting hr can vary alot. If you've already created an accountcheck out the s. 8 months ago I was 96kg, but didntRead more , As a light (58kg) rider racing in the Bs it is very frustrating on flat routes where since the main thing that matters is raw watts and not w/kg I would have to put out well over 4 w/kg to keep up with the heavier guys and therefore I pretty much always get dropped before too long. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips. My power to weight is decent at about 4w/kg. Just from riding regularly I went from 166 FTP to 187 in 800 miles over a 2 1/2 months. The first way is to head into your profile. On Zwift I look suspicous. The winners are almost always people with recorded weights sub 70kgs, more typically 65kgs, even 59! Hahahahaha. A good portion of that weight difference is in the Hub's 10.3 . I would say 1kg or more is more normal. Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! The key phrase there is have the same W/kg its very easy to boost your W/kg simply tell Zwift you are lighter than you really are. I have seen riders weighting 56 kgs and week later they are 35 kgs. All rights reserved. IRL I am 85kgs and cant pretend to be 65kgs. Keep it on. This clearly shows the power of the Zwift blob it impacts more than just drafting. I put my real weight 95% of the time. Last week I did the prl full and Uber pretzel and tried to get #1 by weight on those segments. (Its not the only part, of course! I have no idea. As such, we have agreed to pause this change while we develop tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing while promoting wellness. ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. On a tablet or smartphone, you can download the. Same reason there are categories and age group races outdoors! I have a Withings scale and in the Zwift Settings, it shows up as connected. As soon as I start pedaling Im pretty much into threshold (around 170bpm). Why not ride to your strengths? Would achieve the same thing. I know a woman who is 5 feet tall and almost 200lb. I know Ive done it! As long as the button to enter a lower cat is active, riders will Press It. I dont really race so I am OK and any workouts are harder this way. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Im surprised that (off wheel) smart trainers dont have the ability to weigh the rider when they get on the bike. And besides, my main goal on Zwift is to not get dropped in the hills during Team Cryo-Gens more hardcore Saturday rides! But then you could have someone in the same age group who maxes out at 170. IMHO, enforcing in-category entry for races will be a quick, easy and effective change. What particularly annoys me is being beaten by light but moderately powerful riders doing individual time trials on flat courses. If its a big hill, well then w/kg has us equalised. Your voice is important to us. (ignoring that it evens out and you have the advantage on the hills but lets ignore that because its all about you and you should always podium in every race in your life, because mommy told you that you were special and big mean Zwift is making you work so hard on the flats). We remain committed to protecting the health and well being of the broader Zwift Community, and we look forward to enacting additional measures in the future. people need to stop taking Zwift racing so seriously. LOL. Once you have a number for your FTP in watts, divide it by your weight in kilograms. Cheapest Zwift setup: Everything to help you onto Zwift for the first time For me its the most fun to see the progress I make on strava, new PR on climbs or on flats (hanging in on the back of a group) If I would lie about my weight I throw off my goals to Improve atleast make them near impossible for the coming time in the End I dont see the funRead more , I reversed dopped by mistake when I first started Zwift putting my height as my weight and weight as my height. Zwif: your ultimate guide That was my first thought when a fellow Zwifter commented on my recent race, Somehow you always get your w/kg down. Gain a few (virtual) pounds. How do you actually update your weight on ZP?? If I were to drop say a kg obviously the watts required would not change to keep at the speed of the group andRead more , Youll go faster at a lighter weight on the flats. I agree with what you say Eric but the weight doping does negatively impact the casual rider if they are following other riders in a casual/social ride. Example: have you ever purposely avoided weighing yourself (especially you who have a Withings scale that automatically updates your Zwift weight) because you know youve put on a few pounds over the weekend? She can crank but her w/kg is low. Even at my age I still plan to compete in MTB races when the world gets back to racing. Some people are clearly living in a fantasy on zwift. Just short of my 68th birthday I still dont see any point in cheating. We can name and shame these few. Just like the CEO promised us rowing years ago, right? Weight doping is only a serious issue when its done in competition. Why can we just all race together and the fastest person wins? Zwift power usually looks at numbers vs the category race he entered. If I feel happy in my body thats the most important thing for me, and why I rarely weigh myself. Blaming Zwift for allowing cheaters is the system problem that gets more people frustrated, upset, etc. I have wondered about this subject on a few occasions. Best Zwift setups: Indoor cycling setups to give you the competitive edge. Keep hammering the point and finding ways that Zwift can improve controls. A good rule we follow is to take our FTP divide it by 3 and then put that in as our weight (in Kilograms). Im 170cm and currently 61kg with an ideal triathlon racing weight of 59kg. Great drafting skills!, Heres the thing: I probably am a fairly efficient racer, when I want to be.