there's a million and 1 reasons why it is not a legitimate sport. Not sure why its hard for you to believe that there are a lot of riders under 70kgs. It would be easy to deny it was intentional. We like this move from Zwift. Would love your thoughts, please comment. So its not Zwift putting you at a disadvantage but the situation itself, just as you would be in the real world in that situation. Last week we announced Zwifts plans to remove rider height and weight from ZwiftPower, among other changes (read the full post here). Ugh! Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy When I go outdoors I go on a trail bike and bring a backpack full of food and drink for a several hours ride. Since we know that lighter weight=higher virtual speed, this is a very easy way to cheat the system on Zwift. Hi, very impressive w/kg at 65. Problem solved! Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. The guy who got first weighs 106kg on strava but 45kg and only 411 on zwift. Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. The categorization system is, like you say, fundamentally flawed. 2 yr. ago. IMHO, enforcing in-category entry for races will be a quick, easy and effective change. The categories are power to weight divisions. To change your profile to have to log in on the Zwift website and then edit the profile there. If you've already created an accountcheck out the s. What is that!?! Congratulations John on your retirement and Zwift is a great retirement present. EDIT Found my answer: 250w, Theres a chart about halfway down this page: https://zwiftpower.com/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=5528. Not true, at least not absolutely. What you see a lot are riders who are (claiming) to be really light with decent but not exceptional watts. The issues with e-racing remain the same, and largely ignored for years now. As a 96kg, 51 year old with an FTP of 317 and a resting HR of about 48 (and a theoretical maximum HR of 174) Im not sure why my lower HR during an event should seen as suspicious. I disagree with you on this point. Maybe with a KICKR Climb it might be possible. If thats not something that needs fixing then why run any races? The six-digit number highlighted in bold will be your Zwift ID. I should mention: many Zwifters have lied about their in-game weight for perfectly acceptable reasons. We may call it sandbagging or reversed weight doping but its legal . Zwift doesnt like this and disqualifies him on Zwift power. Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. 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 Likes _Jynxy_EVO (:)) October 1, 2021, 1:41pm #8 thxs mike, Its more fun and engaging that way, for me at least. Tough to recover after attacks in a race when youre always near maxing out. In spectacular and shocking fashion. People with eating disorders, or a proclivity toward extreme dieting. This calculates that this heavy rider would take 23:14 to do the distance a justRead more , Everyone has a sweet spot for weight. Im new to Zwift and its racing and what I like notice is how well I do compared to theRead more , This is not just about cheating. I put my real weight 95% of the time. Not everyone has the same HRmax. Can someone answer why we need the different categories? Zwift How-To: Adjusting Your Trainer Difficulty | Zwift How Do I Change My FTP On Zwift? Im older heavier and relativily fit. 2022 Race Like A Pro. Adjusting Difficulty Before Your Workout. Updating Your Public Profile - Zwift As some others already mentioned, the bodyweight tends to oscillate over the week and even the day. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? I have wondered about this subject on a few occasions. Any thoughts on verifying? Ive connected my garmin scale with this app https://smartscalesync.com/?utm_source=tr Put simply, ZwiftPower is a community-driven website that complements the Zwift app. I am always passed by everyone on the way up but can usually catch up on the way down (190cm/93kg). IRL cycling pros are not exactly heavy weights and lean-ness is highly encouraged. My guess is that another reason some do it, is because it gives you points on zwiftpower, becauseRead more . Since strava is all that matters of course. Now you'll have to head over to ZwiftPower.com and register there. Their hr should also correspond, which they often dont. 5x5min, 4x8min but definitely never longer than 8 minutes. are clay hart and sally flynn still married; composite chart 12th house; tupperware party points; st francis of assisi school jobs With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. Yet the lesson is clear if you want to win, even on flat courses, have or claim a very low weight. Same reason there are categories and age group races outdoors! Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). You do you. Though our intent is to protect potentially vulnerable users by removing labels that can trigger unhealthy behaviour What are they trying to protect? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. why because of weight, not power. Youd think theyd be the same but when Zwift and Strava dont even agree on stats for the same ride, Ill take any other comparisons with a big pinch of salt. however 2 riders at the same w/kg, heavier riders have the advantage on flats & descents: https://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/. Or are you looking for a participation trophy on every race as well? Its going to take a certain amount of calories for a certain person to perform a given amount of work in a given time. Email zwiftpower@zwift.com if you want to reset everything. Light guys have the advantage on the hills, in the sprints, and because they have a higher w/kg, the flats too even if my absolute watts are significantly higher. Most of my ZwiftRead more . The only trouble is the downhill doesnt take as long of course, so the light advantage is obviously better. Then lets stop with all athletic competition! It must be very hard to do with many, many lines of code to implement otherwise it wouldve been done by now, In reality these changes would not (will not) impact cheating. Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. i was just having a similar discussion with my old lady about watts and weights, etc. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). In the 2 months Ive been on Zwift Ive become a stronger rider than ever, because Zwift encourages me to push myself harder than I do in real life. Had assumed I just rode inefficiently. Absolutely impossible. Mate youre a legend. As Ive posted elsewhere, I like having weight available at my fingertips so I can use it to plan the TTT rotation (I like going heavy/light/heavy/light to avoid the big guys pulling away on flats/descents or the little guys pulling away on climbs, plus one category of rider tends to get exhausted on any given route if I plan my pull times incorrectly, so its nice not having 2 people in a row suddenly need to skip a pull). nothing more. Im 170cm and currently 61kg with an ideal triathlon racing weight of 59kg. Weight doping is a key challenge for cycling esports to overcome, and its one reason why many big races (e.g., those with prize money) require riders to show up and weigh in on-location in a supervised environment. And flags height and weight changes if they go up or down alot. I wont do and will rather try my very best to compete with the As. Yes thats completely unacceptable, you should never be at a disadvantage at any time in your life, just as your mother raised you. I know a woman who is 5 feet tall and almost 200lb. First up, you'll have to head to Zwift.com and log in, then click on Settings > Profile > Connections and choose 'opt-in' under the ZwiftPower logo. Exactly, although As arent that regulated, unless you hit the premier class, which is a very small section of A riders. Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. 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. If it still doesn't work email zwiftpower@zwift.com and they should be able to sort. would that be cheating then ? how do i change my weight on zwift power - lakenlooks.com Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. 2. Thats not what I recall at all, everything is a race, even if you werent aware . In IRL there is a double draft. If someone on zwift holds an avg power at a given heart rate, then goes out on the road and holds that same heart rate but cannot sustain even close to that power, I am sorry, but that isnt physiology; that is hardware. True, but not necessarily in the way you think. My power is often in the top few. I think you can force it with the Refresh Profile button in your ZP Profile but again, not sure if that triggers it immediately or overnight. Among the communicated changes were plans to hide the visibility of height and weight from ZwiftPower in an effort to encourage individual health and wellness. Too light and watts go down as does watts per kilo. You weigh 80kg and have an FTP of 248 watts, which works out to 3.1 w/kg. ZwiftPower FAQ We're sure you have several questions about ZwiftPower and what it is. You have lowered your weight and skewed your power graph so it is inaccurate. It doesnt appear that people are abiding by the categories. I am about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. My IRL time and my Zwift time are almost the same. nothing less. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. If they keep riders from competing in categories below their ranking, it will reduce the number of sandbaggers and cruisers. This would cover submission and review of a private video showing height and weight which would result in a check mark on ZP showing this rider was height/weight verified. I said if its not done during a competitive Zwift event, its not a problem. I would include chasing Strava Zwift KOMs as a competitive event (but I could see how what I said could be interpreted otherwise. Are you efficient, or just heavy? See https://zwiftinsider.com/how-does-zwift-calculate-my-speed/, I think if a racer doesnt want to cat up in order to keep winning in their current cat, she or he would likely just go the traditional sandbagging route (as others have suggested here). Ive seen many A Riders with 300 FTP on Zwift who I beat by a HUGE MARGIN at triathlon events, including the cycling portion. You only change it in Zwift and it should get picked up with regular backend processing periodically (maybe overnight). Whatever your answer, some people will never like it, but there has to be a clear, credible answer for the majority to support. The key phrase is assuming both riding at the same W/kg, so for the same watts, if I claim to be 10kgs lighter than I really am my W/kg will increase considerably. 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. As Zwift racer James Eastwood so aptly put it, The community dont want to see peoples weight they want fair racing.. 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. The easiest way to qualify for a higher category is to cut weight. Okay, I now see in ZP where it has my minimum racer category (B) in my profile based on my last race, so I can choose B or A going forward. See how you can support Zwift Insider! If I get down to 52 kilos I can climb well but my sprinting is terrible. 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). If it is.. someone must be able to point me to the rule where it says that it is forbidden..? Zwift power usually looks at numbers vs the category race he entered. The only way for complete cheat free racing is in the zwift Pro race which is all done in a single room with all riders together. 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. Whats the cheaters solution? Zwift doesn't need a fancy code fix, they don't need special anti-cheat software, special post race investigations, and they don't need to change anything other than when the game updates personal attributes. In reality no under 12 is competing with a decent 2nd or 3rd cat (UK system) Ive ridden with enough talented youth riders that this is fact so letting young kids crush half decent amateurs on zwift would be unrealistic. All the emphasis on physical metrics makes sense for putting together how speed is calculated but not how one can race. 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. Whether w/kg is the appropriate way to categorise races is anotherRead more , As a 92kg rider, with a w/kg FTP of 289 (or 3.14 w/kg) I wholeheartedly agree. I completely missed these as I reinvented the wheel, trying to stir up the hornets nest on the Zwift forums the other day. It all has to do with the way Zwifts racing categories work. Not knowing what to pick and with minutes until the my first race, I selected the C group and was thus filtered out of the Zwift Power race results when I then posted a 4.00w/kg over the 28 minute race. It certainly didnt feel like I had taken it easy when IRead more . Just the fact that you need a third party (ZP) to validate race results really says it all. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, I am a long time racer in NorCal and cheating is cheating. Head to http://my.zwift.com/ and hover your mouse cursor over the 'Download' button under one of your activities. The categories currently used in most Zwift events are based on your FTP watts per kilothat is, your FTP in watts, divided by your weight in kilograms. Most of the time, this will be what you use to figure out your race category. It lets Zwift racers and race organisers track results and check out all the details of the races they've participated in, as well as monitoring and analysing their data. When you're in the game, click "Menu". Not too many people actually want to see other peoples height or weight except to be able to verify race results are reasonable. Racers who get top 1,2,3 more than a few times get upgraded period. I am 42 years-old with a HRmax of ~169 bpm. Ive lost 2.2kg over a 6 hour ride due to carb loading before, and burning that and hence losing a lot of water weight during the ride. As a lighter racer 136lbs it pisses me off to see cheating. (I dont recommend this approach, but it proves the point that weight doping is an issue that concerns many Zwift racers. I was told that was possible but I couldnt see how. This afternoon, Zwift posted a follow-up message on the forum. Note how he wins races while his max HR is around 30 beats below his maximum. The categories are the cycling equivalent to weight classes in boxing. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. The winners are almost always people with recorded weights sub 70kgs, more typically 65kgs, even 59! However, insecure Freds jumpingRead more , I am new to Zwift, but I do wonder how it is youll see a bunch of people finish at the front of a D race at 4-5 W/kg. Hahahahaha. The first way is to head into your profile. In order to ride with him I have to drop my weight to allow me to keep up. Hes not looking for a trophy every race. If you need to cheat to get the results you want then why even bother. You will receive a verification email shortly. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.) The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . This is how racing is supposed to work. At all. Garmin Forerunner 265/265S In-Depth Review: AMOLED in Two Sizes! They do however have a disadvantage on any flat or downhill. I never reverse weight doped. Then save your ride and log out. Ive done multiple races where my main goal was to keep the watts as low as possible while hanging with the front group. I guess I shouldnt be surprised. You enter a real race,out in the world, you are ready to finish in the top 20 for your best result of your life,then out of the blue a dirt bike rides past you goes tabletop and crossesRead more . However, I do understand Kens point. Well, imagine youre a strong C racer. His 150 or 160 is not comparable at all to what mine would be, I have been Zwifting for a couple of years now I can honestly say I am completely addicted to Zwift. You lose 10 liters of sweat during a medium long ride? I hope they learn from this and are more careful with things like that in the future. As others have said, your higher weight helps on flat courses. the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. (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. I don't think you can do it from the game itself. I have heard women admit on social rides that their zwift weight is their goal weightRead more . Great drafting skills!, Heres the thing: I probably am a fairly efficient racer, when I want to be. See how you can support Zwift Insider! Find some hilly races As a result your suggestion of the watts vs w/kg different systems is already baked into the game physics in a way. Additionally, well be moving forward on hiding height and weight from Zwift Companion and Web. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40. It this fair? How doRead more . Zwift should offer a Validated Racer package for a slight premium over normal membership. Find out more about how we test. In fact, if in a long ride your weight could change by more than 1kg over the course of that one ride!!! Cheapest Zwift setup: Everything to help you onto Zwift for the first time 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. Taking that info away further depersonalizes the platform, and and may be fine in group rides, but it is a step closer to racing against bots. Goodness. Zwift excessively rewards the athlete for being light and small. Bob, what on earth is that all about? Noob question though, whats the etiquette around weighing with kit on or off. 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. As a 59/60kg rider who always seems to have a higher w/kg than the people I finish around, Ive been curious about adding 50% to both my weight and http://ftp. Have you ever compared numbers for calories burned, power output and even elevation ridden for a Zwift ride uploaded to Strava? I did this because I had a particular effort level planned for my workout that day, and didnt want to exceed it. But the vast majority do not. Theres also fitnesssyncer.com that is free up to 4 sync services. Id say physics does! I take issue with the weight doping is okay in none competitive events because of strava. Click on the Settings button and you'll find the Trainer Difficulty slider. Check out this FAQ for some of our frequently asked questions: Q:&. Totally agree with you. So I dont expect to be as competitive vs. a pure cyclist. As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. 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. there seems to be a lot of variability in power products and what people are using to feed into zwift. However, I definitely recommend entering some races. Im in the same boat. Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. I agree Paul great idea. It's also possible to filter results and data by categories, such as different age or power ranges. Nailed it. ZwiftPower - Login But it highlights a bigger problem, and that is the fundamental flaw of using watts per kilo for race categorization. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Im not too concerned about weight doping really. Threshold HR is around 151 bpm. If thats the norm, then I really dont see theRead more . To move up to the next rank, ZwiftPower will take 95 per cent of your 20-minute average w/kg figure from your previous three races. This is pretty timely for me as my FTP is 283 and my weight is currently 71.2kg. The license would be needed to participate in ranked races, however if you dont have a license, other races would be available to participate in. . Tour de Zwift events were races? ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. And atRead more . I dont think any of my shorter (under 5ft10) running or cycling friends weights more than that. The race categories end up looking something like this (taken from the current Tour of Watopia race events): ZwiftPower, home of official race results for community races, adds some pure wattage breakpoints to the above list to help lightweight riders stay competitive. I may try it just to see what difference it makes. ZwiftPower: Your ultimate guide | Cyclingnews Is a very strong rider for his age and trains hard. I think Im just heavier than my competition. Hopefully when it comes time to hide height and weight from public view on ZwiftPower, Zwift will have some really useful tools in place which help race organizers do their jobs more quickly and effectively, while promoting wellness in the racing community. Keep writing this sort of thing. Current category system simply allows very fast but heavy riders to race in categories lower than their actual abilities. The bottom line is that in any competition there will always be someone who wants to cheat to win.Read more . 1 second per 1 km on the AdZ dowhill (after losing minutes going up it) is literally the only place in the game its beneficial and the IRL advantages on the flats over light riders is excessivelyRead more . I currently weigh 59kgs but my BMI is 25 which technically overweight. 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. , Myself being a lighter rider who fluctuates some 2kg during a week I tend to always use my upper weight giving me a lower Wkg. Id be super interested in the timing you set your weight. Zwift should take accountability for what matters most to start with and thats the cheaters. 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."