The Truth of the Turbo: Episode 2 - Zwift Racing

I currently do not have the option to get outdoors for any form of exercise, so had embraced the turbo trainer a few weeks ago. My app of choice this time around is Zwift, I have to say that as I progress in the game, i have been really enjoying it. I think that I made the decision to attempt a race is from watching many Youtube videos from GCN and another racer called Cameron Jeffers. GCN are currently making presenter challenges, some highlights have been the new Simon Richardson 'Si's Isolation Challenge - Four Weeks of Fitness' and Hank's '24 Hour Zwift Epic'. Cameron Jeffers does live race streams and was a controversial figure in the Zwift world last year having been found guilt of Zwift doping and consequently being banned from Zwift racing until last week. Worth looking into the above if you fancy it.

Anyway, on Monday evening after work i decided to commit to a race, I looked on the Zwift events calendar and spotted a Tuesday morning event at 07.30 called the 14.5km Yorkshire Grand Prix Race, i chose to race in Category C of 4 categories - this is based on FTP and weight, Zwift produce simple guides on how to choose category; I also have a smart trainer so power is listed on screen and you can do tests to determine your FTP - something to discuss for a later post. I was confident with my Category C choice, I signed up for the race, added a reminder to my calendar and ensured that I was out of bed for 6.30am, this gave me a bit of time to have the all important shot of espresso, a glass of water and to carry out some pre-race ablutions. Zwift recommends being race ready 15 minutes prior to the start time as you might need to calibrate the turbo trainer but also to warm-up a bit and of course take some selfies in SCC kit. The night before I prepared by going to bed very late (1am), eating cheesecake at 11pm but at least laying out my kit the night before, and changing my Zwift avatar and name to something more official; I was ready.

I reached the Pain Cave at 07.17, the pain cave is a garden shed that has patchy wi-fi and needs to be plugged in to an external socket in the garden; thankfully the internet connection was good today. I turned on Zwift, engaged the turbo trainer, draped the bike in towels, turned on my fan, set my water bottles up and navigated to the start line of the race and began to soft pedal to warm up - it was me and 15 or so riders. After a few minutes of warm-up and WhatApp messages on the SCC chat I had 1 minute to go, now there was a field of 66 riders; the SCC casquette came off and I watched the clock tick down, not knowing what to expect. 5,4,3,2,1.....

Having never raced before I did not expect the ferocity of the other riders at the start line, only 30 seconds in and I was 46th of 66, oh dear. I was immediately at a disadvantage and had to turn one the power - over the next 5km I managed to move up around 20 places and nestled in with a group of around 5 riders - I was already feeling the burn as I was working much harder than I normally would - my Strava analysis shows this clearly. I really wanted to bridge the gap to the riders ahead but the bunch I was with were either savvy or lazy, so I became a foolish domestique for our bunch and took to the front to chase down riders up ahead. At this point I must tell you that the course was rolling and had some short punchy climbs and descents over the relatively short distance. At one of the climbs at around 10km or so I managed to bridge up to a few riders ahead and passed them, this is when I reached my best position of the race; 20th. Unfortunately, the group that was drafting behind me decided to push just over the crest of the hill - i tried my hardest to stay with them and hung on my the skin of my teeth, i was now 29th. For the remainder of the race I was on the rivet, chugging from my bidon at any opportunity - I managed to get to 22nd position with 1km to go, I attacked and only opened a gap of a few metres before the group surged past me once again, back down to 27th position. With 200 metres to the go I wondered if I had anything left in the tank for a sprint, there was one rider ahead of me, I got to 100metres to go and pressed hard on the pedals. Did i have anything left in the tank? Not really! Thankfully after what felt like an age the wattage increased and a passed the rider ahead of me with metres to spare. I finished my first race in 26th place, i was exhausted but had a blast. Thankfully the race organisers transported me to Zwift London where I had a 5km warm-down. I got off the bike in a sweaty mess and thought to myself, not a bad day considering its only 08.30, now time for breakfast.