UCI World Champion/National Champions e-sports/Zwift

Vino'sGhost

dimenson data are only a continental not a pro continental team?????

cygnet

U23's

Vino'sGhost

cygnet wrote:

U23's

ah ty

bobmcstuff

Interesting article on DC Rainmaker's blog about the KISS super league etc. https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/02/cha ... ports.html

Interesting take away for me "For example, they could choose a trainer like the CycleOps Hammer 1/2 which is well known to overcommit on sprints in Zwift, thus resulting in higher power numbers than reality during that sprint. In fact, in Zwift racing circles this trainer is popular for that singular reason." - interesting that "Zwift racing circles" is a thing.

And a summary of the issues it faces:

1) Traditional doping (drugs)
2) Mechanical cheating (tweaking trainers/power meters/motors)
3) Weight (setting an incorrect rider weight)
4) Not being who you say you are (specific to racing)

The mechanical tweaking is a bigger issue than I had realised:

But there’s actually a bigger issue than that at play – tweaking calibration of the trainers. All trainers today except the Tacx NEO series require some form of occasional calibration or spin-down routine. It’s during this process that on some trainers you can tweak the calibration to give you a higher power level than reality. In fact, it’s so trivial to do on certain trainers (such as a Wahoo KICKR) that a rider could likely even do it sitting at the race venue in front of everyone without anyone else even realizing it. And that ignores all the riders at home that have all the time and lack of transparency to do as they please.

I know on my "dumb" turbo I could just tell Zwift I was on a harder resistance setting than I actually am, which would cause a very significant over-read.

jgsi

The 'UK Nationals' as presented by Zwift Corp and bankrolled by British Cycling to the tune of £2 and 3 shillings being rolled out there for those not actively engaged in a real life .
be a champion in your own kitchen
https://zwift.com/events/view/142230?ut ... psuk_click

RichN95.

I personally think this has a future. It bypasses a lot of the problems with regular racing. No massive overheads, no logistical problems for TV, no need for teams, no need for local government support to close roads, the ability to create custom parcours, create weather conditions.

Of course it also lacks many things. But it's not a replacement for normal cycling, but companion sport. With regular races struggling for money to survive, this shouldn't be dismissed.

Alejandrosdog

there are plenty of things to do infront of a TV screen to get hot sweaty and exhausted. Im not sure this has any kind of mainstream future.

shirley_basso

Alejandrosdog wrote:

there are plenty of things to do infront of a TV screen to get hot sweaty and exhausted. Im not sure this has any kind of mainstream future.

Tell that to the founder of One Peloton.

r0bh

Delete - dupe

bobmcstuff

RichN95 wrote:

I personally think this has a future. It bypasses a lot of the problems with regular racing. No massive overheads, no logistical problems for TV, no need for teams, no need for local government support to close roads, the ability to create custom parcours, create weather conditions.

Of course it also lacks many things. But it's not a replacement for normal cycling, but companion sport. With regular races struggling for money to survive, this shouldn't be dismissed.

Yeah, that's kinda my feeling. For me I can't imagine it replacing watching proper racing (never say never and all that, but I can't see it), however I can see it being alright to watch. That DCR article has a link to a YouTube video of one race, I only watched about 30 seconds but it was basically like any other race from what I can tell except they were in a weird underwater tunnel - there was a breakaway and a peloton and the tactics were pretty much the same as in real life.

The attraction I can see is that the barrier to entry is very low compared to road racing and I guess some people like watching sports they have more personal experience of taking part in.

For me I think there might be mileage in something which mixed esports and cycling a bit more, so it was a bit more tactical combination of fitness and games. Certainly be more fun to play at home.

No_Ta_Doctor

bobmcstuff wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

For me I think there might be mileage in something which mixed esports and cycling a bit more, so it was a bit more tactical combination of fitness and games. Certainly be more fun to play at home.

If Zwift don't develop a Mario Kart edition then they're mad. Why limit it to trying to replicate cycling, albeit on fantastical unreal routes (e.g. the underwater tunnel) when you could be chucking banana skins at people, firing a glue rocket, hitting a boost button....

shirley_basso

Next stage Nintendo Wii.

ddraver

My cynicism is listed up thread, but I was listening to a Jon Krakaeur audiobook in which he discusses the start and development of bouldering in rock climbing and I'm wondering if there are some similarities..?

Bouldering was always viewed as nothing more than training for 'proper climbing' but, because human nature, became more and more specialised, with the Internet, and Instagram in particular, arrived it became easier and easier to make 10 sec clips that were cool enough to be distracting whilst swiping ones phone on the bog but do not require any actual concentration. There are also some very marketable pretty people that can make a career, albeit a small one, out of doing it (c.f. Shauna Coxsey).

However, the proper stuff will be what really cuts through to the public attention, to whit, Alex Honnold and Free Solo

thegreatdivide

ddraver wrote:

Free Solo

I didn't think it was a good as the originals.

DeVlaeminck

ddraver wrote:

My cynicism is listed up thread, but I was listening to a Jon Krakaeur audiobook...

Et tu ?

ddraver

DeVlaeminck wrote:

ddraver wrote:

My cy
nicism is listed up thread, but I was listening to a Jon Krakaeur audiobook...

Et tu ?

Probably my favourite non fiction author, also very good whilst I'm transfer driving...alongside Harry Potter :oops:

No_Ta_Doctor

Hmmmm......

Bouldering may have started as "just mucking about" but the growth in indoor climbing (handy for those that don't have e.g. The Yorkshire Dales in their back yard) and sport climbing (technical routes that may not have as much exposure as "proper" free climbs and are often bolted) suggests there's a little more to it than just being instagramable.

It also comes along with the growth in niche sport competition (think all the various Red Bull stuff, from downhill mountainbike to breakdance) as streaming platforms allow a global audience where TV didn't. For climbing, that means indoor competition, with the focus on technical difficulty and speed.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I don't think Zwift racing has that much in common - other than a streaming platform and greater mass participation possibilities.

jgsi

Results of qualifying this morning for GB event turbo championships
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=142230

Alejandrosdog

i imagine in an alternative universe some time soon, cages with dancers will be replaced by the winners of Zwift competitions, pedalling like mindless hamsters and sedated by thoughts of w/kg whilst real people drink and get off with each other below.