Tour of Watopia

Not doing the group rides but will probably do the races.
Hoping to do stage 1 tonight.

Stage 1: 9-12 March
Watopia's Waistband
DISTANCE 53.2 KM
ELEVATION 196.4 M

First ever group ride having only just started on Zwift - just seemed like a long race! Shelled from the first group after about 15 minutes, and then from the second group after 30-35 minutes. I found a group of four for pretty much the remainder of the ride although got caught by a small bunch just before the finish - grrr. Having some serious glute aches after. Times below...

Stage 2: 13-16 March
Sand And Sequoias
DISTANCE 42.6 KM
ELEVATION 355.8 M

I had some difficulties connecting and ended up on the shorter ride annoyingly. To top it off I hadn't connected the bike to the trainer properly. After about ten minutes the gears wouldn't change properly, and after another five the whole bike toppled sideways! I had to get off the bike and sort it out which meant I spent the remainder of the ride trying to chase people down and having no benefit of drafting. Hoping to do the longer ride on catch-up at the end.

Stage 3: 17-20 March
Road to Sky
DISTANCE 17.6 KM
ELEVATION 1,045.8 M

I tried to join the longer route, but for some reason Zwift connected me onto the shorter ride again instead, so I decided to abandon and and do a race. I was intending to do the Cat C race but I think, given my FTP was 3.25w/kg, that Zwift forced me into Cat B. I was instantly shot out of the back of the pack from the start but dug deep for the remainder with an average of 258W for the race and a new FTP of 263W (3.75 w/kg).

Yesterday I managed to connect to the longer route and was determined not to go off too hard and blow up on the Alpe. I tried to stay around 210-220W which put me around 200th position at the bottom of the climb. Plugged away for ages without going too far into the red and ended up 211th (out of 1,0001) in a time of 1:04:20 (and 56:46 for the Alpe). I think it would help to know the climb a bit better as I got caught out by flatter sections followed by steep bits.

Stage 4: 21-24 March
Jungle Circuit
DISTANCE 45 KM
ELEVATION 423 M

Stage 5: 25-28 March
Volcano Climb After Party
DISTANCE 40.3 KM
ELEVATION 285.4 M

My times/avg power:
Stage 1: 1:22:17 / 206W (2.94 W/KG) - no idea if that's any good or not but I was a wreck afterwards
Stage 2: Shorter ride (30.9km) - 57:33 / 207W (2.95 W/KG)
Stage 3: 1:04:20 / 245W (3.5W/KG) Also: Cat B race (18.2km): 30:06 / 258W (3.68W/KG)
Stage 4:
Stage 5:

My times/avg power (B cat races)
Stage 1: 27:16, 275w (4.0w/kg) @ 194bpm avg - 12/56 on Zwift, 8/29 on Zwiftpower
Stage 2:
Stage 3:
Stage 4:
Stage 5:

St 1 Full route: 1:10:54, 3.9 w/kg, 1/256 on Zwiftpower!!!
St 2 Full route: 58:55, 3.8 w/kg, 17/226 on Zwiftpower (Trying to take it steady!)

My times/avg power (B cat races)

Stage 1: 27:13, 284w (4.0w/kg) @ 127bpm avg - 30/79 on Zwift, 17/53 on Zwiftpower

Stage 2: 30:13, 285w (4.0w/kg) @ 140bpm avg. 15/52 on Zwift, 10/35 on Zwiftpower

Stage 3:
Stage 4:
Stage 5:

I hate the jungle circuit. Why did they have to include it?

Has Zwift insider tested bikes for this circuit ?

My times/avg power (B cat races)

Stage 1: 27:13, 284w (4.0w/kg) @ 127bpm avg - 30/79 on Zwift, 17/53 on Zwiftpower

Stage 2: 30:13, 285w (4.0w/kg) @ 140bpm avg. 15/52 on Zwift, 10/35 on Zwiftpower

Stage 3: 24:39, 288w (4.1w/kg) @ 136bpm avg. 8/58 on Zwift, 5/38 on Zwiftpower

Stage 4:
Stage 5:

My times/avg power (B cat races)

Stage 1: 27:16, 275w (4.0w/kg) @ 194bpm avg - 12/56 on Zwift, 8/29 on Zwiftpower

Stage 2: 31:29, 265w (3.8w/kg) @ 192bpm avg. 23/52 on Zwift, 16/35 on Zwiftpower

Stage 3: 25:23, 274w (4.0w/kg) @ 192bpm avg, 22/54 on Zwift 15/35 on Zwiftpower

Stage 4: 34:45, 266w (3.8w/kg) @ 194bpm avg, 25/71 on Zwift, 12/33 on Zwiftpower

Stage 5:

Did the final stage last night.

My times/avg power (B cat races)

Stage 1: 27:16, 275w (4.0w/kg) @ 194bpm avg - 12/56 on Zwift, 8/29 on Zwiftpower

Stage 2: 31:29, 265w (3.8w/kg) @ 192bpm avg. 23/52 on Zwift, 16/35 on Zwiftpower

Stage 3: 25:23, 274w (4.0w/kg) @ 192bpm avg, 22/54 on Zwift 15/35 on Zwiftpower

Stage 4: 34:45, 266w (3.8w/kg) @ 194bpm avg, 25/71 on Zwift, 12/33 on Zwiftpower

Stage 5: 22:49, 275w (4.0w/kg) @ 195bpm avg, 25/74 on Zwift, 19/37 on Zwiftpower

Total: 2hr 21m 42s @ 271w (3.92w/kg) avg

My times/avg power (B cat races)

Stage 1: 27:13, 284w (4.0w/kg) @ 127bpm avg - 30/79 on Zwift, 17/53 on Zwiftpower

Stage 2: 30:13, 285w (4.0w/kg) @ 140bpm avg. 15/52 on Zwift, 10/35 on Zwiftpower

Stage 3: 24:39, 288w (4.1w/kg) @ 136bpm avg. 8/58 on Zwift, 5/38 on Zwiftpower

Stage 4: 32:41, 290w (4.1w/kg) @ 140bpm avg. 18/74 on Zwift, 9/42 on Zwiftpower

Stage 5: 22:48, 306w (4.3w/kg) @ 138bpm avg. 8/25 on Zwift, 6/20 on Zwiftpower

Total time 2hr 17mins 34secs @ 290.6 watts (4.08w/kg) avg

Very close to dannbodge!

dannbodge said:

Stage 4 is when you won it!

Did you switch bikes for stage 4, I chose a mountain bike for that course which is faster than the road bike on the gravel...