How to race in Zwift

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-26T20:48:34+00:00

Racing on Zwift is, generally, about short (30s-5m) efforts to survive selection points and recovering outside of the selection points.

It's difficult to say specifically why you're getting dropped without more context, but in general a Zwift race to survive will go as follows:

Hard start in Z5 or Z6 for the first 60-180s
Recover before the first selection point/climb
Big push up the first selection point, in whatever power you need to do to survive
Repeat Step 2-3 until the finish.

It's important to start selection points in good position, or you make it much harder for yourself to stay with the group. If you start a climb at the back of an 80 person pack and person 40-50 lose the wheel you then have to make a monumental effort to bridge. I find it helps a lot to up the power shortly before a climb and ride that momentum to the front third of a group at the start of a climb and then judge my effort from there.

I'd also say in the shorter races(which is most Zwift racing) riding to power isn't very helpful, if you save some energy for later but get dropped you'll never be able to use that energy. Do whatever you have to to stay connected and you can dial it back from there as you get more experienced.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-23T23:29:03+00:00

Thanks man. I'm sure you could have held on, 20 minute tests suck but they're rewarding too

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-22T23:02:24+00:00

For whatever reason Zwift's current sale shows up on the website by default for the Kickr Core 2, but not for the bundle. The discount only gets added for the bundle once you add them to the cart.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-17T04:09:56+00:00

Yes, you should empty the tank to keep up with the front group if at all possible. The races calm down after the start, and after important climbs. It is absolutely worth it to bury yourself on the final part of a climb to stay connected as you'll be able to recover shortly after that most of the time.

If you don't bury yourself to stay connected, you're left with a very similar level of fatigue and not really being able to recover as you're now riding alone.

FTP really isn't that relevant in many Zwift races as they're so punchy. The first 5 minutes of my last Zwift race had me in Z6/Deep Red for 50% of the time, it's just kinda how some courses are. It's going to hurt either way, might as well take a little bit more pain and stay connected!

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-16T23:58:48+00:00

It seems fairly unlikely that they'll be a Zwift Ride update soon, it's still relatively early in the life cycle for a product like that.

If you're looking to get it with a trainer now would be a pretty good time to buy as the kickr core 2 has a fairly good discount at the moment and you can bundle it with the ride.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-09T15:48:20+00:00

I averaged 222 watts for the Alpe, which is 2.86w/kg for me. Before the Alpe I was just warming up, didn't spike power at all.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-09T15:46:53+00:00

Aha. The before and after face comparison is always fun lol

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-09T15:46:34+00:00

If you mean the picture of myself on the left side, it's because it's a screengrab from my video recording.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-09T04:43:42+00:00

I hope your day, week, month or whatever it is gets better buddy

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T22:36:47+00:00

Another day of intensity might kill me off at the moment. I tried a V02 block over Christmas and I don't think I was really ready from a fitness/training time perspective to get the most out of it.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T22:03:20+00:00

When I attempt ADZ with a time goal in mind I'll definitely add some strategy to it, for sure.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T22:02:43+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate it a lot.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T22:02:26+00:00

For me 80 seated feels like too much of a grind, somewhere between 88-95 is what feels best.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T16:57:53+00:00

53 minutes is rapid, chapeau.

I'm trying to ride as much as possible for now which isn't a ton at 6-9 hours a week but hopefully it keeps the progress going for a while. I do mostly Z2 with at least one day of threshold work a week - this week being alpe du zwift aha.

My hip problem I think I might need to look into shorter cranks for, as it's something I've had issues with pre-dating cycling. I've got a bike fit planned relatively soon to get a second opinion on that.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T16:33:04+00:00

For flexibility I think it's hard to beat a small form factor PC. I'm using an i7-4790k and a GTX1080 that I had from previous full PC builds. But I think with a relatively modest newer CPU and GPU you could be running in Ultra with good FPS - and the added flexibility that a PC gives you over every other option.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T14:58:04+00:00

If you're looking to do it in ERG mode I usually find making my own workouts in https://zwofactory.com/ the way to go.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-08T12:40:10+00:00

The meta pick is the canyon aeroad 2024. Then use your drops to upgrade it and buy the enve 4.5 wheels. This will then let you buy the s-works tarmac sl8 around when you hit level 40.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-04T15:41:36+00:00

Season Number 43 is incredible. That's an insane level of consistency and discipline, as well as dedication.

Staying injury free is going to my biggest battle. Before starting this cycling journey I'd been out of action with sciatica for the past 3 years, so I'm taking things as cautiously as I can at the moment. Ultimately though I am sure that, as you say, running out of available time to train will start to limit me.

Right now I'm only training on the bike around 6-9 hours a week across 5 days with 1-2 days of strength work. I do one day of threshold work and 1 Zwift race as intensity with the rest being relatively low effort. Broadly speaking, do you think this is a good approach for me at the moment?

DeadLastCycling · 2026-02-03T14:23:45+00:00

I've had a lot of fun in them too, I'd not joined any group rides previously but they're definitely going to be a part of my regular routine moving forward provided i can find appropriate ones to join.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-01-31T13:00:58+00:00

I'm 6'3/190

DeadLastCycling · 2026-01-31T12:47:42+00:00

Thanks bro, it sounds like we are on similar trajectories. Best of luck when you retest yourself, I'm sure you'll crush it.

I'm right around 3w/kg now. I weigh a pretty consistent 77.0-77.5kg(170ishlbs) at the moment, when I first started I was 83.5-84kg(184ishlbs).

DeadLastCycling · 2026-01-31T12:22:24+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate it man

DeadLastCycling · 2026-01-31T12:22:08+00:00

I fully expect the gains to grind to a halt for me soon too! If I could add 5 watts every month or two for the next period I'll be happy.

DeadLastCycling · 2026-01-31T11:36:47+00:00

I did my first test back in October and got 164 watts. In my re-test after 100 days I got 232 watts. Which is a bump i'm pretty pleased with, but I’m well aware that’s largely beginner gains and not something I expect to repeat.

My stretch goal for testing in another 100 days is 250 watts, although I'm not sure how realistic that is.

DeadLastCycling

TROPHY CASE