Zwift Race | Good Cat C rider tries Cat B | Here's what happens

I decided that after an FTP test i would level up to Cat B for a Zwift monthly event and this is what happened. Im 3.5w/kg,

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[lukepugh]

Personally i think zwift need to change the category system for racing. There is a huge jump between c and b class. They almost need to introduce a level in-between like c+. Because there are so many riders on zwift i think they need to seriously think about overhauling the entirenthing as even c cat is very competitive nowadays

[mentalmikey]

Based on this performance you ARE a Cat B. Just because you didn’t win or stay with the main group etc doesn’t make you NOT a Cat B. Looks like you’ll enjoy the experience with fewer riders perhaps…

Racing against stronger riders is your quickest route to improving your fitness, so no more Cat C for you, Sir! Great work 💪

See you in Cat A soon 😘 (I can assure you it feels exactly the same stepping up again!)

[thepixelcyclist]

Before I got ill lmast year I did move up from C to B and I feel your pain... 10min with the front group was the maximum I could stay with them on. Congratulations for the HUGE effort mate! 💪💪💪

[BrensRCracing]

First time coming across your channel mate and a "tip of the cap" great effort sir, .

[Milo-wlif]

FTP isn’t much of an indication for category, to race cat B you need to have 5 min W/Kg of 4.6+ or you will get blown away in the selection, typically a climb.

[werdsmyth]

I ride Cat A on Zwift and, whilst the hard efforts are much harder (1min @ 7w/kg...5min @ 5w/kg), the transition sections in races will often be ridden at below 3w/kg. Much more about conserving energy for the big efforts, rather than trying to rip everyone's legs off all the time. The B in Cat B definitely stands for "Brutal".

[johnl]

Your defo capable of racing Cat B. My suggestion would be for you to chose a longer distance race next time. The shorter ones are mega spicy, the longer ones tend to settle after the first 2-3 minutes and then ramp up on hills and towards the end...

[OWjonah]

Spot on Max, I feel exactly the same whenever I race in cat b races. I find them brutal! Good effort

[DontGetDroppedCycling]

Keep it up and it get easier!!! 🤙🏽 We’ll line it up one day!

Edit. I JUST SAW MYSELF so we have lined it up already!

[eloyzwift]

It is always a hard effort to go to a harder category. Good job!

Small advice: It is a little better if you switch to km/h instead of mi/h. You will get more XP with the km/h (20XP per km or 30 XP per mi). Higher lvl means access to beter frames and wheelsets.

[scottjones]

Ive been category enforced from a C to a B for the last 2 months. I was a bigger fish in the C races. I could finish top 3 if I wanted to most of the time. Im definitely a small fish in a big Cat B pond. This weekend was the first time I finished in the top half of a race rather than the last quarter.

I stayed with the lead group as long as I could before getting dropped. That gave me a sufficient lead to defend from the chasing packs behind me. I nearly burst a lung doing it though!

[homerj]

I am 50. Zwift recently bumped me to B just before the Zwift games. I'm more of a spicy group ride guy. Without the Zwift Games events, I would not have been racing. My experience was pretty similar to yours. It is making me stronger, but it is not fun. I have never been so tired. I used to ride 5-6 days a week. Now I can only ride 3 days because my legs are so sore and I have no energy. I haven't mastered spinning as fast as you and my heart rate quickly gets out of hand when I spin over 85rpm. I am more comfortable at 65-70rpm. I've climbed the Alpe du Zwift 17 times and my fastest time was 1:02 until stage 5 of the games. I stood for most of the climb chasing a couple riders and managed 51:33. I never thought I would get the Liftoff badge. But it turns out if you chase stronger riders long enough, you will actually get stronger. Now the games are complete, I can get back to chilling with Coco in zone 2.

[RATM]

You hung mid-pack for 10min and were still ahead of 30 people when ypu bailed, looks like the right category to me.

[gtftrpt]

Haha, can’t wait to try it…I got pushed into Cat B last week after a silly little TT ride…savage watts!

[Norwegianwatts]

10min with them boys.. thats amazing man! 💪🏻 ride on man

[JasonLeBel]

A lot of races last year (SISU Climb specifically, where there was a long straight stretch before a climb), as a C rider I would jump in with the A/B groups from the start (all groups started together).

I could keep up with them on the flats (and separate myself from the rest of the C riders).

But I find the biggest difference, is when there's a bump, or worse, a climb. That's when it's most apparent the difference between the Bs and Cs (sprints as well, but never got into a sprint with a B before).

[geetee]

Not saying this is you but people seem to move up category and expect to comfortable. It's a big jump and remember, there will be guys who should be Cat A leading Cat B races making it really hard, its just the way it is. It's taken me a year to become comfortable in Cat B and I'm still nowhere near the strongest guys in ZRL. Too many people expect to be successful in these virtual races when they have no clue who is who. Best way is to race ZRL where the parameters are massively better and you're pretty much safe in the knowledge people are racing against legit riders in the right category. You're definitely Cat B IMO.

[GreggBennett-jp]

Cat D rider (me) eyebrows raised. Wish I could get anywhere near those numbers. Good job.

[andrew-pc]

I support your choice.

A problem is that everyone wants to be toward the front of a race. You were ahead of roughly 1/3 the field when you pulled the pin. But obviously not everyone can be at the front and be one of the strongest riders in a race. So how do we draw the lines?

I also totally understand that watching half the field just blast away from you is not very motivating. I’ve been mostly avoiding racing and just doing group rides to limit the feeling that I might just explode.

[carusjohn]

Pretty high cadence, that will be hitting your HR a little I think. I am not saying pedal at 70 rpm but maybe a little more torque at 90-95 may help you out here a bit. ( Sure, spin to win at high powers >300w etc) Welcome to B and 270 not shabby at all!! These short races are a full thrash so you are going to spend a lot of time over threshold. At the point where you bailed is the point where everyone settles into their FTP w/kg for the climb, up until then the ride had been dominated by bigger B cat guys with 350w+ ftp at 85 - 100kgs... very fast on slight rises and flat. They will have been pushing to ride the 'reserve' out of the climbers. Getting to the climb is a skill with your energy preserved in itself. The trick is getting comfortable with a over threshold effort in to a sustained threshold effort, or just under, composing then sitting at threshold for the climb. There was at least one rider in there, older lighter and way less power than you that got to the hill in that pack. ( Team mate ) Master draftsman it can be done!