How To Race On Zwift | GCN's Guide To Zwift Racing

Zwift racing is an increasingly popular virtual training environment where you can race your road bike against others in an online environment. So how do you actually get into Zwift racing? Whether you're not sure if you should take the plunge into Zwift racing, or are itching to compete but don't know how to, this handy guide put together by James and Manon should help you find out more about Zwift racing - and hopefully give it a go!

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[gcn]

Are you looking to get into Zwift racing? Let us know! 👇

[HoldenAdventures]

Would love to see a part 2 that includes more about the tactics, when to use power ups, and other “tricks.” How about interviewing a few of the racing teams and community teams?

[todd_yasso]

My favourite way to race. Cheaper, quicker, safer and available all year round any time you get the urge. Segment times on Strava look impressive too.

[LaurentGoderre]

"You can pick another category down, it's no big deal" I'm not sure the majority of Zwift racers would agree. There's a lot of chatter about "sandbaggers".

[Daniel-ngfi]

kudos on mentioning zwiftpower, shame zwift themselves won't get rid of all the sandbagging knobs

[TamzinVokes]

You should talk to Connor about sandbagging. I'm at the lower end of cat B and thought twice about signing up for a race when I saw his name down. I can't compete with that!

[stewarthinsley]

Summer is nearly here so once winter sets back in at the end of this year, a smart trainer is definitely on the cards to keep the fitness up.

[kakihara]

Zwift racing in A is absolutely brutal. Im 185cm and about 82 or 83 kg heavy and I loose all the time to smaller and lighter riders. Short, hard climbs are really mean. Only won 2 races yet: my first crit city and a Zwift academy tt race.

[MegaAndroyd]

I'm waiting for the Grand Theft Auto version.

[sevenrats]

I race instead of workouts. I race about 3 days a week on Zwift. The best thing about it is that if I am rested and feel good I can hammer. If I get on there and feel like crap then I can just back off and ride it a hard/moderate pace group ride. I'll just drift back and find group to ride with. It's not like you pay an entry fee and it's real world. You can use the race anyway you want.

[julesberrry]

The categories for mixed races usually have 2 criteria both of which need to be fulfilled - a W/kg and a W. For example, B cat is 3.2W/kg and 200W. This means that average sized women can have W/kg way over 3.2 and still be in C cat for mixed races. But they will be in B for women’s races as for women-only races they just use the W/kg. Many women are categorised lower for the mixed races. Would have been nice if you had explained this as it is quite hard to find the info - embedded in zwiftpower’s faqs...

[ryantaylor]

I did my first avage speed 14mph yesterday. Am so happy with myself

[mrvwbug]

Our winter is winding down so should have a lot more ridable days real soon, but I am seriously considering a Zwift setup for next winter

[davethedogdude]

Got on Zwift today. Joined a Crit that was going to start in less then a minute, so I'm way at the back, and not really warmed up at all. And Zwift stuck me on a mountain bike instead of my Tron bike bike for [I have no freaking idea] reason. Before I could even think about changing bikes, the race goes off and I get dropped off the back in 10 seconds LOL. That was fun. Zwift kept putting me on the mountain bike today every time I logged in even though I changed bikes, it has something out for me.

[daviddanser]

Half the riders are in the wrong category on Zwift. And the tip that you can always go a category down is misleading. If people keep doing this racing will never get fixed.
You probably only need to go a category down because of all the sandbaggers, it is a vicious circle.
Zwiftpower is great, but it should be integrated.

People please start in your own category, not a category down.

[miker]

Is it better to use flat bars or drop bars? There's no wind indoors so are the drop bars still better?

[benanderson]

Would love a cross city race where you can take shortcuts through alleys but you have to surge your power out of twists and turns, or add in a mario kart style

[Choedron]

Did not know there were TT races events. Got to look into that.

[MK]

Please do a full video on tactics - either on the road or zwift.
Or a bike cleaning video.

[Pottedmeat]

Do you need a power meter and heart rate monitor for the CAT D races? It's quite a large investment when I'm already buying the kickr core at £700.