They are not, and never were, skill classes of any kind (ie. The 33-pound Hub is 14 pounds lighter than the 47-pound Wahoo Kickr, even though the two trainers are almost exactly the same size. ZwiftPower FAQ We're sure you have several questions about ZwiftPower and what it is. Current category system simply allows very fast but heavy riders to race in categories lower than their actual abilities. (better than any bike upgrade i could afford) Yes its great to win,but as long as you improve yourself who cares what anyone else does.You will always get cheaters,dodgy equipment and so on so just enjoyRead more . Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. To move up to the next rank, ZwiftPower will take 95 per cent of your 20-minute average w/kg figure from your previous three races. Have you considered age category racing. Congratulations John on your retirement and Zwift is a great retirement present. Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Ugh! Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips. To change your profile to have to log in on the Zwift website and then edit the profile there. This is real frustrating as hes a top u12 racer and wants to see his efforts recognise. Weight doping is only a serious issue when its done in competition. Now you'll have to head over to ZwiftPower.com and register there. I think one of the biggest issues with weight (and height) in Zwift is that you get punished really hard for something you only have limited control over. On Zwift I look suspicous. Im new to Zwift and its racing and what I like notice is how well I do compared to theRead more , This is not just about cheating. What I think your articles miss to point out, though, (Im sure you are well aware of the problem), like people have mentioned already, is exactly how many cheaters there are that manage to stay in lineRead more . Exactly. I did this because I had a particular effort level planned for my workout that day, and didnt want to exceed it. The race categories end up looking something like this (taken from the current Tour of Watopia race events): ZwiftPower, home of official race results for community races, adds some pure wattage breakpoints to the above list to help lightweight riders stay competitive. In the many B races i have done it was more fun because i was competitive. If I lose 1 more pound Ill go to 4.0 and its a daunting thing to think of going to As when I am often cruddy in the Bs. Plus imagine how bigRead more . Many riders is talking about cheating, when someone enters a lower category but it's not, in my opinion. That guy who weighs 300lbs and gets 1st place in Cs for a month straight should be automatically upgraded to Bs and Bs to As. I currently use the Garmin Smart Scale so I may invest in the Withings scale. You weigh 80kg and have an FTP of 248 watts, which works out to 3.1 w/kg. One question I have struggled to answer though which maybe is not a consideration is that on the flat watts is what is required and I also have to push high wkg to stay with groups. I agree WTRL ZRL races dont feel like they have cheaters. people need to stop taking Zwift racing so seriously. Generally weigh myself once a month. 5 year age categories and incredibly competitive a in most age groups, Thanks so much for your helpful comment. Food for thought. Unless a youth rider, height is generally going to remain the same. I am in the 5 percentile of height and weight at 52 and 130lb with my lowest weight of 118 lbs in my racing career. I am 42 years-old with a HRmax of ~169 bpm. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.) Nice work! .Personally I one of the outliers on height and weight. Maybe with a KICKR Climb it might be possible. At least I can be best in one thing on zwiftpower. Once you have a number for your FTP in watts, divide it by your weight in kilograms. All rights reserved. The issues with e-racing remain the same, and largely ignored for years now. I said if its not done during a competitive Zwift event, its not a problem. I would include chasing Strava Zwift KOMs as a competitive event (but I could see how what I said could be interpreted otherwise. As others have said, your higher weight helps on flat courses. there's a million and 1 reasons why it is not a legitimate sport. Tour de Zwift events were races? this is how it is in real life , big ian stannard putting in hard fast miles on the front for (was) team sky , while all the small guys tuck in the peloton getting drafted along saving energy for later on in the race , because they can`t compete on the flat with the big boys . The easiest way to qualify for a higher category is to cut weight. It doesnt appear that people are abiding by the categories. Look at ZP results. So its not that easy for light people to hide in the pack and benefit from the draft in Zwift, which is half the reality (in many ways its easier IRL). While most Zwifters seemed to understand and even appreciate the intent behind the change, there was concern that removing this information would result in increased height/weight doping. As a lighter racer 136lbs it pisses me off to see cheating. Its ridiculous. Ive connected my garmin scale with this app https://smartscalesync.com/?utm_source=tr But youre not affecting anyone elses experience. People can be far to either direction im 25 and my max that I have hit is 217. Im the opposite. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. ), So what is reverse weight doping? We may call it sandbagging or reversed weight doping but its legal . Launch Zwift and go to the Menu. But many people (including myself) prefer categorized races because we want to have a chance to actually battle it out for a win. Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. I would say 1kg or more is more normal. How many cyclists do you see in real life who are 65kgs, but they are ten a penny on Zwift. But for most riders watts per kilo rules the day, determining which category you race in Zwift. There is no reason I should be gettingRead more , Sounds like its time to start racing the Bs, @guest_35522! Among the communicated changes were plans to hide the visibility of height and weight from ZwiftPower in an effort to encourage individual health and wellness. In IRL there is a double draft. The rule set for the categories is so simple yet Id bet >99% dont understand it, to my knowledge cyclingRead more . Using your Mac or PC, you can do it online on the Zwift website. Especially for the C and D groups but even for the Bs albeit to a lesser degree. . No race Chester worth their salt pops in and changed weight ahead of a race, what they do is post the wrong weight and leave it there. Zwif: your ultimate guide Good heavens man, the sentence before You do you says If its not done during a competitive Zwift event, I dont see it as a problem. Obviously weight doping in races is cheating and not acceptable. 2. Some big Zwift races have specific rulesets, etc. What if you are super committed and gain the weight in real life just so you can stay in the category , Excellent posts on perhaps the most serious non-hardware problem in Zwift right now. Seeing someone race cat A/B on Zwift and then be at the back of the age group pack in a local tri/ bike race canRead more , I understand what you are saying, but the average racer who can legitimately churn out x watts/ kilo for minutes on end will be doing more with that than just being a zwift warrior (if they are getting onto the road to really ride and not just commute), and, traffic lights or not, their real-world rides will at least give resemblance to their zwift output, even if only for certain segments at a time. Well, its adding weight to gain an advantage. Not everyone has the same HRmax. 2.5w/kg (215Watts) is hard for me to hold for extended periods but I keep trying. Well, imagine youre a strong C racer. However, I was able to navigate to the settings page by doing the following. We are new to Zwift and My son Whos 12 has used it to race to make up for his list u12 crit season. Just like the CEO promised us rowing years ago, right? I now know of over 20 category D zwift users that have said theyre not going to bother with the Zwift races anymore. You could attend races where all categories go together (same start, all riders visible) for a while if you find that to be more fun ThatRead more . All this makes me laugh. In the 2 months Ive been on Zwift Ive become a stronger rider than ever, because Zwift encourages me to push myself harder than I do in real life. I am currently 145kg and have not experienced any bullying so far. We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices. As long as youre being honest with yourself I wouldnt worry about it too much. There is no disqualification for going over your w/kg limit. In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. As a relatively light 69kg rider, I often feel at a disadvantage in the flatter races, of which there are many more than hilly ones. The categories are power to weight divisions. Im 70 inches tall and 156 pounds right now vs 166lb on Jan 1. Additionally, well be moving forward on hiding height and weight from Zwift Companion and Web. I am 65 kg with FTP of 270 W, which equlas 4,15 w/kg. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts. His 150 or 160 is not comparable at all to what mine would be, I have been Zwifting for a couple of years now I can honestly say I am completely addicted to Zwift. 2 Likes _Jynxy_EVO (:)) October 1, 2021, 1:41pm #8 thxs mike, And flags height and weight changes if they go up or down alot. As we said in the first post, "Assuming race organizers can access the data via ZwiftPower, and the site includes simple tools for spotting potential weight or height dopers (perhaps flagging those who made dramatic changes recently), then hiding weight and height data from the public should work swimmingly." Id be super interested in the timing you set your weight. I have climbed well and I have suffered on climbs but also sprinted well. How do I get started on Zwift? Any thoughts on verifying? Bikecalculator suggests not Go to http://bikecalculator.com/ enter an 85kg rider, riding on the drops for 16.2kms (ie an ITT) leaving all else unchanged. The book Fast After 50 is a good read on how masters athletes can train more effectively. This can be seen by comparing Zwift physics with real life physics (calculated by websites likeRead more . We like this move from Zwift. I once made myself much heavier so I could compete against my 11-year-old son in a head to head Zwift climbing race. Its a huge problem. If its not done during a competitive Zwift event, I dont see it as a problem. It all has to do with the way Zwifts racing categories work. the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. Since we know that lighter weight=higher virtual speed, this is a very easy way to cheat the system on Zwift. Hi Using HRM is difficult as well as you max HRM changes with age mine is 159 flat out but I am over 60. On a flat ride I would beat every sub 60kg cat B rider too. 240W 50kg riders (4.8W/kg) beat 380W 95kg riders in B category Tempus Fugit time trials. there seems to be a lot of variability in power products and what people are using to feed into zwift. Ive been on a mission to get back to my racing weight in 2020. Im not heavy (68kg), have a typical climber/TT phenotype (no short sprint but good FTP). I have long ago earned all of the challenges and levels. They do however have a disadvantage on any flat or downhill. Zwift posted a follow-up message on the forum, Zwift x UCI To Host Cycling Events for the Olympic Esports Series 2023, Race London ZRacing March Series Details, Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of March 4-5. I think that point based system is an improvement, but it doesnt address the weight issue. It does not stop cheating at all. With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. There was a problem. Fact ! I completely missed these as I reinvented the wheel, trying to stir up the hornets nest on the Zwift forums the other day. light guys categorically do NOT have an advantage on the flats vs heavier guys, assuming both riding at same w/kg, heavy guy WILL be going faster on Zwift. Zwift lets you adjust the difficulty of your workout, before or even during your ride. You only change it in Zwift and it should get picked up with regular backend processing periodically (maybe overnight). Read on for our guide on how the app works, how to get set up, and how to analyse your racing. I think it would be best if there was a separate cat system for flat routes (based on watts) and for hilly routes (based on w/kg), My understanding is that Zwift still applies real world physics to this situation, and maybe the article doesnt allude to it, in that on the flat Zwift wont use w/kg to drive speed but your pure watts. How does being heavier help a cyclist? you may ask. I would suggest a free (for now) virtual race license that would outline racer behavior with consequences. Racers who get top 1,2,3 more than a few times get upgraded period. I used to live next to the Alpe and later, next to the Ventoux. EZ and self regulating. Whether w/kg is the appropriate way to categorise races is anotherRead more , As a 92kg rider, with a w/kg FTP of 289 (or 3.14 w/kg) I wholeheartedly agree. Not sure why its hard for you to believe that there are a lot of riders under 70kgs. See https://zwiftinsider.com/how-does-zwift-calculate-my-speed/, I think if a racer doesnt want to cat up in order to keep winning in their current cat, she or he would likely just go the traditional sandbagging route (as others have suggested here). There is enough variation in power profile to make it interesting without weight, what makes racing fun is trying to create tactics that favour yourRead more , Interesting & well reasoned article which answers a lot of things which were puzzling me. The categories are the cycling equivalent to weight classes in boxing. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The best solution would be for Zwift to actively monitor all racing for people cheating. Finally, just head back to ZwiftPower and click 'Connect to my Account'. Zwift now allows for hiding Zwift automatically connects If you don't own power meter pedals, Zwift's non-contract pricing for a Zwift cycling membership is $15 . But I also did it because I knew it was great practice! Keep hammering the point and finding ways that Zwift can improve controls. Bob, what on earth is that all about? Similar to the announcement of the European Super League in soccer, Zwift failed to read the room. Now I know it is a thing. I have no idea. bottom line for me, its a virtual training world, a virtual hammer isnt the same as a real hammer. I put my real weight 95% of the time. Find out more about how we test. Think of ZwiftPower, then, as something similar to Strava, only entirely Zwift-focused, and free! Updating Your Privacy Settings in Zwift Companion To update your default privacy settings, sign in to the Zwift Companion (ZC) app on your iOS or Andro. Whats the cheaters solution? But your point is correct, if someone has a good string of results, upg them regardless of cat limits, and zwift needs to lock them out of cat in-game for it to be effective. Blaming Zwift for eating disorders is not sensible. On Zwift, weight dopers seek to gain an advantage by entering a lower-than-life weight into their Zwift profile. If you're on Zwift and planning to get racing, then signing up to the third-party app ZwiftPower (opens in new tab) is an essential step. It does the job as described. We mentioned categories earlier as one of the ways in which you can search through your results and statistics, but they're also a method by which you get sorted into races. Someone sandbagging will get promoted out of category and will not be allowed to reg for lower categories. If Zwift can be seen to be doing that then very little need toRead more . If so, that makes sense to me and I can absolutely see the point of that. Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. Yes thats completely unacceptable, you should never be at a disadvantage at any time in your life, just as your mother raised you. I currently weigh 59kgs but my BMI is 25 which technically overweight. When you're in the game, click "Menu". If people want to cheat, they will and can do so in any uncontrolled situation. Other planned changes communicated last week, including plans to improve the reporting features in Zwift will be rolled out as planned. Updating Your Public Profile Zwift takes your physical measurements into account for things like leaderboards, speed, and your avatar's physical appea. When a rider can change categories by modifying their virtual body weight, thats an issue. Im assuming you should weigh just before getting on the bike with all kit including shoes and not just before stepping into the post-ride shower (shorn of all kit and approx 1kg of sweat). Why dont you start self-regulating then? I just got upgraded to CAT A according to zwiftpower. How do you actually update your weight on ZP?? Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. If you set your weight high enough that you fail to do well you will drop in the categories. My solution would make everyones chances equal, while yours would strongly favor heavy riders. My guess is that another reason some do it, is because it gives you points on zwiftpower, becauseRead more . w/kg is partially based on real world physics. I was wondering is it possible to get the graph at the bottom of the screen that shows youre power and other stuff on a normal ride and not doing a FTP test or workout. It's a real community hub. Keep it on. Thank you for signing up to The Pick. But I will, and Ill get hammered and hopefully improve. As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. But Its hard to confirm whether or not its transmitting the weight to Zwift. This is how racing is supposed to work. However, I do understand Kens point. This would include preventing people from entering the wrong (too low) category, and multiple month suspensions (race events would not appear in that persons Zwift application event list, no ability to enter) for using a height or weight that cannot be verified, or miscalibration of a smart trainer. Zwift doesnt like this and disqualifies him on Zwift power. What anyone wants in any game or competition is to feel its fair, and as they look to make changes going forward, I hope people at Zwift always keep asking themselves this question: How can Zwifters see these races are fair?. Bath Case in point: in the A race I mentioned, only one rider was heavier than my 85kg dad bod. Just sign up for A races from now on. But since there are no clear rules on it at this time, its a bit of a self-policing thing with a fair amount of grey area. Check out this FAQ for some of our frequently asked questions: Q:&. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Heres how it works. Email zwiftpower@zwift.com if you want to reset everything. I averaged between 300 and 310 watts for all segments and my heart sat pretty consistently between 140 and 144.Read more , saying x number of watts per kg at xxx hr is flawed anyways max and resting hr can vary alot. (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). 5x5min, 4x8min but definitely never longer than 8 minutes. 8 months ago I was 96kg, but didntRead more , As a light (58kg) rider racing in the Bs it is very frustrating on flat routes where since the main thing that matters is raw watts and not w/kg I would have to put out well over 4 w/kg to keep up with the heavier guys and therefore I pretty much always get dropped before too long. LOL. Tough to recover after attacks in a race when youre always near maxing out. Can someone answer why we need the different categories? Conserving energy is a key part of successful bike racing. I am about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. Goodness. I am not in the least bit interested in competition cycling, so no point in doping in either direction as i would only be cheating myself. How come I get beat in sprints when a 60kg guy puts out 700W, when I put out over 1000W at 76kg? Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. Why not only require weight and height for entry to A and B races? As there is no official A+ CAT there is nothing to worry about, but if there were, I would be right between A and A+. However, I have a lighter and faster son that smokes me head to head. Thanks! On the other hand, I am extremely anti-weight doping and agree with the post pointing out there is no incentive or even reason to be heavier. Im using a quarq crank power meter on my rock and roll while I save up for direct drive. Everyone else in the race is riding flat out (your own HR was 174bpm) but these guys are just cruising along watching their watts and are then able toRead more , Not sure its that simple I am a heavy category C racer, and (funnily enough) finished 5th in both my recent Crit City races with average HR of 153 and 150. With racer categories? Im about to end up in the same situation (last races at 3.99, 3.98 and 3.99 W/kg) and Im not really worried about being promoted to A. However, insecure Freds jumpingRead more , I am new to Zwift, but I do wonder how it is youll see a bunch of people finish at the front of a D race at 4-5 W/kg. Which brings me to todays topic: reverse weight doping. First, it shows that theyre listening to the community. 0.5kg discrepancy either side is actually quite small. Stick a few more kgs on to stop you getting upgraded, would that get you a ban? How about simply showing a percentage variance. MyRead more . You'll receive a four-digit code, which you'll then have to add to your. So am I a super-drafter, the king of indoor efficiency? It certainly didnt feel like I had taken it easy when IRead more . was the lowest of top 15 riders. My 3 race FTP is at 4.07w/kg (248w @ 61kg), but Im still in Cat B. For example, if a rider has an FTP of 210 watts and weighs 75 kilograms, that means the rider's FTP is 2.8 w/kg. Why not ride to your strengths? Secondly, Zwifts statement says they agree there is a need for tools that deliver greater transparency to Zwift racing. Thats good to see, and we completely agree! yea but realistically is it worth it for them to dedicate the resources to that $$$$$$$, Well, thats good news. My W/Kg has gone from 3.76 to 3.97 without me really improving my FTP. Thats a good thing. As a 59/60kg rider who always seems to have a higher w/kg than the people I finish around, Ive been curious about adding 50% to both my weight and http://ftp. I have just accepted that at my height I will always be heavier than the average cyclist. Sandbagging is pointless if winning means youre going to move up (unless you want to take 3 months off after your win. Im more concerned about the guy who finished 5th with 144bpm. either a) ur starting ur sprint way too late or b) ur leading him out. This would cover submission and review of a private video showing height and weight which would result in a check mark on ZP showing this rider was height/weight verified. Maybe also add weight change limit 2kg per week? No one is going to lose or gain 5kg overnight or shrink a 1cm. Some races (many, in fact) on Zwift work exactly like that. Ive lost 2.2kg over a 6 hour ride due to carb loading before, and burning that and hence losing a lot of water weight during the ride. I never reverse weight doped. I am always passed by everyone on the way up but can usually catch up on the way down (190cm/93kg). As we said in the first post, Assuming race organizers can access the data via ZwiftPower, and the site includes simple tools for spotting potential weight or height dopers (perhaps flagging those who made dramatic changes recently), then hiding weight and height data from the public should work swimmingly.. But what exactly is ZwiftPower and how does it work? I hope they learn from this and are more careful with things like that in the future. Though our intent is to protect potentially vulnerable users by removing labels that can trigger unhealthy behaviour What are they trying to protect? This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. The only way for complete cheat free racing is in the zwift Pro race which is all done in a single room with all riders together. If someone on zwift holds an avg power at a given heart rate, then goes out on the road and holds that same heart rate but cannot sustain even close to that power, I am sorry, but that isnt physiology; that is hardware. True, but not necessarily in the way you think. I am racing in the Cs finishing in the 40-50s but there are 30 + racers ahead of me posting watt/kilo of A, and strong B racers. EDIT Found my answer: 250w, Theres a chart about halfway down this page: https://zwiftpower.com/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=5528. It all has to do with the way Zwift's racing categories work. Riders weight will rise and fall but under normal circumstances within a range. I started zwifting about 2 1/2 months ago.I did the ftp test and put in the correct weight.Ive no idea how precise my trainer is tho.what i do know is,Ive managed to go from cat c to a. So I just bumped myself up to the B group and went faster overall simply because there were faster people to draft off of. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! I got my 100kph badge on the Bologna course. People still rode at B level pace in a C group. Problem solved! I am not saying that everyone with a low weight on zwift is cheating, but I am suggesting that there are many who are because zwift favours light riders, and people do like to win. Manually change your weight in Zwift by adding 10 pounds. Last week I jumped into my first race and it was at the last minute on a whim because I was getting tired of my training ride. There could be Zwift level weight bonuses instead of another pair of socks. Obviously, these are generally accepted rules in the Zwift Community. ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. seeing a riders weight in ZP and any changes made to the reported weight may help internet stalkers feel better about their poor race performance but it doesnt actually help identify cheats. Tie that together with not letting people race in a lower (but letting them race in a higher) cat, and youll have fixed a number of the issues. I may try and snag a couple of cat C golds before taking the break, but definitely wont be reverse weight doping to do so the upgrade to B will be a bigger prize than any gold medal. Why try to force IRL parameters that can not be enforced. I have tended to notice that a significant number of powerful zwifters real world Strava performances pale in comparison to their online achievements. I use my average weight but I feel; guilty because my weight tends to fluctuate by 0.5K or more during the week depending on how much I eat during the day really interested to learn that there is a scale that auto updates Zwift. This is pretty timely for me as my FTP is 283 and my weight is currently 71.2kg. Certainly it impacts the accuracy of race performance and results. Cyclingnews is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. This is especially true if you are trying to ride with riders you possibly know locally or otherwise. In the future, well continue to bring potential product ideas and changes to members of the Zwift Racing Community, with the hope that youll embrace this as a collaborative effort to help shape the experience. He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. I completely agree with the last paragraph here. Currently trying to convince a friend who is new to Zwift not to reverse weight dope. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts. Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. It's also possible to filter results and data by categories, such as different age or power ranges. Find some hilly races As a result your suggestion of the watts vs w/kg different systems is already baked into the game physics in a way.