Confucius say, in 40 minute race, do not pop blood vessel in first minute.

This is one of the best Zwift racing videos I’ve ever seen! You perfectly captured the harsh reality of first-time racing on Zwift that has been experienced by so many of us. I laughed so hard when you shot out of the gate at 800+ watts. We’ve all been there. Your power was actually pretty good for rest of the race after you lost the front pack. You’ll be pretty good in no time

I think you’re way too hard on yourself! You’re beating yourself up for every little tiny mistake! but it’s your first Zwift race and you show great insight in spotting your minor learning opportunities / areas for improvement. Zwift races are tough and you always get caught up in the moment even when you’ve done loads of them. I think you did great and the lessons you yourself spotted and learned will stand you in good stead for future races 👍

given the huge watts you put out at the start of the race, I think you'll be very competitive in Cat C. key is to be able to dig deep when you need to and hang on to the front group. usually just for another 30 seconds, and the pace will drop off again. And save some energy for a sprint at the end - you've got plenty watts to be v competitive in a spint in Cat C. Won't be long before your kicked out of C and back in B - so enjoy it while it lasts!!

TdZ events are group rides, not official races. Some riders will race the stages, while others will treat them as social rides. Events do not count for ranking points on ZwiftPower, but everyone is free to go as easy or push as hard as they’d like. Just have fun!

Major skill to learn in Zwift racing… DRAFT. Learn to get in the “blob” and find the sweet spot. You’ll be amazed how much energy you can conserve. A good place to practice this is in the pace bot groups.

Wow, i am surprised that u can sustain great power numbers without getting ur heart rate above 160bpm. Thats impressive.

As a runner I know next to nothing about cycling; this just popped up in my recommendations. Big kudos to you for sticking it through until the finish. 💪

Zwift racing is HARD! Several people hear confirm just what I would say, don't be embarrassed to do C's. For now B's will end that way or worse each time. I love your honesty and guitars!

Increase your profile weight and you will be back in Category C

🫂 Fellow Zwifting KZreadr here: I love what you’re doing.

Thanks for deciding to post this video. It should be mandatory watching for anyone thinking about getting into Zwift racing.

Great video! Don't let it get you down, everyone's first race is a challenge, the tactics will come with time, probably the first 5-10 races before things start to come together. I agree with what you said about the ramp test, I find it tends to over estimate the ftp by a fair amount, perhaps try a 20min test?

B cat is super hard, really admirable for sticking with it for 8 minutes, kudos. Now you are hoooked!

Dude the dream was over well before you called it. Yes race in your correct cat. You really didn’t do too bad. Ride On. That hill gets me on this course also.

I entered my first race purely by accident yesterday (wanted to ride the Scotland map) and it was humbling for sure!! Like you, rocking the entry bike and trying my hardest to get through the laps without death.

Totally agree that Cat C would have been the better option. Don't worry about overachieving and getting disqualified ... you are learning at this stage. You might also want to look at races which are a bit more "benign" such as the Tour de Zwift or the Tour of Watopia (coming in March). You have a lot of riders which are going to take it very competitive but you will also have a lot of people that just want to complete the tour.

Great analysis of your own follies. I can totally relate to all the things you talked about. Experience will certainly be a great teacher once you're done your FTP program. Having gone through the C train and now suffering in B races, here are my recommendations for Zwift racing, which you'll certainly recognize.

Great to watch and so relatable, thanks for sharing and good luck with your workouts - I think you’ll crush in B as you gain more experience :)

Congratulations on completing your first race. FWIW, I raced a lot of C races before upgrading to B and still really struggled in the first 10 minutes of every B race. It was literally my goal to stay with the pack for the first 6 minutes, so you already exceeded that goal. The B races typically settle down, or I come in to my element, after 6-12 minutes. Learn to make it through the start and you will likely have success. Good luck on your next race!