I’ve wanted to host some Zwift races for some time. I love short races. The Tiny Races are great fun, but after becoming a CE B they just became too hard for me. So I set to thinking “wouldn’t it be great to have some short races with vELO categories?”
In case you don’t know what the zwiftracing.app vELO categories are, they’re an alternative way of sorting out race pen allocation, based on “power then results”. So your initial vELO score is determined by a “best 5-minute effort”, and thereafter your race results adjust your vELO up or down depending on how you do. There are ten categories.
Dirt Racing Series (DRS) uses vELO categories with a high degree of success (as measured by rider enjoyment). The idea of vELO is that, if you are in the right category, you should be competitive on a good day on a route that suits your strengths. Nobody likes getting smashed to bits in every race and nobody should be able to win every race.
So the Cyclopathy Friday Smash is now a thing. The idea is a 10-15 minute race at 1045 UTC (0545 ET) on Friday every week. A short, smashy race on a Friday fits in very well with my usual schedule with DRS on Tuesdays.
We’ve had two races so far. This is my live stream of the first one in the Amethyst/Platinum pen…
In week 1 we had separate pens and start time. From week 2 onwards it’s same time starts and all categories visible.
The third race is tomorrow. Friday 22nd December 2023. It’s going to be 1 lap of Two Bridges Loop. If you’re interested, you can sign up here. See you there!