Originally Posted by
Hermes
I raced masters nats at Marymoor in 2014. The 400 meter track was interesting.
It's all I know since it's all i raced. Breaking away is harder on that track because of wind and it being so, so hard to take a lap. Also the bump coming out of corner 4 at about the stayers line can make for some interesting sprints lol. You also learn to dodge goose **** because that's slippery stuff lol.
Originally Posted by
furiousferret
Yeah, I know the feeling. That's probably my biggest achilles heel is getting bumped from the surges. In Zwift Racing you have to put out 5+ w/kg for a minute or so to establish that early break, because if you're not in it you're not going to catch them. Its also the same in Tuesday Night Worlds, the first hill is a 2 minute climb followed by a lull than a 10 minute climb. I just can't push out the watts the lead guys do, so I go into the climb having to try to catch them and blow up. I'm getting better at that though.
Zwift racing over the winter was interesting. Nothing like real racing, but yeah, you cannot miss the first surge because that's where the race is. First 5-10 minutes usually suck depending on the course and then you get to settle down into something (usually) below the category limits. I'd say most A races I did ended up riding at about 3.6 w/kg after the inital surge.
I like your comparison of zwift racing to group (race) rides, because that's exactly how they feel. Maybe on your group ride, try sag climbing that first 2 min climb so you're a bit fresher for the 10min climb. That might help?