Mark: With the 2020 race season grinding to a halt due to the recent epidemic, our attention
here at GTN has shifted to the virtual world of racing. In particular, it's the Z Pro Tri
Series on Zwift that has really captured us. The very best triathletes lining up to rip
each other's legs off. Guess who they've invited to this week's race? Me. Thank you to Zwift
for inviting me to the race. I have just two days to prepare myself, and I need every second
of that. [music].
Mark: I feel like I'm panicking too much. [music].
Mark: All right, here it is. 14 laps of the Downtown Dolphin circuit within Crit City,
which is an event-only course, just in case you're wondering why you haven't heard of
it before. Let's list off some of the names that are entered into this fixed race. We
have Alistair Brownlee, Lionel Sanders, Joe Skipper, Matt Trautman, James Cunnama, Matt
Russell, and the list just goes on. I feel like the human sacrifice in this fixed race.
On top of that, I definitely have a thing or two to learn about this virtual world of
racing within Zwift that has captured all of our attention.
Let's be honest: I'm definitely not going to get fitter in the next couple of days,
so I feel like my only route is to brush up on Zwift and racing within Zwift as much as
possible. Someone that has really impressed me lately is Reece Charles-Barclay. He has
been tearing it up in the Z Pro Tri Series. In fact, he placed fourth last week, so he
clearly knows what he's doing, he knows where to be in the bunch, and how it all works.
I think it's time I give Reese a call. [phone rings]
Mark: Hi, Reece. Reece: Hey, Mark. How are you doing?
Mark: Cool, thanks. I'm pretty nervous about this race coming up. You've been ripping off
on Zwift, on the Z Pro Tri Series lately. I'm eager to hear the secrets, find out how
you're doing. You're doing so well. Reece: Thanks, Mark. Zwift racing is extremely
tactical. Over the last seven or eight weeks, I've been doing a race pretty much every week,
sometimes twice a week. I've learned just how the gaming element of Zwift comes into
it. It's not necessarily about the person who puts out the biggest watts. It's all about
timing of when you put those watts out and making sure that you're in a situation to
be in the front park and to contend for a sprint finish. There's several elements that
you can look out for to try and improve your performance.
Mark: I guess you're saying here, it's not like riding out on the road. It's a little
bit different. Reece: It's a little bit different, yes. It's
probably most comparable to something like a crit race. The courses that we've been doing
have been pretty punchy in terms of little short, sharp hills. A good tactic is to make
sure that you're towards the middle or the front of the group that you're in on the hill.
If you're at the back of a group, and for whatever reasons, the group starts to stretch
as it naturally would on the hill, if you're in the back half of the group and the spit
emerges, you'll get cut out and you've lost the group. Always try to stay towards the
middle of the group on the hill. Another good little tip is to try and up your
power slightly before you actually reach the hill, so that your character takes the momentum
into the hill. Your character can do this thing called a super tuck on the downhills,
once the gradient goes- I think it's above 3% and you hit a certain kilometers per hour.
I'm not 100% what that is. It might be 60 kilometers per hour or something like that.
If you stop pedaling completely, your character would go into a super tuck. That's the equivalent
of free watts per kilo in terms of power output. You can be basically freewheeling, you're
not doing anything on the bike, you're catching your breath while your character is in the
super tuck position, so that's a great tactic to try and catch a breather. There are plenty
of powerups which of course, you would know about if you're doing Zwift. Probably the
most beneficial one is the aero powerup, which is shaped like an aero helmet, and the feather-like
powerup which is particularly useful on the climbs.
Mark: Brilliant. Would it be useful for me to know the course? Because ordinarily, if
I was going to do a triathlon race or a bike race, I'll probably go and do a bit of a recce.
Is that something you do in Zwift? Reece: Yes, definitely. We get given the course
information a couple of days before the race. I would always do a recce ride of that route.
Then I'd go on to this website called zwiftinsider, which can give you a little bit of a detailed
breakdown of the course and the course profile. Definitely look at that, and try and plan
when you think the best opportunity would be to attack, when you think the group might
try and make an attack, so you can pre-empt that. It's really really intense racing and
you have to be on it and concentrated at all times. It does help knowing, in the back of
your mind, that course. You know what's about to come, rather than being caught off-guard.
Mark: Super. That's great advice, Reece. I'll be searching for your wheel in the race and
try to follow that. Reece: [chuckles] Thank you.
Mark: I don't know if that has made me more or less nervous. I think he's just honed home
just how [unintelligible 00:05:46] these races can be, and how small that margin for error
is. In all seriousness, thanks ever so much to Reece for his time and for his help here.
I definitely feel a bit more clued up on the dynamics of the racing within Zwift. Also,
I guess the importance of the powerups and which powerups are probably the most important
for this course. On that note, I'm definitely going to take Reece's advice. I'm going to
jump on a little recce of the course tomorrow morning, so that I know the course inside
out. Hopefully, I'll sleep a little bit better tonight.
All right. I'm up pretty early this morning. As you could probably tell, my marvelous bed
[unintelligible 00:06:22] off the back of Reece's advice, I'm signed up to a race on
the Downtown Dolphin circuit early this morning to get a bit of a recce, like I guess I would
in the real world. The plan is to a handful of laps. Just keep it nice and steady, and
then stop. That's the plan anyway. [music]
Mark: Classic Mark fashion. I got way too carried away here but having a great time.
Learning when to use these powerups on the climb. Loving that lightweight feather that
Reece was talking about. Honestly, this is fantastic. Anyone can do this. You get placed
in different categories. I'm in an A category, but you have B, C, D. You could, no matter
what your ability is, go and win your category. I'm having a great time. I probably should
reign this in soon and call it a day. [music]
Mark: Recce done. Guess what? Did the whole race, and I won it. Not that there were that
many people in it. It wasn't a super hard one. I'm pleased I've done it. I've learned
a lot. I was still definitely getting schooled in some areas. I just was laying the power
down at wrong times. I wasn't really conserving my energy fantastically. I wasn't setting
in enough. I also used my powerups possibly at the wrong times and sprint finish. Okay,
I won it, but it wasn't fantastic. Not that I think I'll be needing a sprint finish tomorrow,
but I think that's enough hard work for today. Time to rest till later.
All right. It is race day. Pretty nervous, if I'm going to be honest. The race isn't
until this afternoon. Got quite a lot on today, actually. Few things to sort, things to film
this morning, and then get myself ready for the race. First up though, let's catch up
with the team. Hi, guys. Speaker 3: Hey, [unintelligible 00:08:43]
[crosstalk]. [music]
Mark: All right. It's almost go-time, but I have one last thing to do before I jump
on the bike, and that is to weight in. I know it sounds quite serious, but this is something
Zwift have asked me. I don't have athletes in the race today. It's just to make the racing
fair because the way that they separate us riders, who's fast and who's not, is by what's
called watts per kilo. Rather than it simply being who can chuck out the most power or
the most watts, it takes our weights into account as well.
It divides our watts, our power that we're putting out, by our weight in kilograms. Obviously,
the hillier the course, the more of a factor this can be. I don't really think this is
too hilly a course. Of course, there's a little bit about elevation so no matter what my weight
is hopefully, it's not going to matter too much. I've brought the scales out. I haven't
used it in a long time. Time to weight in. Okay, 72.4. That makes me want to round down
to 72, which I believe I've got in-game anyway. Yes, here we go.
[music] Mark: Okay. This is it. Just getting my shoes
on. Everyone is on the start line. Just got a bit of a warmup and my heart rate is already
quite high and I haven't even started pedaling yet.
[music] Mark: All right. Just want to start spinning
my legs so I get warmed up and see who's here on the start line with me. Not everyone is
here yet. We've got Reece Barclay, Matt Troutman, Ronnie Schildknecht, animal, Phil Graves,
Anthony Costa, Gordon Benson, nice. Kenneth Vandendriessche. What am I doing here? What
am I doing guys? All the big guns are here. The real deal. [unintelligible 00:11:07],
Anthony Costa, Lionel Sanders, Alistair Brownlee. Oh god. Okay. Five seconds. This is it.
[music] Mark: Yes, second sitting.
[music] Mark: What am I doing?
[music] Mark: This is my one lap of glory. I might
as well make it count. [music]
Mark: I'm still pre-empting some early attacks. Probably over pre-empting. Probably burning
my matches. [panting] A bit of shuffling positions going there. I've got a lightweight. Trying
to hang on this time. They're just so smart. They're moving around. Our line it's gone.
It's just I'm pushing to the limit uphill and then they just push and then that's all.
I think I'm doing well. I really like that. No, see you. This is it. Final lap. Oh my
god. I'm a little dizzy. My cadence is horrific. That's all I can do.
[music] Mark: [panting] That was absolutely brutal
as you could probably tell from my horrific facial expressions and the state I was in
during that race. Yes, I've got to be honest, I was merely a passenger in that race. I was
just hanging on two wheels for dear life and just hoping that I could still be there going
into the final lap which I was. I'm super chuffed with I took 13th place overall, I
was even involved in the sprint finish. I say that loosely because I was at the back
of the pack going into that final stretch because I was so tired. Yes, I had more or
less the same finishing time as Alistair Brownlee. I was about a second or so behind Lionel Sanders
and James Cunnama that went on to win the race.
I can't really argue with that. I had an absolutely amazing time. I've got to say a huge thanks
to Zwift for the opportunity to be invite into this race. I had a brilliant, brilliant
time. Also, obviously, a massive shout out to Reece Charles Barclay who took another
fourth-place finish. Not quite on that podium yet but also just for the tips and advice
he gave me going into this race. I would not have been able to hang in and stay in that
bunch as long as I did had it not being for Reece.
I hope you guys have enjoyed seeing me suffer today. It's always fun, I know. Also maybe
picked up on some tips on Zwift racing. It's given you perhaps the bug as well to get involved
in some Zwift racing. If you have enjoyed today's video, make sure you give it a like.
If you would like to see more from GTN, make sure you're following us on social media and
you're subscribed to us on YouTube. [00:15:56] [END OF AUDIO]