Awesome breakdown, really enjoyed this and thanks for the shoutout! My favorite part was still that “celebratory burrito” at the end 🤣. But in all seriousness, you have some great power and can’t wait to watch you continue to progress in Cat B!
Nice work. I was in that race with you. I had never ridden that course either, and was on the wrong side of the split on the first hill. Our group then just burrito bombed ourselves out of any chance of closing the 12 second gap we held for the next 3 laps, instead of working together. I soft pedaled the last lap to come in mid-pack. Congrats on the upgrade.
@@ericbarnettcycling You'll do fine, it's not like your power is just barely inside the B threshold. You're only 0.3 wkg from the high limit of B. You'll get there faster than you know it. A few years ago I got bumped to B, but at about 3.2 or 3.3 wkg, I very much struggled at that level. You'll be in the mix.
@@ericbarnettcycling I went though the same feeling. Won a race and into B Cat purgatory! Just keep putting the work in, if I can move up the ranks anyone can!
For sure. I wish I had started racing as soon as I started Zwift. I never really had much of a chance to play around in C before getting thrown right into B.
Congratulations!! Great racing. I love going at that point too. I’ve won quite a lot of B races and very rarely do I average over 3.5 wkg. Become obsessed with the draft and work on 1 minute power and you’ll be more than OK.
Check out ZZs vids and breakdowns. He's a master drafter and saves the watts for the end. Good tactician too. Like he said. Rarely over 3.5w/kg and often 3.2. Congrats on the win! Try some flatter routes to practice drafting with the Bs. Good luck!
I also rode this race and I had a plan to use the burrito just after the hill when there's the right turn and that slight downhill. I planned to up the pace a little bit because everyone is tired after the hill and they maybe won't expect it and then have enough energy to chase you. It actually dropped a few people so it made me happy 😂
I’m not good at drafting, so it really doesn’t hurt me much 😂 - my plan was just drop it whenever I got tired and maybe it would slow everyone else down
Great job buddy! I knew you would do great! You are going to do awesome in B! Great job punching that power on the hills, keeping in the pack to recover, you are developing some great strategy and skills to help. Work on stretching that power into longer races with more and more efforts and you will be winning races in B. See ya in B cat races 👍
Bloody hell, that was great to watch, and seeing you develop a game plan on the fly. Being kicked out of C is a bummer, but at the same time I would love to be a B
nice vid, long time C rider and have decided to race B going forward as feel it will benefit me by racing with better riders, good luck on your journey will follow along :)
Hey Eric super ride.. The same happed to me and I am a CAT B rider now and getting my back side kicked day in day out, in CAT B. I need to go back to CAT C but I am not allowed which is a real shame... :)
I felt that way, too, in Cat B. The only way I came to rationalize it was that I was pushing harder in B than I would in C, and thus improving. Try to hop in some non-prime time races that are a bit sparsely attended for better results (and a confidence boost!)
Awesome effort well done 👏. It's better to be bottom cat B than very top of Cat C as your fitness will increase due to that carrot or drive for middle of the pack of Cat B. Good luck
My goodness, I definitely have to try that ftp builder training programme now if it managed to get you from ~3W/kg to about 3.7W/kg in just 6 weeks!! Massive congratulations, that was hugely impressive! At that pace you'll be Cat A by the end of the year :D
The program definitely does the job. I was 45 lbs heavier and completely out of shape in June 2022. Rode a ton of miles & ate better to lose the weight. Zwift pushed the power and stamina big time! Definitely won’t continue upward at this exact trajectory, but I’m pleased with the results so far!
In your last vid i said you had potential to win races, you didn't have to prove me right so quickly ;p Solid power you got, thinking you are already above average my friend ! Might want to keep moving that goal post 🤔Keep riding you are killing it !
The only way to improve is to keep pushing beyond where you are right now! I'm glad I got a win before I stepped up to get my butt kicked in B. Best of luck to you - keep pushing!
I do quite a lot of Zwift racing, mainly Cat B, and one tip i would give you would be to try and smooth out your power output, the graph at the bottom shows you the zone your outputting, mine is normally a lot smoother. Try and work on doing that. Makes keeping in the middle of the pack easier.
Real world riding/racing differ , than virtual riding/ racing. The variables make the difference. Racing of any type has a learning curve. I don’t know how long you have been riding, but give yourself time, it’s a learning process real or virtual.
I’ve been riding off & on for awhile, but very casually - never for speed & only 3 races (about 6 years ago). Riding in Zwift with power & structure has improved things a ton!
Great job there. Ive seen the top 5 on certain races pushing way more than 3,2w/kg and still staying on C. you mentioned that after the race you immediatly was upgraded to B. do this happen because your AVG power on this race?`it thought that Zwift take the last 90 days best efforts to calculate the categories.
I’m still not entirely sure how the cat calculations go - I bounced back & forth between B & C last year for a while. I think Zwift and Zwift Power might even have different calculations. Every time I think I have it figured out, I’ll get an upgrade or downgrade that I can’t determine the reason.
@@ericbarnettcycling My little understanding is that Zwift take your max effort 20 min power in the last 90 days and use 95% of this as zFTP. if you have the highest power holding for 15 min, being higher than your 20 min, then they take the 15 min. i read this somewhere. i think thats why i got upgraded after some races. i pushed hard for long period and that holded within the 90 days calculation
also, don't forget that when you deploy the Burrito, you also lose the draft yourself. You did that to yourself a few times I saw. Maybe on purpose? 🙂 or not....
@@ericbarnettcycling good on you mate, well just right down some simple conversions like speed, distance and elevation climbed. So 25 mph is 40kph, 100 mile is 160k and 1000 feet is 300 metres. I"m only quoting rule24 of the velominati. 😃
Nice race. You are definitely not a cat C rider, too much fitness and power. Having recently moved up to cat B myself I've found a huge difference. I'm out of gas trying to hold on in the initial fast start then spat out the back at the first sighting of an incline.
Awesome breakdown, really enjoyed this and thanks for the shoutout! My favorite part was still that “celebratory burrito” at the end 🤣. But in all seriousness, you have some great power and can’t wait to watch you continue to progress in Cat B!
Gotta drop that 🌯! Thanks for the encouragement - hope to be where you guys are someday!
Nice work. I was in that race with you. I had never ridden that course either, and was on the wrong side of the split on the first hill. Our group then just burrito bombed ourselves out of any chance of closing the 12 second gap we held for the next 3 laps, instead of working together. I soft pedaled the last lap to come in mid-pack. Congrats on the upgrade.
Thanks Tom! I have no idea what I’m doing in the races, just trying to hang on. B is going to be rough, but I expect to learn a lot!
@@ericbarnettcycling You'll do fine, it's not like your power is just barely inside the B threshold. You're only 0.3 wkg from the high limit of B. You'll get there faster than you know it. A few years ago I got bumped to B, but at about 3.2 or 3.3 wkg, I very much struggled at that level. You'll be in the mix.
had to check in for pt2, great job. Really managed your watts and stayed patient and that's what helped pay off in the end. smart race
Thanks Barry! It’s back to B after this one, but hopefully I can hang on with what I’ve learned
It was exciting to watch especially that breakaway at the end. Really showing the gains from your training
Thanks Sean!
Congratulations 🎉
Great ride🎉
Thanks Marcus!
Goal Post has been moved to B baby. New goals are to holdTF on AS LONG AS POSSIBLE EACH TIME OUT!
At least I got to feel good for a second before jumping back in the fire!
@@ericbarnettcycling I went though the same feeling. Won a race and into B Cat purgatory! Just keep putting the work in, if I can move up the ranks anyone can!
Awesome job Eric!
Thanks Amber - great ride on Sunday!
You smashed it bro, massive well done. I'm inspired!!!
Thanks! I was pretty happy with this race, though I did get upgraded to B afterwards.
Great race!
Thank you! I was very proud of it at the time!
Your WKG is a no brainer, B cat!
For sure. I wish I had started racing as soon as I started Zwift. I never really had much of a chance to play around in C before getting thrown right into B.
3.7? You're definitely a B. Genuine Cat C riders must have been delighted with your win ;-)
It was one race after I rode 3.1 and ZwiftPower said I was a C. Didn’t know I had that in me - also won by a second. (5th place had a 4.3)
Congratulations!! Great racing. I love going at that point too. I’ve won quite a lot of B races and very rarely do I average over 3.5 wkg. Become obsessed with the draft and work on 1 minute power and you’ll be more than OK.
Thanks ZZ. Definitely have to work on that!
Check out ZZs vids and breakdowns. He's a master drafter and saves the watts for the end. Good tactician too. Like he said. Rarely over 3.5w/kg and often 3.2. Congrats on the win! Try some flatter routes to practice drafting with the Bs. Good luck!
I also rode this race and I had a plan to use the burrito just after the hill when there's the right turn and that slight downhill. I planned to up the pace a little bit because everyone is tired after the hill and they maybe won't expect it and then have enough energy to chase you. It actually dropped a few people so it made me happy 😂
I’m not good at drafting, so it really doesn’t hurt me much 😂 - my plan was just drop it whenever I got tired and maybe it would slow everyone else down
Just saw race 2 keep rolling. One more week of ftp builder for me.
Great job buddy! I knew you would do great! You are going to do awesome in B! Great job punching that power on the hills, keeping in the pack to recover, you are developing some great strategy and skills to help. Work on stretching that power into longer races with more and more efforts and you will be winning races in B. See ya in B cat races 👍
Thanks, Kevin! It’ll be a long road ahead until I can be competitive in B, but riding with faster riders will make me improve!
Great Job!
Bloody hell, that was great to watch, and seeing you develop a game plan on the fly. Being kicked out of C is a bummer, but at the same time I would love to be a B
Thanks Michael! I was pretty stoked with it, bummer I only got one race in C. Now I’m getting my butt kicked in B.
@@ericbarnettcycling I can think of worse problems to have lol
Beast mode engaged!
A great review of the race 🙂 it was fun...
Thanks for the support during - channeled my inner Adam on the hills
@@ericbarnettcycling I'm now an inner Adam but with added Tron bike 🙂, I glow in the dark!
@@AdamJennison whaaat?!? Sweet, man! Gotta flex that Tron bike!
nice vid, long time C rider and have decided to race B going forward as feel it will benefit me by racing with better riders, good luck on your journey will follow along :)
Thanks! It was nice having a race to make me feel good before going back to B and getting my butt kicked!
Hey Eric super ride.. The same happed to me and I am a CAT B rider now and getting my back side kicked day in day out, in CAT B. I need to go back to CAT C but I am not allowed which is a real shame... :)
I felt that way, too, in Cat B. The only way I came to rationalize it was that I was pushing harder in B than I would in C, and thus improving. Try to hop in some non-prime time races that are a bit sparsely attended for better results (and a confidence boost!)
As someone else said before… burrito stops all draft, including your own, dropping that within a pack just puts yourself at a disadvantage ;)
I’m terrible at drafting anyway, it just makes everyone as bad as me!
Smashed it! With your raw power you can definitely win some flatter B races! Congrats on the win, look forward to seeing more of your suffering!
Thanks man! I’m going to ease my way into B. Maybe a time trial first…
@@ericbarnettcycling no no no TT… more RACES! Get those reps in!!!!
@@DontGetDroppedCycling 😂nothing but pain will do, huh?
@@ericbarnettcycling give the people what they want!!!!!! PAIN AND SUFFERING 🤪
@@DontGetDroppedCycling TTs are fun , when you going to do one , you got that in your toolbox for sure 😛
nice effort , you can def hang midpack B with that power on these short races
Thanks Stef - I’m going to give it a shot hopefully this week!
Awesome effort well done 👏. It's better to be bottom cat B than very top of Cat C as your fitness will increase due to that carrot or drive for middle of the pack of Cat B. Good luck
Thanks Dean! The work has just begun - I’m glad I had the one win to make me feel good about myself, though.
My goodness, I definitely have to try that ftp builder training programme now if it managed to get you from ~3W/kg to about 3.7W/kg in just 6 weeks!! Massive congratulations, that was hugely impressive! At that pace you'll be Cat A by the end of the year :D
The program definitely does the job. I was 45 lbs heavier and completely out of shape in June 2022. Rode a ton of miles & ate better to lose the weight. Zwift pushed the power and stamina big time! Definitely won’t continue upward at this exact trajectory, but I’m pleased with the results so far!
Wow, 3.7 for 22 minutes? Definitely B cat power there. I bet you get cat enforced to B soon. Congrats on the win!
Thanks JM! In Zwift Power it happened already. Time to get my butt kicked again 😅
The burrito actually makes u not drafting aswell, didnt know that myself
Yeah, it actually works in my favor because I’m terrible at drafting, anyway!
In your last vid i said you had potential to win races, you didn't have to prove me right so quickly ;p Solid power you got, thinking you are already above average my friend ! Might want to keep moving that goal post 🤔Keep riding you are killing it !
Thanks Simon! I got to feel good for a second in C - time to get my grind on in B! It’s going to be rough for a bit…
congrats! I am in your position, but going from podiuming in cat d to cat c with a measly 2.7 w/kg. Time to suffer!
The only way to improve is to keep pushing beyond where you are right now! I'm glad I got a win before I stepped up to get my butt kicked in B. Best of luck to you - keep pushing!
I do quite a lot of Zwift racing, mainly Cat B, and one tip i would give you would be to try and smooth out your power output, the graph at the bottom shows you the zone your outputting, mine is normally a lot smoother. Try and work on doing that. Makes keeping in the middle of the pack easier.
Will do. A lot comes with experience, I bet
Real world riding/racing differ , than virtual riding/ racing. The variables make the difference. Racing of any type has a learning curve. I don’t know how long you have been riding, but give yourself time, it’s a learning process real or virtual.
I’ve been riding off & on for awhile, but very casually - never for speed & only 3 races (about 6 years ago). Riding in Zwift with power & structure has improved things a ton!
Did you check if you are B also on Zwift category enforcement? 2 different systems.
I’ll have to check that out
Great job there. Ive seen the top 5 on certain races pushing way more than 3,2w/kg and still staying on C. you mentioned that after the race you immediatly was upgraded to B. do this happen because your AVG power on this race?`it thought that Zwift take the last 90 days best efforts to calculate the categories.
I’m still not entirely sure how the cat calculations go - I bounced back & forth between B & C last year for a while. I think Zwift and Zwift Power might even have different calculations. Every time I think I have it figured out, I’ll get an upgrade or downgrade that I can’t determine the reason.
@@ericbarnettcycling My little understanding is that Zwift take your max effort 20 min power in the last 90 days and use 95% of this as zFTP. if you have the highest power holding for 15 min, being higher than your 20 min, then they take the 15 min. i read this somewhere. i think thats why i got upgraded after some races. i pushed hard for long period and that holded within the 90 days calculation
also, don't forget that when you deploy the Burrito, you also lose the draft yourself. You did that to yourself a few times I saw. Maybe on purpose? 🙂 or not....
Nothing was on purpose 😂 good or bad, mostly dumb luck!
top effort, you should change to metric, km etc, as you'll level up quicker and get tron bike as well, also cycling is a metric sport.
I've since changed to metric, though as a typical American it's a complete foreign language to me. No clue how fast I'm riding or how far I'm going!
@@ericbarnettcycling good on you mate, well just right down some simple conversions like speed, distance and elevation climbed. So 25 mph is 40kph, 100 mile is 160k and 1000 feet is 300 metres. I"m only quoting rule24 of the velominati. 😃
Hey, are you on Zwift Power?
Yes. Cat B now
@@ericbarnettcycling under which name? We'd love to see
@@marnixvanderkolk it's Eric Barnett in Zwift power. I've just done the two races so far...
Nice race. You are definitely not a cat C rider, too much fitness and power. Having recently moved up to cat B myself I've found a huge difference. I'm out of gas trying to hold on in the initial fast start then spat out the back at the first sighting of an incline.
That was my experience in my first race. Just gotta keep plugging away at it, I guess!
But how did you reach 21 level and had only 2 races?
Lots of free rides & workouts. When I started Zwift I’d never planned on racing at all.
In your intro you state "I am an average rider." I've got to disagree with your assessment. Average riders don't average 315 watts for 22 minutes.
I appreciate that assessment, Patrick. The guys who fly by me out on the road sure make me feel average… 😅
@@ericbarnettcycling there’s always someone faster!
@@ZwiftyZwifter many