Nice suffering, well done. And always remember: "It never gets easier, you just go faster." Pogi is suffering during his intervals as much as you are :)
I signed up this league after watching one of your other videos. I feel like I've gone on a similar journey ! The first race in London I had no idea what I was getting into, when I saw the A cats coming back up fox hill , that broke me! Never pushed myself like this before and I'm loving it.
Mad respect, Benji. Keep up the effort! There is so much cheating on Zwift, so it is good to see you playing fairly. It doesn't look like you are using a riding platform. For me, the use of a riding platform made it much easier to ride for a longer amount of time with less discomfort.
Zwift cog gives you all the gears you want. Benji: well, I am not gonna use any of them xD loved the video. The storylines that you build from whatever race results you get, are amazing. Has been the same in the racing until you win and 5 Zwift races in one day series. Just so well narrated! And also good suffering 😅 keep it up!
You’re killing it, Benji. If you can do almost three hours of a course like that last one, you can do the Z’Alp. Just chug up at your own pace, and you’ll get it done. Have some serious fuel near you, and take a break if needed. Even if it’s to get off the bike, wash your face, and jump back on. I’m curious though! Do you apply all your WT Pro race analysis to your own races, performance, and tactics? If you were to watch these races from your commentator’s perspective, would you race differently?
it's so hard to continue after you're dropped. Well done for sticking at it Benji. This happens to us all and it's great to see how far you've come! you'll be cat C before you know it 💪
After you quit the first race I was going to tease you about not showing Flandrien spirit but you really showed it in the next races, well done! I've been there suffering in the first quarter of a Zwift race and barely hung on but it does get better. Try drafting in the group from the flag drop and aim for a negative split. Soon you'll not the lanterne rouge!
Great video. Also a besserwisser here :-). I had an impression that these 2-3 hour rides are close to the longest rides you have ever done on Zwift. Easy but quite long grouprides once a week would let you hang in the first group much longer. Unfortunately, those are also time consuming and hard to do on a busy schedule.
Well done for finishing Innsbruck. I quit at the start of the second climb, dropping out of p25. Pacing the climbs is key to finishing the races. Hopefully do better in tomorrow's round.
Well done, so relatable this with myself being at 100+ kg and getting dropped at uphills, which is demoralising! Did my first alpe du Zwift today and HR was remarkably low. Felt like my quads were about to explode though.
Great suffering inspiration, Benji. Awesome video once again. Having lost basically all my fitness over the last 3 months (again!), this gives me motivation to fight that little bit harder. I might need to get my X3 out too, since the (cycling) world loves watching people suffer 😂
Tip for L’Alp… adjust your trainers Realism Value before you start. Learning? Like 30%. Total Baller? 100%. With an easy gear…it’s just a long spin. In 100% realism - #@%!. (The realism is ‘effectively’ like putting on small front chain rings.) You got this!
Man you are going to love hate Alpe Du Zwift, it is sucks going up but man the feeling of accomplishment you get and gains are so worth the suck. I am looking forward to your video on that one! Keep killing it!!!
I've done a few races up Alpe Du Zwift. I usually finish around 60-70 minutes depending on my fitness level and I'm getting passed by other riders the whole way. It's exhausting, so maybe do a test ride up AdZ outside of the race just to see what you're in for. Kudos for not giving up... especially that 2hr42min effort. That determination will pay dividends going forward. Keep it up!
Everyone learning to do Zwift events.- (1) going out too hard, (2) getting dropped at the first big effort, (3) soloing till getting caught by the next group…(4) only for them to drop you too… (5) when the third group catches up you might be able to hang. Leaning to find this third group from the start? No idea how. 😅
I feel your pain bro...... I'm new to the VR trainer and have to admit there is plenty of BS out there. I'm currently using a different platform but riders kicking out 6.5wkg ....... I would love to get them on the road to see what they got (really)!
I’m no pro or coach Benji, but I think you need to do some cadence work. You’re often only doing 75/80 rpm and it’ll absolutely sap your muscular endurance. Keep up the work💪🏻
@@BenjiNaesenTV Because the higher the rpm the higher your oxygen consumption and the more energy you burn, if your VO2 max is a bit low the perceived effort will rise quite a lot and you will get gassed. But the lower rpm is more demanding on your legs. Your hear rate is lower so you may breathe fine but it is harder to push the pedals after a while. It is always a trade off. This thing is pretty individual some peole naturally grind, some people naturally spin, but 75-80 is on a lower side of what is usual for sure. For a two hour race, the average number for us, amateurs, would be about 10rpm higher, I think. But you might be a grinding type or perhaps you need to develop your endurance cardio more which will gradually let you spin higher cadence on longer rides.
If you can complete the achterbahn route at your race pace you can definitely do ADZ at your own tempo. Don't race it for your first attempt though. Everyone always goes too hard on the first ramp and past the tunnel. If you blow your doors off trying to hold a wheel the rest of the climb is pure purgatory. Start conservative and build the effort
Pretty sure you could benefit a lot from more and better fans. You need to stay as cool as possible since you lose a lot of power by heating up. And when you want to ride longer races, it's super hard to keep going when you're overheating
Awesome job pushing through to the end, it shows serious mental strength. Have you thought about what wattage you can maintain for different duration climbs?
@@BenjiNaesenTV it's an awesome skill to be able to go so hard that you blow up, but it can obviously get you in trouble. Maybe try to do a race or two where you make sure you don't go over 85 or 90% of your PR for that length climb and evaluate after if you could have gone harder or maybe even backed off even more. Keep up the great work.
I think maybe our power is similar benji. So I’ll give you a couple tips. Make sure to eat right before doing the alpe. I didnt. My setup wasn’t correct when I did it either. You’re fine there so no worries. The other thing is I notice you look at those numbers while riding. I do thé same. I’m telling you brother, the steepness of the alpe is always double digits! Do not be shocked when you always see 10 percent or higher. That 8 percent average is a bit misleading because it’s certain areas dropping it. No doubt you can do it. And it’s the most rewarding 12km you’ll ever do
You're letting the koms get in your head. Be familiar with the course so you know when the koms start. Get your legs loose beforehand and pick someone to follow. You can get some breaks by standing up and letting your weight help you on the stroke which will also let you stretch legs and lower back some.
Be aware those races are cat E, (Everyone) which means ALL cats race, A, B, C and D all included. It's not a dedicated cat race with ONLY D racers etc....for example the last race in your vide to be 1hr behind the 1st finisher (who's probably an A class rider) isn't something to be dissapointed at. With those E races you really have to gauge your start as you don't want to try and keep up with the first group of riders off the bat since they'll all be A, B riders and you just burn matches and inevitably dropped. Find your pace and ride your race. 👍
This race is not that type of Cat E, as this tournament has Cat E as its fifth category with max 2.9 w/kg. Then Cat D is a portion higher. Its different from other zwift races.
i don't know if my home trainer is broken but i can barely hit 250w and i am fit. i can do up to 120r/ on a spin bike avg 35km/h but on my home trainer 40km/h is hard even if my effort s mild compare to real life competition. does it depend on the website, the home trainer? me? obviously that's the easiest answer but i don't feel weaker compared to my competitive years despite shitty results on strava. i don't know. do you have such discrepancies between real life and home trainers ?
That might indeed be the trainer. Especially some Suito trainers, e.g. mine are know for seriousluy undermeasuring even after calibration (I assume you calibrate the trainer regurarly). I have to use my regural pedal powermeter to get realistic output.
Alpe is only as hard as you make it. Pace sensibly and you won't have any trouble completing it. Then you can come back to it next year to try and break the hour.
You only lose when you quit. Don't quit. If it really becomes too much - stop, get off the bike, walk for a minute, get back on and finish the job. Nothing worth doing is easy.
My Problem with Zwift Races is I only weight 60 kg with an FTP of 3.5w/kg so I’m in cat. Cbut other riders weigh 70-100 kg and they push my ftp on the flat easily while I have to go all out on the flat but still lose the draft But then on the climbs I catch up but have no chance on the descends so I can‘t win races 😢😢
I wonder, after watching the webinars on TBA, and listening to VDV, I think in a race situation, you need a gel every 20min! When I started doing that on my intense rides(or would laugh at this 76 year old’s numbers, but I thought sure I would gain weight. I lost 5 pounds!!!! Grain of salt….. keep up the great work!
Why do you race in E cat? I believe that’s a mixed level rece. You should find a Cat btw A, B, C or D. That’s way all competitors have to be at your same level.
In this tournament, the restrictions of the bottom category are up to 2.9 w/kg, and it's called Cat E in this race. I didn't mention it in the video to not overload people with information, haha.
You need to lose quite a lot of weight pal. Then you need to get a lot of Z2 training. You simply have a low W/KG ratio. There is no way around it. But fingers crossed.😉
Nice suffering, well done. And always remember: "It never gets easier, you just go faster." Pogi is suffering during his intervals as much as you are :)
No..that’s wrong. Pogi doesn’t suffer 😂
The virtual bike throw at 10:00, god tier commitment.
Buddy, keep putting that work in. You can see the gains from your hard work 💪🏽 Don’t stop brotherrrrrrr!!!!! Looking trimmmmm
I signed up this league after watching one of your other videos. I feel like I've gone on a similar journey ! The first race in London I had no idea what I was getting into, when I saw the A cats coming back up fox hill , that broke me! Never pushed myself like this before and I'm loving it.
Well done Benji, those longer rides will have given your fitness a boost. Stick at it, you WILL get stronger!
good effort mate! Great to see people improving and giving me motivation as well. All the best Benji!
Mad respect, Benji. Keep up the effort! There is so much cheating on Zwift, so it is good to see you playing fairly. It doesn't look like you are using a riding platform. For me, the use of a riding platform made it much easier to ride for a longer amount of time with less discomfort.
I’m impressed. I had zero expectations for you. Maybe less than zero. I hope you will keep at it. The journey is worth the reward.
Zwift cog gives you all the gears you want. Benji: well, I am not gonna use any of them xD loved the video. The storylines that you build from whatever race results you get, are amazing. Has been the same in the racing until you win and 5 Zwift races in one day series. Just so well narrated! And also good suffering 😅 keep it up!
Great effort! Good to see you sticking with it. Might be good to think of a pacing plan for long rides. Bestbikesplit can help for example.
You’re killing it, Benji. If you can do almost three hours of a course like that last one, you can do the Z’Alp. Just chug up at your own pace, and you’ll get it done. Have some serious fuel near you, and take a break if needed. Even if it’s to get off the bike, wash your face, and jump back on.
I’m curious though! Do you apply all your WT Pro race analysis to your own races, performance, and tactics? If you were to watch these races from your commentator’s perspective, would you race differently?
Haha, reality is I'm not good enough to compete to the point that I can't really apply tactics. 😂
You’re 100% ready for the Alp.
KAWAII -> watching Benji quit a race and almost falls while dismounting an indoor bike.
it's so hard to continue after you're dropped. Well done for sticking at it Benji. This happens to us all and it's great to see how far you've come! you'll be cat C before you know it 💪
Great job sticking with it and continually scrapping for that last 2% you're capable of
Great job Benji! Your content is real and relatable. Love it!
Those races must have given you some pretty hefty TSS! :D Well done mate, takes lots of grit for sure.
After you quit the first race I was going to tease you about not showing Flandrien spirit but you really showed it in the next races, well done! I've been there suffering in the first quarter of a Zwift race and barely hung on but it does get better. Try drafting in the group from the flag drop and aim for a negative split. Soon you'll not the lanterne rouge!
Well done man, you're improving! Love the videos, always watch them while zwifting myself!
Great video. Also a besserwisser here :-). I had an impression that these 2-3 hour rides are close to the longest rides you have ever done on Zwift. Easy but quite long grouprides once a week would let you hang in the first group much longer. Unfortunately, those are also time consuming and hard to do on a busy schedule.
It's so encouraging to watch your efforts and improvements. Makes me feel guilty about just doing some base training today....
Well done! Be proud of every accomplishment no matter how small it may feel. As several here have said, it never gets easy, you just go faster!
Well done Benji, you can only do what you can do. You're improving and that is the main thing!
Great video's 👍. The face when you cross the finish line tells it all👏
Well done for finishing Innsbruck. I quit at the start of the second climb, dropping out of p25. Pacing the climbs is key to finishing the races. Hopefully do better in tomorrow's round.
Well done, so relatable this with myself being at 100+ kg and getting dropped at uphills, which is demoralising! Did my first alpe du Zwift today and HR was remarkably low. Felt like my quads were about to explode though.
You can do Alpe du Zwift! You have better numbers than me and I was able to finish it, albeit quite slow.
Nice work! You’re getting stronger every video, keep up that work!
"'Why am I doing this?" A question I ask myself every time I get on the bike. 😉
that's hardly a rage quit. a simple nice quite 😀 jokes aside - keep it up Benj! good effort! I'll be tuning in to see your progress!
The VirtuSlo events are great. Try their Split-Cats races as well. Dejan is a master event organizer. One of the best.
Great suffering inspiration, Benji. Awesome video once again. Having lost basically all my fitness over the last 3 months (again!), this gives me motivation to fight that little bit harder. I might need to get my X3 out too, since the (cycling) world loves watching people suffer 😂
That 15% climb is literally 100m long, stand up and punch it next time!
Somehow, watching other people suffer in the pain cave never gets old ;-)
I won't be doing the races, but I will ride the last race you did as my training today! Keep it up Benji 💪👍
Benji, set up a zwift group and we can all ride with you up alpe d zwift in a meet up.
Tip for L’Alp… adjust your trainers Realism Value before you start. Learning? Like 30%. Total Baller? 100%. With an easy gear…it’s just a long spin. In 100% realism - #@%!. (The realism is ‘effectively’ like putting on small front chain rings.) You got this!
Man you are going to love hate Alpe Du Zwift, it is sucks going up but man the feeling of accomplishment you get and gains are so worth the suck. I am looking forward to your video on that one! Keep killing it!!!
I've done a few races up Alpe Du Zwift. I usually finish around 60-70 minutes depending on my fitness level and I'm getting passed by other riders the whole way. It's exhausting, so maybe do a test ride up AdZ outside of the race just to see what you're in for. Kudos for not giving up... especially that 2hr42min effort. That determination will pay dividends going forward. Keep it up!
Oh thank god, for minute there I thought you wouldn't be in Lycra.
You are one hell of a warrior 💪 Thats some serious suffering right there
Everyone learning to do Zwift events.- (1) going out too hard, (2) getting dropped at the first big effort, (3) soloing till getting caught by the next group…(4) only for them to drop you too… (5) when the third group catches up you might be able to hang. Leaning to find this third group from the start? No idea how. 😅
I feel your pain bro...... I'm new to the VR trainer and have to admit there is plenty of BS out there. I'm currently using a different platform but riders kicking out 6.5wkg ....... I would love to get them on the road to see what they got (really)!
LETS GO BENJIIII!!! LOOKING GOOD 💪
You nearly crashed, jumping of the bike ;-)
Nice! I think that new trainer makes you go faster,
Benji, lets get real: You can do the Alpe easy. Just grind it out. Yep, its a long climb but you got all it takes. :)
I’m no pro or coach Benji, but I think you need to do some cadence work. You’re often only doing 75/80 rpm and it’ll absolutely sap your muscular endurance. Keep up the work💪🏻
You're right, I had a hard time getting a comfortable 80 rpm during these races and I haven't figured out why.
@@BenjiNaesenTV Because the higher the rpm the higher your oxygen consumption and the more energy you burn, if your VO2 max is a bit low the perceived effort will rise quite a lot and you will get gassed. But the lower rpm is more demanding on your legs. Your hear rate is lower so you may breathe fine but it is harder to push the pedals after a while. It is always a trade off. This thing is pretty individual some peole naturally grind, some people naturally spin, but 75-80 is on a lower side of what is usual for sure. For a two hour race, the average number for us, amateurs, would be about 10rpm higher, I think. But you might be a grinding type or perhaps you need to develop your endurance cardio more which will gradually let you spin higher cadence on longer rides.
Another Zwift racing vid!!! Btw, will you ever be a DS for a team again? Cause that video was really interesting and fun to watch
If you can complete the achterbahn route at your race pace you can definitely do ADZ at your own tempo. Don't race it for your first attempt though. Everyone always goes too hard on the first ramp and past the tunnel. If you blow your doors off trying to hold a wheel the rest of the climb is pure purgatory. Start conservative and build the effort
Keep at it Benji! That seems like a nice club, though it's only open to new members via invite.
Nice trainer. Nice job. Now I think I know what I look like.
Well done benji great content
Great Effort Benj!
Pretty sure you could benefit a lot from more and better fans. You need to stay as cool as possible since you lose a lot of power by heating up. And when you want to ride longer races, it's super hard to keep going when you're overheating
In the last 2 races in the video, I have a much better fan and it certainly helped. Felt like I was being blown off my bike. 😂
what virtual gears do you use now/? bigger for uphill?
Awesome job pushing through to the end, it shows serious mental strength. Have you thought about what wattage you can maintain for different duration climbs?
I have a list of my power PRs on climbing efforts, but it's hard to predict the second or third climb in the race for me as I don't have much data..
@@BenjiNaesenTV it's an awesome skill to be able to go so hard that you blow up, but it can obviously get you in trouble. Maybe try to do a race or two where you make sure you don't go over 85 or 90% of your PR for that length climb and evaluate after if you could have gone harder or maybe even backed off even more. Keep up the great work.
Let's go another Benji video!!!!
I think maybe our power is similar benji. So I’ll give you a couple tips. Make sure to eat right before doing the alpe. I didnt. My setup wasn’t correct when I did it either. You’re fine there so no worries. The other thing is I notice you look at those numbers while riding. I do thé same. I’m telling you brother, the steepness of the alpe is always double digits! Do not be shocked when you always see 10 percent or higher. That 8 percent average is a bit misleading because it’s certain areas dropping it. No doubt you can do it. And it’s the most rewarding 12km you’ll ever do
Fox hill and box hill are absolute brutes. If you’re anything other than a 70kg or less they hurt alot
Congrats!
have you gotten a bike fit? it would do you a world of good if not.
what is the name of the app that shows you your power records.
The Breakaway
You're letting the koms get in your head. Be familiar with the course so you know when the koms start. Get your legs loose beforehand and pick someone to follow. You can get some breaks by standing up and letting your weight help you on the stroke which will also let you stretch legs and lower back some.
Stay away from courses with hills mate. I'm 54, just under 100kgs, race B grade and win some too. I race flattish courses only. Hills are evil. 😆
🤜1969 only the best year to be born or conceived.
Be aware those races are cat E, (Everyone) which means ALL cats race, A, B, C and D all included. It's not a dedicated cat race with ONLY D racers etc....for example the last race in your vide to be 1hr behind the 1st finisher (who's probably an A class rider) isn't something to be dissapointed at. With those E races you really have to gauge your start as you don't want to try and keep up with the first group of riders off the bat since they'll all be A, B riders and you just burn matches and inevitably dropped. Find your pace and ride your race. 👍
This race is not that type of Cat E, as this tournament has Cat E as its fifth category with max 2.9 w/kg. Then Cat D is a portion higher. Its different from other zwift races.
Benji did Almeida on Achterban 😄
i don't know if my home trainer is broken but i can barely hit 250w and i am fit. i can do up to 120r/ on a spin bike avg 35km/h but on my home trainer 40km/h is hard even if my effort s mild compare to real life competition. does it depend on the website, the home trainer? me? obviously that's the easiest answer but i don't feel weaker compared to my competitive years despite shitty results on strava. i don't know. do you have such discrepancies between real life and home trainers ?
That might indeed be the trainer. Especially some Suito trainers, e.g. mine are know for seriousluy undermeasuring even after calibration (I assume you calibrate the trainer regurarly). I have to use my regural pedal powermeter to get realistic output.
Alpe is only as hard as you make it. Pace sensibly and you won't have any trouble completing it.
Then you can come back to it next year to try and break the hour.
Good effort mate, but try bringing your cadence up on climbs by using smaller gears, 70 rpm is not good for your body.
You only lose when you quit. Don't quit. If it really becomes too much - stop, get off the bike, walk for a minute, get back on and finish the job. Nothing worth doing is easy.
You just need a zwift club, join NTS3 (Not Too Strong, Not too shabby, Not too Serious). You see some of my team mates in your race
I enjoy this video
HA! i'm leading in Bs for this race series. Really hard.
My Problem with Zwift Races is I only weight 60 kg with an FTP of 3.5w/kg so I’m in cat. Cbut other riders weigh 70-100 kg and they push my ftp on the flat easily while I have to go all out on the flat but still lose the draft But then on the climbs I catch up but have no chance on the descends so I can‘t win races 😢😢
Fantastic effort pal💪👌 Are you a C or D rider?
Cat D.
Been there done that. (rage quit) lol.
why do you not train at all ??
I do and don’t put it in the video to avoid you having to watch Z2 rides. 😅
@@BenjiNaesenTV But I mean, you never do over 1 hour+ rides?
Zwift races are hard. Also people aren't honest with their weight and put it low.
Benji, are you fueling and hydrating properly???? Let us know what you are doing in that regard.
Yes, I take a gel every 45 minutes and my wife refills my bidons, haha.
I wonder, after watching the webinars on TBA, and listening to VDV, I think in a race situation, you need a gel every 20min! When I started doing that on my intense rides(or would laugh at this 76 year old’s numbers, but I thought sure I would gain weight. I lost 5 pounds!!!! Grain of salt….. keep up the great work!
@janeburns8789 my gut can’t handle that amount of gels yet, haha.
That second race was about as hard as Alpe, you gotta do Ventoux now, sorry.
Why do you race in E cat? I believe that’s a mixed level rece. You should find a Cat btw A, B, C or D. That’s way all competitors have to be at your same level.
In this tournament, it's a 5th division, not a mixed level. It's everyone up to 2.9 w/kg, D in this tournament is a level above that.
@@BenjiNaesenTVgotcha! Keep the good work 🆙
0:07 bro its not a 2hour effort, not even for you.... just deal with it ;)
3:07 man its 15% for 15 meters, just pooosh :D
Based on this I won't be doing a race any time soon 😂
wow...
Dude! Cat D is supposed to be < 2.5 w/kg looks like there a lot of of folk doing way more?
In this tournament, the restrictions of the bottom category are up to 2.9 w/kg, and it's called Cat E in this race. I didn't mention it in the video to not overload people with information, haha.
I know... 15% for 30 seconds 😊
You don't have a air fan ? You need one to help.
I do, Vacmaster Cardio.
You need to lose quite a lot of weight pal. Then you need to get a lot of Z2 training. You simply have a low W/KG ratio. There is no way around it. But fingers crossed.😉