Let’s start that anti double draft movement now, Stefanie!
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I was so scared to lose the pack I was with that it causes me to yo-yo an insane amount. I try to stay near the front, them I’m off the front, then I soft pedal, only to find myself near the back in a matter of seconds. I knew those rollers would be trouble for me - I’m more of a freight train. 
I did sprint my heart out at the end - very pleased and so happy with all of the sprinting practice, this year - but a ZSUN gal had the idea before me and I didn’t jump soon enough to get on her wheel. LOVE!! That whole experience pumps me UP! 
-Angie
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As promised, here are a few important observations from the files from some of you that can be helpful when preparing for and doing Zwift races.
Two common themes emerged from riders’ files and nutrition information.
1. Cadence and power changes
As you know, a big part of our training is cadence changes according to the terrain, as well as power changes. Some of you kept your cadence nearly constant for pretty much the whole race, even during the climbs. Doing hard race efforts at only one cadence, be it high (90-100rpms) or low (70-80 rpms) the whole time only fatigues you faster.
Here are two examples - cadence is the yellow line:
[Rider 1 - cadence stayed between 90-100 rpms]
[Rider 2 - cadence stayed between 70-80 rpms]
A better approach would have been to vary cadence throughout, like we practice in training, along with some standing. Standing helps recruit different muscles while allowing the others to take a short break, which also helps delay fatigue. I know it can be hard in a Zwift race to focus on these, specially if you haven’t been doing this type for training for long.
Here are examples of cadence and body position changes:
[Rider 3 - cadence varied between 70 and 95 rpms]
[Rider 4 - cadence varied between 56 ad 105 rpms]
[This is my race file - you can clearly see all the cadence changes]
Now here is the even more interesting part. Rider 1 and 3 were in the same group, for at least the first 30 minutes of the race. Rider 1 had a Normalized Power (the “equivalent of”) of 100% of FTP (about 110% on the second 8 min alone!). Rider 3 had a Normalized Power of 90% of FTP. That’s the kind of efficiency you can get from cadence/body position changes (part of it is also pacing yourself, but they were in the same group, drafting the exact same riders!)
In a race, you want to do more with less, go faster with less energy expenditure, so you can go faster for longer.
Something to keep in mind for future races.
2. Nutrition
Some of you ran into trouble during the race for not eating enough before and during the race. In some cases, the calories consumed before the race (from breakfast to race time) was so low, these riders started the race already depleted.
Here is what I had before the race (I weigh 120 lbs):
My race was at 1:30 PM local time - 190g of carbs, 55g of protein
Breakfast: oatmeal with maple syrup and 20g whey protein mixed in
Early “lunch”: 2 Kodiak waffles, 2 eggs
Snack before race: 1 Bobo’s bar, a bit of chocolate and a few gummies
No amount of mental grit and determination can overcome lack of energy availability. I will do a separate post on recommended amounts. Stay tuned.
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