Season one is just about over and I know at least one TR team has been racing. @jonathanwaddell@V-2@bpm how is it? Are the races fun?
Very few details exist yet that I can find, but there is now a season 2 page on the wtrl site (Login - WTRL). At the top it says: Team Registration January 12, 2021 (estimated start). I do not know if that means that 1/12/21 is the first race of the season, or if that is when the registration window opens (I’m hoping it’s the latter because I was planning on having my off season break last until the 11th).
Regardless, I’m keen to get in on the action. I’d be looking for an A team to race in the America East division. If the schedule stays the same that will mean racing at 4:45pm PST / 7:45pm EST on Tuesdays, alternating between road races and TTTs. Looking at the season one courses, almost everything will be less than an hour with many under 50 minutes (pretty similar to most zwift races).
I’ll state here that I’m a solid A racer (zwift power profile: ZwiftPower - Login) with way above average 20min power and below average sprints (I wish there were more longer, hillier races on Z). I won’t be tapering for these races but if they are still on Tuesday I’ll be rested because Mondays are generally light for me. My goals will be to go all out, finish cross-eyed, and have a rad time.
Cheers,
-Colin
EDIT:
Current status:
Several teams raced season one, likely continuing to season two.
@ccftri and @55thSwiss are looking for an A team to race in the America East time slot.
@Graeme is looking for an A team to race in the America West time slot.
@KatuskaMTB is out for season two and bummed about it.
@rbonick is looking for a B team, unsure of league/time
I really feel like I missed out by not participating in season 1. I was skeptical of the team format but it actually seemed fun as hell so I’m sold on it now. I like how they structured it such that individual team members can miss some races without screwing everything up. I’m also looking for an A team but I’ll probably be in US west.
It’s good fun, though they are using season 1 to iron out a lot of issues. We’ve got a TR A team (who won their last TTT) and a couple of B teams. More teams for season 2 the merrier
@ccftri as @jchappers said there are three teams going in the Emea leagues, 2 in the east and one in West. A team is closing in on top spot only 1 point behind. B2 are in 8th and improving every week especially in TTT ( difficult thing to do well on Zwift). B1 in the west lost two race finishes due to tech problems currently sit 20th which doesn’t reflect where they could be.
Main feedback and vibe has been that the series has brought motivation and focus for everyone , for me I’ve had over 300 pr’s for 2020 and 30 all time.
Registration is open now for new teams that want to join, anyone in season 1 will get an invite to join. Season 2 starts 12th Jan.
I raced A category in Season 1, and had an absolute blast. The course variety was excellent, and I thought that the alternating weeks of Team Time Trial and Mass Start racing was perfect. There was some small complaining about the managing of the B/C categories (when do people get forced upgrades) - but that didn’t really hit the A cat or diminish how much fun most folks had. I highly recommend this series.
I’m unfortunately taking Season 2 off to participate in that UToronto study that TrainerRoad is partnering with, and missing Season 2 or WTRL is actually my only regret doing this study.
We have had a non TR D team running in Americas East. D is pretty much a Clydesdale division. It has been a learning curve as we have a lot of new racers and first timers on Zwiftpower.l resulting in DQ’s in almost every race. In some cases, it was for obvious reasons (solo dropped rider drafting other team in a TTT - and, yes we had gone over the rules in the pre-race meeting, failing to register properly on zwiftpower) and not so obvious reasons (some C racers being DQD while others that finished higher in the race not DQD). The WTRL guys have done a great job but like most Zwift racing, it seems to work better the higher the category as there are less issues with out of category racers.
I ended up joining a local team after the first two weeks were done due to them needing another rider. It’s later racing than I’d like not starting until 9pm (which is why I didn’t start out racing initially), but it has been pretty fun mostly for the banter and comradery over our Discord channel, since we’re not tearing it up in the standings… The things that really bug me the most is that the Discord functionality is not built into Zwift (shocker - - if only they had more funds for such things… ) and that the TTT has to be so “hacky” to work when it’s a league put on by Zwift (with WTRL doing the heavy lifting). Having to wait around at the start line of a race with no timer and just relying on someone on the team to keep track of the time and then tell everyone to GO! is hokey as hell, especially when Zwift has a built-in TT start gate they could easily modify for teams. Having results stored on yet another third party site that you have to sign up for to access is also a little annoying when Zwiftpower already exists with all the other stats.
Eh - they’re a bit hacky, but I wouldn’t go to “nuts”. More like a modest pain to deal with, hopefully it’s ironed out but honestly not that hard to manage.
I’m busy with Euro league, there were a few US guys looking to form a team at start of season 1 but couldn’t get enough interest. Maybe have a scroll through the Zwift team thread and see if any are up for it
For the WTRL to do it that way to make do with what’s available is one thing, but when Zwift is running the league it’s pretty silly (especially with a Premier league).
I raced my first WTRL TTT last week with a B team. I can recommend it as great fun. When it comes together and you’re all working well it’s an absolute blast and it turned into a 46min workout at 1.00 IF.
For sure, good call in case they don’t see this thread. I know posting on the ZRL facebook page is an option, but I have thus far managed not to make a FB account, and I really don’t want to now.
Quick question on set up for Zwift. (sorry i know this is OT) I’ve been on Zwift for a while however just used it to spin around and becasue of trainerroad and the fact that i’ve always had my SS CX bike glued to the Kickr i’ve always ridden in ERG mode. To race successfully do you have to shift and race in Sim(?) mode or does anyone alway use ERG. I hear you can not be comptetive in erg even though i’ve raced in ERG before. Also where do you switch from ERG? via your trainer or ZWIFT.
thanks
I often ride in Z with TR controlling my trainer (basically riding Z for entertainment and to rack up points/levels). (Aside: I don’t see Z and TR as competitors. TR has training nailed and Z has social and racing nailed. Totally symbiotic.)
I don’t think you could race effectively with that bike nor in erg mode.
If you tried to race in erg mode (you’d have to be riding Z and using your phone or bike computer to control your trainer), you’d be at a huge disadvantage in pack riding. Trying to respond to an attack would entail noticing the attack, and then toggling erg mode power to try to respond. At that point you’d be off the back. Maybe for a long hill climb up Ale Du Zwift or something like that where it’s really a solo effort.
If you aren’t in erg mode, I think the SSCX bike would also be a disadvantage. You’d get popped going up and down hills, and you might spin out on a flat sprint depending on your gearing.
You could potentially lower trainer difficulty all the way to zero, essentially making your kickr a very nice ‘dumb’ trainer. That would be better but I think you’d still spin out.
I do the same, good for dual recording and checking power meter match.
I’m super interested in the america’s east if anyone else is. Are the races really at 9pm? Currently on Zwiftpower I’m an A cat, but I’m really on the fence unfortunately, I’m “too fast” for B, but I get smashed in A
The things that really bug me the most is that the Discord functionality is not built into Zwift (shocker - - if only they had more funds for such things… 
