Zwift Racing Guide: Lessons from 284 Virtual Races

By Lars Hundley

If you’re a roadie over 40 or 50, you probably remember those mind-numbing sessions on old-fashioned turbo trainers (or even rollers), where your best entertainment was riding along watching a Tour de France VHS tape. Those unpleasant memories have kept many cyclists from even considering riding with a smart trainer. Here’s the thing though. Indoor riding has come a long way, and online racing in particular makes for a totally different experience. After completing almost 300 virtual races on Zwift over the last four years, I’m here to share what I’ve learned.

Now, racing online from your living room might sound ridiculous, especially if you’ve never tried a smart trainer at all. But trust me, with a decent setup – I use a Wahoo Kickr V2 smart bike, a high-quality fan, and an iPad to run the Zwift app – it’s not just bearable, it’s downright fun.

Unlike real-world racing, you can hop into a Zwift race almost any time of day or night, with several races available every hour. And here’s a bonus: all those Zwift races actually cured my real-life pre-race jitters. These days, I line up at cyclocross or gravel races with the calm of a seasoned pro (even if my results never get close to matching the attitude).

I am a mediocre B racer whose modest goal is usually to finish in the top half of finishers. My watts/kg is at the very bottom of qualifying for the B category and I’m also over 50. I can count my podium finishes on two hands, and several of them were cases when only a few racers showed up. But guess what! I am still having fun. And hey, I do about the same in real life racing too, so it seems pretty realistic to me.

Anyway, let’s dive into some racing tips I’ve picked up along the way:

1. Race Your Category: Zwift is pretty good at estimating your FTP from your previous rides, especially if you’ve raced a few times. It’ll generally prevent you from riding in a category that’s too slow for you. As I explained, I’m just barely at the bottom of the B category, which means I get dropped more often than I care to.
   
2. Figure Out Your Trainer: I’ve raced with both a Stages SB20 smart bike, and the newest Wahoo Kickr V2 smart bike that I recently upgraded to. All the trainers are a little different and have their individual quirks. It takes a little bit of time to learn how all the features work, get used to them and get them operating in sync with all your peripherals the Zwift app, your heart rate monitor, etc.
   
3. Get the Best Fan You Can Afford: Without a great fan (or multiple good fans!), you’re destined to quickly overheat and get dropped. I use a Wahoo Headwind along with a cheaper secondary fan that I point from the side. The combination keeps me from getting sweat all over the trainer and keeps me relatively cool. In the winter I only need the Wahoo fan by itself.
   
4. Warm Up Wisely: Give yourself at least 10 minutes to warm up, probably more. Use this time to ensure your smart trainer is calibrated, your device is charged, and you have water, maybe a towel, and your heart rate monitor ready. If you show up at the last second, like in real life, you’ll probably miss your start.
   
5. Brace for the Start: The first 5 minutes are brutal, like a real-life crit or cyclocross race. Start pedaling hard during the 10-second countdown – it’s like revving your engine at a drag race. If you’re not already at high watts when the race starts, you’ll be playing catch-up from the beginning.
   
6. Know the Course: Familiarize yourself with the route beforehand if possible. Knowing where the climbs are and how many feet you’ll be climbing can help you prepare mentally for those inevitable accelerations. Racers always surge on the hills, so don’t panic – just dig in and stay with the pack.
   
7. Master the Draft: Drafting is crucial, just like in real racing. Try to stay in the front third of the pack. If you’re at the back, you’ll constantly get dropped with every surge and have to work twice as hard to catch up. Once you lose contact with a group, it’s unlikely you’ll catch back on if they’re more than 3-4 seconds ahead.
   
8. Stay Alert for Surges: Be ready to respond to accelerations, especially on climbs. When you’re suffering, remember, so is everyone else. It’ll probably slow back down to a more reasonable pace soon. Stay calm and dig in.
   
9. Nail the Finish: Be ready for the pace to ramp up in the last half-mile. When you see the 600-meter countdown, it’s time to give it everything you’ve got. You should be pedaling as hard as you can, with a full sprint as you get closer to the line.
   
10. Embrace the Process: Even if you don’t podium (and let’s face it, with only three spots in a field of 20 or 50, most of us won’t), you’re still getting a great workout. You’re practicing skills needed for real-life racing or hard group rides, getting time in your high heart rate zone, increasing your VO2 max, and becoming fitter with every race.
    
11. Don’t Sweat the Cheaters: In my experience, blatant cheating is rare. I remember one race where a guy rode off the front from the start at an unrealistic watts/kg. We mocked him in the chat, he apologized claiming his “bike wasn’t calibrated right,” got embarrassed, and quit. Ultimately, who cares if someone else wants to cheat their own fitness away? I’m in it for the fun and increased fitness for myself.

From a physiological standpoint, Zwift racing offers some unique benefits. The high-intensity nature of these events, with their frequent surges and all-out finishes, is excellent for improving your anaerobic capacity and lactate threshold. These races can also boost your VO2 max, thanks to the demanding efforts required. The short, sharp sprints and attacks you’ll encounter enhance your neuromuscular power, allowing you to produce peak power outputs more effectively.

Aside from the physical, the competitive and immersive environment of Zwift racing can greatly enhance your mental toughness, helping you push through fatigue and discomfort. Plus, the ability to race frequently allows for more consistent high-quality training than you might get with real-world events.

Zwift racing is a lot more than just a weird, electronic substitute for outdoor competition. It’s a convenient, safe, and cost-effective way to push your limits and improve your fitness. A month of Zwift costs less than a single race entry fee at most events, and you can compete as often as you like without worrying about crashes or weather conditions.

So, fellow roadies, give Zwift racing a try. You might just find that it becomes an indispensable part of your training or general fitness regimen. And who knows? The skills and fitness you gain in the virtual world might just translate to some real-world improvements.