WTRL Zwift Racing League

 As 2021 ended, I joined a Zwift e-racing team comprting in the WTRL (that's World Tactical Racing Leagues) ZRL (that's Zwift Racing Leauge). Having competed in over 200 standard Zwift scheduled races, the ZRL is a step up in the intensity. The league is truly Global with multiple Divisions. Many established tea recruit new riders and the balance between fielding strong teams from the larger sqaud and being inclusive to give everyone. Not sure how I found the team I am with but I am enjoying racing for Socks4Watts (S4W). IRL, S4W is an aero sock retail business. 

Pretty cool and snazzy!  I started racing in Season 1 of 2021 in November. As a B Cat I bust my W/Kg and had to be moved to the A Cat team, Watt Bombs. The races in the ZRL are points based; hence the race dynamic suits sprinters. The routes rarely encompass much elevation, with punchy climbs being the norm. Not yet see a pure clibmers route. So I was apprehensive and wondered if i would strugge in the A Cat intesity. After all, although my numbers clearly put me in the A Cat (over 4.0 W/Kg), I am at the bottom end of the scale! I have held my own, despite the races being extremely hard. I am yet to score any KOM or Prime points but have scored reasonable overall finish points. My best result was the lumpiest route racing the Tour of Tewitt course that is basically up and down for continual laps:

I am approaching race 3 of 6 for season 2 and the course is New York perimeter.  This is another lumpy course. Let's see if i can bag a decent finish position. I can't see my getting any sprint points!

Next post is all about the bikes used with my Wahoo Kickr smart trainer. My 2 up to date super bike (I call them that!) are now Turbo compatible! Also, where am I with my running. . . . .? Lurching from injury niggles to rehab over and over. More on this soon.

It's Jan 2022. Nobody out there in Blog Land, I know. I right as a diary for myself and for my family when I hang up the wheels and trainers.   

Blog-break Over. NEW BIKE!!!!

 Well folks. A huge break from updating this Tri/Du journey. Feel bad about that as I want to maintain the story. So let's kick-start 2022. First off; NEW BIKE!!! Yes N+1 enacted. I have a brand new Canyon Speedmax CF7 AXS 12-speed eTap.

Not great pics but I will get some better shots for a full review. Initial thoughts? It's amazing! So different from my Specialized Transition that I have had since 2009. Literally light years difference in tech and adjustability. It;s taken a bit of work to get the smart trainer compatoble with AXS and thru axle but I am there now. Rode the Canyon in the Socks4Watts Zwift Hill Climb event this evening. THe position feels dialled-in already but more testing required. Bythe summer, hopefully there will be more TTs to race and minimise the effects of aging!

I will post more detail on Zwift eRace team Socks4Watts also. Virtual cycling has boomed and the official ZRL (Zwift Racing League) is the place to be for intense controlled race events. Anyway, more info in the next post as there is a good bit of racing reporting to cover in order to catch up from Sep 21!