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Sep 2017
1:29pm, 18 Sep 2017
213 posts
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Dowse
Congratulations!!!
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Sep 2017
1:56pm, 18 Sep 2017
15,440 posts
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Atonal Miserabilist (AFKA TRO)
Rach is an awesome rider and has been smashing it all year.
Just done Zwift sweetspot long, a 2hr 10 session of 2 x30 and 1 x 40 mins at sweetspot. Enjoyed it, bailed a little early as still jet lagged and IM Italy at the w/e.
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Sep 2017
9:49am, 19 Sep 2017
7,909 posts
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Rach E
Thanks for the compliments. As you would probably expect given the negative view of Zwift from "traditional" cyclists, my Paris win has been completely marred by negative comments (including private messages on Twitter) by people thinking it's demeaning to bike racing, is ridiculous etc, etc. My view is it doesn't replace real life racing - it's an addition to it - and with the 100% verified racing at the CVR world cup (all on the same trainers, calibrated by the same device and all weighed in by the same scales) it's a totally fair and level playing field.
I worked harder on Saturday than I've ever worked in a bike race, and the competition I had from the other female racers was stupendous (those who finished 2nd to 4th were all full time pros). The French girl who was second regularly beats Hayley in UCI races (including time trials) so it was as tough as I thought it would be. The negativity seems to stem from the prize purse - which was largely funded by the guy who is trying to forward it as a concept. The girl who finished third pointed out that her prize money (close to $1,500) was more than the winner would get in the biggest UCI race on the calendar - the Giro Rosa.
The CVR World Cup has the potential to not just forward eSports as a concept, but also to help draw attention to the huge disparity in women's cycling...
In the meantime, I'd better get back to the haters on Twitter.
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Sep 2017
10:32am, 19 Sep 2017
96,025 posts
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GregP
In some ways this gets me back on my 'why I love cycling and hate cyclists' soapbox.
And Rach - ignore the haters. Never argue with drunks, idiots or trolls.
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Sep 2017
12:41pm, 19 Sep 2017
18,464 posts
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Meglet
Many congratulations Rach, you are amazing. If anything it's fairer than road or track racing as you've no advantage from equipment or teammates, and to beat pros is incredible.
And yes, that is a massive disparity and I'm really shocked by that.  Also shocked you've been getting so much hate. It only needs a few people with really loud voices, I'm sure they're not speaking for the majority of cyclists.
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Sep 2017
1:44pm, 19 Sep 2017
7,534 posts
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simbil
Great work RachE, that's a really impressive achievement. Don't waste your energy on the trolls and negative folk, leave the sad feckers to stew in their own hate.
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Sep 2017
2:46pm, 19 Sep 2017
214 posts
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Dowse
Sorry to hear about the haters Rach E. This is a massive achievement, don't let anyone try to diminish it.
Zwift and outdoor road cycling are pretty different in my mind, but that doesn't make either of them less valid as sports.
As far as I'm concerned it's far more entertaining to watch a Zwift race.
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Sep 2017
3:07pm, 19 Sep 2017
6,434 posts
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Jambomo
I wandered onto this thread to see what Zwift is about. As a fat, slow cyclist is it worth investing in to help get fitter/faster (especially over winter)?
Well done Rach, that sounds like an amazing result. Just tell all the twitter trolls where to go, there are always people who can't take anything that's different to what they know and how they believe things should be. Doesn't mean anyone should listen to them.
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Sep 2017
3:17pm, 19 Sep 2017
36,837 posts
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Velociraptor
Rach, that's a magnificent achievement. The begrudgers aren't fit to lick your shoes.
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Sep 2017
4:22pm, 19 Sep 2017
18,465 posts
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Meglet
Hi Jamobomo, I'm not a particularly fast cyclist but I do think that zwifting helped me maintain fitness over the winter and I started at a better level and have continued to improve. I find winter cycling not always easy or attractive due to darkness and weather, and the option of 30-60 mins turbo on a dark evening gets a cycling session I wouldn't have otherwise done. I used to find turbo training quite boring and difficult to keep going, but with Zwift I can keep going much longer. I also like the preset workouts. I have a basic turbo trainer with Bluetooth cadence/speed sensors to my iPad.
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