As a 67kg rider, seeing your raw wattage numbers is just completely terrifying 😅 If you’ve developed a good aero posture on the bike you must be an absolute weapon in flat TTs and triathlon bike sections
I managed it today too. Used a similar approach, first proper attempt was 60:25 so only needed half a minute off. I set off quicker and was about 1:30 ahead at half way. But, I was tiring, and was worried I’d gone too hard at the beginning. The last 5k was a real mental battle, digging deep to hold the pace. Finished in 59:35. Felt physically sick at the end, but glad I’ve got the badge and achieved that milestone. Congrats to all that have done this!
As a 108 kg rider, I am working on getting my weight down a little bit more. I average about 275 watts up the alpe, but that is just a little bit over 2.5 w/kg. This video is very inspiring and helpful. THANK YOU!
@@MarkLewisfitness Thank you! It’s always been discouraging being a heavier rider on long climbs especially a monster like alpe du zwift. But I’m just so inspired right now seeing this video! About to get on zwift for another trip up the alpe now. Glad I found your channel and stoked to be subscribed. Cheers!
You are an Expert, in determination and strength, that's all it takes to climb on a bike/Zwift. What you have proved is try hard enough and most things are achievable.
Tips: -Set your trainer read out to be 3 second average. -Don't be afraid to lower your trainer difficulty if your hearing is suited to flat terrain, i.e you don't have a 28 or 32 cassette. -Make damn sure you activate the Everest challenge before you start your AdZ missions, it'll work towards your Tron bike. -Visit the drop shop before you climb, get yourself a climber frame (Canyon Aeroad/Specialized Tarmac SL7) and some climbing wheels, ENVE 3.4 or DT Swiss Arc (quicker than Zipp 202). You're welcome :-)
Cannondale evo is the best climbing bike in zwift, cheap too. Pair that with enve 3.4 and you have the best climbing setup short of the lightweight meilenstein wheels that you can “win” at the top of AdZ.
I just recently beat the hour up the alpe. I'm on a similar journey to yourself, albeit nowhere near as far along. I'm turning 50 this year, had let my physical condition slide over the years, peaking at 107 KG a couple of years ago (only 6ft tall). I was at 104 Kg in November, so started to watch what I ate, was 101 on January the 1st. I'd bounced up and down from low 90s to low 100s for years. I started counting calories (working out what I could eat that filled me up, gave me what I needed nutritionally, but made my calorie budget achievable), I also went on zwift every day....I usually needed to burn calories at night to keep inside my target. My weight is now 87 Kg, my FTP is up from 240 to 300, v02 max from 42 to 52. I went from being a strong cat D in zwift (which is where I was for a couple of years) to being a catB. I'm not competitive in B and it seems a huge, almost impossible feat to become competitive in it....however that's how I felt when I entered cat C. I've still some way to go to get to where I want to be with weight and cycling but I'll get there. Loving watching your videos, they help me keep my focus on change.
I typed my weight wrong, and a bunch of other stuff, I was 78Kg not 87Kg, I'm still down around the 80kg mark. I drifted up to mid 80's but was back at 79 a couple of weeks ago. FTP is no longer 300, but I hope to get it back up there by June.
Most important learning point so far - a renewed love of the Rocky 4 soundtrack!! 😂. Currently playing as I wash the dishes!! Brilliant videos - the only content creator who I subscribe to AND have an alert when you post a new video so I can come and watch it. Truly hope your following grows and grows!
I'm soon to be 57 years and weigh a massive 57.8 kg. I ride the Alp standing the whole way as I find I can sit on 240w and up to 250 on a good day. 47 min is my record, Seated would be a very in painful experience I think. Nice video. And great advice.
Awesome. I'm sitting at 1 hr 4 minutes on this climb. Will use your tips. My added challenge is that I'm 69 kg and 65 years old. Just made it to category B and level 26 on Zwift. I've got my work cutout. Thx
I'm a 62kg rider new to zwift but run all the time I realize since Zwift how weak my legs are lol I done a 1h4min the other day and was sure I was gonna sub 1h and did do a Pb but another 1h4min so only just lool I will get it lol nice upload.
The first video of you going up the Alpe du Zwift is absolutly epic. Brave to show the complete footage. Great work. Sorry that I had a good laugh at that. Me myself I am still way above the one hour mark and I feel sick everytime I go up there. I am a bit jealous of you grabbing "my" badge.
The joys of being a light rider. I'm putting out around 180 watts and still finishing that climb in roughly the same time. It is a crazy tough ride though.
Have not read the comments below...but PR is not "Previous Ride" [but it was in your case]....its Personal Record. Love your attitude and humility. Keep doing what you do.
...only 8:50 into the video above......Non-Pro tip: Anticipate the flat sections [in the turns] by down shifting and beginning to add torque before the gradient eases.....also step up shift and spin-up the wattage as you hit the base of a grade increase. Good move on the standing too
I did 73 minutes first time having no clue what I was doing, 63 minutes on my next attempt and 67 minutes today, but that was part of a longer ride including the epic kom before the alpe so I was really happy with that. Your tip of the corner times and cumulative times sounds excellent, I’ll try and pull those out and try for sub hour next time.
As a person who is also coming to cycling from a running background - this methodology is very common in the running world. Hitting your splits to manage pacing. Great job. I haven't made my first Alpe attempt yet....I guess I should probably bite the bullet and give it a go. No way I can hold even 3 watts per kg for an hour....not even close. So I'm guessing it is going to be a lengthy bit of suffering.
Did this yesterday (my third ascent). The spreadsheet of your times was invaluable, thank you! It didn't help that my chain came off TWICE in the first two minutes, I was so angry that I was nevertheless able to beat your time to the first corner... The Rocky IV soundtrack is absolutely key.
Thanks for the advice Mark used your spreadsheet idea and what times I need to be at each turn, saved 11 minutes off of my previous time 01:16:02 to 1:04:52
If I want to go under the hour on Alpe du Zwift I just get on the bike pedal and when I get to the top it’s less than an hour. I recommend anyone wanting to go under the hour follow this exact method. You’re welcome, I’ll be here all week. Cheers.
Good explanation of tactics. Interesting seeing people’s different approaches. I’ve got a rowing background, so used to just sitting at a prescribed power output for a sustained period of time. Nothing too exciting. Best way I’ve found to approach the Alp is to know what my target watts is, and just stick to it. Making sure each segment hits the average allows you stay on track. Not deviating too much from your average is more efficient as well. Bouncing between mid 200s and mid 400s on watts is hugely inefficient compared to just sticking to 320ish watts the whole way
I found your channel just now (and by chance). Getting the Alp d'Zwift under 1 hour with your weight is not easy. Great work. Congratulations! My goal is to climb it under 45 minutes, but I'm a little bit lighter than you. Maybe I'll try it next week. Congratulations on your channel and congratulations on your persistence and determination.
Mark - great chellenge - one that is close to my heart. For what it's worth, your first tip - looking at corner times and cumulative corner times is potentially problematic - if people go off too hard, which pretty much everyone does the first time they do it, it simply encourages you to go EVEN harder the next time - exaccerbating the issue of pacing the whole climb. I would strongly suggest doing the climb once, then looking at your average power/weight or the whole climb and using THAT as your reference point - try going 0.1W/kg harder the next time etc. Your 2nd tip -fuelling is important no doubt but for an effort of an hour, most people have enough glycogen stores to last them the whole effort without drinking/eating which will have a detrimental impact on breathing. I've climbed the Alpe du Zwift 24 times and my PB is 40:34. My advice on going up the Alpe fast is as follows: (1) choose the lightest bike possible (Tarmac Pro if you have it) with the lightest wheels possible (Lightweight Meilenstein if you have them). (2) reduce your trainer intensity (settings menu) to 10-20% - this will reduce or eliminate the need to change gears and you can focus on your performance not your bike. 10-20% is optimal (as opposed to zero) as doing so will allow you to keep a constant cadence and it will automatically put more power down the steeper sections - a useful tip that you correctly included. (3) draft - enter a race that uses Road to the Sky route - this has a 5km lead in to the climb which you should take relatively easy but it then provides you with lots of people to draft - particularly important for the 2 ever so slighly flatter, longer sections of the climb (4) As above - fuel and water before the ride - try having a whole bottle - this should allow you to focus on breathing Good luck everyone - hope this helps.
Yet another great video Mark. I love your direct, no-nonsense style. keep em coming. And congrats on reaching 5000 subs.... tell your kids you're more awesome than them. 1 question though. What do you reckon is the best way of noting your times to each corner other than trying to take screenshots or write things down in a sweaty mess. Strava doesn't seem to give easy numbers either.
I recently took just over 5-minutes off my best Alpe time, down to 91-mins, and that new time was done as the last climb as part of doing the Four Horsemen route for the first time ever, so apparently the best tip I can give for knocking time off your Alpe PB is this: Do a really really hard and tiring ride full of climbs for about two and a half hours before Alpe du Zwift and you'll be golden :) haha :) Congrats on the sub-60mins!
Great strategy, Mark. Amazed to see you have had different tries, and reflect thinking about why and how to ride faster next time. I'll learn from you. Ride on.
What I always found useful is doing interval workouts up Alpe. This way you switch intensities and have specific rest periods. But mainly because it breaks down your 60min effort into 1-2-3 or 4 minute chunks.. Bear and Grin it SST-short Are my go-to workouts that get you around 45min up the mountain
Watched you video today so thought I would give it. Did it look n 61 mins, gutted but was 31 mins faster than last time. So will try again next week. Thanks for a good video
Congrats on this great achievement. I think we can assume that your FTP is about the average watts it took to finish this since the definition of FTP is "power you can achieve for 1 hour". Therefore, here's my tip for getting a PB without fretting about each corner's time: Just start the ride by riding the minimum watts to keep your graph yellow. Since yellow is your FTP "range". If you dig in, you will see it go orange (Vo2 Max land) and then red (anaerobic) - memorize these numbers. Try to stay away from any orange or red until you hit corner 2 or so. If you time a 3+ min VO2 max effort (>115% of FTP) at the end of the ride, you will likely beat your PB. You likely won't be able to hold orange or red for more than 3 mins so save it for last. Just stay yellow and start lower than FTP. You'll crush it.
you all prolly dont give a damn but does any of you know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account..? I stupidly lost my login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
@Timothy Yosef Thanks for your reply. I got to the site thru google and im in the hacking process atm. Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
You can do even faster if you do more treshold training, all the green stuff in your workout log will disappear then and be replaced with yellow stuff. AdZ basically is the full-hour FTP test with added concentration so you do not forget to increase cadence hard as soon as the short "flat" sections come.
Super video Mark, thank you. Taking your advice on each section for my next attempt - although I am further away from the hour mark for the time being, it is a goal. I too did not ride the hill back down on my first go. Was just happy to be at the top and didn't even cross my mind to go back down!
I’m a heavier rider as well at 104kg. On my second attempt I did as part of Fire & Ice and did it in 62:40. I didn’t really go in with a plan and that’s probably what I was missing. So I’ve created a spreadsheet and will give it another try. Also will just do the road to sky to minimize up front gain/distance. Should be interesting to see how it goes.
Good way to do it. That's how I got it the first time. Every subsequent time, I aim for a minimum of 1 watt over my 3.2 w/kg average for each segment. So I push out 3.2 on the ride over to see what that number is (current is 222 watts), so I will aim for an average of 223 watts for each segment. If I fall under, I remember how many watts I was under (let's say I did one segment in 212 - I remember I have to make up 10 watts through the course of the ride). Next segment doesn't have to make up all 10 watts, but if I chip away at it and break even again before the end it's fine. Then sprint the end, and golden. Sub-60 every time (except my last climb, where a herniated disc in the back said 'screw your hard efforts, just pedal easy' and I obeyed its demands).
Thank you for a very informative and helpful video! I've been struggling to pass the 50 minute mark on the Alpe and really found your math logic for the corners tempo's for varying gradients helpful, I'm pretty new to Zwift but I've been doing some research and hoping the Meilenstein's I won last time I went up might take off the 42 seconds I need to dip below 50! Good stuff, subscribed!
Like the gel comment - plenty of research showing that glucose/sweet taste in the mouth increases endurance effort - even if spat out - more than placebo effect. Also acts as a pain killer in neonates.
Mark, recently found your channel. Went back and watched many of your old videos and love your channel. I've been riding for a few years, got into zwift during the lockdown. My last FTP test was 306W at 85kg. My endurance is good, but I'd like to increase my sprinting power. I've heard that lifting is the way to go, but I'll admit I'm fearful of weighted squats. I've known several people who have seriously messed up their backs from squating and would like to know your opinion.
Brilliant video again 👌🏻. You should ride with one of the ‘pace partners’ sometime. You would be fine with the ‘B’ pace partner. He rides constantly anywhere between 3.2 - 4 watts per kg. His route is good as well. There are usually quite a few other riders as well so it can be a good group. Ride with him for 30 mins to get a feel for it then ‘Breakaway’ and try and stay away for 30 mins 😆. Unlike us, the pace partners don’t tire and keep the power constantly. It’s far from structured, but good fun to try and stay away. In a painfully, sick kind of way 🤣.
Congratulations on breaking the hour. Speaking of badges. There is one for climbing it 25 times. I do have that one. But not the hour badge. Close but have to shave 2 min. I wrote down your times for each corner. That gives me something to shoot for. I didn't know about the 3.2 wattage either. Thanks enjoy the video
Still at 1 hours and 10 minutes, giving it my all (or maybe close to... without falling of the bike at the end... so maybe not giving it my all afterall 😉 ) - Great video from you again 😊
The reason you want to put out more power on the steeper sections, is because that shortens the amount of time spent going relatively slower than what you do on the less step sections. You want to shorten the amount of time on the sections on which you go slowest.
Hey dude, I don’t know how it effects if you are on the pretty heavy end of things but most people will find 3.3W/kg average will get them up the Alp du Zwift in under an hour...but congrats! Great progress!
More power on the steeper sections has a rather simple explanation. At lower speeds the % increase over your competition will be much higher, e.g. going from 8 to 9kph on a steep section is a 12.5% increase in speed, while trying to get the same increase at 30kph is most likely more costly, especially if you factor in drafting mechanics (as long as you are not pushing at the front). Same reason you push on in a head wind rather than trying to push in a tailwind.
@@MarkLewisfitness thats about right Mark although as a bigger lad (no offence meant) you may want to look at .7 per kg? Which will probably equate to about the same tbh! If you're doing hard efforts like that it might be worth using something after 30 minutes though?
Hey Mark. I am also a larger rider, looking at getting a kickr bike. All the reviews are great just wondering how it’s handling a heavy rider. You have had for a while now, any issues other than some creaks? Thanks
Brilliant to get sub-hour @ 100kg+. I'm only 82kg so got 54'43" on my first go, so my target is sub-50 which is ambitious but one of my pals has done it. He was 59kg at the time, though. I think I mainly lost time through the corners so I like the tip about going up a gear as you hit the flatter sections. Recently Katie Kookaburra did a paced sub-hour ride up AdZ so may also be worthwhile looking out to see if she does another.
Hi Mark great video and has given me some real motivation to achieve the sub 60 climb, I’m currently at 101.43. Can you advise how you replay your rides on Zwift so I can go back watch my ride and note my corner times and accumulative ride time. Cheers
Great thanks Mark for getting back, I’m running Zwift on a Mac Pro as well so will check out the screen record function. Thanks again I’m heading back up the Alp....
Evening Mark. I found your channel very recently and it’s brilliant, I am watching videos for hours every day! A couple of questions if you don’t mind? I was 300lbs in July 20 and realised I needed to change my life. Since then I have dropped 60lbs and my VO2 max has increased to 47.5 from running alone (long and slow). How tall are you? Im 6.5 (you must be tall also if you are around 100kg and ripped! Love your videos, you are giving me motivation to push on to 100km runs (I’m a long way off). Liam
I accidentally did this ride today. I had planned, and thought I had signed up for a 90 minute endurance ride. The plan was to do it fasted. I was 10 minutes in, riding with my head down before I realised where I was. I threw myself into it and remembered reading that to get under the hour I should stay above 3.2 w/kg. I ended up doing it in 57.13. I totally ignored watts, speed, time and cadence. I put my faith in the process and I focused on keeping my HR under 159 bpm and my w/kg above 3.2. The next time I will fuel better than 2 Woodbines and an Irish Coffee before the ride😀
Yippie I did it on my 3rd attempt😎 64.35 down to 59.32 3.2w/k on the nose using your plan thanks Mark. Nearly required CPR and was swallowing puke for the last 3 mins... 🤢 had to ave 4.5 w/g when I saw eta 60.20
Lol I know what you mean. But that's the quickest way to get the tron bike. The tron is the neon bike. But you have to sign up for the alpes challenge. Or all your climbing doesn't count. I had 20000 feet of climbing before I found that out. But I have the tron now. You seem to me like you like challenges. I'm sure you will get it. I started in April. I have 124 of 133 in badges. Also I run outside with a stryd footpod. And use my phone for tracking the pod great video I'm EZ Rider on zwift. See you out there 👍
As a 6’5 . Non muscled 119kg zwifter Hats off to the sub 1 alp. Make sure you switch on the tron bike challenge. But the big question is the t shirts look really a really long fit, where are they from!
Great work Mark. Geeky question - what do you set your Zwift trainer difficulty to and what gear ratios have you set on the kickr bike? I’m not sure if maximising the “feel” of the hill would help or hurt.
Thanks. Had a first go at it this morning before work - 1:06.29. Although after a couple of drinks the night before and no breakfast hopefully there’s scope for better preparation...
Nice vid. this popped up in my feed as I have watched your GWT vids. That's a lot of thought going into doing the ADZ. I was watching your power and cadence. Did you run a compact chainset / big cassette or trainer difficulty not on 100% ? Go Rocky!!
Quick question on minimalist shoes. I haven't run for few years now. I did use barefoot shoes for several months then out of the blue my achilies went. Not bad but enough to put me off and I used standard 10mm drop shoes but always had constant knee and hip pain. This put me off. Have now got back into running. What shoes did you start with and or would recommend. I did try altra paradigm in shop but they felt awful. Like big pillows on my feet. I personally like a more grounded feel but unlikely to go back completely to barefoot shoe
The reason effort is better expended on steeper sections is air resistance - the drag inflicted by air resistance goes up in proportion to the square of the speed. So you are better off investing effort to go quicker when you speed is lowest, because then more of the energy goes into getting you up the hill and less in pushing air out of the way in front of you.
Great video...I’m in the same boat as you - looking to knock off a minute to get below the hour barrier. One question? Is there a resource where I can obtain all the relevant stats to show me my times for each turn and the cumulative time. Is it a case of going through all the Strava segments? I want to create a similar document to the one you had, to use during my next attempt. Thanks.
@@MarkLewisfitness ok..thanks for the heads up. Your method is definitely the way to go and has given me some extra motivation to get it done and dusted out of the way!
@@MarkLewisfitness I think you’ll be proud of me! I spent the last few hours painstakingly gathering data from Strava segments, some segments missing so having to do some excel calculations, but I now have the sheet ready with all targets requires to break the barrier! Probably having a go at the weekend. 😃
Great job and cool methodology. I thought I was doing good until I realized Zwift sets THE "Trainer Difficulty" at 50% (in the set up area)..now at 100%...well I am back to the drawing board.
This doesn’t affect your speed up the mountain. Zwift calculates your speed from your power output, having the trainer difficulty on lower settings just means you have to change gears less.
Trainer difficulty setting will not effect your speed. It is a very misunderstood setting in Zwift. Think of it as additional front chain rings. At 100% it is a large front chain ring, and as you lower it to 50% you are moving to smaller chainrings. Having that setting at either 100% or 50% does not make either effort more “real”. It still requires the same overall effort.
At 53, 126lbs 5’6. I did 54:04.. I used 2.25’ Kreitler roller with tentioner and 2 belts and using 52/12 chainring.my strategy was to hold my speed at 11-13.5 km/hr at 165-250.watts And 2.5-4.00w/kg..but it was tough one.. I hugged my handlebar and almost puke at the end of the ride..
Awesome video and congratulations! My first attempt at reaching the top today in Tour de Zwift stage 3. Total newbie on cycling, but I love it. This video got my really motivated to try sub 60 in the future! Cheers!
Nice video i will leave a abo :) my first try on Alpe was 100mins so 1h 40min... 103kg and 1 month into zwift. Getting on zwift was the best to lose wight and get fit (not just lifting wights) that i did till now
Hi Mark -- great video as usual. Have you ever tried Maurtens 320 drink mix? I am a 100 kg rider myself, and I find that one of these an hour on hard rides really makes a big difference in terms of power (they digest really quick, and have 80g of carbs per bottle).
The power on higher gradients is due to less aerodynamic drag when you are going slower on high gradient sections, whereas where it is flatter you are fighting both gravity and (virtual) wind
I'm getting panic attacks just watching the video LOL. Took me 13 minutes to kart my Wattbike up the Volcano climb KOM segment so this will be a massive struggle. I think I need to put some more practice in before I go anywhere near Alpe du Zwift!
I completed the Alpe du Zwift today, my first attempt, yay 1:23.14, pretty pleased. Used a few tips from Mark, the most useful one I would say is getting off the saddle which I did when the gradient was above 10%, those higher gradients don't last that long so you can just about get away with it, really helps the legs.
No homo or anything but do you lift weights? I started road biking about 6 months ago which I love (am an MTBer normally) and I've stripped off 4 stone this year. Its also made me realise I cant do both, either doms stops me road biking after leg day or I'm burned from a ride, I lost all my gains this year after cutting. Slowly getting them back. Struggling to manage/juggle cycling and weights, maybe I just need a few months to adjust my diet? be interested to know how you manage both.
My PB is 1:24:36... getting to 1 hour is my goal. I think I should not attach ADZ to any other route and use your strategy. Also, I should go in fresh. Thanks for the great tips brother!
Last time I rode the Alpe it wasn’t giving my previous corner to corner times, is that maybe due to my last attempt being over a month ago? 1st attempt was 1.01.50ish but I’d no idea what to maintain to beat the hour. This week on Tour de Zwift I worked at keeping over 3.2w/kg and came in 59m 14s 🙂 But I missed the elapsed time for when the climb started so timing was blind again. 1st go the early steep sections felt tough, made sure I used gears more this time and got into a pattern for which gear depending on the gradient. Also helped going up a gear as soon as gradient dropped off anywhere, I find it easier to maintain power output that way. Vary the leg work getting out of saddle for 60s at a time again kept the power up plus helped the time pass better too
@@MarkLewisfitness it looks that way, my first attempt was just over a month before I’d got brave enough to give it a second go. Maybe helped pulling my effort up doing it as a TDZ ride rather than solo
Watching your video again I didn’t even notice the radar dish at last corner or the buildings on the left as you head to the finish arch 😳 Hydration I try to drink every 5 minutes but find it’s hard to keep track of time Zwifting compared to my old sessions garmin watching on a fluid trainer
You registered your corner split yourself I assume? Zwift wasn't saving them when I was using the prog. Much to my discontent. I could have save them in my meter but that's distracting........
As a 67kg rider, seeing your raw wattage numbers is just completely terrifying 😅 If you’ve developed a good aero posture on the bike you must be an absolute weapon in flat TTs and triathlon bike sections
Just managed to go sub 60 yesterday (59.06) at 100kg’s and upped my FTP to 321! Thanks for the motivation Mark 🚴
Thank you for your in-depth review. I love your enthusiastic, yet relaxed form of speaking. Great!
I managed it today too. Used a similar approach, first proper attempt was 60:25 so only needed half a minute off. I set off quicker and was about 1:30 ahead at half way. But, I was tiring, and was worried I’d gone too hard at the beginning. The last 5k was a real mental battle, digging deep to hold the pace. Finished in 59:35. Felt physically sick at the end, but glad I’ve got the badge and achieved that milestone. Congrats to all that have done this!
As a 108 kg rider, I am working on getting my weight down a little bit more. I average about 275 watts up the alpe, but that is just a little bit over 2.5 w/kg. This video is very inspiring and helpful. THANK YOU!
Get your weight down a bit and your power up a bit and you are good to go! Those numbers are not 1,000,000 miles away from where you need to be.
@@MarkLewisfitness Thank you! It’s always been discouraging being a heavier rider on long climbs especially a monster like alpe du zwift. But I’m just so inspired right now seeing this video! About to get on zwift for another trip up the alpe now. Glad I found your channel and stoked to be subscribed. Cheers!
You are an Expert, in determination and strength, that's all it takes to climb on a bike/Zwift. What you have proved is try hard enough and most things are achievable.
Lovely video Mark. I'm an Alpe Du Zwift enthusiast and a video like this is so so beneficial to anyone wanting to do a sub 1 hr
This is awesome! One of the most informative videos I have ever viewed on any Zwift element and UA-cam!!
Great to hear you liked it!
Tips:
-Set your trainer read out to be 3 second average.
-Don't be afraid to lower your trainer difficulty if your hearing is suited to flat terrain, i.e you don't have a 28 or 32 cassette.
-Make damn sure you activate the Everest challenge before you start your AdZ missions, it'll work towards your Tron bike.
-Visit the drop shop before you climb, get yourself a climber frame (Canyon Aeroad/Specialized Tarmac SL7) and some climbing wheels, ENVE 3.4 or DT Swiss Arc (quicker than Zipp 202).
You're welcome :-)
Cannondale evo is the best climbing bike in zwift, cheap too. Pair that with enve 3.4 and you have the best climbing setup short of the lightweight meilenstein wheels that you can “win” at the top of AdZ.
I just recently beat the hour up the alpe. I'm on a similar journey to yourself, albeit nowhere near as far along. I'm turning 50 this year, had let my physical condition slide over the years, peaking at 107 KG a couple of years ago (only 6ft tall). I was at 104 Kg in November, so started to watch what I ate, was 101 on January the 1st. I'd bounced up and down from low 90s to low 100s for years. I started counting calories (working out what I could eat that filled me up, gave me what I needed nutritionally, but made my calorie budget achievable), I also went on zwift every day....I usually needed to burn calories at night to keep inside my target. My weight is now 87 Kg, my FTP is up from 240 to 300, v02 max from 42 to 52. I went from being a strong cat D in zwift (which is where I was for a couple of years) to being a catB. I'm not competitive in B and it seems a huge, almost impossible feat to become competitive in it....however that's how I felt when I entered cat C. I've still some way to go to get to where I want to be with weight and cycling but I'll get there. Loving watching your videos, they help me keep my focus on change.
Amazing! Inspired by your history!
I typed my weight wrong, and a bunch of other stuff, I was 78Kg not 87Kg, I'm still down around the 80kg mark. I drifted up to mid 80's but was back at 79 a couple of weeks ago. FTP is no longer 300, but I hope to get it back up there by June.
Actually maybe I was 87 Kg when I wrote that, I got to 78 KG and have been hovering around 80 ever since
Cheers Mark! Followed your advice and did 57 min climb this morning, first attempt. Am well chuffed!
Superb time! Great stuff👍😀
Most important learning point so far - a renewed love of the Rocky 4 soundtrack!! 😂. Currently playing as I wash the dishes!!
Brilliant videos - the only content creator who I subscribe to AND have an alert when you post a new video so I can come and watch it. Truly hope your following grows and grows!
I'm soon to be 57 years and weigh a massive 57.8 kg.
I ride the Alp standing the whole way as I find I can sit on 240w and up to 250 on a good day. 47 min is my record, Seated would be a very in painful experience I think. Nice video. And great advice.
Awesome. I'm sitting at 1 hr 4 minutes on this climb. Will use your tips. My added challenge is that I'm 69 kg and 65 years old. Just made it to category B and level 26 on Zwift. I've got my work cutout. Thx
Success. Today I achieved 59:15 on Alde du Zwift. All about pacing as you said. Thanks for the advice. Happy Birthday
I'm a 62kg rider new to zwift but run all the time I realize since Zwift how weak my legs are lol I done a 1h4min the other day and was sure I was gonna sub 1h and did do a Pb but another 1h4min so only just lool I will get it lol nice upload.
Awesomeness, pure awesomeness! Congrats on the achievement and please keep these magnificent videos coming!
The first video of you going up the Alpe du Zwift is absolutly epic. Brave to show the complete footage. Great work. Sorry that I had a good laugh at that. Me myself I am still way above the one hour mark and I feel sick everytime I go up there. I am a bit jealous of you grabbing "my" badge.
The joys of being a light rider. I'm putting out around 180 watts and still finishing that climb in roughly the same time. It is a crazy tough ride though.
Have not read the comments below...but PR is not "Previous Ride" [but it was in your case]....its Personal Record. Love your attitude and humility. Keep doing what you do.
...only 8:50 into the video above......Non-Pro tip: Anticipate the flat sections [in the turns] by down shifting and beginning to add torque before the gradient eases.....also step up shift and spin-up the wattage as you hit the base of a grade increase. Good move on the standing too
I did 73 minutes first time having no clue what I was doing, 63 minutes on my next attempt and 67 minutes today, but that was part of a longer ride including the epic kom before the alpe so I was really happy with that.
Your tip of the corner times and cumulative times sounds excellent, I’ll try and pull those out and try for sub hour next time.
As a person who is also coming to cycling from a running background - this methodology is very common in the running world. Hitting your splits to manage pacing. Great job. I haven't made my first Alpe attempt yet....I guess I should probably bite the bullet and give it a go. No way I can hold even 3 watts per kg for an hour....not even close. So I'm guessing it is going to be a lengthy bit of suffering.
Thanks for all your videos! Love the hilarity and rawness of your truthfulness. Found you on Zwift and am following you there too!
I got drawn to the videos of you running with your dog; I do not even own a bike but your videos are just so entertaining, keep it up man.
Congrats on the subs and glad to have subscribed. Enjoy your sense of humor.
Did this yesterday (my third ascent). The spreadsheet of your times was invaluable, thank you! It didn't help that my chain came off TWICE in the first two minutes, I was so angry that I was nevertheless able to beat your time to the first corner... The Rocky IV soundtrack is absolutely key.
Thanks for the advice Mark used your spreadsheet idea and what times I need to be at each turn, saved 11 minutes off of my previous time 01:16:02 to 1:04:52
If I want to go under the hour on Alpe du Zwift I just get on the bike pedal and when I get to the top it’s less than an hour. I recommend anyone wanting to go under the hour follow this exact method. You’re welcome, I’ll be here all week. Cheers.
Good explanation of tactics. Interesting seeing people’s different approaches. I’ve got a rowing background, so used to just sitting at a prescribed power output for a sustained period of time. Nothing too exciting.
Best way I’ve found to approach the Alp is to know what my target watts is, and just stick to it. Making sure each segment hits the average allows you stay on track. Not deviating too much from your average is more efficient as well. Bouncing between mid 200s and mid 400s on watts is hugely inefficient compared to just sticking to 320ish watts the whole way
I found your channel just now (and by chance).
Getting the Alp d'Zwift under 1 hour with your weight is not easy. Great work. Congratulations!
My goal is to climb it under 45 minutes, but I'm a little bit lighter than you. Maybe I'll try it next week.
Congratulations on your channel and congratulations on your persistence and determination.
Why did I watch this, I don't know but I'm glad I did. Pumped to give it a try.
Great job, love the dry humour 😂🍻🏴👍
Legend. Loved it. Thanks for taking the time to create this clip. 👍
Mark - great chellenge - one that is close to my heart. For what it's worth, your first tip - looking at corner times and cumulative corner times is potentially problematic - if people go off too hard, which pretty much everyone does the first time they do it, it simply encourages you to go EVEN harder the next time - exaccerbating the issue of pacing the whole climb. I would strongly suggest doing the climb once, then looking at your average power/weight or the whole climb and using THAT as your reference point - try going 0.1W/kg harder the next time etc.
Your 2nd tip -fuelling is important no doubt but for an effort of an hour, most people have enough glycogen stores to last them the whole effort without drinking/eating which will have a detrimental impact on breathing.
I've climbed the Alpe du Zwift 24 times and my PB is 40:34. My advice on going up the Alpe fast is as follows:
(1) choose the lightest bike possible (Tarmac Pro if you have it) with the lightest wheels possible (Lightweight Meilenstein if you have them).
(2) reduce your trainer intensity (settings menu) to 10-20% - this will reduce or eliminate the need to change gears and you can focus on your performance not your bike. 10-20% is optimal (as opposed to zero) as doing so will allow you to keep a constant cadence and it will automatically put more power down the steeper sections - a useful tip that you correctly included.
(3) draft - enter a race that uses Road to the Sky route - this has a 5km lead in to the climb which you should take relatively easy but it then provides you with lots of people to draft - particularly important for the 2 ever so slighly flatter, longer sections of the climb
(4) As above - fuel and water before the ride - try having a whole bottle - this should allow you to focus on breathing
Good luck everyone - hope this helps.
Yet another great video Mark. I love your direct, no-nonsense style. keep em coming. And congrats on reaching 5000 subs.... tell your kids you're more awesome than them. 1 question though. What do you reckon is the best way of noting your times to each corner other than trying to take screenshots or write things down in a sweaty mess. Strava doesn't seem to give easy numbers either.
I recently took just over 5-minutes off my best Alpe time, down to 91-mins, and that new time was done as the last climb as part of doing the Four Horsemen route for the first time ever, so apparently the best tip I can give for knocking time off your Alpe PB is this: Do a really really hard and tiring ride full of climbs for about two and a half hours before Alpe du Zwift and you'll be golden :) haha :)
Congrats on the sub-60mins!
Great strategy, Mark. Amazed to see you have had different tries, and reflect thinking about why and how to ride faster next time. I'll learn from you. Ride on.
What I always found useful is doing interval workouts up Alpe. This way you switch intensities and have specific rest periods. But mainly because it breaks down your 60min effort into 1-2-3 or 4 minute chunks..
Bear and Grin it
SST-short
Are my go-to workouts that get you around 45min up the mountain
Watched you video today so thought I would give it. Did it look n 61 mins, gutted but was 31 mins faster than last time. So will try again next week. Thanks for a good video
Congrats on this great achievement. I think we can assume that your FTP is about the average watts it took to finish this since the definition of FTP is "power you can achieve for 1 hour". Therefore, here's my tip for getting a PB without fretting about each corner's time: Just start the ride by riding the minimum watts to keep your graph yellow. Since yellow is your FTP "range". If you dig in, you will see it go orange (Vo2 Max land) and then red (anaerobic) - memorize these numbers. Try to stay away from any orange or red until you hit corner 2 or so. If you time a 3+ min VO2 max effort (>115% of FTP) at the end of the ride, you will likely beat your PB. You likely won't be able to hold orange or red for more than 3 mins so save it for last. Just stay yellow and start lower than FTP. You'll crush it.
Bang on
you all prolly dont give a damn but does any of you know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account..?
I stupidly lost my login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
@Jaiden Sullivan instablaster :)
@Timothy Yosef Thanks for your reply. I got to the site thru google and im in the hacking process atm.
Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Timothy Yosef It worked and I actually got access to my account again. Im so happy:D
Thank you so much you really help me out :D
You can do even faster if you do more treshold training, all the green stuff in your workout log will disappear then and be replaced with yellow stuff. AdZ basically is the full-hour FTP test with added concentration so you do not forget to increase cadence hard as soon as the short "flat" sections come.
Super video Mark, thank you. Taking your advice on each section for my next attempt - although I am further away from the hour mark for the time being, it is a goal. I too did not ride the hill back down on my first go. Was just happy to be at the top and didn't even cross my mind to go back down!
Thanks for the guidance. New to Zwift so yet to attempt the ride
Awesome job, you crushed it!
I’m a heavier rider as well at 104kg. On my second attempt I did as part of Fire & Ice and did it in 62:40. I didn’t really go in with a plan and that’s probably what I was missing. So I’ve created a spreadsheet and will give it another try. Also will just do the road to sky to minimize up front gain/distance. Should be interesting to see how it goes.
Good way to do it. That's how I got it the first time. Every subsequent time, I aim for a minimum of 1 watt over my 3.2 w/kg average for each segment. So I push out 3.2 on the ride over to see what that number is (current is 222 watts), so I will aim for an average of 223 watts for each segment. If I fall under, I remember how many watts I was under (let's say I did one segment in 212 - I remember I have to make up 10 watts through the course of the ride). Next segment doesn't have to make up all 10 watts, but if I chip away at it and break even again before the end it's fine. Then sprint the end, and golden. Sub-60 every time (except my last climb, where a herniated disc in the back said 'screw your hard efforts, just pedal easy' and I obeyed its demands).
Yes! I accomplished this myself yesterday! 59:30. Definitely not an easy task but really happy I’ve done it. Took 3.3w/kg @ 63kg.
Thank you for a very informative and helpful video! I've been struggling to pass the 50 minute mark on the Alpe and really found your math logic for the corners tempo's for varying gradients helpful, I'm pretty new to Zwift but I've been doing some research and hoping the Meilenstein's I won last time I went up might take off the 42 seconds I need to dip below 50! Good stuff, subscribed!
Like the gel comment - plenty of research showing that glucose/sweet taste in the mouth increases endurance effort - even if spat out - more than placebo effect. Also acts as a pain killer in neonates.
Another great video matey! Keep them coming.
Mark, recently found your channel. Went back and watched many of your old videos and love your channel. I've been riding for a few years, got into zwift during the lockdown. My last FTP test was 306W at 85kg. My endurance is good, but I'd like to increase my sprinting power. I've heard that lifting is the way to go, but I'll admit I'm fearful of weighted squats. I've known several people who have seriously messed up their backs from squating and would like to know your opinion.
Brilliant video again 👌🏻. You should ride with one of the ‘pace partners’ sometime. You would be fine with the ‘B’ pace partner. He rides constantly anywhere between 3.2 - 4 watts per kg. His route is good as well. There are usually quite a few other riders as well so it can be a good group. Ride with him for 30 mins to get a feel for it then ‘Breakaway’ and try and stay away for 30 mins 😆. Unlike us, the pace partners don’t tire and keep the power constantly. It’s far from structured, but good fun to try and stay away. In a painfully, sick kind of way 🤣.
Congratulations on breaking the hour. Speaking of badges. There is one for climbing it 25 times. I do have that one. But not the hour badge. Close but have to shave 2 min. I wrote down your times for each corner. That gives me something to shoot for. I didn't know about the 3.2 wattage either. Thanks enjoy the video
@@MarkLewisfitness you can also Everest😂
Still at 1 hours and 10 minutes, giving it my all (or maybe close to... without falling of the bike at the end... so maybe not giving it my all afterall 😉 ) - Great video from you again 😊
Very motivating! I want that damn badge now!
The reason you want to put out more power on the steeper sections, is because that shortens the amount of time spent going relatively slower than what you do on the less step sections. You want to shorten the amount of time on the sections on which you go slowest.
Hey dude, I don’t know how it effects if you are on the pretty heavy end of things but most people will find 3.3W/kg average will get them up the Alp du Zwift in under an hour...but congrats! Great progress!
I think I am just going to aim for 2W/kg at 120kg and just get done when I get done.. TDZ#2021 ... inbound..
More power on the steeper sections has a rather simple explanation. At lower speeds the % increase over your competition will be much higher, e.g. going from 8 to 9kph on a steep section is a 12.5% increase in speed, while trying to get the same increase at 30kph is most likely more costly, especially if you factor in drafting mechanics (as long as you are not pushing at the front). Same reason you push on in a head wind rather than trying to push in a tailwind.
Quite amazing how smashed you were during the first effort.
Whats your fuel strategy on long sessions?
@@MarkLewisfitness thats about right Mark although as a bigger lad (no offence meant) you may want to look at .7 per kg? Which will probably equate to about the same tbh!
If you're doing hard efforts like that it might be worth using something after 30 minutes though?
Perfect, watchable delivery, interesting points of info, nice use of technology. Suscribe. Greets from Austria.
Hey Mark. I am also a larger rider, looking at getting a kickr bike. All the reviews are great just wondering how it’s handling a heavy rider. You have had for a while now, any issues other than some creaks? Thanks
Brilliant to get sub-hour @ 100kg+. I'm only 82kg so got 54'43" on my first go, so my target is sub-50 which is ambitious but one of my pals has done it. He was 59kg at the time, though. I think I mainly lost time through the corners so I like the tip about going up a gear as you hit the flatter sections. Recently Katie Kookaburra did a paced sub-hour ride up AdZ so may also be worthwhile looking out to see if she does another.
Brilliant as usual. Very useful having the times per corner and cumulative. Challenge is on. New watch?
Hi Mark great video and has given me some real motivation to achieve the sub 60 climb, I’m currently at 101.43. Can you advise how you replay your rides on Zwift so I can go back watch my ride and note my corner times and accumulative ride time. Cheers
Great thanks Mark for getting back, I’m running Zwift on a Mac Pro as well so will check out the screen record function. Thanks again I’m heading back up the Alp....
Evening Mark. I found your channel very recently and it’s brilliant, I am watching videos for hours every day! A couple of questions if you don’t mind? I was 300lbs in July 20 and realised I needed to change my life. Since then I have dropped 60lbs and my VO2 max has increased to 47.5 from running alone (long and slow). How tall are you? Im 6.5 (you must be tall also if you are around 100kg and ripped! Love your videos, you are giving me motivation to push on to 100km runs (I’m a long way off). Liam
I accidentally did this ride today. I had planned, and thought I had signed up for a 90 minute endurance ride. The plan was to do it fasted. I was 10 minutes in, riding with my head down before I realised where I was. I threw myself into it and remembered reading that to get under the hour I should stay above 3.2 w/kg. I ended up doing it in 57.13.
I totally ignored watts, speed, time and cadence. I put my faith in the process and I focused on keeping my HR under 159 bpm and my w/kg above 3.2.
The next time I will fuel better than 2 Woodbines and an Irish Coffee before the ride😀
Good time for unprepared 👏
Excellent analysis - I’ll try again” urrr tomorrow !
great video. how did you dig out the corner times from your last effort please?
Yippie I did it on my 3rd attempt😎 64.35 down to 59.32 3.2w/k on the nose using your plan thanks Mark.
Nearly required CPR and was swallowing puke for the last 3 mins... 🤢 had to ave 4.5 w/g when I saw eta 60.20
That’s awesome. And to be 20 secs off and still get it must have been epic!!!! Good going 💪💪💪
@@MarkLewisfitness Cheers fella
Had a go after watching this and came in at 58:05, pretty chuffed considering I'm a fatty fatty fat fat.
Lol I know what you mean. But that's the quickest way to get the tron bike. The tron is the neon bike. But you have to sign up for the alpes challenge. Or all your climbing doesn't count. I had 20000 feet of climbing before I found that out. But I have the tron now. You seem to me like you like challenges. I'm sure you will get it. I started in April. I have 124 of 133 in badges. Also I run outside with a stryd footpod. And use my phone for tracking the pod great video I'm EZ Rider on zwift. See you out there 👍
As a 6’5 . Non muscled 119kg zwifter Hats off to the sub 1 alp. Make sure you switch on the tron bike challenge. But the big question is the t shirts look really a really long fit, where are they from!
Great work Mark. Geeky question - what do you set your Zwift trainer difficulty to and what gear ratios have you set on the kickr bike? I’m not sure if maximising the “feel” of the hill would help or hurt.
Thanks. Had a first go at it this morning before work - 1:06.29. Although after a couple of drinks the night before and no breakfast hopefully there’s scope for better preparation...
I love your vids!! Keep it up!
Really good.video. I’ve got a lot to make up at 1hr 9 :(. How did you get your times for each corner? Is that timing information available somewhere?
Congratulations ...you deserved it !
Nice vid. this popped up in my feed as I have watched your GWT vids. That's a lot of thought going into doing the ADZ. I was watching your power and cadence. Did you run a compact chainset / big cassette or trainer difficulty not on 100% ?
Go Rocky!!
Mark. Can I ask, where did you find your corner times for the climb. Planning to smash the Alpes back doors in again this week 😉
I think it was just from previous video recording. I am not aware if any in game Zwift corner times.
If you upload to Strava, there are ZwiftInsider verified segments for each.
@@markus-baumann Hi Markus. Do you need a Strava Premium account?
Quick question on minimalist shoes. I haven't run for few years now. I did use barefoot shoes for several months then out of the blue my achilies went. Not bad but enough to put me off and I used standard 10mm drop shoes but always had constant knee and hip pain. This put me off.
Have now got back into running. What shoes did you start with and or would recommend. I did try altra paradigm in shop but they felt awful. Like big pillows on my feet. I personally like a more grounded feel but unlikely to go back completely to barefoot shoe
Yesterday was my first time under 60min (58:31), Think it was around 3.25-3.28W/kg (74.6kg). Very pumped! 😃
The reason effort is better expended on steeper sections is air resistance - the drag inflicted by air resistance goes up in proportion to the square of the speed. So you are better off investing effort to go quicker when you speed is lowest, because then more of the energy goes into getting you up the hill and less in pushing air out of the way in front of you.
Great video...I’m in the same boat as you - looking to knock off a minute to get below the hour barrier. One question? Is there a resource where I can obtain all the relevant stats to show me my times for each turn and the cumulative time. Is it a case of going through all the Strava segments? I want to create a similar document to the one you had, to use during my next attempt. Thanks.
@@MarkLewisfitness ok..thanks for the heads up. Your method is definitely the way to go and has given me some extra motivation to get it done and dusted out of the way!
@@MarkLewisfitness I think you’ll be proud of me! I spent the last few hours painstakingly gathering data from Strava segments, some segments missing so having to do some excel calculations, but I now have the sheet ready with all targets requires to break the barrier! Probably having a go at the weekend. 😃
Interesting to see your time in zone, you spike up heaps into z5+, kills me if I do that! Great work.
Great job and cool methodology. I thought I was doing good until I realized Zwift sets THE "Trainer Difficulty" at 50% (in the set up area)..now at 100%...well I am back to the drawing board.
This doesn’t affect your speed up the mountain. Zwift calculates your speed from your power output, having the trainer difficulty on lower settings just means you have to change gears less.
Trainer difficulty setting will not effect your speed. It is a very misunderstood setting in Zwift. Think of it as additional front chain rings. At 100% it is a large front chain ring, and as you lower it to 50% you are moving to smaller chainrings. Having that setting at either 100% or 50% does not make either effort more “real”. It still requires the same overall effort.
Any chance you could post your split/culmulative times for the sub-hour? Edited at end of comment.
I did 1h6m on my first attempt BUT that was at the end of the Uber Pretzel (and my second attempt during Four Horseman was even slower), so I'm hoping I will be able to do better if I have a rest day or two first and only do the Alpe...
Corner Time Total
21 04:09 04:09
20 03:41 07:51
19 00:52 08:43
18 01:31 10:15
17 01:58 12:12
16 01:04 13:18
15 02:54 16:13
14 01:29 17:43
13 03:33 21:18
12 02:13 23:33
11 02:13 25:46:00
10 02:42 28:29:00
9 02:46 31:16:00
8 03:09 34:26:00
7 02:34 37:01:00
6 05:20 42:22:00
5 01:58 44:21:00
4 02:14 46:35:00
3 04:15 50:50:00
2 02:20 53:12:00
1 02:42 55:55:00
0 03:14 59:09:00
At 53, 126lbs 5’6. I did 54:04.. I used 2.25’ Kreitler roller with tentioner and 2 belts and using 52/12 chainring.my strategy was to hold my speed at 11-13.5 km/hr at 165-250.watts And 2.5-4.00w/kg..but it was tough one.. I hugged my handlebar and almost puke at the end of the ride..
Awesome video and congratulations! My first attempt at reaching the top today in Tour de Zwift stage 3. Total newbie on cycling, but I love it. This video got my really motivated to try sub 60 in the future! Cheers!
Nice video i will leave a abo :) my first try on Alpe was 100mins so 1h 40min... 103kg and 1 month into zwift. Getting on zwift was the best to lose wight and get fit (not just lifting wights) that i did till now
Hi Mark -- great video as usual. Have you ever tried Maurtens 320 drink mix? I am a 100 kg rider myself, and I find that one of these an hour on hard rides really makes a big difference in terms of power (they digest really quick, and have 80g of carbs per bottle).
Plenty wrong with me but Rocky 4 sound track is worth at least 15 watts on my trainer. Good tips thanks
I need to get under two hours
I'm with you! Getting under 2 1/2 hrs sounds like a miracle to me atm. =D
The power on higher gradients is due to less aerodynamic drag when you are going slower on high gradient sections, whereas where it is flatter you are fighting both gravity and (virtual) wind
I'm getting panic attacks just watching the video LOL. Took me 13 minutes to kart my Wattbike up the Volcano climb KOM segment so this will be a massive struggle. I think I need to put some more practice in before I go anywhere near Alpe du Zwift!
I completed the Alpe du Zwift today, my first attempt, yay 1:23.14, pretty pleased. Used a few tips from Mark, the most useful one I would say is getting off the saddle which I did when the gradient was above 10%, those higher gradients don't last that long so you can just about get away with it, really helps the legs.
No homo or anything but do you lift weights? I started road biking about 6 months ago which I love (am an MTBer normally) and I've stripped off 4 stone this year. Its also made me realise I cant do both, either doms stops me road biking after leg day or I'm burned from a ride, I lost all my gains this year after cutting. Slowly getting them back. Struggling to manage/juggle cycling and weights, maybe I just need a few months to adjust my diet? be interested to know how you manage both.
Fairly new to Zwift and not sure where do I go to select this ride? Do you have to be at a certain level before it is available?
Yup... That soundtrack is wicked!:-)
My PB is 1:24:36... getting to 1 hour is my goal. I think I should not attach ADZ to any other route and use your strategy. Also, I should go in fresh. Thanks for the great tips brother!
Last time I rode the Alpe it wasn’t giving my previous corner to corner times, is that maybe due to my last attempt being over a month ago? 1st attempt was 1.01.50ish but I’d no idea what to maintain to beat the hour. This week on Tour de Zwift I worked at keeping over 3.2w/kg and came in 59m 14s 🙂 But I missed the elapsed time for when the climb started so timing was blind again. 1st go the early steep sections felt tough, made sure I used gears more this time and got into a pattern for which gear depending on the gradient. Also helped going up a gear as soon as gradient dropped off anywhere, I find it easier to maintain power output that way. Vary the leg work getting out of saddle for 60s at a time again kept the power up plus helped the time pass better too
@@MarkLewisfitness it looks that way, my first attempt was just over a month before I’d got brave enough to give it a second go. Maybe helped pulling my effort up doing it as a TDZ ride rather than solo
Watching your video again I didn’t even notice the radar dish at last corner or the buildings on the left as you head to the finish arch 😳 Hydration I try to drink every 5 minutes but find it’s hard to keep track of time Zwifting compared to my old sessions garmin watching on a fluid trainer
Love the zwift videos! Try mount Ventoux next
"There is turkey leftovers in the fridge, and they will not eat themselves". Brilliant!
LOL - I thought he was vegan??
You registered your corner split yourself I assume? Zwift wasn't saving them when I was using the prog. Much to my discontent. I could have save them in my meter but that's distracting........
Congratulations 🎉🎊❗