Tips for Zwift with Samuel Brännlund
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5 min reading
We continue our theme on indoor training and Zwift with expert tips from Zwift star Samuel Brännlund.
What do you need to compete on Zwift?
The first thing you need is a direct drive trainer, meaning you attach your bike to it instead of the rear wheel. This is important because otherwise, you will have very misleading numbers, as a trainer where you keep the rear wheel can show very incorrect data. Alternatively, you can invest in a Smartbike; the advantage is that it’s always ready, and you won’t have to sweat on your expensive outdoor bike. The downside is that they are pricier, but if you ride indoors a lot, it can definitely be worth it.
If you are competing at a slightly higher level, it sometimes requires that the trainer has a maximum margin of error of 1%, so keep that in mind when you’re buying. For larger races, a second power source may also be required to double-check the numbers, so you would need your power pedals or power crankset as a secondary source. But this is only if you want to compete a bit more seriously, so when you're just starting out, this is not something you absolutely need.
The next most important piece of equipment is a good fan because you need to be able to cool yourself down properly to perform well. Everyone who has tried heat training or riding in a small room without cooling knows that it quickly becomes very uncomfortable, so buy a big fan or several small ones! You also need a towel to hang over the handlebars, both to wipe off sweat and to protect the bike from sweat.
Then Umaras 1L bottle is perfect as you will want to drink a lot, and since the races are short, you actually don’t need any energy intake. But it doesn’t hurt to have some energy powder in the bottle, mostly because it can be a bit psychologically positive to have a taste of something sweet.
What do you need to compete on Zwift?
The first thing you need is a direct drive trainer, meaning you attach your bike to it instead of the rear wheel. This is important because otherwise, you will have very misleading numbers, as a trainer where you keep the rear wheel can show very incorrect data. Alternatively, you can invest in a Smartbike; the advantage is that it’s always ready, and you won’t have to sweat on your expensive outdoor bike. The downside is that they are pricier, but if you ride indoors a lot, it can definitely be worth it.
If you are competing at a slightly higher level, it sometimes requires that the trainer has a maximum margin of error of 1%, so keep that in mind when you’re buying. For larger races, a second power source may also be required to double-check the numbers, so you would need your power pedals or power crankset as a secondary source. But this is only if you want to compete a bit more seriously, so when you're just starting out, this is not something you absolutely need.
The next most important piece of equipment is a good fan because you need to be able to cool yourself down properly to perform well. Everyone who has tried heat training or riding in a small room without cooling knows that it quickly becomes very uncomfortable, so buy a big fan or several small ones! You also need a towel to hang over the handlebars, both to wipe off sweat and to protect the bike from sweat.
Then Umaras 1L bottle is perfect as you will want to drink a lot, and since the races are short, you actually don’t need any energy intake. But it doesn’t hurt to have some energy powder in the bottle, mostly because it can be a bit psychologically positive to have a taste of something sweet.
How do I compete?
If you are completely new, I would suggest signing up for some smaller events, but with different characteristics and courses. This is so that you can learn how the dynamics of the game work in smaller groups and how to stay in the pack effectively. What everyone experiences at the beginning is that you are either first or last in the group and that it leads to very choppy riding. The only way to learn to avoid this is to participate in many races and really focus on learning to ride efficiently; try not to aim to win the races but instead be the one in the pack that finishes with the lowest W/KG.
Also choose races with different types of courses to find out which type suits you best, and also discover your strengths and weaknesses by racing them in different ways. Try a long sprint or breakaway instead of just sitting and waiting for the last 200m; it doesn’t matter too much if you totally fail in your attempts since you haven't invested in entry fees and long car trips to the race. So see it as an opportunity to really find your strengths as a cyclist and then work on them. If you are a sprinter, then train specifically for that. Being moderately fast uphill and then moderately fast in a sprint won't win you any races.
As an example from my own Zwifting, I can recall the winter I was chasing ranking points. I had an opponent who always beat me in the sprints, so I looked for the races he was participating in and signed up for them. I then tried many different tactics to find a way to beat him on flat courses; he probably wondered more than once what I was up to. But eventually, I discovered that if it went really hard in the last 3-4km, he couldn't sprint properly, so after that, I started beating him in most races and then overtook him in the rankings. The tactics you should use during the races depend on what you are good at, so experiment and find your own strategy. However, what applies to everyone is to learn how to ride technically well. One example of this is coming into a hill with higher speed than others and then maintaining a steady pace up.
What should I train to become good at Zwift racing?
The first thing you should do, as I mentioned earlier, is to participate in quite a few races, just to learn the game and get a feel for what you need to train on. But what you will always need to be quite good at is training short hard efforts repeatedly, so quite a bit of short/short intervals like 30/30, 40/20, or 60/120. All races start almost max for 40 seconds then settle down a bit, so you need to be prepared for that. If you are strong in the time interval of 15 seconds to 3 minutes, you have very good conditions to win races. If you are strong in long intervals, you simply have to choose races that include a longer climb.
But most importantly, it's about having fun and getting the training done. A good tip for that is to join a team. Or if you and your friends start your own team on Zwift, then create a Discord channel where you can talk and keep track of tactics during the races. Racing as a team and together with others will make it all much more enjoyable; the winter will go by faster than ever and maybe you’ll have made some new friends along the way.
Race hard this winter! //Samuel
If you are completely new, I would suggest signing up for some smaller events, but with different characteristics and courses. This is so that you can learn how the dynamics of the game work in smaller groups and how to stay in the pack effectively. What everyone experiences at the beginning is that you are either first or last in the group and that it leads to very choppy riding. The only way to learn to avoid this is to participate in many races and really focus on learning to ride efficiently; try not to aim to win the races but instead be the one in the pack that finishes with the lowest W/KG.
Also choose races with different types of courses to find out which type suits you best, and also discover your strengths and weaknesses by racing them in different ways. Try a long sprint or breakaway instead of just sitting and waiting for the last 200m; it doesn’t matter too much if you totally fail in your attempts since you haven't invested in entry fees and long car trips to the race. So see it as an opportunity to really find your strengths as a cyclist and then work on them. If you are a sprinter, then train specifically for that. Being moderately fast uphill and then moderately fast in a sprint won't win you any races.
As an example from my own Zwifting, I can recall the winter I was chasing ranking points. I had an opponent who always beat me in the sprints, so I looked for the races he was participating in and signed up for them. I then tried many different tactics to find a way to beat him on flat courses; he probably wondered more than once what I was up to. But eventually, I discovered that if it went really hard in the last 3-4km, he couldn't sprint properly, so after that, I started beating him in most races and then overtook him in the rankings. The tactics you should use during the races depend on what you are good at, so experiment and find your own strategy. However, what applies to everyone is to learn how to ride technically well. One example of this is coming into a hill with higher speed than others and then maintaining a steady pace up.
What should I train to become good at Zwift racing?
The first thing you should do, as I mentioned earlier, is to participate in quite a few races, just to learn the game and get a feel for what you need to train on. But what you will always need to be quite good at is training short hard efforts repeatedly, so quite a bit of short/short intervals like 30/30, 40/20, or 60/120. All races start almost max for 40 seconds then settle down a bit, so you need to be prepared for that. If you are strong in the time interval of 15 seconds to 3 minutes, you have very good conditions to win races. If you are strong in long intervals, you simply have to choose races that include a longer climb.
But most importantly, it's about having fun and getting the training done. A good tip for that is to join a team. Or if you and your friends start your own team on Zwift, then create a Discord channel where you can talk and keep track of tactics during the races. Racing as a team and together with others will make it all much more enjoyable; the winter will go by faster than ever and maybe you’ll have made some new friends along the way.
Race hard this winter! //Samuel
