Tour de Zwift Pro-Am: Bologna
On Thursday, the Indoor Specialist squad took on the second race in Zwift’s newest Pro-Am Invitational: Tour de Zwift. The series of races pits 23 teams against each other in an epic battle for points on some of Zwift’s best race circuits.
The Competition
The men’s Pro-Am Invitational features 16 of the strongest amateur / community organized teams on Zwift and 7 UCI-level professional teams. The merging of the professional with the amateur teams shows exactly why eSports Cycling is so unique: Zwift racing is a skill that takes time to perfect!
While we love our week-in, week-out community races, getting to line up against professional teams on our own turf is such an incredible opportunity!
Indoor Specialist racers who lined up for this race were: Aaron Coles, Matt Brandt, Matt Curbeau, Matt Gardiner & Ryan Larson.
The Course
Zwift decided to turn up the heat for the 2nd race in the men’s Tour de Zwift Pro-Am. This week, racers took on a course which has one of the most technical and steep climbs in the game: Bologna. This course is Zwift’s virtual rendition of the 2019 Giro d’Italia prologue ITT.
The course starts with a deceptively easy 5.9km (3.7mi) over gently rolling terrain which is a net-downhill. Enjoy it while it lasts, because what racers are greeted with at the end is a wall of a climb for 2km (1.2mi). The gradients are so steep, racers will look as though they are standing still while putting out over 6 watts-per-kilogram.
For the full details on how to properly pace this course, our team’s resident Time Trialist Matt Gardiner spilled the beans on in one of Zwift’s Race Recons: check it out!
The Race
With a field this strong on a course this difficult, it was clear going in that the real racing would begin when we hit the base of the climb at just under 6km into the race. We were right.
The race began in usual Zwift racing fashion: racers sprinting out of the pens to accelerate to a comfortable 50kph+. The opening 5.9km of the race is a net-downhill, allowing racers to easily sit in the draft, relax, and wait for the punishing climb ahead. And sit in they did. No racers ventured off the front of the pack knowing how the race would surely unfold.
As the 100-rider pack hit the base of the climb, slowing to a painful 20kph, the race stretched out instantly, with a small pack of 13 riders charging the front, behind a lead break of 2. Indoor Specialists Ryan Larson and Matt Gardiner took turns setting the pace of the pack with Canyon ZCC racers Lionel Vujasin and Philipp Diegner, ascending the climb in just over 6 1/2 minutes at a staggering 6.6 watts-per-kilogram (w/kg).
At the top of the climb, the front pack sat just behind the leaders with a gap of 20 seconds. Resting fully on the steep-but-short descent — arms draped over the bars in an aero-tuck before settling into a tempo and setting their sights for the leaders. On the road back towards the starting pens, a small chase group of 5 riders closed in and upon contact, Canyon DHB pro-rider Alex Paton blasted through the group, initiating the chase towards the two leaders. The pack stretched into a single-file pace line, but the leaders also increased their efforts, charging on and building maintaining the gap.
The pace settled, and the pack turned their attention to the the second climb — saving what was left in their legs for another battle on the 2km climb. As the road slowly sloped upwards on the lead-in to the KOM, riders fought for position; searching for the wheel to follow up the climb. The sharp, right-handed turn onto the KOM instigated attacks as the stronger riders got out of the saddle — attempting to stretch out the pack to slowly pull away from the riders desperately hanging onto the pace.
Canyon ZCC racer Lionel Vujasin surged as the pack hit the critical section of the climb: a 400m stretch of road at gradients exceeding 14%. The pack responded, racers searching for another gear to reel him in, but he continued at a pace that could not be matched as he ripped up the climb towards the two leaders. In Vujasin’s wake, a broken string of riders chased, focused on the finish and emptying the last bit of energy their legs could muster to cross the line.
Indoor Specialist racers Ryan Larson and Matt Gardiner crossing the line in 12th and 14th, respectively, with Matt Curbeau close behind in 25th, Aaron Coles in 31st, and Matt Brant in 49th.
The (Provisional) Results
Our team took 7th provisionally in the race — placing three riders in the top-25 overall: Ryan Larson, Matt Gardiner, and Matt Curbeau. Additionally, Larson and Gardiner grabbed crucial points placing in the top-10 on the mid-race KOM competition.
Particularly we would like to note that Ryan Larson and Matt Gardiner provisionally placed 1st and 2nd place respectively for USA racers; a stat that we are incredibly proud of as a predominately USA-based team on Zwift.
Link to finalized results can be found here!
The Data:
All race data for our riders in the Pro-Am races is publicly available below: dig in!
Matt Curbeau
“Let it be known that I am likely the only rider to negative split the bologna climb. The engine just takes longer to heat up for me.”
Matt Gardiner
“One word: ouch! Having raced the Bologna course in last summer’s Zwift Classics Trofeo Bologna race, I knew what to expect, but I really blocked out how much it hurt the moment I finished that last race. I’m glad to have refreshed my memory against the best in the world. These races are the best way to learn what you’re made of!”
Aaron Coles
“The course really is all about the climb. As a sprinter, my main goal was to go all-in to stay with the front bunch over the first climb, then recover on the flat and hold on for the last climb. I set a host of PRs on the first climb which I was ecstatic about, however I finished 10-secs off the back of the lead bunch and settled into the second peloton. With a few teammates in the lead bunch, I was keen not to bridge across; which would have helped the stronger riders from my bunch, so I sat in and recovered as best as possible on the flats. It also allowed two of my teammates to catch our group from behind, which resulted in good outcome for the finish. The second climb was even more punishing and I finished just outside the points in 31st. For a non-climber this was an amazing result for me!”
Ryan Larson
“This race was like a bologna sandwich for grade school lunch. I really did not want to have it, but it was on the menu that day.”
