On Thursday, the Indoor Specialist team took on first Zwift Classics race of 2020: the London International. The Zwift Classics are set to be three standalone events: London International, Richmond Challenge, and the Crit City Slam. Each event will present different formats, whether it is a team race, a scratch race, or a points race—the changing format will make each event unique, challenging, and incredible to watch!

The Competition

The Men’s Zwift Classics features both the strongest amateur community teams on Zwift and UCI-level professional road teams, Olympic athletes and gold-medalists, and some of the strongest professional triathletes in the world! Bringing together amateur eSports teams and professional athletes shows exactly why racing on Zwift is so unique: the racing is a skill that takes time to perfect! While strength on the bike is very important, the demands of racing on Zwift are different and the game mechanics play a massive role in determining your success in each race!

The opportunity to line up against the other elite amateur and professional teams is incredible! We love the challenge of these Pro-Am events — the bar is raised every time we line up and we're loving how much the series of races are pushing the sport.

Indoor Specialist racers taking on the London International event: David Talbott, Dan Fleeman, Chris Beck, Matt Gardiner & Ryan Larson.

The Course

The first Zwift Classics event will take place on the London Loop course. At just 15km in length, the London Loop features gently rolling terrain with one of the most iconic climbs in game: Box Hill. However, this event has one small twist on this classic course: the finish is at the top of the second ascent of Box Hill!

Racers will look to thin the pack on the first KOM ascent as they race towards the intermediate KOM points. At just over 5 minutes from start to finish, the Box Hill KOM is an average 4.5% grade, allowing riders to race tactically and draft their competitors quite well. However, racers will have to look out for attacks, as the speeds on the climb can allow gaps to open very quickly!

As the race settles down after the first KOM, its very likely some riders will look to get away from the peloton as the peloton heads into the finale climb towards the finish!

The Race

Well, that was painful!

This race took the volume on the Zwift racing stereo and cranked it up to 1,100. With possibly the most diverse in experience and strength selection of racers of all time, the anticipation for this race made our heart rates hit threshold sitting in the pens.

As the race began, an unrelenting pace opened up as racers made their way along the Thames towards Trafalgar Square. The rolling road with intermittent punchy gradients kept the pace high, and forced the riders to stay on top of their pedals to maintain position.

The road kicked up from the river’s edge towards Trafalgar — a typically hard effort, but the racers knew the Box Hill laid just a few kilometers down the road and the racers floated up the road together at a tame 6w/kg. Our team positioned our riders near the front to be ready for any moves as the race neared the first of two KOMs.

When the peloton began the KOM, our racers found the front. In an attempt to control the relentless pace, Indoor Specialist Matt Gardiner took to the front of the peloton — setting the pace at an unrelenting 6.5w/kg. The racers behind held onto the pace, waiting patiently for the final moments of the KOM, where the intermediate competition for the climb would kick off. The entire team: Chris, Dan, David, and Ryan were at the front and poised for the race for the KOM. Ryan launched and came across the line for 4th, with Matt close behind in the top-10 across the line.

David suffered a power meter signal drop, finding himself relegated to the second group — with Chris, Dan, Matt, and Ryan in the front group, ready to contend the final KOM.

There was no rest on the descent towards the second lap. Racers pushed to keep the pace high and shed the riders barely hanging on over the top of the KOM. The chase group behind included a roster of professional athlete and Olympians — showing just how brutal that first climb was.

As the lead group hit the flat roads at the start of the second lap, the pace settled slightly — racers knowing the race would be won on the climb and that an attack before would likely be caught. Our racers sat in, recovering and preparing for the climb to come, but maintaining position near the front of the group over the rolling roads. The peloton ripped through the London Underground tunnel towards Surrey, and the pace lifted as racers fought for position at the front.

The group hit the steep gradients of Box’s lead-in and our racers sat mid-pack watching for any moves to go off the front. The pack kept together, each racer preparing for the moment an attack would dare to go off the front.

With 1.5 kilometers to go, Dan saw his opportunity — he activated his Aero power-up and pushed through the group at a staggering 10w/kg. The pack watched as he rode away, driving the pedals out of the saddle.

Behind him, the peloton’s pace slowly lifted, shedding racers left and right. Dan surged on, digging deeper and deeper moving towards the summit of Box Hill. At the peak of his attack, the gap had grown to 5 seconds on the group, when a competitor attacked to cross the gap to Dan. He went by Dan and held off the chase all the way to the line for the win. The peloton had chased after the attack and absorbed Dan as he sought to recover from his time on the front, but with a half-kilometer remaining, there was no time to recover.

Our racers pushed on through the field to finish in the lead pack, crossing the line completely and utterly exhausted, but exhilarated from the event. The opportunity to race this caliber field is a dream come true.

The (Provisional) Results

This race was the biggest and most stacked field we have ever contended with — not to mention being on one of the most grueling courses in-game! In the finish, Ryan took 28th, Matt took 32nd, Chris took 39th, David took 57th, and Dan took 60th. With our group of racers, this just goes to show the level of intensity this race brought. We could not be happier that Ryan, Matt, and Chris landed the USA podium with a clean sweep (1st, 2nd, 3rd!)

Link to the provisional results can be found here!

The Data:

All race data for our racers in the Pro-Am races is publicly available below: dig in!

Dan Fleeman

“As always I was highly motivated for the Zwift Classic. I knew the Box Hill finish would suit my style. The pace as ever was fast from the start with a big percentage of racers losing contact on the first passage of Box Hill.

The approach to the hill the second time was really fast and I was expecting fireworks from the bottom. This didn’t really happen it was more a strong tempo on the climb. With around 1.3km to go I was feeling really strong and decided to go all in and preempt a sprint! With the benefit of hindsight I went a little too early and was easily passed before the line but you never know, sometimes you just need to say f**k it and roll the dice. You have to be prepared to lose big in order to win big!”

Matt Gardiner

“I have never been more excited to line up for a Pro-Am than this one. With the community truly rallying behind these races during the worldwide lockdowns, we learned that there would be a myriad of olympians, world champions, professional cyclists and triathletes to add to our already impressive community racers.

I was so eager to set the pace on the first KOM and paid dearly for it once the race opened up with 1.5km to go on KOM #2. Of course, teammate Dan Fleeman was the reason — his solo attack to dare the entire peloton to chase was the boldest move I’ve ever seen on Zwift. What a legend. I’m so happy to be a part of this crew. Onto the next one!”

David Talbott

“This was my first go at one of these Pro-Am events — what a debut that was! The field was so stacked, and it was incredible to get to line up with these athletes and my teammates. While the race didn’t turn out how I’d hoped, I’m hungry to get into another one of these and throw down.”

Ryan Larson

“I knew this race was going to be about raw FTP when I saw the stacked field. All you can do is lay down your best effort and hopefully it is enough to stay with the group until the end. The team did a great job staying with some of the best cyclists in the sport, and even though it wasn’t our day we’re hungry for the next race.”

Chris Beck

“It’s always an honor to wear the IS colors. Yesterday’s race had a lot of hype given the timing of the event. The collective power of the peloton induced fear. I fought hard to make it over Box Hill near the front on lap one. Looking back only confirmed my fears that there were 50 guys still capable of winning the race.

On lap two, as the climb wore everyone to dust, my teammate Dan had the guts to attack — which for me would not have been possible. Instead of celebrating a top-10 finish, we licked our wounds together finishing mid-pack amongst some of the greatest cyclists on the planet. A race I’m just happy to take part in.”