If you liked this video then check out my 'FIRST MONTH ON ZWIFT' video as you'll probably enjoy that one too... ukposts.info/have/v-deo/epyjepyCmYqGmIk.htmlsi=ARS62KflRGgNI0dw Don't forget to sub if you haven't done so already, I'm nearly at 1k which will be a nice little benchmark. 👍🙌

Just wanted to make a comment letting you know your zwift content is super inspiring. Keep up the good work!

Well done. Been zwifting a few years now, but i can so relate to your videos. Doing my first ZRL this year, you should look into that, we need some cat D riders

Congratulations! Great job.

two things I love about zwift. 1) Time trials, whether they be hills, or flat land. just you and yourself against the road. then you can compare yourself to others in your category later on zwiftpower and see how you are progressing. 2) mass start events (like the 3R type races). all the groups start together, and as you get stronger, you can try and hang with the category above your own. you are doing amazingly, keep it up.

Get a set of DT Swiss Arc 62s. They are a great all-around wheel. Also, pick up a set of ZIPP 808s for flat courses. Good job on your progress. Very inspirational.

Great race, that was a lot of fun! Looking forward to doing it again sometime.

Love this. Just bought my trainer and my studio is almost built. You really have an amazing way of story telling.

Fun watching keep hammering ❤

Fab, joining you on zwift !!!!!

Great video, fair play for hanging on... They are tough surges up those hills!

Driving that bus!! Keep putting that work in!! 💪🏽

Damn, this was awesome! I felt like I was cheering on my favorite sports team. Happy pedaling.

I love your journey! Going through the same. See you at the finish line!

Congratulations @ryancondon keep up the good work! Hope to see you in Cat B soon!

Great racecraft and gunning for a podium. Was cheering you on in that final race! Try some of the Zipp 808's on that Aeroad for the races, then switch them out for Enve SES 3.4's when climbing.

Great job! Congratulations! 🎉

Congrats Ryan, I’m 114 races into this obsession and the buzz of not getting dropped still drives me on. Great content keep pushing 👍

Well done 👏 😊

Keep em coming! 🚴‍♂️💨

Super great content. Love your optimistic mentality, it's really captivating!!

Ah, thanks for the mention, Ryan. You didn't need to do that, so very cool. And you wore the hat 😂 Was cheering you on through this, even though I already knew the result! But absolutely fantastic bit of racing by you. It was great to actually see all the details. Managed your power and tactics well. You were in contention right to the end. Podium finish is 100% on the way. Next thing to try is getting some recoveries in. Basically, watch Zwifty Zwifter's videos and pay attention to how often and where he freewheels. Being efficient is really key to feeling better towards the end. For wheels, get the highest aero rated ones you can. You're not going to be doing climbing races, so focus on aero. Again, brilliant result, mate. And another bit of amazing content. 👌

Yes Ryan!! Smashed it mate.

Good job! Congrats!

Excellent video (again!) - love your approach to improving and not getting put off by learning and difficult races and clearly that's paid off - great to see you in the front pack in that last race.

Mate I love these vids! Awesome work 🎉making me want to try my first zwift race!

Your vid helped convince me to get another smart trainer to get back on zwift! The only thing better than the entertainment is your attitude. DON'T GET DROPPED!

Well done 😊

Well Done and Thanks for the inspiration 👍

Love this! I'm going to do a zwift race this week. Thanks for the inspiration

The production quality and editing on these video is insanely good! Amazing video thanks for the entertainment

I dig the videos. I started watching when I was looking to purchase a virtual trainer. Your videos are fun to watch!

Fantastic effort. Well done 🎉

Love watching your video thanks 😊.

Inspiration mate. Well done

Just discovered your YT channel and truly enjoyed watching your journey with Zwift. I have experience much of the enjoyment, failures and everything else. Wanted to share, indoor cycling is just plain hot drives heart rate up and performance down. Ride without shirt, hat especially always remember that fan directed at torso for max cooling.

Very well done Ryan Top effort 😊 It’s great watching your progress keep up the great work my friend. Stay safe

A extra indoor fan might help 1 at your body 1 at your face and a lighter weight jersey maybe to regulate body temperature,also if you know a hills coming up try to get to the front of the pack then slowly drop to the back near the top to stay in the draft Great work keep it up

Just randomly found your channel and enjoyed watching your challenge. 3 tips that might help, 1. drop your watts really low at the start line at 20 seconds, then pedal hard from 4 seconds for a great start. 2. positioning in the group and combined with 3. pre empt the hills/know the course, but try not to be on the front. Look forward to your future videos thanks

Hats off to you Sir, that was a valiant effort💪

This made me smile! This is what I love about zwift. Keep up the good work!

Well done mate, keep zwifting, the grind will wield results, it is a matter of consistency above everything! Go to your garage, any buy better bikes/wheels as they give CdA improvements, make the bike lighter! Its a huge advantage over the stock bike.

I think you're forgetting a strategic aspect - your weight is not only a disadvantage, it's an advantage going down hills. You can sit in front and put down some power, when going downhill and push your competitors to use extra energy, where they think they have time to recover (but not anymore ;) ).

Great video Ryan - so similar to my personal experience. I recently won my first Cat D race and have now been bumped up to Cat C where I am going through the whole thing again!!

Hi Ryan, fellow zwifter here. Great vid. I have subscribed so good luck. Great work on the race, I’m sure you have had many tips along the way, but keep at it. I’m 2 years into Zwift now and I’m a low c so I am in your boat in trying to stay with the C Cat riders. So it shows you can improve if you keep working hard

Loving the videos and loving the hat. Another interesting channel I follow is Eric Barnett Cycling who just completed the mini race series, looks good.

Awesome. Congratulations

My first day on zwift, and i accidently joined a cat c race (not knowing what the categorys meant) and got blown away 😂, i did manage to catch a few people up but its hard! Love the videos mate, they inspire me to do better 🤙

Kerboom!!! Fantastic result, man. The powerup usage was excellent, but the power and determination equally impressive. Each category I’ve been in it’s been a case of I’d say half of my early racing was done on that course. Such a great challenge to get with, then stay with the front then compete for the podium then eventually the win. You know what to improve on in the finish, committing to a tactic comes with experience in the heat of the moment. Sticking to a few courses really helps as some of the actions become second nature. The only thing I’ll add is that you’re working way harder than is needed on the downhill bit. As a heavier rider you should be able to almost coast down there, maybe just short efforts on some of the upish bits, as you would in real life, really. Anyway, another fantastic video. Good luck in the run! Hope to speak soon!

DT Swiss arc 62 are great wheels and very competitive for the drop price on zwift

Massive, Ryan! Wonderful video. Congrats on the Dolphin result and especially that feeling you had afterwards 🎉 I know it’s difficult when you’re in the red, but if you want to tweak your tactics on small kickers like the one on Dolphin, I think the new physics on Zwift might work well for this: Try cruising at the back of the pack leading up to the climb, and then do a small dig before you hit the incline. That way you maintain a lot of your momentum, shoot through the pack while taking your foot off the gas for the first part of the climb. I find that can save you quite a few watts on the first part of climbs.

Can I just say, huge kudos to dropping as much weight as you have over the years and getting to where you are, that's incredible mindset and work rate, you should be proud of yourself! I'm also struggling with being a heavier rider, I only just got Zwift last week, I had no idea that being 109kg would be such a challenge with it, and I'd consider myself only mildly out of shape! Huge kudos again to you, see you out there maybe!

As always, awesome video mate!! I really love your content. I'm on the same journey as you regarding weight loss. Most of the time when I get dropped during a race, I say to myself that the solution is me losing weight. But thi is a long journey and I'm here for the long term. We'll make it mate! 😎

Great stuff, love watching the Zwift stuff and your running too. My advice (as someone virtually the same weight as you and in the same set up, is to push a much smaller gear for the most part e.g 10 or 11 and to drop lower if you are struggling on the climbs. Also try to maintain around 85 rpm. I think your HR will be much lower as a result and your legs will feel better. Spot on about the start, it’s always crazy and you need to go hard. Those Tiny Races are brutal btw!

You're an inspiration Ryan

I've been following your journey and it's so amazing to watch it! I also bought a zwift setup and I'll folow your example! However I was wondering if a heart rate monitor is needed for zwift racing?

Nice!

Just came across your channel. First of all, massive kudos for your incredible weight loss! How familiar are you with power zones? I noticed in your first race, your power distribution was pegged in Zone 5/6, which is VO2 max or fully anaerobic. The guys that are dropping you are most likely at least a zone below you (which basically just means they have a higher FTP and don’t have to burn as many matches as you) - so they are always going to drop you, and you’re always going to blow your doors off. I don’t know Zwift very well, but if you can, I would suggest racing in a lower category where abilities will be matched better. I also notice your form is pretty rough, especially out of the saddle. Some form drills can be really helpful and will make you a more efficient and stronger cyclist! Keep it up. I think it’s awesome that you’re putting up this content.

Dear friend, you are an excellent rider, well done, we love your video

You get a new powerup everytime you pass a floatyairthing. Make sure to press the old/current one before. They don’t stack but does load if you activate current one on time. (You missed half of the powerups) Lovely content, keep chasing your goals. Gl mate

i also started zwift. its fun. if you wanna go into racing you obviously need also max strength to avoid getting dropped in those short moments. therefore i suggest doing strength training (e.g. squats etc.). that will increase your ability to output more watts quickly. you wont get that increase in power just with cycling. i have added strength training at the beginning of the year and the performance increase is huge.

Absolutely brilliant 👏🏾 Your progress is evident and it’s great that you’re enjoying it 👍🏾. Try investing in a cycling jersey as it will help with temperature regulation 👌🏾Also irrespective of the category you’re in the effort and feelings are same as it’s relative. It never gets easier, you just get better!

Another great vid ryan, keep them coming. The podium was waiting for you mate you just needed to believe. Great job.

As a 105kg rider new to swift I love your videos so inspiring, I always get dropped from the pack within mins from the start and it is so disheartening.

Great content! You're not out there asking for advice, but a couple quick points from a heavy (for Zwift, 90+kg) Zwift racer with hundreds of races under my belt--1) Don't be so down about your weight. Doesn't matter. Yes, it doesn't help on the hills. But it *does* help massively on the flats--because you are putting out so many more *absolute* watts than those around you, it is easier to sit in on the flats as a big guy. Lose weight, that's great. But you're never going to get down to 50kg to have an advantage on the hills. As such--find the FLATTEST races you can. Way more fun. As you learn to hang with the pack, add harder races. No reason to *start* with hilly races. 2) You're riding too far in the back of the pack. Don't worry about yo-yoing, worry about trying to stay at the front 1/3 of the lead pack. You counter-intuitively don't get more draft at the back--you only put yourself in danger. See at 3:45 in the video--you're doing great, but then the pack strings out with an attack, you end up at the back--still doing fine. But then (outside of your control) the rider in the orange jersey gets gapped off and then *you* have to put in a big attack to make up for *his* failing and catch back up. If you stay in the front third, this will happen much less and make the race easier for you. A great way to practice this is with the pacer bots--even the slowest one, just find an easy pace for you so you can practice pack position! You've got lots of potential, hang in there!

You asked about wheels - as a fellow above average weight rider, in Zwift I've got a set of DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut 62 and Enve SES 3.4 that do pretty well.

I’m looking to use zwift this off-season, I would appreciate your top tips for a beginner- may make a good vid.

just found this vid thanks to Lee C. Great editing and entertaining Zwift videos. Keep going the improvement is addictive. Zip 808 or DT Swiss ARc 62 (non disc) are both low level. DT Swiss are slightly lighter and good for climbing. Uranium Nuclear is also good for Aero flat. By the way. Downtown Dolphin reverse is slightly easier as the climb is shallower and you'll get more benefit on the downhill section. Its called the Bell lap

Ending up riding races as a solo TT was the main reason I stopped using Zwift.

Come on you are due to level up 11 to 12.😊 I am not far off level 17. 35km so fa this week need to go up to 50km total today is Friday. We'll done great video thanks 😊😊

Hi man I started Zwift in April too. I’m on a watt bike trainer, not a fancy atom 😅 Would be great to ride with you sometime, or do some training rides. Maybe we could set up a Zwift cycling club for noobs like us and do banded training session ride with your followers? When do you normally ride? Keep it up 🎉

Ryan, when you reach level 25 or if they are available before, pick up the Zipp 808 wheels, they pair pretty well with the Aeroad 2021.

Thats it - i'm subbing. Great job there. I've started on zwift myself 4 weeks ago, and i absolutely love it. I'm 84 kg and have no power (no ftp test yet, but Zwift has estimated it to 182), so it's like the opposite of you i guess. :)

Loving your videos as I’ve just joined Zwift. How do you find races that are just Cat D? I’ve done one race and it was with Cat A, B, C and D. I got dropped immediately but was never going to keep up with the guys in the categories above.

HI Ryan - looks like you are getting stronger - getting close to the dreaded D/C cat boundary. Are you interested in dipping your toe in the WTRL TTT series - could see if we can sort you out a guest spot on TFC Hurricane mocha team - it will hurt - but then you seem to enjoy that side of Zwifting !

Get the Enve SES 7.8 wheels if your level allows. They are very aero but lighter than disc wheels. Aero is king unless it is a sustained climb like Alpe de Zwift with no downhills or flats.

New to Zwift, tested for CAT C but been mainly doing CAT D group rides. Tried my first CAT C 24hr group ride with a roilling start and got dropped from the get go😂

I am a C rider, always last, but Zwift does not allow me in CAT D :P. I feel you do a lot better then what I do :) my ftp is only 222. Keep on the good work and training. Maybe we see some day on the Zwift roads :)

Just discovered your channel… has anyone ever told you that you kinda look like retired pro rider Tyler Farrar? Ride on!

Good Job Ryan! Small adjustments would have given you podium in this race. Power management before the little kicker. Increase speed, from back of the pack just before the kicker, to carry the speed into the kicker. Now you start pushing when you are IN the kicker and it takes more power. Better PU management would saved you a little energy, now you missed out on some of them. Cadence! Everyone is different but you were often really grinding big parts of the race at around 55rpm and even for you I suspect that it may be a little low. I'm also grinder type but I try to at least be around 75-85 rpm. Positioning prior the sprint. Let the others do the job. Ignore #1 flying off but focus on 2nd and 3rd. Now they were cruising behind you. You should have let them do the job instead and then punched it at 150-200meters. You're a heavy guy, you would have gotten a lot of speed, IF you had any energy left :-) These small things would have saved your legs and you would have for snatched 2nd or 3rd in this race for sure. Keep it up!! and again, no big t-shirt :-) if you can't keep your body temp down, your performance will suffer big time, because you cook your body. any low cost cycling shirt, or a running shirt, or a tank-top would have served you better than that t-shirt. Just saying 😜

Tip do a time trial. 5km, 5miles, 10km, 10miles. 😊good luck 👍 😊

I have a Wattbike and I yo-yo. Sometimes it’s due to draft and energy in the flywheel I think.

Do the TT-Tune up, maybe two 1 hour workouts a day. You will be ready within 3 months. And you will be Cat C.

Had covid. So did retest ftp 199 as opposed 200 so ok,,its a good number want to hit 250 by age 60. 4 yrs to go ,,,would be crazy to get to 300,,,,think a8ming for extra 50 points is realistic age considering

My weight is 19stone 6pounds😊

Cycling is brutal! Keep going! Im trying to get up in cat A but I doubt I ever will...

I'm surprised Zwift didnt jump you up to Cat C when your FTP increased.

hes funny

Hi , mate. Hope you’ll see this comment and it could help you with further improvements on Zwift and on bike overall. I like your passion about cycling and want to share some tips for you. Try to focus for a while with Zwift training plans like ftp builder and skip riding with groups or simply rides with no certain purpose. These workouts may feel not really easy and it will take some time , but they will train your mindset and mentality for races. You’ll know your limits more clear and you’ll have necessary basics for races. So you will stay more sober during the race and you’ll be calmer if you’ll be dropped , every race is different and our rivals are always different, have different strategies and sometimes they are simply stronger than us. If you want to start winning - try to stick to workouts and do them on your own , without groups , without basic rides. You’ll learn more about your body. And later you can join group workouts from time to time. After you develop these basics and for sure you’ll improve your ftp during these workouts - your approach will change entirely. Wish you good luck 😊

I’ve had a good watch of your video and I noticed a few things that might help you. Firstly I think that your saddle is a little too low. It’s strange because most have their seat too high. Have a play with this. The next thing is your cadence. I’ve been on a very similar journey as you. I have lost 6 stone and started a journey on Zwift and soon got into racing. I started off in Cat D and I’m now in Cat B and winning races. Going back to Cadence. A cadence below 80 will be asking for far too many watts from your legs. A cadence over 90 will be asking for your heart to beat too fast. Try to find that gear that gives you a cadence between 82 and 85. This will look after your legs and heart rate. You will able to hold the wheel much easier. Watch this video back. The only time you hit the right cadence is when you are fucked. You are either too low or too catch up you go to a cadence too high on a big gear. This will make a big difference. Push out a good average watts constantly at 82 to 85 revs. I can ride in any zone at 82 revs just by changing gears.

Get a 1,000 miles basic training before starting racing, do t.t. First ie. 10miles or 16.1 km .😊

If you want light wheels, climb the Alpe until you get the Lightweights. And they’re free . . .

1,2,3,4,5 and 7 place should all be DQ’d and should be restricted to Cat B! Cat D maxes out at 2.4w/kg

It would be advised to remove t-shirt for better cooling :)

Dude. Loose the T shirts and get some fans. You’ll gain 10 watts.

According to readout 3 Wkg at 300 Wts you must weigh 100 Kg

Wow Cat D riders are 5 W/KG now 🤷🏻‍♂️

Mate, you need a bike fit badly, your knees are coming up far too high, your loosing a lot of power, your hips are not open enough.

a pleasure to watch