jez

Sotonia silver medals in the BC South Zwift Racing Series

Gemma Wilks continued her race winning form this week on Whole Lotta Lava, mopping up sprint bonus points along the way in the women’s race. Her strong form led her to second place on the GC podium.

Dan Lickman led out the eventual winners on the final sprint in men’s B category, so sadly couldn’t make it 4 wins out of 4. However, he’ll be consoling himself with a fine GC win, a well-earned reward for 4 hard weeks of work. Chris Moody also made it into the top 10 GC.

Congratulations to the whole team of Sotonia riders, which also included: Hannah Budden, Vikki Sutcliffe, Jen Dawson, Danielle Thomas, Jenny Astall, Debbie Hallett, Virginia Phillips, Joey Wynne, Jerome Bakker, Rob Gasson, Mike Marsh, Mike Barrow, Dan Stephens and Al Cooper. Their combined efforts took Sotonia into second place on the team GC.

And that’s it for club Zwift racing for a while. We’re off outside – sign up to join us in the segment of the month competition.

by jez

Dominant performance from Sotonia women on Zwift Makuri 40

A strong team performance from Sotonia’s women was enough to take the team crown on the night and to lift Sotonia into second place in the team GC in the BC South Zwift 4 week racing league.

Gemma Wilks led the C cat women home, closely followed by Hannah Budden, Jen Dawson, Danielle Thomas and ViKki Sutcliffe, with Suzy Howick rounding out a superb Sotonia showing.

In the men’s competition, Dan Lickman made it 3 wins out of 3 in B cat; he must surely be feeling the pressure to make a clean sweep next week. He leads the individual GC rating in B cat. Jerome Bakker clearly spent the winter training hard, and is coming up strong, alongside Chris Moody.

One more race to go, next Tuesday on the Whole Lotta Lava course at 1900. Come join a winning team, and help the push to gain the overall GC crown. Just search for LIZR on your Zwift companion app for the link.

by jez

Sotonia on the podium in BC South Zwift series

We’re two races in to a four week series for any Zwift riders in the BC South region. This has an “individual GC” format for each Zwift category, as well as an overall team GC competition, based on the top 5 finishers.

Sotonia are riding strongly: in the women’s competition, Gemma Wilks currently sits in 2nd overall GC. In the men’s competition, there have been two podium finishes for Dan Lickman so far, ably supported by Chris Moody with two top 10 finishes (actually two top 7 finishes, but we like round numbers). A strong all round B team performance (from Rob Gasson, Jerome Bakker Mike Barrow and Mike Marsh (fresh from coming 2nd in the world indoor rowing championships ?) helps Sotonia into 3rd place overall in the team rankings.

Because of the format of this competition, more riders are always welcome. Next race at 1900 Tuesday 14 March on Makuri 40, with sprint bonuses and an overall GC. Look out for it on your Zwift companion app (BC South LIZR series) or contact us for the link.

by jez

Another Sotonia Zwift Win in Chase Race

Earlier this week, 73 riders started in what may well turn out to be the largest field in a single race organised by Sotonia. This was a chase race on Zwift's Casse Pattes course, contested with a few select clubs in the BC South area (Bath CC, Poole Wheelers, Southborough & District Wheelers & VC Venta).

67 riders crossed the line, and the handicap system worked out pretty well, with the front riders in B category catching the lead C riders at the top of the hill and then having a cagey run to the finish. Dan Lickman used his long sprint to take the win, from Andy Gardiner. Nic Stephenson from Poole Wheelers took the third spot on the podium. Chris Moody takes some plaudits too for some selfless chasing in the final kilometre or so. Congratulations to all riders involved, and watch out for more interclub Zwift racing to come.

Full results are available here

by jez

Sotonia tops the table in Zwift Racing League

Sotonia Buzz (men’s category B team) capped a superb 6 race round, concluding with a race win and cementing their position at the top of their B3 Division.

It’s taken an age for the results to be confirmed, but we can finally send congratulations to the whole squad: Chris Moody, Dan Lickman, Dan Stephens, Hamish Hunter, Joffrey Carlier, Mike Barrow and their captain & DS, Al Cooper. They’re now limbering up for the championship play offs in March.

Other teams suffered from the fact that the final race fell on Valentine’s Day. SotoniAs (men’s category A) clearly have the most active romantic life: only one rider was available that night, but Joey Wynne rode strong to achieve his highest finish of the round. Similarly, Cadence (women’s C category) suffered for lack of numbers, but Franie Ng didn’t let that distract her from finishing 2^nd on the night. Bees (men’s category B) concluded their season with a solid performance and ended the season mid-table in their B1 division, no mean feat. Cranks (women’s C team) finished 12^th on the night and 12^th overall.

And, with the exception of Sotonia Buzz riding in the play-off championships, that’s a wrap for Zwift Racing League until next September.

by jez

Zwift chase race – an ideal “first race” for all Zwifters

Zwift chase race – an ideal “first race” for all Zwifters

Date: Tuesday 21 February 7 pm start

You’re invited to a one-off event, hosted by Sotonia CC on Zwift. This is a “chase race”, where slower riders set off with a head start over the faster ones, with the intention that every rider starts with an equal chance of winning. Unlike our last handicap race, on the Alpe du Zwift, you’ll be set off in groups, so you can work together to hold off those pesky chasers. And the event should all be over in 50 minutes for the first riders; faster riders should take about 40 minutes.

This is ideal for any who is curious about Zwift racing. You can ride alongside a bunch of supportive, equal standard Sotonians. And you can have the thrill of competition: you’ll be riding against other “local” riders in BC South, from Bath CC, Poole Wheelers, Southborough & District Wheelers and VC Venta. It would be great to see a strong turnout of Sotonians, representing our youth, female and male riders.

For full details, see the information on this link, which contains information on how to sign on in Zwift. See you out (in?) there.

Tim Cooke
e-racing secretary

by jez

Zwift sprints galore

Sotonia’s Zwift teams rode the Neon Flats this week – a festival of sprints and recoveries. Or rather, sprints, then more sprints with no recovery in between.

But this seemed to suit our riders well. Cranks (women’s C category) welcomed Els Freshwater to the team and rode strongly. But for a failed heart rate monitor (which leads to a points penalty), they’d have ridden into 8th place, which would have been a best for this round. Cadence (women’s C category) meanwhile did achieve a round’s best, finishing in 6^th place on the night. Special kudos to Vikki Sutcliffe for riding for two teams on the night, to ensure that they had a full roster.

SotoniAs (men’s A category) placed Will Weynberg and Oli Caudwell in the front group, with Phil Wilks and Joey Wynne trying bravely to escape the broom wagon. They finished 10th on the night and stay 10th in the league. Over in Bees (men’s B category), Andy Gardiner carried his cyclocross form into Zwift and scored more than half of his teams overall points, to guide them into 6th, another highest place finish for the round.

And what of Buzz (men’s B category)? Well, they’re the standout team of the round, so they won their race, placing Chris Moody and Hamish Hunter first and second (on the same finish time), with Dan Lickman just one second behind in 7th. They’re now second in their league, just four points from first place.

Next week is team time trial race on a nice flat RGV course in France. Time for some strong teamwork. And in other news, it's likely that we'll be hosting a Zwift chase race on Tuesday 21 February. This is suitable for you, whatever your speed and experienced; less powerful riders will get a headstart on a nice flat course over the more powerful A and B riders. Ride with your fellow starters to hold off the chasers. Watch out for more information coming soon.

THIS IS OPEN TO ALL SOTONIANS, WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE A MEMBER OF A ZRL TEAM.

by jez