Watts Up in Watopia: Adaptive Athlete Representation
Cyclingnews recently reported that Zwift is currently conducting research to bring adaptive athlete representation to the platform.
Earlier this year RGT led the way in partnership with Echelon Racing to bring hand cycling avatars and races in collaboration with Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) to their platform.
I asked my Kanberra p/b Five & 20 teammate, Ken Bestine, what he hoped to see come to fruition on the Zwift platform for adaptive athletes. Ken races in the H3 category and is an advocate for paracycling through his site USA Handbike Circuit.
Here’s what Ken shared with me.
This is really great that Zwift is looking into adding a handcycling avatar, but this also raises many questions and additional considerations.
First, confirming that the Zwift user has a particular disability classification will be important. Unfortunately, there is always going to be cheating, and we will need a way to confirm that the user qualifies for a particular type of adaptive bike.
Second, there are more than one type of adaptive bike that correspond with people’s adaptive abilities. We will need different types of bikes, and multiple choices within those types based on weight and aerodynamics.
Third, we will need accurate drafting algorithms that correspond with those types of bikes and body positions. The drafting algorithm should be accurate as possible for paracycling-specific events but also in standard events and open riding where the paracyclist is riding with other cyclists.
While we can anticipate that these paracycling avatars will be rolled out in a limited number of worlds on Zwift, we eventually should have access to all of the worlds and roads on the Zwift platform.
Lastly, this may be way left field. What if Zwift gave paracyclists the option of appearing as a handcyclist or as a cyclist? I am thinking this could help avoid situations where a handcyclist is in a small group or a blob on Zwift and other cyclists may not want to ride with them because of their egos. On the other hand, representation matters greatly. So, this idea is complicated.
Both Ken and I are looking forward to seeing how Zwift becomes a more inclusive platform for adaptive athletes true to their commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging (DEIB).
We were both unaware that this past month of March was declared Adaptive Advocacy Month (AAM) by Andy Shuttleworth. It’s not too late to support the cause by wearing the Zwift Camo 2 kit and adding [Upright][Adaptive Advocate] or [Triker][Adaptive Rider] to your name through April 1st.
Here’s what we at Slowtwitch have planned for the rest of the week.
Guest World Schedule
Here’s this week’s guest worlds, so you can plan to earn some of the route badges you are missing:
Monday: Makuri Islands
Tuesday: London & Yorkshire
Wednesday: London & Yorkshire
Thursday: London & Yorkshire
Friday: Yorkshire & Innsbruck
Saturday: France & Paris
Sunday: France & Paris
Slowtwich Indoors Event Preview (All Times Eastern)
Go to Zwift Events to sign up for these rides and runs.
Monday 100/100 Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
Join us for a group run on the virtual track of May Field that will kick start your week. Don’t forget that each of the five ride workouts and five run workouts have a short and long option. Rather than canceling a workout when you are crunched for time, you can complete the short version and still reap the benefits of the program.
Tuesday Ride of the Valkryies Workout (Women Only), 6:00 AM
This event is by and for women. It’s an almost no-drop, rubber-banded Structured Training workout, featuring a warm-up, set of intervals, and a cool-down. This week’s workout is Ladders for Breakfast.
Tuesday Structured Training, 7:00 PM
Our Tuesday ride features triathlon-focused cycling workouts written by coaches and pro athletes affiliated with Slowtwitch. The workouts last 60 minutes and will help add variety and interest to your weekly training schedule. This week’s workout is Keep It Simple.
Wednesday Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
A more scenic group run on the Quatch Quest course.
Thursday Rise & Grind, 5:35 AM
This workout is an early morning bracer for the East Coast crowd. This week’s workout is May the 4th Be With You.
Thursday SWIFT Ride, 6:55 PM
The newest ride to the Slowtwitch Indoors family, Slowtwitch SWIFT (Strong Women, It's Fun Together!) is here to bring another women's only ride to a slightly friendlier time slot. This ride will focus slightly more on strength-based work so bring those climbing legs. But even if you're feeling more like Mark Cavendish in the mountains of the Tour de France, so long as you keep the pedals moving, you'll stay with our group. This week’s workout is May the 4th Be With You.
Friday Festina Lente, 9:00 AM
This structured training workout is designed to get you geared up for the weekend. Roughly translated as “make haste, slowly,” Festina Lente features a workout that will get your engine running but still leave some in the tank for the big rides and races you have planned for the weekend. This ride is led by members of the Kanberra Cycling Team as lead beacon. This week’s workout is May the 4th Be With You.
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