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Ed Veal Zwift 24-hour distance recordCyclist claims world records after riding 952km on Zwift in 24 hours
A Canadian cyclist is claiming two world records after riding 952.6 km on the virtual cycling platform Zwift in 24 hours.
Ed Veal undertook the effort last month at the Splunk .conf19 conference in Las Vegas, with the software company pointing out that the distance covered is more than that from its San Francisco HQ to the venue in Nevada.
The 43-year-old, who in the past has secured top 20 finishes in the Canadian national time trial championship, is awaiting confirmation from Zwift that his distance covered is the most set on the platform within 24 hours.
He has also applied to Guinness World Records for ratification of his ride as the ‘Greatest virtual distance on a static cycle in 24 hours’.
The distance he rode, as well as the 911 kilometres collectively pedalled by conference attendees, also triggered a $30,000 donation from Splunk to US national cycle advocacy organisation, People For Bikes.
Several days after his ride – which you can find on Strava here and was supported by Trek, hence the Trek-Segafredo kit – he spoke to Splunk about it.
“The strategy was entirely based on things we could control vs. things we couldn’t control and how best to be prepared for those surprises along the way,” Veal explained.
“The biggest thing I could control was pacing. If you noticed, during the ride my pace remained pretty steady between 220 to 230 watts to hit those checkpoint goals we had originally outlined.
“The second thing was really staying in the moment. A lot of people have asked what goes through my head on a ride like this and frankly, it’s a lot of knowing exactly where I’m at in that particular minute and what needs to happen in the next minute to keep me where I need to be.
“Lastly, fuelling my body, keeping up with my hydration and calorie intake was crucial.”
During his challenge, he had to contend with the lights at the venue going out for a couple of hours.
“No matter how much you prepare, there are definitely going to be some things you weren’t expecting. Like when we lost power for about two hours in the middle of the night.
“Sometime around 2am, the lights completely shut off in the demo hall for about 2 hours because they were on a timer system.
“We obviously kept going, but that was probably the hardest time period of the ride. It was great to have the team on-site who jumped on bikes to help me through, and of course, all the riders on Zwift who joined in to draft.
“That’s what really kept me going. I also made the mistake of wearing brand new pair of bike shorts. I will spare you the details, but I won’t be making that mistake again!”
He added that the ride was “a complete team effort. From the on-site staff that jumped on when I needed a boost to the Zwift members that came from all over the world, this would not have been accomplished without them.
“Zwift factors in the effects of “drafting” just as if we were outside on the road. So, when riders join me to draft, they are basically shielding me from the system generated resistance and keeping me at a set pace.
It can literally make the ride 30 per cent easier on my legs, which was crucial for this.”
He said that finishing the ride was “Hands down one of the best moments of my life! I mean, of course, your body is exhausted at that point, but the adrenaline from accomplishing this goal, along with all the cheers and support from the crowd ... I felt great.
“In fact, you’ll notice in my biometric data that my heart rate shoots straight up right at the end. I was so pumped!”
And as for recovery food? “I went straight to my room where I devoured a rather large pizza,” he said.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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24 comments
This guy has punched out between 220W to 230W for 24 hours, and Zwift gave him 952km out of that.
Meanwhile, the UK got a new World Champion last weekend in the 24 hour road TT category in the form of Andy Jackson. In his write up, he declares that he rode at 222W avg, 230W NP, with a moving time of 23:18 and managed a huge 528 miles / 849.7km - i.e. some 100km less than Zwift "calculated".
Andy was riding in a skinsuit on a TT bike with aero-bars and a solid disc rear wheel, so about as aero as it gets, with NO drafting, only 3000m or so climbing, and is still 100km short of this guy?
Credit to him for churning away on a static trainer for a full day, but it's not even close to 952km worth of effort.
Andy Jackson's writeup on Facebook is here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1017201095291639&id=10...
Awesome result for Andy. As for distance - whatever that means in this context - one was outside with no drafting and the other a simulation inside, with a slightly higher average and normalized power, and a lot of virtual 'drafting'.
No-one is really trying to compare the two - with obvious exceptions.
Yes, it's 'static', indoor cycling, but as others have said, he did raise a load money for charity. Had he been after the actual distance in 24hr cycling record, it would have probably would have been attempted in somewhat mind-numbing fashion on a velodrome track.
... and ironically he'd have ended up exactly where he started and would have gone nowhere
Some proper miserable fuckers on here.
He raised 30 grand for charity. Massive kudos!
So he spent 24 hrs, riding nowhere, on a computer game.
.
He spent 24 hours putting out a bit over 2.6W/kg to set a record - imagine there's a fair bit of proving something to yourself with that, fair shout to him - might make a change for him to not be training or competing in national level TTs too I guess. .. oh and he help raise $30,000 for a good cause. .. but hey, clap on champ.
Well that's his Movemember challenge done....and some.
Are those varicose veins on his leg or a trick of the light?
If Zwift can program me a 1000 mile course that features a constant 15% descent for the duration I will be willing to make my own record attempt which I will do for charity
You should have a word with Randall Munroe: https://what-if.xkcd.com/154/
What was his total elevation gain
This man deserves a virtual medal!
Uh-huh, well I guess we have all moved millions of milles as the Earth spins and orbits the Sun, and as the Sun orbits Sagittarius A*, and as the Milky Way is drawn towards collision with Andromeda, all whilst remaining stationary.
He didn't ride 952km. The computer produced a realistic-ish distance number to match his efforts. What he actually did was produce between 220 to 230 watts for 24 hours whilst remaining stationery.
Aye, I imagine that why they talk about riding 952km on Zwift, rather than 952km around Vegas, or on US 91. Ditto distances etc 'in Zwift'.
The dictionary definition of cycling is the act of riding a bicycle.
I know there are retarded, narrow-minded beliefs held by some about what they think cycling is but what is cycling is no more complex than the above definition.
Such retarded, narrow-minded views of cycling have existed in cycling throughout the 40+ years I've been involved and don't doubt they existed before my time and will persist long into the future.
So, what is riding a tricycle called?
Trycling, obvs.
I spend some time on the turbo myself, particularly at this time of year, and, my God, I can well imagine that finishing the ride was one of the best moments of his life.
If it calculates the draft effect on his power, does it also calculate the time lost for crashing into the back of the guy in front when he neglects to ease off the power
Was he riding a Tron bike
Deleted...
Lotta shite.
I have a friend who opens the window for a "real" feeling of riding when on Zwift.
Go Outside and live in the world
He does, at an elite national level. Just fuck off.