Week 3 Results: NCC Zwift Winter Hill Climb/Time Trial, 1/17/23

By Michael Bello
Published 01/17/2023; Updated 01/17/2023

For the third week of the NCC Zwift Winter Hill Climb/Time Trial Series, we rode in Austria.

The challenge for the day was the Innsbruck KOM. The climb is 4.61 miles with an average gradient of 5% (1,311 feet of climbing).

Our usual starting spot for the Innsbruck KOM is at the just before the crest of the mountain and then you descend approximately 4 miles to the start of the climb. Zwift changed the group starting point, so we had an even shorter warmup today. The group persevered though.

Several groups formed on the climb. Ross and Dusty battled for the top spot. Ross appears to only like the Innsbruck KOM during the Winter Hill Climb Series. He joined us for this climb last year and again today. Last winter, Ross finished second. Today, he improved and tied for first with Dusty.

The chase group was composed of Jonathan, Zinj, Henry III, Melissa, and Henry II. On Discord, there was a lot of encouragement for someone to pull the group. Jonathan appeared to do the majority of the pulling, so it was fitting that he got the final podium spot.

The rest of the riders soloed to the finish.

Chris rode the climb for the second day in a row and improved his time.

I did an ERG workout on the climb, but I had prime viewing of the NCC groups on the mountain.

Congrats to Henry III, Lauren, Steve, and Chris on their Strava PRs.

Here are today’s results:

1. Krause, Ross; Time: 0:21:40; 12.8 mph; 12.5 points
1. King, Dusty; Time: 0:21:40; 12.8 mph; 12.5 points
3. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Time: 0:22:06; 12.5 mph; 11 points
4. Guo, Zinj; Time: 0:22:17; 12.4 mph; 10 points
5. Wheaton, Henry; Time: 0:22:29*; 12.3 mph; 9 points
6. Warwick, Melissa; Time: 0:22:39; 12.2 mph; 8 points
7. van den Broek, Henry; Time: 0:23:02; 12 mph; 7 points
8. MacDonald, Andy; Time: 0:26:01; 10.6 mph; 6 points
9. Cunniffe, Lauren; Time: 0:27:45*; 10 mph; 5 points
10. Wysk, Steve; Time: 0:29:43*; 9.3 mph; 4 points
11. Stratton, Chris; Time: 0:30:06*; 9.2 mph; 3 points
12. Streeter, Keith; Time: 0:34:20; 8.1 mph; 2 points
13. Bello, Michael; Time: 0:36:59; 7.5 mph; 1 points

*Strava PR

Here are the series standings:

1. King, Dusty; Event(s) 3; Points: 39.5
2. Guo, Zinj; Event(s) 3; Points: 33
3. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Event(s) 3; Points: 32.5
4. van den Broek, Henry; Event(s) 3; Points: 30
5. Wheaton, Henry; Event(s) 3; Points: 27.5
6. Warwick, Melissa; Event(s) 3; Points: 27
7. MacDonald, Andy; Event(s) 3; Points: 19
8. Cunniffe, Lauren; Event(s) 3; Points: 15
9. Downey, Tim; Event(s) 2; Points: 13
10. Krause, Ross; Event(s) 1; Points: 12.5
11. Wysk, Steve; Event(s) 3; Points: 12
12. Weinman, Kevin; Event(s) 1; Points: 8
12. Stratton, Chris; Event(s) 3; Points: 8
14. Streeter, Keith; Event(s) 3; Points: 7
15. Bello, Michael; Event(s) 3; Points: 3

Next week, we will do a two lap time trial of the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Participants in the Hill Climb/TT series may ride any time during the day or participate in the group ride version at 6:00 PM. Please visit the NCC Zwift page for the series rules.

Here is the NCC Zwift schedule: