Tour Rules

Registration CLOSED
World Tour
Now Live…
Last Update 19th February
– Rider min age under Competition format
Competition Format (eGAP)

Competition Format
Tour events aim to provide a virtual competition for all levels of rider with podiums similar to those offered in real life (IRL) for GC, Climbing and Sprinting. Unlike IRL virtual events are offered across the globe to form a single racing peloton by class and gender, as such we use a method called eGAP (event GAP) to form the GC standings.

Tours consist of between 7 and 21 Stages, some with rest days. Each Stage has multiple time options to cater for a global audience where a riders first completed effort will always count, riders may complete more race stage times if they have the energy!

Our Tours are toughest events on the platform, for that reason we look to ensure that all riders are a minimum of 16 years old riders who are not 18 MUST contact Race Control before competing so we can classify them appropriately.

eGAP Explanation
Each Stage has multiple race times with mixed rider classifications within each pen, however riders are only ever riding against their own class and gender. Refer to the Rider Requirements section on what is requested from riders in order that they  declare their class in race.

eGAP is the time between your finishing time and the finishing time of gender classification winner (who is a FULL TOURIST) within the same race. No other times matter for GC, if you happen to be the only one of your class and gender in your race time then your eGAP will be zero time loss as winner.

Each stage we review whether a rider upgraded their vELO class (Refer to Classification – Rider). IF a rider upgrades AND sets their race EGAP (as a full tourist) then EGAP will be calculated from ONE second below the time of the first full tourist after the actual race winner for that class to minimise the impact on the riders remaining in that class.

Example.
0600 BON Rider wins in 65mins and second place was 75mins – however the winner was not a full tourist – EGAP sets to +1s rather than 10minutes and VBW is worked out from 74mins 59seconds. The same would happen if the winner was a full tourist BUT as a result of the race upgraded.

The resulting process will review up to the first 10 places per class/gender to find the true EGAP winner – which also sets VBW.

Example.
0600 GHT rider A wins 54min 30s second place rider X was 54min 40s – eGAP 10s
1030 GHT rider B wins 53min 21s second place rider Y was 53min 35s – eGAP 14s
Rider A and B each earn max finishing points for winning their class in their event
Rider X comes second as their event gap (eGAP) was 10 seconds
Rider Y comes third as their eGAP was 14 seconds

iTT Stages rank all riders by gender and class into one result by time to complete the stage, since there is no draft and advantage in time slot – there is one stage winner (by gender and class) and all eGAPs are calculated from the fastest time.

Segments consider all riders together by gender and class by time, fastest first for the most points for both climbs and sprints.

Rider Classification
ALL riders will need to perform Classification by completing Stage 1, FRR will then assess and update rider Profiles with their rider class.

Tour Classification Process

  • All riders start without class and must be registered for the event
  • Complete Stage 1 using any of the dates/events available
  • Complete the Stage ONCE – your first completed effort will count
  • All riders are UNCLASSIFIED at this point so there are only TWO PENs… MEN & WOMEN
  • Event ask
    • Race to the best of your ability
    • No Draft the size of the field and when you race is not relevant – your effort alone defines you.
    • Segments and finish points are double value to provide incentive to race well
    • VBW is not in play in classification

Assessment Process
Step 1. Rank all riders by gender and time

Step 2. FRR has 10 racing FRHC classes by gender. FRR will set a percentage for each FRHC gender class, adjust based on the rider’s who race and divide up the results.

  • ie. Top 5% of riders on the platform are CAP/Diamond riders for Men, 6% of the field who raced are top level – therefore we could take the top 6% of finishers to be our CAP riders for the Tour
  • Percentages will not be published and will vary by Tour/event that uses the method

Step 3. FRR will check each FRHC class and review outliers using 2 markers of performance.

  • Marker (1) Check Zwiftracing.app 30day Max Open vELO marker (Women use the Women’s vELO class)
    • For classification a rider can remain at a lower level if their vELO rating is no more than 35 POINTS above the upper rating level of their classification.
  • Marker (2) Check against Zwift Category
  • For both markers we ask the same question – is a rider classified too low based on our expectations for the FRHC ?
    • Where riders are found to be too low they will be moved to the right class
    • Riders who ‘over perform’ (based on their classification compared to their racing markers) will be assessed to determine if they could be placed lower

Step 4. Reprocess the Stage to produce results for Stage 1 by the assessed FRHC classes.

Assessment Outcome
We aim to have all riders showing their RACING FRHC in their Profile by 1800GMT on assessment day (if not earlier). Race Passes will then be released and riders will know their FRHC Class and the PEN to choose for Stage 2 and beyond.

Rider vELO Rating
FRR references a riders Zwiftracing app MAX 30 day vELO value.

  • OPEN value for MEN and the WOMENS value for Women.

Women CAP Riders
Women CAP riders have the choice to Upgrade their Tour racing to compete against CRP MEN using PEN B Riders must confirm this upgrade by the end of Stage 2 within their Profile so they can be placed correctly during resulting.

Upgrading
When a Tour is in progress we will assess a riders’ FRHC class EVERY STAGE

Riders will UPGRADE their RACING FRHC if their vELO rating increases more than 50 POINTS above the level they have been classified. This will indicate they could have been holding back during classification or their class is still building.

IF this happens the rider will:

  • Move up to the next FRHC level
    • For iTT stages
      • Upgrades will apply immediately
    • For POINTS stages
      • Upgrades apply immediately IF the upgrade does not result in a change of Racing PEN

After Stage 2 upgrades will receive the base upgrade penalty of:

  • 60 second eGAP penalty
  • 20 point Segment and Finish point penalty
  • PLUS for each stage raced after stage 2
    • an additional 20 seconds eGAP
    • an additional 20 point segment & finish penalty

ie. Rider X upgrades Stage 5 they receive 120 second eGAP penalty and 80 point segment & finish penalty
eGAP – 60s base plus 3 Stages at 20 seconds each = 120s
Points – 20 point Segment base plus 3 Stages at 20 points each = 80 Segment points (off Sprint, Polka & Combined totals) and 80 points off finish totals

  • Race Control will advise all upgraded riders before the start of their next race
  • All points/eGAP time earned will be taken up to the new FRHC class minus any penalties
  • Riders will need to ensure they are in the right PEN if they upgrade since PENs are now FRHC specific
  • Riders who upgrade AND set eGAP in their race – we will set the eGAP and VBW to +1s to remove the impact on the riders who they directly affected.

Penalties seem high especially as they increase the further you go in the Tour but consider:

  • Few riders upgrade, those that do go early and rarely upgrade more than once
  • Penalties seek to mitigate a rider upgrading to 1st place in their new class with points/time won from a lower class while giving the upgraded rider something to aim for for the Tour

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT to know ?

  • Your FRHC dictates which PEN a rider MUST use when Stage times split by FRHC – this will start on Stage 3 each Tour

It remains the responsibility of the Rider to know their Racing FRHC which is displayed in their Profile and on the registration page. FRR will do as much as possible to help and assist riders to know their class and be in the right racing pen.

FRHC Penalties
Riders have until Stage 4 to correctly show their FRHC in their Last name in the Companion app so their competitors know what Racing class they are. Riders who fail to show their FRHC will receive a 5% time penalty as reviewed by Race Control.

Race Control Review
Race Control always reserves the right to review and reassign a classification where the underlying data misclassifies a rider or a rider is clearly competing at the wrong level. Riders will be contacted directly in each and every case.

Domestiques
Riders who join events to help others are referred to as Domestiques, roles can vary by rider and team but generally they are there to ‘help’ not disrupt Stages or events. Domestiques can help anyone if they choose to but that is their choice.

Domestiques must adhere to the following racing code.

Domestiques…

  1. Can start from the PEN where they are supporting a rider
  2. Must identify themselves by adding the code DOM to their Last name in the Companion App.
  3. Can provide draft for their rider in segments
  4. Can bridge their rider to a group from the same PEN as their rider started
  5. Can close a gap between their rider and another group that started in the same Pen as their rider started
  6. Can help their rider in the last 10km of a stage to win their race

Equipment

    • All riders must use a Smart Trainer as their Primary Power Source
      • Power meters may be used as a primary power source where a Smart Trainer is not available
        • CAP/DRA/CRP/GHT riders must use a Smart Trainer as their Primary power
        • Riders who have both but choose/need to use power meters due to smart trainer accuracy issues MUST contact Race Control before the Tour begins for review
      • Dual recording is not mandatory however experienced riders understand the benefit and equally the pitfalls
    • Riders with Trainers/bikes without power meters (ZPower) are excluded
    • Riders who use Spin based setups with or without power meter pedals must contact Race Control before competing for additional checks
    • Riders are expected to use a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM), abnormal performances without HRM may result in event exclusion
    • Bike frames will be allocated for all riders, riders may only choose their wheel set from their garage

Race PEN Selection
Riders are expected to know their classification referred to as RACING FRHC and select the right pen, we cannot force riders into the right pen.

All race times will offer 5 racing PENS A – E (these are titled with your RACING FRHC) refer to the EVENT RACE PASS page which details which PEN to use based on your RACING FRHC

All stages riders must use the SAME RACING PEN for their RACING FRHC

In all cases once a race begins all riders will see each other.

Women CAP Riders
Women CAP riders have the choice to Upgrade their Tour racing to compete against CRP MEN using PEN B Riders must confirm this upgrade by the end of Stage 2 within their Profile so they can be placed correctly during resulting.

PEN Time Penalty
Riders who gain an advantage from being in the wrong pen will be penalised time placing them behind the riders they should have been racing with, a minimum of 2 and half minutes will be added to a riders race time.

Podiums
Each Tour riders will compete for the following Podiums/Awards by rider classification and gender, the Recognition page on the web site records these achievements and many more.

GC Rider
Rider who completes all Stages with the lowest accumulated eGAP.

Combined
Rider who completes all Stages with the most accumulated points across FINISH, SPRINT and POLKA dot points.

Polka Dot
Rider who completes all Stages with the most accumulated points for segments designated as CLIMBS.

Green Jersey
Rider who completes all Stages with the most accumulated points for segments designated as SPRINTS.

READHEAD award
An award that recognises amazing rider effort and contribution each Tour.

Race Respect
We all race for fun however we have all come across riders who ride on the dark side or don’t read the rules of the competition. We ask all riders to manage these situations with respect by following these simple rules when in events.

  • When in PEN you can remind riders to show their FRHC in their name, a simple edit will fix very quickly but bear in mind some riders do not show the messages or use Companion App or perhaps understand your language
  • When in race, riders should refrain from calling out riders either openly or privately as ‘resulting’ will highlight them to race control and PEN Penalties can be applied as per the rules
  • Riders can submit rider challenges direct to RACE CONTROL via email or direct message on the FRR Discord server – Never do this openly and be assured that Race Control will review every request in the pursuit of fun, fair racing for everyone

Riders
To compete in an event all riders must meet the minimum requirements for accounts, equipment and have completed registration for each event before the event closing date.

    • Riders must be OPTED IN to share their race data with ZwiftPower from their Zwift Profile Connections
    • Riders must have created and connected a ZwiftPower account – full instructions on this can be found HERE
    • Riders must Register for each Tour on the EVENT REGISTRATION page
    • Riders are advised to have completed at least 4 Zwift race events prior to registration closing to reduce the possibility of being classified incorrectly which may affect the assigned FRHC
    • Biometric data must be up to date, abnormal changes may lead result in queries by the FRR vada

Race Rider Name (In Companion app)
Tour events have riders of different classifications in each PEN it is therefore essential that riders declare their Racing FRHC to allow all riders to identify who their direct competition is for eGAP and segments – to do this all riders are requested* to enter their FRHC short code in their Companion App Last name as shown below. (Refer to the rider classification section)

      • A rider with FRHC Habanero  is expected to add (HAB) to the name
      • A rider with FRHC Caroliner Reaper  is expected to add (CRP) to the name
      • A rider with FRHC Jalapeno  is expected to add (JLP) to the name

Finish Points
At the start of each Tour a riders vELO will lock and consequently their Racing FRHC

Riders will earn finish points from their finishing position within their gender and classification (FRHC) for each stage as explained below:

  • Stage finishing position is calculated using eGAP
  • Stages designated as iTT will have their Finish points doubled and segments may be in play as per the Roadbook of the Tour
  • There are no bonus points

All RESULTS are published on the FRR website 

Segment Point Scoring
Riders will earn segment points for each segment in play on a stage within their gender and classification (FRHC) as explained below:

  • Position by fastest time for both Sprint and Climbs
  • No points are awarded for First across the line (FAL)
  • ALL segment points are awarded by Fastest Through Segment (FTS) 
  • King / Queen Stages segment points are doubled
  • There are no bonus points

All RESULTS are published on the FRR website

Climb Difficulty Rating (CDR)
Not all climbs are the same and IRL each has a difficulty rating from 4th to HC, in FRR events we have something called the Climb Difficulty Rating (CDR) which is a value from 1 to 5. Each climb has been given a CDR value and the table below sets out the points multiplier that will be applied for that climb for each rider. Climbs are valued more as there are generally less of them in a Stage than Sprints and certainly require more effort.

ie. Volcano climb is CDR level 3 which maps to multiplier x3 – Rider X wins 25pts for their time x 3 so they earn 75 points 

 

Stage Sprint Rating (SSR)
We recognise the repeat efforts of Sprinters to deliver explosive speed, recover, regroup and repeat within a Stage with the Stage Sprint Rating (SSR). Each Stage has an SSR number from 1 to 5 and the table below sets out the points multiplier that will be applied to all sprint points won within that Stage.

ie. Stage 2 has a SSR value of 3 which maps to multiplier 1.3 – Rider X wins 30pts for their time x 1.3 so they earn 39 points 

Team Competition Qualification
For a Team to qualify for a Team Competition they must have the minimum number of riders registered prior to Stage 1 as set out below:

  • Mixed Team – 8 Men and 4 Women
  • Mens Team – 8 riders
  • Womens Team – 4 riders

Team Competition Divisions
Mixed and Men’s Team competitions will be divided into two divisions using the minimum rider gender requirements above and the following measure:

  • Mixed Team Division 1.  35+ riders
  • Mixed Team Division 2.  12 – 35 riders
  • Mens Team Division 1. 25+ riders
  • Mens Team Division 2. 8 – 25 riders

The Women’s Team competition will have a single division.

Rider Score Weighting
To engage as many classes as possible and to ensure the top X riders for each gender are not all from the same class then we will weight rider points for Team calculation. Riders who score the highest in their Team, Class and Gender have 100% of their score used with each subsequent rider having 5% less than the previously placed rider within the same Team, Class and Gender. Weighting scores does not affect a rider in the individual competitions.

  • ie. A rider who has the 4th best HAB Male score for a Team and won 500pts would have a Weight of 85% which reduces their score to 425pts for Team consideration

Team Rider Default Scores
For Teams that fail to meet the min rider count for a Stage (ie. only 3 woman race a stage or 7 men) then we calculate and add a default rider score to the Team score to keep them in touch with the competition – after all there are many factors that influence virtual participation. Default scores are calculated as follows for each Stage and Team:

  • Determine the average full points scored
  • For Men apply a 0.6 weight to the score, for Women 0.8
    • Note. Values equate to a position below the lowest counting weight for a gender to try and mitigate a default Team score being higher than a Team who had all riders compete

While the scores are lower than 4th and 8th places they are better than being zero.

Team Scoring
Each stage, the Men’s Competition will total the highest 8 riders weighted score, and the Women’s Competition the highest 4 riders – including any default scores. The Mixed Team Competition will combine the Men’s and Women’s Team Competition weighted scores for each Stage and Team points will be allocated as per the table below.

All RESULTS are published on the FRR website.

Rider Verification
During each Tour or event riders will produce high performance, it is the responsibility of Race Control to monitor performance and look to maintain a fair racing position across all classes – as this is not just applicable to the highest most powerful riders. We do take this responsibility seriously, we get that we all do this for fun but that doesn’t mean we accept riders who choose the dark side of virtual racing.

Verification will be performed by the FRR vada (FRR Virtual anti doping agency) formed from experienced trusted riders from within the Zwift community who compete and contribute to FRR events.

FRRvada will recommend one of three options to Race Control:

  • No action required
  • Time sanction
  • Event removal/ban

All information submitted will remain confidential and Race Controls decision will be final.
Verification can take place at any point and the process is as follows:

  1. Race Control contacts riders and Team Manager via email/Discord privately
  2. Riders may be requested to provide:
    • Height and weight video to verify their BIO details
    • Zwift setup video including smart trainer, pedals etc..
    • Strava and Zwift accounts if private must be granted access to Race Control and .fit files made available for requested events
    • Rider may be asked to give their consent to Zwift via email, which Race Control has started, to allow Zwift to confirm to Race Control the Smart Trainer used for the Tour events in question
    • Rider photo ID may be requested to further assure the person in a submitted video is the rider with the request
  3. Riders will be given a suitable amount of time (normally 24 hrs) to review and provide the information requested.
  4. Riders who fail to cooperate within the time set will have time penalties applied to remove any impact on fellow riders (since we have no ability to prevent a rider from competing) and post Tour excluded from entering future events. We equally notify Zwift.
  5. FRR Jersey holders will have those Jerseys removed

Virtual Broom Wagon (VBW)
The aim of VBW is to squeeze more effort out of the TOP TEN riders who are chasing a jersey – as determined by the previous Stage standings.

Jersey Leaders will no longer be able to coast their stages picking up the segment points as they chase the podium or conserving energy on an iTT – they will now need to keep an eye on how far they let their class leaders get up the road as each stage (iTT included) will have a set time cut which we refer to as the Virtual Broom Wagon (VBW)

How is VBW set ?
Stage difficulty is assessed by Race Control before the Tour which will set the race cut time percentage which is included in the Tour Roadbook.

All classes and all race times are subject to VBW. The time cut is calculated by event time and class and is taken from the rider who sets EGAP which also means that VBW cannot be set by a rider who upgrades in that race.

Time cut =  Take the EGAP class winners time calculate the VBW margin then add the margin to the winners time to set the time cut.

ie. In Stage 2 – 1030 event – Dave Smith Male BON rider wins in 1 hr and did not upgrade
VBW for the stage is 10% = 6minutes margin = Time cut 66minutes

What happens if I finish outside the time cut?
First of all no one will get kicked out of a Tour…. that is not the intention.

  • ALL stages riders will earn themselves a 20 point fixed penalty for the TOUR – the penalty will be deducted from their total points scored for each point group – Finish, Polka & Green – this will therefore impact the riders standing in those Jerseys including the Combined.
  • For Team scoring the penalty will be applied to the points won on the stage that VBW applied thereby reducing the riders ability to contribute for the Team

This process will affect only the riders who have the most to lose – everyone else will have not impact. 

How can we help manage VBW in race?
First of all we do not have a crystal ball on how riders will race or their intentions however we do have a function that can tell you who is in your race and therefore you can determine whether they are threat to you in your class.

The page is Race Day and there is a button on the HOME page to take you there directly.

To use the page following the instructions below:

  • Click the link
  • Choose the Stage which has the VBW percentage shown in brackets
    • Stage 1 – Innsbruckring [20%]
  • Choose the Event TIME that MUST BE IN PROGRESS as this is ‘live’ data
  • Use the SEARCH box to find riders of your class.. ie. For all Male BON riders type M-BON for Women type F-BON – these are shown in the FRHC column
    • You can also search by PEN by typing P-B for just PEN B riders
  • We display the following
    • Event PEN
    • Race position across all riders and PENs
    • GAP – shows your time to the leader of the race (in PEN A) you can use this to monitor the time difference between you and your competitors for both EGAP and VBW
      • Yes you will need to do some maths to work out the time difference between you and your rivals
    •  Zwift Companion App Name shown in your race
    • Registered name of the rider in FRR as shown in the results
    • FRHC shows the color coded rider gender and classification
  • The final column indicates whether a rider is a FULL TOURIST – this is determined by comparing the Stage number to the total number of stages completed, as such this column may not be correct when looking at completed races
    • REMEMBER: Only Full Tourists set EGAP and VBW and if they UPGRADE post race then this will be captured too so all may not be lost!

Team FRR

Join our Club

FRR discord

Join for chat & updates

LOGIN / REGISTER
Edit Club Team
Register Your Event Participation
Register Your FRR Activity