Can Higher Trainer Difficulty Help Me Sprint for Top 10? | Zwift Level Up Series Stage 4

Today we’re racing Stage 4 of the Zwift Level Up Series in Category A, on Issendorf Express.

This is a fast route with 3 laps, around 21.7 km, and about 159 meters of elevation gain. On paper, it’s not selective enough to really break the race apart, so in most cases, this kind of course ends in a bunch sprint.

But for this race, I wanted to test something different.

I usually race on Zwift with Trainer Difficulty around 50%, but today I decided to increase it to 80%. The idea was simple: would a higher Trainer Difficulty give me a better road feel, help me react better to the small climbs, and maybe give me a better chance to fight for a Top 10 in the final sprint?

This is also a teaser for my full Trainer Difficulty test coming this Sunday, where I compare 0% vs 100% on Alpe du Zwift with the same power target.

For this race, I used the Specialized Tarmac SL8 with DT Swiss disc wheels, a fast setup for a race that was very likely to finish at high speed.

There were 33 riders on the start line, including 9 riders from DIRT, which made the race tactically interesting. With one team representing almost one third of the peloton, attacking alone didn’t really make sense. The key was to stay alert, watch the orange DIRT jerseys, follow the right move if it happened, and save enough energy for the final sprint.

The race stayed fairly controlled, with only a few small attacks and a gradual selection on the climbs. In the end, everything came down to the expected sprint finish.

The win goes to Taka Nabe, with a very strong long sprint. I finish 8th, reaching my Top 10 goal in a strong Category A field.

In this video:

Zwift Level Up Series Stage 4
Issendorf Express
Category A Zwift racing
Top 10 goal
80% Trainer Difficulty test
DIRT team tactics
Specialized Tarmac SL8
DT Swiss disc wheels
Zwift sprint finish
Zwift race analysis
Indoor cycling race tactics
Trainer Difficulty race test
Watt a Daddy!

Let me know in the comments what Trainer Difficulty you use for Zwift racing. Do you keep it low for smoother power, or do you prefer a higher setting for a more realistic road feel?

And don’t forget: the full 0% vs 100% Trainer Difficulty test on Alpe du Zwift is coming this Sunday.

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