Smarter Track Racing: Fair Bots and Difficulty That Means It

Since Track V2 launched, riders have told us the race bots did not always feel fair, and that Easy, Normal and Hard did not feel different enough. We agreed. A bot should race by the same rules you do, and Easy should be a race you win while Hard is a race you have to earn. This update rebuilds how the bots race to get there.

Bots race by your rules

Bots now follow the same physics and rules as you. They sit in on wheels and take the draft the way you do, and they pay for climbing the banking to go round, just as you do. They empty the same tank: a bot that spends its matches in the neutral laps or a long chase has less left for the sprint. While a break is away, the bunch rides harder to chase it, and only takes a rest once the gap stops growing.

The field is also built for you. Bots are built at your weight. And if you are under 4 W/kg, the field is made a little easier for every step below that, because passing on the banking and closing gaps cost a less powerful rider a bigger share of their watts. The keirin is the one format without that adjustment.

Easy, Normal and Hard

Difficulty now changes how the bots race, not just how strong they are: how hard they ride the pace, how much they keep for the sprint and how hard they chase. We tuned it on simulated races across a wide range of riders and every format. Here is roughly what to expect. On Easy, you should win most races riding at around 70 to 75% of your FTP. On Normal, about half of them at around 85 to 90%. On Hard, expect to lose more than you win, even at around 100 to 105%. These are estimates from simulation, and your results will vary with the format and how you race.

In a keirin, the derny now rolls through the start at 20 km/h and eases up over its laps before winding up on the last one, and how fast it gets before it pulls off depends on the difficulty.

Bring bots to a free ride

Solo track free rides and track workouts can now bring up to 24 bots of your own. Turn on Ride with bots when you set up the ride and pick how many, their pace and the mix. They line up with you on the start line and ride the track rules like anyone: pacelines on their zone's line, passing over the top, never through you. Riding with bots rides solo, so other riders on the track will not see you.

Track workouts now last the time you pick, sized from your FTP and weight, and the target you are holding always shows on the plus and minus.

Talk on the track

Quick chats, waves and cowbells now reach the other riders on the track, in free rides, Group Rides and Group Races, with the same rules as eRoutes. The bots chat with you too.

Group Races start from the grid

In a Group Race, every rider now starts from their own slot on the grid, as on a real track, with no slide up to the line. The grid is set by watts per kilo, or drawn by lot in a keirin. Group Races are for real riders only, and your solo races keep their bots.

Getting started

Open Tracks, pick a velodrome, press Next and choose Race. Start on Easy and work your way up.