Draft Skill Development for Cycling Esports

Power down. Float back. Surge forward.

Team time trials are one of the most popular race modes on Zwift. And practicing for a TTT with your teammates isn't just about fitness. It's about skill. And the foundational skill that separates good racers from great ones is what I call the "sink and sprint" technique, a term coined by my teammate, Matt Gardiner.

I've coached countless athletes through this precise maneuver, and it's always fascinating to watch the lightbulb moment when they finally get it. This technique isn't just for TTTs either. The principles apply to every racing scenario you'll encounter on Zwift.

What Is the Sink and Sprint Technique?

The sink and sprint is all about position changes within a group, relying solely on power output. When you're on the front of a TTT line and it's time to rotate off, you need to drop your power (sink) to let others pass, then accelerate (sprint) at just the right moment to slot back in at the rear.

Sounds simple, right? But there's serious nuance to it.

The physics of the draft in cycling esports creates opportunities for manipulation that many racers never fully utilize. When you drop your power to zero, you decelerate and allow teammates to pass. The tricky part comes when rejoining the back of the line.

You've got to wait until the very last rider crosses your front wheel before applying that quick acceleration. Sprint too early, and you'll pull riders into your draft, scrubbing their speed. Sprint too late, and you'll create a gap that's hard to close.

This timing is everything. In a fast-moving TTT, mistiming your sprint can be catastrophic, either breaking up your team's line or leaving you dropped off the back.

The Counterintuitive Nature of Power Modulation

Strong cyclists often make a fundamental mistake in cycling esports. They pedal constantly with consistent power. But in the virtual world, that's not always optimal.

Our goal is to put out as little power as possible when riding in a pack, only applying it when we sense extra momentum is needed. The draft gives us flexibility in positioning where we can be pulled along without constant pedaling.

This orientation toward light power, with pressure applied only in anticipation of momentum needs, contradicts what many strong cyclists instinctively do. They want to push hard all the time, but that often leads to surging too far forward or half-wheeling teammates.

The result? That rubber-band effect where you surge forward then have to back off dramatically. We're trying to avoid that slingshot and maintain steady positioning.

Common Mistakes That Break the TTT Line

The most common mistake I see when coaching elite teams is accelerating too early after taking a pull at the front. If you don't wait for your full team to pass before increasing power, you'll end up blocking riders trying to come around you.

When this happens, you create a cascade of problems. You're already decelerating while trying to get to the back. If you block someone whose momentum had been going forward, everyone behind them slows down too, opening a gap in the line.

Now the entire team needs to work harder. Those ahead of the gap need to ease off, those behind need to surge to close it down. The smooth flow is broken, and efficiency plummets.

Another frequent error is not dropping power low enough when rotating off the front. The more power you're putting out, the harder it is for teammates to pass. Our goal in a TTT is steady speed, not constant surges.

Practice at Slow Speed to Master the Skill

Want to really understand draft dynamics? Practice at deliberately slow speeds.

Going super slow, under one watt per kilo, makes this drill much harder but infinitely more valuable. At low power outputs, you take fitness out of the equation and focus purely on skill development.

When going slowly, tiny power fluctuations create significant position changes. You'll quickly learn how little power is needed to close a gap or maintain position. This heightened sensitivity makes the subtleties of draft manipulation much more apparent.

I like to run these drills on completely flat terrain initially, like the desert in Zwift. Once you've got the basics, try it on rolling terrain where the changing gradient adds another layer of complexity.

Weaponizing Draft Manipulation in All Race Scenarios

Beyond TTTs, understanding draft manipulation gives you a surprisingly high amount of control over your position in any pack size.

The blocking effect is particularly powerful in sprints. Many races come down to final sprints, and momentum usually wins. The rider carrying the most speed typically crosses the line first.

If you can effectively block riders by overwhelming them with power as they try to come around you, you'll use the draft effect to scrub their speed and keep yourself ahead. Even if someone generated more speed than you, proper blocking can neutralize their advantage.

Want to change position laterally in a pack of 100 riders? Look for opportunities where someone's coming on your right, surge a little, and get sucked into their draft. This moves you right. The same principle works for moving left.

Technical Terrain Strategies

Elite esports racers understand that power output isn't the most important metric in a race. What matters is speed relative to others in the pack.

On technical sections with quick bumps and undulations, anticipation becomes crucial. When you see an incline coming, consider the lag in your trainer and accelerate before the gradient increases. Be at power and accelerating when the incline begins.

This approach maintains momentum over bumps by avoiding the deceleration that typically happens. If you're going at 200 watts, surge up to 400 for one or two seconds, then back down to 200 to roll over the top of each hill.

The result? You'll carry more speed through technical sections while others slow down.

Equipment Considerations That Matter

Your trainer model and power meter setup introduce varying amounts of lag between your pedaling and the game's response. This lag becomes critical when executing precise power transitions during exchanges.

Best practice is using your trainer as your primary power source for consistency. I always connect my trainer's power as primary while also recording with the power meter on my bike as a redundant measure, what we call dual recording.

The trainer difficulty setting also impacts your ability to respond to gradient changes. At 100%, you'll feel the full effect of climbs, while 0% eliminates gradient resistance entirely. Most riders find 50% (the default) provides a good balance for training these skills.

The Bigger Picture

What makes these techniques so valuable is their universal application. Whether you're in a TTT, a mass start race, or breaking away solo, understanding how to manipulate the draft and modulate power effectively will give you a significant advantage.

Speed in cycling esports is always relative. It doesn't matter how fast you're going in absolute terms. What matters is how fast or slow you're moving compared to the competition.

Master these skills, and you'll find yourself riding more efficiently, positioning more effectively, and finishing higher in the results. The sink and sprint isn't just a technique. It's a gateway to understanding the deeper mechanics of cycling esports racing.

And that understanding is what transforms good racers into winners.