I’m a regular cat D zwift racer, and I look closely at the WKG #’s of other riders. It’s not been my experience that it’s common for people to go out hard and then blow. A few, maybe, but it’s not real common. As far as power goes, personally I can hold about 2.3-2.5 for about an hour and I’m toast. I’ve never seen 2.5+ at the end of a race. With those numbers, I’m usually in the top 1/3 of the field. Sometimes around the midpoint. Never higher. I have seen the top 5 or so consistently over 2.5, but not much over 3.0. For a skinny 62 yr old recreational cyclist, I find cat D just about right. But I do think some of the regular winners should really bump up to cat C. In general, to finish above the mid point, you’ll need to be at 2.2 or better. Hope this helps.
