If you're new to TrainingPeaks Virtual (TPV), you might have noticed something interesting - there are badges and levels next to your name and the names of your fellow riders. You might be wondering what those are all about, or maybe you've just been racing and haven't given them much thought. Either way, those badges are actually the engine that ensures your races are fair, competitive, and appropriately challenging.

Here's the thing - unlike other platforms that might rely solely on raw power data or weight-based categories (A, B, C, D), TPV uses a sophisticated, performance-based Elo-like rating system. It's pretty clever, actually. Let's break down everything you need to know to understand your rank and how to move up.

Why Rankings Matter: The Magic of Matchmaking

The primary goal of the ranking system is matchmaking. TPV looks at your past performances to place you with a group of humans or race bots who are at a similar ability level. This means:

• Fairness - You won't be blown away by pros in your average race.
• Competition - You'll find yourself in the "meat" of the race, battling riders of similar strength.
• Dynamic Seeding - If it's a flat race, the game looks at your flat-road abilities; if it's a mountain finish, it weighs your climbing stats more heavily.

The Four Categories of Your Rating

TPV tracks your ability across four distinct disciplines. Depending on the course profile, the game "blends" these ratings to predict how you'll perform:

• Sprint - Determined by short-distance events (like the Velodrome or Points races). Note: Sprinting at the end of a long race doesn't count toward this. It has to be a short-format event.
• Endurance - Based on your results in long-distance races and your ability to sustain power over time.
• Time Trial (TT) - This tracks your performance on flat terrain, favoring riders with high raw wattage.
• Climbing - Based on hilly courses. This favors riders with high power-to-weight ratios (W/kg). Interestingly, TPV weights the gradient so that a 10% climb impacts this rating more than a long 2% drag.

The All-Rounder Rating (ARR)

Once the system is confident in your ability across all four categories, it generates your ARR. This is the mean average of your four component rankings. It is a great indicator of your ability as a racer on the platform compared to the community.

The Ranking Ladder: From Carbon to Diamond

There are 6 main ranks, each divided into 3 levels (e.g., Gold I, Gold II, Gold III), making a total of 18 steps on the ladder:

• Carbon - Where everyone starts and only used when TPV doesn't have enough data to give you a proper rank
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Diamond

How to Level Up

When you start, you are at Carbon I. As you complete races, the system gains "confidence" in your data and moves you through the Carbon levels quickly. Once you're out of Carbon, your rank moves purely based on your results:

• Beat a higher-rated rider - Your rating goes up.
• Lose to a lower-rated rider - Your rating will take a hit.
• Consistency is key - Ratings are not "Experience Points" (XP). You don't rank up just by showing up; you rank up by winning.

You can check your own and other racers rankings by going to your profile in the hub.

Important Pro-Tips for New Riders

1. The First Race Exception

For your very first race, TPV has no data on you. In this specific case, it uses your configured weight and FTP to place you. Crucial: Make sure these are accurate in your settings before you hit the start line for the first time!

2. Don't Be a "Rage Quitter"

TPV penalizes quitting to protect the integrity of the results. If you leave a race after 30% of the distance is covered, the game counts it as a last-place finish. This will tank your rating and help everyone you "lost" to. So keep fighting for positions even if you've lost the front group.

3. Rankings are Relative

Your ranking measures how you compare to the current field. This means if the whole community gets faster and you stay the same, your rank might actually go down. It keeps the competition fresh and honest.

Ready to find your place in the pack? Jump into your next event and let the matchmaking do the work. Whether you're a climbing specialist or a sprint king, there's a pen waiting for you.

I've set up a special event that targets all 4 ELO categories that can help new riders get an accurate rank sooner. You can schedule a race at your convenience by clicking this link: ARR Locator Race

(Read more about this on the TrainingPeaks Help Center)