it is probably easily possible to build a great aerobic engine, without this much threshold work. However, it has helped me massively in building power, but also in being able to be very comfortable doing so. The gap between my RB FTP and my TT FTP has decreased considerably through this type of work out (I do 30 minutes of threshold, next week 45, and then 60 the week after). Also, I have gotten a lot better in understanding the little cues your surroundings give you (wind direction, grade, gusts etc.).
It is just the work out I do, and many others will be successful another way.
Thanks. Position has been a big focus lately because like you say my power isnāt great but still making constant progress there! I know I can beat some people on a 25 with ~50W less power.
I havenāt measured CdA in any controlled setting, I use bestbikesplit/golden cheetah to reverse engineer it sometimes but thatās more to compare changes in position so I donāt put much weight in the number so much as the change. Iāve been tempted to try something like the Notio sensor out for this and I know thereās more I can improve on, helmet and wheels for starters.
Conditions were ok by the time I went out but it was very wet after a morning of heavy rain. To give an idea though, the 4 races prior on this course this year thereās usually 10-20 sub 20ās and sometimes a few sub 19ās whereas nobody went sub 20 on this day (quite a few DNS though).
No, at least not for me. My TT bike threshold intervals are are at 320W atm, and road bike threshold intervals currently at 350W.
Doesnāt have to be this large of a gap for you, but definitely try out a power that is realistic you could actually do for 40min to 1hr, which your rb threshold usually isnāt (in TT Position).
Is that Levens L1015? Iāve heard good things about that course - think it would suit me as a slightly heavier rider.
Are you using adaptive training at all? I have a similar disparity between my road and TT power profiles and Iām not sure of the best way to manage it when using adaptive training. I assume switching between TT FTP and RB FTP constantly would mess up the progression levels?
I want to spend as much time in aero position as possible during my off season so Iām planning on doing all my trainer road FTP tests and workouts on my TT bike indoors. Not sure if this is the best way?
This is pretty much what I do. I have a period early base where I ride the road bike on the turbo, then switch to the TT bike in Nov/Dec and make sure I do all my efforts at tempo and above in the aero position (although I do drop my head). To me, my road bike FTP is irrelevant, and I make sure all my testing is on my race bike. It seems to work well for me, but I do need a period to get comfortable with racing early-season, because all my hard riding at that point has been inside.
This is where Iām struggling too. I always test my TR FTP on the same road bike for consistency, but itās a decent amount higher than the TT bike given my workout success rate when on the TT bike. The logical solution is probably to keep FTP the same but dial back intensity for TT bike workouts 5-10%, but Iām not sure how that might screw up progression levels. Itād be nice to have separate profiles within your account for stuff like this. Was much easier when I had a coach just telling me what to do.
If youāre used to virtual elevation /Chung then there is a different mindset to get into. Loops and laps are out. Out and backs are in. Personally this is a bit of a pain, because I struggle to find a suitable location.
Theyāve tried to simplify the software too much imho - Iāll be interested to see what the integration with my windsock ends up becoming.
Oh thatās good to learn. I thought about getting one, but the most convenient location i have for testing is a loop. Sounds like itād be useless for me then.
Back in August 2019 I amazed myself by doing 20:13 on Q10/19 (a 57 second PB at the time). Iāve been trying to shave those 14 seconds off since. Yesterday, I finally did it!
@Aeroiseverything youāre right, it is lumpy but the gift hill definitely makes up for it!
The drag to the turn is 2.6 miles @ 2% so, although the gradient changes, you have to go all in to minimize time lost during that part of the course.
The hardest part is the roundabout ā youāve just done a 7 minute vo2 max effort of which the last 90 seconds was spent in zone 6 and then youāve got to push hard to get around the roundabout before catching a break on the descent back onto the DC!
I got a firsthand experience of just how little rubber is on the Veloflex Records yesterday. Had to emergency stop from about 30mph when a child ran across the cycling track while I was doing intervals. Tires had maybe 100 miles on them.
