Briefly used the search function for an answer but could not find it…My question is at what elevation will I begin to experience a meaningful drop in performance. I live at sea level (300 feet) and plan to do a race that starts at 5500 feet, drops as low as 4100 feet and gets as high 6400 feet; I would say the majority of the race takes place between 5000-6000 feet. Its a two day event and my intent would be to do the 8 hour drive down on a Thursday, pre ride and pre drive some of the course on Friday then race the weekend. Obviously that is not enough time to acclimatize so just wondering if that is high enough for me to see a significant drop in FTP. Thanks in advance.
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Rule of thumb is about a 6-7% decline for every 1000m ascent. So yes, you will likely have a noticeably lower FTP at 5500 feet. About 10% lower.
Depends on your physiology just how much it will affect you. When I go out to Tahoe we are around 6000 feet. I think the ride tops out at 6800. I definitely notice it but I would put it at around a 5% reduction in performance. I live at about 800 feet. That’s just based on RPE.