I failed this exact workout today but it was only a 2.0! I’ve been training well up until a week ago (last week of specialty phase) where I really really struggled with my second last workout (Tuesday) but made it through and then failed the Saturday one. AI still put my ftp up slightly and I did a low level sweet spot workout the day of the AI detection and I made it through the Thursday Anaerobic workout (just) but knew as soon as I started this one I was really struggling. I’ve no clue wars gone wrong as up until last week I was feeling strong. The workouts were hard but doable - now I can’t get through a 2.0 
Robion, La Dama Blanca, Pavillon. These workouts are all pretty tough for me as well. Not the first two blocks, but the 2 minutes VO2 after the 1 minute VO2.
One thing to ensure is that you are properly fed for these workouts. They take a lot out of you. If your glycogen isn’t topped up it will seem much harder.
I have just finished La Dama Blanca a couple days ago and I have Robion monday. Not looking forward to it, especially as I am about to go do a long unscheduled ride today!
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Fatigue. Sometimes it hits you like a wall of bricks all of a sudden. You may need to insert some days off or an easy week sooner than scheduled.
What about the PL Level of the workout?
I am finding I can nail threshold workouts in the 7.X range but everything above 8.X kills me. I have failed TR workouts twice — and both were Spickard +6.
I wanted to beat this workout badly. Unfortunately I didn’t have it in me… cracked on the 2nd set and struggled to come back, finally settling on 90% to finish out the most challenging and ugly workout in months.
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What is the point of a workout like that?
115% is way above threshold and not even working at suprathreshold (~105%) but we’ll into vO2 territory.
It’s not increasing time in zone because it’s mixing zones and will ultimately lead to failure.
I feel like if your FTP is set correctly doing that workout would require an insane TTE at your current FTP
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I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t stress about it. Personally, I hate this new type of threshold workouts. I struggled with all of them during my build block. But I just did Goethe with no trouble at all (for a threshold workout) and I’m nailing all my VO2 work as well.
Try and stay positive, trust the process, and nail the next one. Keep at it!
I think one of the risks with threshold workouts like Spickard+6 that go way above FTP (115%) is related to ERG mode and smoothing. It’s really easy to get into the death spiral when you’re that high above FTP even if it’s only for a short time.
Looking at the ride analysis, a significant amount of time was spent overshooting even beyond the prescribed 115%FTP (397W). (I attempted 4x2min intervals at 115%FTP so total 8min)
More power is the solution. Or maybe I was just not being as smooth as I should have been. 
Even if you weren’t overshooting - 115% for over unders where the “under” is at 98% (read: THRESHOLD) is crazy town. The O/U is supposed to “shuttle” lactate - or let you use the lactate as an energy source below threshold, but this is just let’s just flood your legs with lactate above a sustainable level…and keep it there.
I would love to see one of these rides completed and compare it to the athletes other rides - to make sure their FTP is set appropriately (or guess we just need their RPE for the ride…).
Good for you for trying this though, Anything above a 5.0 for threshold is the real deal
Strange workout, given its goals. I think of offered it again I’d swap it out for a different workout with similar PL, but longer intervals at lower intensity.
Maybe the reasoning is that if your FTP has risen over the course of the block then that 98/115 is really more like a 90/105. Though that’s be an 8% FTP increase, I’m not sure many would be achieving those gains.
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Question for you experienced guys who have years of road race and crit experience:
If you’re in a breakaway and riding in a paceline, what % of FTP do you reckon you’re doing on your pulls and what % when in the draft?
I guess I’m trying to get a handle on whether 115/95 or 110/95 or 105/90 over/unders are a realistic paceline simulation.
That was my guess as well, this high of a PL at that FTP potentially means your FTP is actually higher.
That said, these are my bane.
Spickard +6 is 90 minutes at an IF of .98. That is huge.
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.98 IF for 90 minutes kind of implies a 90 minute TTE at FTP. Which probably means that your FTP is sweet spot and not FTP and needs to be changed.
So a workout like this is sort of nonsensical. And should never work with a correctly set FTP
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Drafting in a pace line is usually considered to reduce drag by 25 to 30%, even more in a larger group. 115% FTP during pulls and 85-90% drafting would be a reasonable assessment.
HOW MUCH BENEFIT DO WE REALLY GET FROM DRAFTING?
Thank you 
On that basis, I guess the criticism of the original workout is that the unders are a little on the high side at 98% of FTP, unless it assumes rider FTP is actually higher than workout FTP.
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That would be an insane group if you are basically sitting at threshold in a group. I can’t imagine any group around here where I’d be at 300 watts in a draft and hitting 360 out front on a pull. Even the A rides that are going hard in a bunch you are more at high Z2 or tempo sitting in a draft at the worst (barring any surges in pace or corners). Just my 2 cents.
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More if into a headwind… Tour of Cambridge in to the wind I calculated / saw about 40%
But yes I generally agree.
Unders 80 - 90% maybe
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It’s hard to describe this in TR terms because it’s so variable. I was in a two (then three) man breakaway in a technical crit for 25 min in April. We stayed away. I was generally between 95-120% of my FTP with some surges well over that and some time much lower in turns etc.
When I design over unders, I usually do the overs at 120-125 and unders at 85%. I find these are more realistic to my efforts in paceline and breakaways and I think they help prepare me for that (while training the aerobic capability to clear lactate as well).
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Flat river ride last week, bunch of 20 and 30 somethings killing it:
^ LBS manager hoping to go pro, ftp of 330
^ heavy hitter, ftp was 350+ but down a bit right now
There were 8 people on Strava in the lead group, and more finished a minute or two behind. Insane speeds week after week after week.
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I mean I would qualify that as an INSANE group
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Agreed, pulls would likely be around threshold and recovery at tempo as you stated. Makes you wonder about some of the over unders…
In a break away scenario with a couple of riders pulls might be at 115% but only for a few seconds.
Edit: Just came to think of stage 18 of this year’s Giro d’Italia…