I just had a race this weekend and it took me 75 minutes to complete. When analyzing the data I noticed that my IF was over 1 (1.12 for the entire race). Is it safe to assume that my FTP is not what it is set to? Would it also make sense to increase my FTP by the 12%? Heres a link to the Strava activity in question: https://www.strava.com/activities/2189117259
Questions to ponder:
- When was your last FTP test?
- Where was your last FTP test (inside/outside)?
- Is there any difference in your power measurement from test to race?
Likely more, but the main difference of inside/outside, or simple motivation (challenging compeition) can bring out an FTP breaker.
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Fair point. Most recent test was about 2-3 weeks ago. New/different bike but same PM (P1). my indoor/outdoor FTP only differed by 5 watts before this ride. Undulating terrain also likely played a roll in the higher than normal NP. I was just hoping that in lieu of re testing, if I could just use the new numbers lol.
Also to note: this was the third and final stage of a stage race with plenty of fatigue on the legs
No, you shouldn’t use NP as a a substitute for an FTP test.
It just tells you when you should re-assess.
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You could use a 1hr NP of a hard race, one of Coggan’s 7 deadly sins https://wattmatters.blog/home/2008/05/the-seven-deadly-sins.html
" Normalised Power (from a Hard ~1hr Race)
#4 is pretty handy, particularly as an indicator of when a rider’s FTP may have changed. Frequently riders who do not do time trials, but do other races such as shorter road races or criteriums of approximately 1 hour duration, can use this as a crosscheck of their current FTP. Assuming the race was hard (that is, you were pretty much on the limit for most of the race), and you were not overly fatigued beforehand, then the 60 minute maximal Normalised Power should be at least at your FTP if not a little higher (up to about 5% higher). If your 60 minute Normalised Power is reported as more than 5% above your FTP, then that is a strong sign that your FTP needs re-setting (upwards)."
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Nudge up FTP a tad if can’t retest but obviously in a race this is going to be a “possibility,” but 12% is a bit too much…?
52min Crit for me this past Sunday yielded this… and I also got dropped lol
@nathanam00
Your Strava has IF of 1.01, and by looking at your zones that means Strava ftp is set at 232W or 233W.
Where did you see 1.12 IF?
Assuming Strava has wrong ftp, and race had 235W normalized power as shown in Strava, that means your ftp is actually 210W. Is that right? If yes then you had 1.12 IF and that means this:
Race efforts are often over ftp, and any race over 1.05 IF means it is time for another ftp test to set your training zones.