FTP smart trainer vs FTP during a race

Training
1

hi my FTP is 244 (one month ago 252)
yesterday i had a MTB race ( 50 km 1200m) my normalized power was 256, medium power 226, i have finished in 3 hours
is correct my FTP, i have to change it?
i have already tested my power meter and is like my smart trainer, the same power
thx

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2

Nope its fine and you don’t need to change it, you’ll find Gazillions of threads on the subject of indoors v outdoors FTP, day to day variance etc and the FTP you train to.

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3

So you did a 3 hour race @ ~93% of your (244W) FTP. You are a sweetspot beast, or maybe FTP set too low. Even with FTP of 252 that’s 3hr @ 89%.

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4

Look at your NP for 1 hour in your race, that’s a good ballpark of your real FTP.

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5

No it’s not. FTP is steady power, not NP from the race. If the NP is a lot over your FTP this should be an indiction that your FTP should be tested. You can do some heavy sprints and that will give you IF over 1.0 in an hour but this is not indication of your FTP.

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6

I have heard a couple of good coaches use this as a measure to estimate FTP from races. I’m sure the usual caveats regarding athlete type apply.

7

This is entirely dependent on the type of race, course, and type of effort.

For a 1 hour Zwift race, it can be good - you’re on the gas most of the time in Zwift for a bunch of different reasons, and Zwift races tend to be less punchy than out on the road. 1 hour TT, 1 hour hill climb… sure.

1 hour crit? 1 hour MTB race? No.

For this particular effort? Absolutely not.

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