Hey Nate, this was last year, I was 36yo, FTP was 406, and race winning move was on the Augusta Course that has been used for Amateur Nats in 2012 and 2013 (?) and then in 2017 for Master’s Nats (my first year of eligibility).
Unfortunately I was racing alone in this race.
It’s a 1-1.5 minute climb that I was dropped on the year before, so I hit intervals in that range specifically for that finish, knowing that only a small group would get away, if ever; it’s usually a large group hitting that climbs in Amateurs. The guy who won the year before started the surge up it and I just gave myself the pep talk that I wouldn’t lose his wheel, and when he slowed, I gassed it passed him and dropped the other two.
No TR file but one one training peaks…
Don’t have my exact weight then but I’d say 186lb was where I spend most of the year, altho with massive carb load, closer to 189 on race day.
Last ramp test put me at 342W FTP at 70kg. Race yesterday saw 338W NP for 70 minutes, which included 5 minutes pretty easy since the break didn’t want to lap the field. I never really felt too overextended, so I think that I’m probably right around 5 W/kg. Finally.
I think some have mentioned but I will mention it again. As a XC Mtb’r there are plenty of riders who have bigger FTP than me and I fluctuate between 150-153lbs and 287-310 FTP.
Your ability to over FTP repeatedly and your time to exhaustion is arguably more important on many courses. I know plenty of guys that can ride away from me at a steady state effort but as soon we surge over and over again, they will get spit out the back.
Focus on different measures of fitness outside of just FTP.
went from 94kg @ 240w (oct 2017 ) to 78kg @ 351watt (today)
first year I lost weigth to 76kg and ftp got to 320w
stuck with structured training mid volume over the winter and just tested before starting build this year. I gained a few kgs but my power and w/kg is better now.
I am more concerned with fueling enough than I am about eating “healthy”. I would however need to eat healthier to drop weight and close in on that 5w/kg mark.
My goal is to stay motivated gain experience racing this season and try to hit 5w/kg for next years races!
I think the biggest thing is choosing the right parents. Otherwise, I’ve been cycling for the better part of a decade. Been using a powermeter since 2012, and structured training for 4 of those years.
No real magic formula. Just a lot of hours in the saddle with focused training.
Here’s the thing: you could make it to 5w/kg, be a high end Cat2 guy or race Cat1, but you might never make a pro field. Or you make a pro field, but you’ll never win. Or maybe you win in a pro field, but you’ll never race a grand tour. Maybe you race a grand tour, but you’ll never win a stage. Maybe you win a stage but you’ll never beat Peter Sagan…
You can make yourself crazy focusing on results or “not being good enough.” 99.9% of us are doing this for fun, even if we are competitive as hell. You don’t have to be 5W/kg to compete your ass off or care about results. But the sooner you let go of numbers like 5W/kg or letting outcomes dictate enjoyment, the more fun and happiness you’ll find with your riding.
Signed,
An older guy who took too long to figure this out
Agree there’s no magic number, but I think the majority on here are type A folks who want to be competitive (at whatever age, weight, level) or at least make meaningful improvements. It’s a pretty self-selecting crowd - everybody here has chosen to part with their well earned money to subscribe to a service which is heavily data driven. If you don’t care about tracking and improving your numbers, you don’t subscribe to TR, you just go out and ride with your friends, or maybe have a Zwift subscription to “just ride” indoors.
I’m mostly a type A person, though I do find it useful to have periods of months (occasionally years!) when I don’t have a lot of structure to my training and just go out and ride/swim/run/lift/whatever I feel like doing. When I am doing structured training I find it useful to:
Aim to be better, not perfect. Setting hugely ambitious goals (e.g. Aiming for 5W/kg from a starting point of 3W/kg) is counterproductive in my view. It’s OK to have some long term aspiration but in terms of tangible goals focus on things which are realistic in a 3 to 6 month timeframe so that you can make meaningful progress towards them and stay motivated
Focus on the process more than the outcome. Nobody really knows what their limits are, so 5W/kg or even 4W/kg may simply not be possible. But following a plan, or sticking to dietary rules, is possible, and in the long term if you do the right things the outcomes tend to follow, even if there are short term dips
Don’t get obsessive and don’t be too hard on yourself. Notwithstanding point 2), there are times when you need to skip or cut short a workout, or have a few drinks/doughnuts/whatever and not worry about the calories. There’s plenty of world and Olympic champions with a penchant for McDonald’s, beers, chocolate, etc, and unlike us they’re actually getting paid for doing this!
Nothing there that I disagree with,and your three points are great! My thought was more in answering the underlying “what’s the point?” We all have our own motivations, for sure. Most are type A and dedicated to this. I’m sure we’ve all asked the question “what’s the point?” I know I have; I had a bit of a crisis about it three years ago or so.
For me, going on 42, there’s not a lot of upward mobility in the overall pack to achieve. I will improve within my own bounds, and that’s what drives me to get on the trainer at 6am. But “why?” I suspect my answer is the same as most others here who have been doing this (or triathlon) for a long time.
Simply, because it’s something I love to do, even if I’m never going to be a factor at the highest levels of racing.