Thats my exact thoughts right now. Lats weekend had the State TT Titles, came 2nd, Silver, my performance was so sub par I don’t deserve Silver with 277w - my FTP is 342. Today had the State Road Titles off the line sat on FTP and dropped after 20mins at 300+w.
My performances have been so sub what I’m capable off. TBH training has been hit and miss. Last month I was racing well. Now. Just crap.
I have virtual races coming up for USAC Team and after the last two weeks well I’m not there.
Sounds like you might just be a bit cooked.
I had a similar thing recently where i’d go out and hammer along at 300W like normal… but i was only doing 250W, and it was hard work and i was crap.
So i reckoned my recent build, hard outdoor rides and zwift racing was slightly more than my old legs could cope with and so i took a really, really easy week to recover and it all came back, like magic.
Hi I am no Coach Chad or Nate.
Here is my Pennies worth.
For you to be so far off the numbers , points to something else???
65 watts down in the TT, Some missing info, Duration , elevation, was it a hilly TT course or flat rolling, How is the rest of life’s Stress, sleep recovery…etc. Did you prepare well get warmed up?
To finish second to me sounds absolutely Great and you should be proud of that achievement. The numbers do not tell the story the results do, You got on the podium. Well done
I do not road race hence my input low hanging fruit. Again were you still beat up over the second place and your mind not ready for hard road race. Also off the line to start at FTP then back down to 90% + is hard, i do find doing over and unders on TR Great Fun, i know we are all different at what rocks our boat.
Agree you sound bit over cooked - just an FYI the two people you tagged are not Nate or Chad of TR. If you were trying to reach Nate and Chad of TrainerRoad - an example of their tags are below.
You havent included nearly enough information here for anyone to help you. Why not search the forum and look for people who have posted about similar issues?
Just seems like a cry for help and an excuse to tell everyone you got silver.
More info needed.
Also is your ftp reproducible in TT bike?
Have you gone threshold on a road bike? How legit is the ftp?
Is it really hot and humid in your race?
Work/life stresses?
What kind of a taper do you do?
But I agree with others, you sound overtrained. I’ve done that myself quite a bit. My best output has been in training and I’ve been flat in races.
I really don’t care about Silver, I didn’t collect the medal. It wasn’t about that for me. What other info do you want? A really unhelpful post.
Age 42
Father of twins
14 months on TR
Weight 85kgs
FTP 342
FTP was taken from my road bike. I had been riding my TT bike pre time trial, probably not enough. I have gone from my road bike, to my TT bike before with the same FTP. I have changed my bars and position which may reflect the power reduction but not 40w.
Yesterdays performance, I cant pin point what went wrong.
It was perfect weather, windy , generally flat 90m of climbing per lap 4 laps, total 64kms
I was away with the family for 5 days, straight after the TT last week, at altitude, @960m (3149.61 feet), I live at 40m. I had my bike. Had two days off, 1 day doing small hill repeats, another day off, 90min ride with intervals, 75mins with openers before the road race.
Do you get paid to race? If not, then it’s a hobby. I haven’t heard anyone tired from a hobby…
Don’t beat yourself up over it. Maybe you just need a break. I remember Amber was talking about her experience on the podcast.
A few seasons ago I was really motivated to race and had amazing winter training. But then I had a medical emergency that almost put an end to all my exercises. Now if I have dark thoughts regarding my training progress or race results, I look back at that time and am just grateful of my health. You never appreciate what you have until you lose it…
Actually, reading today, at 3000ft which is considered altitude, there can be a dip coming back down to sea level. I can explain the drop in watts with the TT position and bike, from the road bike. Maybe not 40w, but different position and muscles. The poor performance on the road could be coming down from altitude and trying to perform. I was reading articles on altitude training for cyclists.
Taking a day off today, a new week ahead, new goals and plan to go through. Also adjusting diet, I am tracking my sleep and HRV as well for the past two weeks. Reset and start again.
We’re exactly the same size and I had the exact same FTP early this year and had the exact same experience :-D.
Things to think about.
That’s a big drop in power from road to TT. I’d check hip angle and see how aggressive you are. You might go faster higher up. It also sounds like you weren’t training on your TT bike or doing intervals on it. Doing that will help you figure out if it was a “I had a very bad day” vs “I can’t put power out on my TT bike”. Also don’t forget about power meter issues. Some PMs just read high/low. I’m assuming you’re using different PMs on each bike.
I had the same 300 watts NP for 20 minutes then getting dropped in Australia at Hefron park even though I had done that for 2 hours at elevation. What a bummer! For me, it was drinking too much the day before. For you…I don’t know. It could be: Over trained, maybe slightly sick, maybe your recent training fatigued you, weight session, under fueled, poor sleep, etc.
I would measure yourself more by the intervals that you can consistently do in training rather than one day performance.
Not collecting your medal seems very unsporting of you However dissatisfied you were with your performance, Most guys would be real chuffed to win any colour medal,
I could say more but I’ll keep mouth shut.
I wouldn’t let it worry you too much. We are not machines, we all have hard days.
Try and put it behind you, and you can always submit a question for them to answer on the podcast
Agreed. Not collecting the medal isn’t what we’re about as athletes. Might seem like a macho type-A move, but it’s a real slap in the face to your competitors and the volunteers who put time in to arrange all of that for us.
Second is great, you peaked too early and had a crap day. The sun will come up tomorrow.
Ill be a bit clearer, I was taking to another rider, Blair, who hasn’t raced a TT before and encouraging him to start racing. (Which he did last weekend his first road race) and missed the presentations.)
The same day I messaged the winner and congratulated him on his win and performance. In Tasmania it is a small state and you know nearly everyone that races.
You’ve hit the nail on the head that is the issue, not enough time doing intervals down in the TT positions and also road time on the TT bike.
I have two power meters both the same, different crank length, one is 165 and the other is 172.5. I calibrate before every session and race. I’ll go back to note 1, not enough TT time.
That was my issue at Heffron as well, and lack of sleep, not for the TT or RR last weekends though. I try and stay off alcohol for two weeks leading into a A or B event.
All of the above could be the issue as well. new week, new plan, starting with Rolling Road Race, and looking forward to training again. Motivation + Dedication + TR = Properly trained
I can only offer perspective on the Road Race aspect of your post.
I’m trying to frame a really simple concept that I’m also becoming keenly aware of. You (and I) as a rider have put time and effort into training this year. It has been a very, very strange year. We’ve almost certainly benefited from that trainer, in one way or another.
Problem is, our competition has also been training. They’ve had the time to experiment and push themselves. This in turn means that our progress has been equalised. FTPs, stamina, strength, it has all increased across the board. The general level of Amateur Racing fitness (I’m assuming you’re Amateur?) has risen. The numbers we once knew we’d need to succeed are going to have to be reset.
I’m willing to bet that your numbers are still your numbers, only now you need you need higher numbers. We all do.
I agree, racing when it comes back, will be stronger as you said because people have been on the trainer or training more, without the need to taper for racing every weekend. Our A , Cat 1, is now ridiculously stacked with pros not overseas, neo pros not racing inter state because of travel bans. And riders being able to train more consistently.
A great point of Covid is we can take advantage of this time to improve ourselves, work on parts of our fitness which we may not have been able to in the past.
Usually this time of year, I’m smashing myself silly with VO2 repeats. I don’t think I’ve done a proper, short effort, VO2 session in months. I’m dreading the first one. Taylor -2, here I come
For me, this period has enabled me to train so many different aspects of my riding. To the point that I honestly believe I’m a far more rounded and able racer.
Will I win more events? Honestly, I don’t think so. I’ll be able to make sure that everyone around me has a much tougher morning or afternoon though
