I’m really confused by the power ranking stats. I have about 7 years of data in the system and my all-time phenotype is puncheur. My 5s and 60s are in the 56th and 60th percentile and my 5m - 60m range from 39th - 44th percentile. When I switch to this year, my Watts are lower than or similar to my all-time numbers but never higher, yet my percentiles range from 72nd - 78th and I’m listed as a Sprinter.
If my numbers haven’t improved how can my percentiles have jumped that much. TR support told me that current year is compared to current year athletes only. If so, that says to me that a large chunk of top athletes have left the platform or a huge group of weaker riders have joined, skewing this years numbers vs. all-time.
For reference I’m a borderline Cat D/Cat C in Zwift and I should be sub 50th percentiles in most populations, especially in a population of people serious about training as I expect TR attracts.
Can someone help me understand what I’m seeing? Am I thinking about this all wrong?
I think what @BenB is saying here justifies what you’re seeing, but it’s kind of hard to really visualize.
I see the same thing on my end. I set my all-time 5-second power record this year, and while I’m above the 97th percentile for this year, I’m only in the 85th percentile for all-time records.
This says that our database has a good handful of athletes who hit their all-time 5-second power records in years other than this year. This could be due to aging athletes, ex-racers, etc.
It also tells me that I’m improving in comparison to the rest of the athletes in the dataset, as my numbers this year place me higher than my all-time numbers.
It’s kind of confusing, and I’ll certainly share that with the team, but I do think it makes sense..
Yeah, I think power rankings are one of the more half baked TR features, mainly because what you’re actually looking at it is poorly explained and hard to interpret. I treat it as a curiosity.
My all time 1 minute power is 438W which is 60th percentile.
My 2025 1 minute power is 375W which is 75th percentile.
That says to me the population that has recorded rides in 2025 has has a smaller percentage of people exceeding 375W than the percentage or riders all time have exceeded 438W.
The chart changes the population comparison without indicating so in the UI - not the best visual. Would make a lot more sense to be compared to a more stable metric.
I’m going by this year’s figures then, as they massage my fragile ego much better
I can tell you that there is no sodding way I’m a 95 percentile rider w/kg for short duration power. I literally have no idea where these figures come from unless there is like, barely any old women using TR this year.
