Recent Power Drop Despite Structured Training – Seeking Plan Guidance

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Hi everyone – looking for some insight or guidance as I try to figure out what might be going on with my performance this season. Appreciate any help you all can offer!

TL;DR:
After another full year of structured TR training, my race power this spring is the same or lower than last year — trying to figure out what went wrong and how to adjust. Open to all advice!

Quick training/racing background:

From 2016–2021, I rode regularly but didn’t do any structured training.

In 2022, I got more intentional and followed a plan focused on endurance to completeUnbound in 2023. Lots of Zone 2 — finished Unbound despite the mud.

In 2024, I started using TrainerRoad to prepare for a series of spring and summer events. I saw major power gains and hit multiple all-time PRs, both in races and just riding.

That progress continued through the summer, including another endurance-focused event, and even after a break in the fall, I hit another power PR in September during an unstructured ride.

In Nov/Dec, I intentionally took some time off with the holidays. Then in January I picked things back up, following a similar TR plan to the one I used last year.

I just completed a couple of early-season races again this year and was disappointed to see my race power numbers lower than they were in 2024. Legs didn’t feel terrible, just not nearly as snappy or strong.

My questions:

Could this be a result of too much time off during the offseason, or a rushed ramp-up?

Is it possible I’m repeating the same plan and not seeing adaptation gains anymore?

Now that I have more training time available, what kind of changes should I consider?

Would something like a different base or build structure make sense?

I’m motivated and ready to commit to training consistently again — just want to make sure I’m not spinning my wheels. Happy to share more training history if helpful.

Thanks in advance for any input!

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Early season races can be like that. Some people take time off (lose fitness) and some people hammer all winter and come out swinging.

If you have more time I would add more z1/2 volume.

:slight_smile:

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Hey,

It looks like your FTP is the same as during your peak in late July last summer. This is a good sign of what’s to come this season if you keep your consistency up. :raising_hands:

It looks like your Seeds & Stones Roubaix race went pretty well from my perspective. Over four hours at .83 IF at your all-time high FTP is solid!

Looking at your training stimulus since last year’s peak, it appears that you slowly tapered off your training towards the end of 2024 and are now well on your way back up. Fitness does follow training, but adaptations aren’t instantaneous, so be sure to figure that you’ll see the gains from your current workload in a week or two.

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As @Majoeric mentioned, many athletes panic a bit during their first few events of the season when their fitness hasn’t quite caught up with their training, and they aren’t back at peak form, but that usually doesn’t come until mid-late season for most. Again, you’re already ahead of where you were at this point last year, so I would keep your head up and stay focused on following the plan. You’re on track to be fitter than ever this year! :flexed_biceps:

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Awesome! Thank you @eddiegrinwald - support like this are what will make me a lifelong customer. Appreciated you taking a look at everything and giving me some feedback.

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No problem!

I’m always happy to help. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Just shout if you’d like to chat about anything down the road.

Best of luck with your season! :handshake: