I’m a Cat 1/Expert XCO and MTB 100s racer. From my experience and after using a power meter on my MTB, I don’t think Sustained Power is a good fit for races on singletrack. Sustained power increases your ability to maintain near threshold efforts for a “longer” duration. However, these events have very little, less than 15%, in that zone. This is somewhat course dependent, but usually you either need power, lots of it, or you don’t (z2). Unless you have plenty of sustained climbs over 15-20 mins in your event, think Leadville, you’re likely better off with General Build. General Build is a nice mix of short and longer demands and has served me well in the past. This allows you to punch and recover over and over again, which is usually how these races go.
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