Wpk isn’t the sole determinant of climbing performance. It is, however, the most important determinant, so if your specialty is going uphill and you’re going to obsess over anything, you should obsess over it. (Again, just look at any of the male or female pros whose goal is to win major stages races.)
Sure, and two people with the same w/kg FTP can have very different 5 min w/kg and performances up a 5 minute climb, so no, FTP as w/kg is not the most important thing for a cyclist. The real answer is, it depends on the situation. W/kg matters more when gravity is involved, and the flatter the road gets the less weight matters. You might say a 5 minute climb is irrelevant in the world of pro racing, you may be right, but we aren’t pros here, and that 5 minute climb may be more relevant to most people than Mont Ventoux. Just because someone has a higher FTP doesn’t mean they can’t get beaten by someone with a better power curve for that given scenario.
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If it is the most important thing, than why can I put riders with higher FTP (both in absolute watts and w/kg) to the screws on rides?
Yes, it is absolutely critical, but it is not the most important thing.
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I’m curious what people think the most important thing is, if not FTP or w/KG.
I ask because I agree that people drastically overestimate and obsess over their FTP and w/KG numbers, but I do think it is probably the largest single item people could improve on to make themselves stronger riders.
Not to say it is the only thing, or even significantly more important than other things like repeatability, durability, etc.
I guess, if you want to be very pedantic, it is easy to come up with a very specific situation where someone’s 5 minute power, or 30 second power, or complete lack of tactical sense, is more important than their FTP, but across nearly every race situation I’ve been in FTP was the most important factor to success. Maybe accounting for 30% of overall success, with numerous other things coming in at 5-25% weighting - depending on the situation.
So yes, people associate their self-worth as a cyclist with FTP way too often, and there are tons of other things you should be training. It isn’t 100% FTP but it is still a larger contributing factor than any other single factor. Think plurality not majority.
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I don’t think there’s one most important thing but a higher FTP and w/KG certainly make you more likely to be fast. A lot depends on what type of riding you’re doing and what your goals are.
I primarily consider myself a mountain biker that seeks out more gravity and technical focused rides. However, I enjoy all disciplines of cycling…I also road ride quite frequently on my cx bike, dirt jump, and occasionally do gravel rides. Cycling also isn’t the only sport I enjoy. If I focused only on FTP and W/KG I’d get fast but I would be more prone to injury and I think my speed for enduro and dh would definitely suffer. I prefer to have more well rounded fitness and have seen that benefit all types of riding and sports I enjoy.
People seem to look for the magic formula when IMO the reality is there isn’t one aside from plan-do-check-adjust (ramp test and plan anyone?). One of TR’s recent podcasts mentioned a constant growth mindset and that has really resonated with me. What I do for riding and strength training has changed quite frequently over the years. Constantly evaluating progress and what works for me is a lot of what makes it challenging and fun. When I was younger I got burnt out on racing by just focusing on the results. I know it sounds corny but it’s much more satisfying to enjoy the moment and the evolving journey.
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- Average speed of a ride posted to Strava
- Where I’m placed on a Strava leaderboard
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Lots of reasons. I’m still going to hire them before I hire you, though.
To turn things around: what do you think is the most important thing?
What is “repeatability”? How do you measure it? Does it even exist outside of other abilities, or is it really just a reflection of something else?
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If I were to let my ego choose between TR’s ramp test and the standard 20-minute test, my ego will ALWAYS choose the ramp test. The ramp test overestimated my FTP by at least 13%.
Bear in mind, this is when I had done SSB low-volume for over 2 months with very little VO2 work. I followed all the on-screen instructions, did the test in ERG mode, and did not stand at all.
If I want proper training zones I need to stick with the 20-minute test, as much as that pains me 
The ability to attack or respond to attacks multiple times over a multi-hour event. For a road racer this could mean attempting to initiate a breakaway, failing, recovering, and doing it again. Some (many?) racers have one big attack in them, one large effort. More successful racers can go multiple times. Repeatability is one way to think of this, the other would be how long it takes you to recover and your ability to recover while still doing significant work
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Sorry, I thought it would be obvious that my questions were largely rhetorical.
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If you wanna “hire” guys that finish behind me, that is your decision…seems kinda silly but it is your money.
What’s a ramp test? 
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When loading a motorcycle into a van, you want to walk up the ramp first to test it’s connected solidly and will take the weight.
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Jinx. Yours is better though.
I hate to break it to you but FTP is THE single biggest determinant of success as a cyclist. Now, if you don’t race or aren’t competitive then it doesn’t matter.
Let’s stop avoid the truth, FTP is hugely important. The ramp test is a really efficient way of getting a good ball park for your FTP (I would guess that’s it’s always within 3-5% of what my true FTP is) in other words, it’s really close (5-10w) to the margin-of-error by a power meter. That’s pretty good. Caveat: for me the ramp test gets less accurate if I’ve been doing a lot of VO2 max work.
However, dont underestimate the value of doing a longer FTP test. It teaches you a lot about pacing, pain, and what it feels like to ride at your FTP for a longer duration—something that people seem to want to avoid. “The 20-min test is hard to pace, blah blah blah”.
Just another excuse not to try it and learn.
Try all the FTP tests. I like the ramp test for quick in-season check ups. For the start of a new season I’m doing a TTE or at the very least a 20-min test though.
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Fake news. Tire pressure is the most important thing in cycling.
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It took quite awhile for someone to identify the core issue. Nailed it. That’s it. End of discussion. This might be the single most important yet misunderstood aspect of TR and the Ramp Test. The TR FTP only matters relative to the TR training system–nothing else–and even that requires some tweaking due to the N of 1 problem. It isn’t “your FTP.” It’s your TR training program identifier which allows you to follow a customized, sophisticated elite-level training program. It also serves as a useful relative measure of aerobic fitness–within that training program. Way to go Ski&Bike!
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Please let me know if you need a few, I have extras 
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