Really great story @Tom_F. As a fairly typical male I have no idea what stress does to me - my wife tends to let mw know though.
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I had a decline in bike fitness earlier this summer, which I can ascribe to a variety of factors that all likely compounded. I knew my fitness was down and it actually gave me a massive complex about even taking a ramp test. When I did take one, I was burning out after 11 minutes, actually took a backpedal for a minute just to have a little self-talk, then couldnāt make it to 13 minutes. It was like a 130 watt drop in FTP (tested, not actual).
I mention that to say that the ramp test can be weird sometimesā¦it requires a lot of motivation to give it your all. You say your outside stress is managed, but weāre not always conscious of the stress weāre physically internalizing. 2020 isā¦a lot.
Also, is there any kind of offseason in there? AG worlds to marathon right into baseā¦you might really need to just relax for a while in order to start building again.
That said, if you do feel good about everything other than just the ramp test results, ignore them! Your sustained efforts in training around threshold are much better indicators of your ftp than the ramp test (I say as someone who generally defends the ramp test).
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Yes I agree, I donāt think that stress is affecting me, but its only a think.
Looking at the dates, my decline did coincide with lockdown here in the uk, which was exceptionally tough for me at the time.
But I did find that training was something I was looking forward to, to split up the day and a break from the loneliness I felt, maybe that did take its toll.