Cat 5 TT Power File

Aztec

50:37. Some short, but momemtum-killing steep rises in road, no material wind, ~85*F.

Aztec

Here's some follow up. I've done a few 2x20 workouts on a long uninterrupted climb w/ 5 mins between at about 150-175w (still climbing, just slowly). Yesterday I targeted 235w, and ended up with 247w for the 1st, then 235w for the second. While they were definitely hard work, it seemed well below that of the TT. I could've done a 3rd one without too much doubt.

I either had a very poor TT day 2 weeks ago, I've suddenly become more fit, and/or the aero position really saps my power (despite having done the majority of my training in it for a month). Oh, or climbing somehow makes it 'easier' to generate more power than flats.

beerco

I'll bet your threshold is right around 240 then. Your poor TT 2 weeks ago was due to your going out too hard. Your 2x20's seemed easier because you were pacing better. Even then it sounds like you went out a little too hard for the first one.

I've got an interesting one coming up tomorrow (sat): a stage race this weekend has about a 2.8 mile prologue. Because I know the course very well, I'm estimating my time will be somewhere between 6:20 and 7:00. That's by far the shortest TT I've ever done....oh boy! Almost short enough to be called a pursuit!

Aztec

Wow, that IS short. The CTS field test is two 3 mile TTs, and I hovered just above 7 mins. That's a tough, seriously anaerobic-feeling distance! Good luck.

My pacing up the hill is better in the sense that the average is closer to the correct level, but I'm yo-yoing all over the place (i.e., power varies from <220 to >300 for moments at a time as I adjust to changes in slope, etc.). It's a miracle that the number comes out close to the target!

ric_stern/RST

i've done a couple of stage races with such short TTs and hill climbs that last only 2 or 3 minutes. all horrendously bad fun ;-)

good luck in your race

ric

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beerco

My tt went pretty well. I won it with a 6:27 (winning time over all was 5:56) and then took second in the crit afterward and am entering tomorrow with a 5 point lead in the GC. It was pretty painful on the last lap (two laps of an auto racing course). I also think that I've lost some fitness due to a bit too much slacking on my part, but the TT bike saved the day.

Aztec

Wow, awesome! Did you record power during either of these?

beerco

Did I record power? Naturlich! Power for the TT was 311w ave. I imagine that my teamate who took second place in the TT a second behind me was putting out around 350w (no aero stuff). I'm thinking that about a month ago before I started slacking 320 to 330 would have been possible - don't really matter though as this stage race is on points, not time.

The crit - Normalized power was 250w. Winning the bunch sprint (for 2nd) was relatively easy with a mere 800 or so watts necessary to get me around two guys by a full wheel or so.

It was quite hilarious (in an unfortunate way). The field is pretty small in this race due to poor advertizing. There was a guy off the front who had a big lead but not enough guys were working together to chase. He ended up winning crossing the line about a second before we got there. He definitely earned it though: He puked just as he crossed the line. The guy who took 4th then unexplicably crashed and slid accross the line. The finish line camera reportedly has video of the winner puking off his bike and 4th place sliding accross the line....dang!

velomanct

you won sprint finish while producing 800watts!? that must have been a slow sprint. how much do you weigh?

beerco

I weigh 76kg (too much by about 3kg) and my best 5s power is 16.5w/kg or about 1250w or so. I peak at just over 1300 - I'm certainly no trackie like you, but as a roadie I'm not too bad. The sprint was after a down hill with a tailwind. We hit about 36 at the end (don't have my power file handy). Not much power is required at the end of road races to win sprints because everyone is usually pretty gassed.

I forget who it was but a guy on a different list trains a lot with Kevin Monahan (I think that's how you spell it, anyway, hes a pro or was pro a year or two ago) and during training he would repeatedly sprint past him. This guy could sprint at about 1400w and Kevin only 1200. During races though, Kevin would win because he could put out 1100w at the end of a P12 race whereas most other guys couldn't. It's a mater of having a high enough threshold to be able to put out your full sprint at the end of the race. Nothstein's 2000+w couldn't win a pro road race until he build up his threshold.

BTW, I managed to win the GC in my stage race - very close though. I couldn't sprint today for some reason and finished 6th. that left me tied for first with 40 points. I ended up winning because I was more consistent. To decide it they added together your finishing position over the three days and the guy with the lowest score wins...whew!

velomanct

it sounds like you a decent sprint. i know what you mean about the end of a road race. you can't put out a normal sprint when you are trashed, or close to it.
the biggest problem i have is that i was not in good enough shape at most races and when it came down to the sprint, i had nothing left. the last mile was too high a pace for me. if i wasn't so anearobic when the sprint started i could have easily placed top 3. in that race, i had done about HALF of my normal sprint power ( i got out of the saddle to go, and my legs didn't like that, there was NOTHING there) so i am working on threshold vo2max, and lactate tolerance. i am also working on my long sprint which fades, in comparison to my peak power. when i do 20 second flat sprints by myself, my power at the end is about 2/3rds of my peak. hill sprints are a little better for me, i held a relatively steady 1300 for 15 seconds, near the end of my killer day today, at the end of a killer week. i sometimes find it hard to push myself to the limit on a flat sprint if i am training solo. i wish i knew someone i could train with.

you should work on your jump, it sounds like your 5 sec power is really close to your peak. one workout i like doing is standing (5mph) starts in my 53x13, about 12 seconds long. i am doing weights seriously this winter, i haven't done any in 2 years and i think it would really help my track racing aspirations. i look like your typical stick boy roadie.

congrats on your racing, it sounds like you are doing quite well this year.

Aztec

Wow, congrats! What part of the country are you in? And what category?

What do you mean by "normalized" power?

I'd guess that's a relatively rare finish photo...

beerco

I race cat 4 in south east Michigan...at least for now. I'll be upping to cat 3 after next Saturday's race.

Normalized power defined: http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/defined.html

Aztec

Wow, now that's complicated. How did your normalized power compare to average power in this case?

Looks like Cycling Peaks software has more value to add than I thought. Do you use a Powertap and just load the data into their software?

Interesting.