CTL on a single day event

Originally Posted by bigbadwoulfe

I'll be in my first ever MTB race this coming April. I entered as a beginner and will be doing only two laps of a 15km course so only a total of 30km. The event would last for an hour to an hour and a half at least. I haven't pre ride the course yet but judging on the location of the event, there will be lots of climbs up to 5 to 10 minutes long. I've been slowly building up my aerobic base since December last year and pretty consistently stacking up CTL points. I was up at 95 CTL with a fairly negative TSB.

The problem. Two weeks ago, my wife gave birth and I was not able to ride my bike for a week. CTL dropped back to 80+. Now I'm back to my regular training and slowly trying to regain the lost CTL.

Question 1: How much CTL do I really need for this particular event?
Question 2: Is CTL more important than FTP in an XC race? Last tested FTP was 298W @ 72 kg before the birth.
Question 3: Am I crazy for considering all these things if I'm only racing the beginner level?

Originally Posted by Alex Simmons

1. It depends - enough to finish (which is not much). You have ample.
2. No.
3. Yes ....