So I've had my powertap for a week now, been following the Training and Racing With a Power Meter book, and I'm trying to get the hang of testing, and what not. I've gathered data from 5 rides, ranging from two testing days, a crit race, and a VO2max day, plus a high tempo day. I figured that should be a broad enough spectrum to make some assumptions on my power profile.
I've attached a copy of said profile
Now, my power profile indicates some goofy things--at least as far as I'm reading it...
Using the chart's Cat 3 numbers for comparison (my USCF category) , I'm interpreting the profile as I have a pretty solid sprint compared to only road racers(not looking at track guys), I have an extremely poor 1min, my 5 min power is good, and my FTP is above average.
Now that's all well and good, but comparing these values to my race performances...
-I do have a pretty good sprint, and can finish top 5 pretty consistantly if it's a field sprint (and I choose the right wheel...)
-I can solo-bridge gaps pretty well, and I do alright on shortish power climbs (even in collegiate 1/2/3 races) so I had assumed my 1 min was at least decent for a cat 3... definitely better than untrained...
-I'm pretty much in agreement with the 5 min power, cause I'm consistantly with the front of the pack/setting the pace on 5-10 min climbs
-I'm pretty good at TT's as well, so I think the FTP placement is pretty accurate.
I suppose what confuses me most, is that I could have a good value for the entirely neuromuscular/anerobic 5 sec power, then have such a low value for the anerobic 1 min power values. Is it common to have a good sprint, but a bad anerobic power?
What's further confusing, is that the power profile seems to say that I'm more of an endourance/climber/TT guy (with a decent sprint), but my entire background in sports before cycling focused around fast twitch strength sports (wrestling, shot put, waterpolo), which would have led me to believe that my profile should have a negative slope, not such a strong positive one...
Would the fact that I'm slightly heavier than most, at 80kg, explain some of my confusion between my race performance, and number comparison? As in, since I'm heavier than the average cat 3 cyclist, can I still make valid assumptions and comparisons to the average cat 3 cyclist's power profile?
Any insight/advice would be appreciated! (...especially from the person who wrote the power profile chart )
I've attached a copy of said profile
Now, my power profile indicates some goofy things--at least as far as I'm reading it...
Using the chart's Cat 3 numbers for comparison (my USCF category) , I'm interpreting the profile as I have a pretty solid sprint compared to only road racers(not looking at track guys), I have an extremely poor 1min, my 5 min power is good, and my FTP is above average.
Now that's all well and good, but comparing these values to my race performances...
-I do have a pretty good sprint, and can finish top 5 pretty consistantly if it's a field sprint (and I choose the right wheel...)
-I can solo-bridge gaps pretty well, and I do alright on shortish power climbs (even in collegiate 1/2/3 races) so I had assumed my 1 min was at least decent for a cat 3... definitely better than untrained...
-I'm pretty much in agreement with the 5 min power, cause I'm consistantly with the front of the pack/setting the pace on 5-10 min climbs
-I'm pretty good at TT's as well, so I think the FTP placement is pretty accurate.
I suppose what confuses me most, is that I could have a good value for the entirely neuromuscular/anerobic 5 sec power, then have such a low value for the anerobic 1 min power values. Is it common to have a good sprint, but a bad anerobic power?
What's further confusing, is that the power profile seems to say that I'm more of an endourance/climber/TT guy (with a decent sprint), but my entire background in sports before cycling focused around fast twitch strength sports (wrestling, shot put, waterpolo), which would have led me to believe that my profile should have a negative slope, not such a strong positive one...
Would the fact that I'm slightly heavier than most, at 80kg, explain some of my confusion between my race performance, and number comparison? As in, since I'm heavier than the average cat 3 cyclist, can I still make valid assumptions and comparisons to the average cat 3 cyclist's power profile?
Any insight/advice would be appreciated! (...especially from the person who wrote the power profile chart )