I didn't make the statement above, perhaps you're confusing my posts with some else's.Originally Posted by An old Guy .
You said that 215w FPT would allow a CAT4, the original poster, to ride with most group rides....
I was only struggling to understand how 5.5 w/kg was insufficient to run down casual riders on hills as that's not even close to my experiences nor of those riders I work with whose power files I review. But I understand better if you sustained that 5.5 w/kg for a only a short duration.
But since you bring it up I've got plenty of team ride and race files including races where I placed or won where my AP is barely above the OPs FTP for an hour, your post did encourage me to take a look and sure some courses demand more sustained power but many do not.
Here's a screen shot from a P1/2/3 race where I took 4th overall and even got away for about six laps late in the race before getting chased down by a small group that I stuck with to the finishing sprint. My AP for an hour was almost exactly the OPs FTP and I was about fifteen pounds heavier than his current weight. Earlier that morning I won the Masters 45+ race, also ridden at just over 25 mph average with 212 watts for ~40 minutes, again not a huge stretch given the OPs current FTP especially at his lower race weight. AP of course does not tell the whole story and I had to dig deep in both races at critical times for instance with a peak 10 minutes of 256 watts and a peak 5 minutes of 267 watts during my solo off the front and an NP for the afternoon race of 239 for an hour which is above the OPs current FTP but it's not all that far above his FTP and that was racing against upper category racers not Cat 4s or club riders.
And yes, riding skills are very important in crits but you'll only develop them by getting out and riding with fast groups or by racing and we all have to start somewhere.
-Dave