Your 2010/current power profile metrics...



Here are my 2010 numbers. I'm 6'2", 79kg, currently cat4.

5sec 1,207W
30sec 749W
1min 476W
5min 324W
30min 288W
60min 274W

Measured with a Power Tap Comp. New to training with power. Its certainly interesting...

Jason
 
OK, I'm a noob here, so no rep to lose! I just got my PT about 6 weeks ago, so I haven't tested all of the peak power time intervals you have noted. Well, actually, I haven't really tested ANY of them. These numbers are simply from the peak power record in Power Agent as a result of several group rides.

5 sec. - 803
1 min. - 397
5 min. - 250
60 min. - 180

53 year old with no endurance background at all. Started riding two years ago for triathlons. 67.3 kg (148 lbs.)

Trying to learn how to get faster and that's why I joined this forum.

Thanks
 
I've been looking everywhere for some power numbers of other women! I too love the data and have so much fun analyzing my rides/efforts (I'm a statistician by trade :). It's very interesting to see the range of numbers from different riders. I'm still new to training - this is my first year with a power tap - and I'd like to think the numbers, particularly the longer intervals, will get better over time...

But here they are for the next woman to have as a comparison:

5sec - 875
1min - 410
5min - 240
20min - 200

120lbs give or take (55kg is what I assume currently).

Def a sprinter, but mostly because I don't hang on in the longer/tougher road races. I can keep 650+ watts going for about 30 seconds so I tend to prefer longer sprints.
 
savage42 said:
I've been looking everywhere for some power numbers of other women! I too love the data and have so much fun analyzing my rides/efforts (I'm a statistician by trade :). It's very interesting to see the range of numbers from different riders. I'm still new to training - this is my first year with a power tap - and I'd like to think the numbers, particularly the longer intervals, will get better over time...

But here they are for the next woman to have as a comparison:

5sec - 875
1min - 410
5min - 240
20min - 200

120lbs give or take (55kg is what I assume currently).

Def a sprinter, but mostly because I don't hang on in the longer/tougher road races. I can keep 650+ watts going for about 30 seconds so I tend to prefer longer sprints.
Those are indeed pretty impressive numbers for your size (I only weigh 5 lbs less and have barely topped 800w for one second let alone five seconds). Mind if I ask how tall you are?

My numbers are further up the thread. Peak 30 secs ever is 518w.

If you can work on your FTP and 5-min watts, you will be nearly impossible to beat in a women's race -- having the steady power to stick in the bunch, the 5-min power to last most hills and attacks/chases, and then the sprint to finish everyone off. :)
 
smaryka said:
If you can work on your FTP and 5-min watts, you will be nearly impossible to beat in a women's race -- having the steady power to stick in the bunch, the 5-min power to last most hills and attacks/chases, and then the sprint to finish everyone off. :)

Smaryka (hi Smaryka :D) is right of course that if you improve the 5 & 60m power that your chances of winning will be excellent.

I'd say though, putting aside road racing, right now, your power profile says track sprinter, loud and very clear! Seriously, 16w/kg is track sprinter material.and I don't mean pack filler, cannon fodder material either. Check this out:

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I'm not saying you could show up, with no fixie experience at a track and start throwing down 12's in the 200. But with practice, work on technique, and experience, you are capable of doing some hella good 200's with the fitness you have right now. So if the sound of wins, medals, and lots of podiums sounds appealing, don't overlook track racing.

Part of it I guess is deciding what you want to work on....road racing, a sport dominated by aerobic, hence slow twitch individuals when it comes down to it or track sprinting which is all about fast-twitch ability. I'm somewhere in between the ST/FT spectrum so I get a choice of being decent, but never great, at either.

Some people naturally gravitate towards what they are good at whereas others will pursue events/activities that aren't ideal for them, simply because of enjoyment or fun. Anyway, welcome to the boards :)
 
Are these power numbers an average over the stated time? Reason I ask is because how do you know how much power to put out to make you last for an hour? Wouldn't you usually start out higher in the beginning and then taper off as the time is ending?

Figured I'd ask since I'm not too sure how that number is brought about.

Thanks.
 
JasonS said:
Here are my 2010 numbers. I'm 6'2", 79kg, currently cat4.

5sec 1,207W
30sec 749W
1min 476W
5min 324W
30min 288W
60min 274W

Measured with a Power Tap Comp. New to training with power. Its certainly interesting...

Jason

60 min's is 274W ? 30 min's is 288W ?? You should be a cat2 at least ! :D I wish I had #'s like that....
 
Threshold said:
Are these power numbers an average over the stated time? Reason I ask is because how do you know how much power to put out to make you last for an hour? Wouldn't you usually start out higher in the beginning and then taper off as the time is ending?

Figured I'd ask since I'm not too sure how that number is brought about.

Thanks.
Yes, they are peak power numbers which are an average for each time period. The software finds them for you once you upload your data. Note that they are real averages and not theoretical for most of us, but that doesn't mean (as you point out) and the longer time periods were well-paced! That's a whole other conversation. :D
 
gman0482 said:
60 min's is 274W ? 30 min's is 288W ?? You should be a cat2 at least ! :D I wish I had #'s like that....

Not sure I agree with that belief, as a 3rd cat UK guy - equivalent to cat 4 in the US, and I have a fair few more watts and whilst I could upgrade 1 cat this year, it's unlikely that I could do more. I have 325 AP and 350+ NP for an hour, 30 mins of 340, 1 min of 670, 5 min of 440, all well above the OP's and I'm only 75kg.

It shows a couple of things, one is that looking at power numbers is not the only thing you should do, how you race and how you use that power does matter a lot your results in races. Also that comparing cats of people on line isn't always too helpful as there are large regional and national differences in abilities, the Cat system is about creating fair races and isn't really comparable outside the small regions and does depend on the number of people racing.
 
DancenMacabre said:
I'd say though, putting aside road racing, right now, your power profile says track sprinter, loud and very clear! Seriously, 16w/kg is track sprinter material.and I don't mean pack filler, cannon fodder material either.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. My problem with track racing (I've tried it a few times) is that I lose to women with ~20+ lbs and a ton more power than me...my power to weight ratio might be pretty good for sprinting, but on a flat drag it seems more about absolute power than power to weight. Same thing with flat crits. Unfortunately efforts that seem to favor smaller racers also seem to be longer (I'm thinking long-ish hill climbs and such). But boy do love the short steep climbs and uphill sprint finishes!

And to smaryka: I'm 5'7". When I started training pretty seriously, I knew the 5/20 min power was what needed the most work, and have pretty much focused on improving my threshold power the whole season... I've now accepted the fact that it might take a few years to really boost the numbers.

Love the forum - especially the discussions about training. Learning so much!
 
JibberJim said:
Not sure I agree with that belief, as a 3rd cat UK guy - equivalent to cat 4 in the US, and I have a fair few more watts and whilst I could upgrade 1 cat this year, it's unlikely that I could do more. I have 325 AP and 350+ NP for an hour, 30 mins of 340, 1 min of 670, 5 min of 440, all well above the OP's and I'm only 75kg.

It shows a couple of things, one is that looking at power numbers is not the only thing you should do, how you race and how you use that power does matter a lot your results in races. Also that comparing cats of people on line isn't always too helpful as there are large regional and national differences in abilities, the Cat system is about creating fair races and isn't really comparable outside the small regions and does depend on the number of people racing.


I'm always amazed that there seems to be a lot of riders that quote large power outputs but are still 3rd 4th cats.

So as JibberJim said, this is either down tictacs of racing, or that the races do not suit their power profile... or that there are a lot of riders of a better ability in their region.

Just saying... :confused:
 
5s - 1200
1m - 719
5m - 385
60m - AP=301 NP=321
Racing category: 3

I am 42 and race cat 3 and Masters and weigh 76kg. I'd say I'm an all rounder.

My experience is that peak numbers are a good for training but for racing they can be a bit deceptive. What matters in racing is what power you can put out over and over again with unpredictable recovery times and with different torques depending on the terrain, conditions, and the race dynamics - not to mention technical skills, positioning, tactics, etc. I think it's very complex and you have to train smart to build your peak power numbers and then do lots of racing if you want to get good results.
 
Come on, DM - you know better than that...In order to get some info, you gotta give up some info too...


 
gman0482 said:
60 min's is 274W ? 30 min's is 288W ?? You should be a cat2 at least ! :D I wish I had #'s like that....

Those are some handy numbers but not Cat 2 numbers - about 50watts or so shy for the hour...

For me - I really haven't give it full gas this year apart from a couple of hard one hour rides which were just over 4w/kg.

That came more from weight loss than a power increase. The last three months have been groveling grinding out the hours in a suitably big gear. Not happy times at all but I did lose 30lbs. Another 12 and I'll be down to 154 which will be good for the Everest and a great start for next year.

The second half of the year, following a break for the Alta alpina and friends coming out for the death ride, brings the Power Cranks out... The training will be more of the same but it'll be interesting to see the results. Tonights 100degree 1.5br suffer feat left me unable to walk upstairs for about 30 mins - had to have dinner in sweat soaked kit, exhiled to the other end of the kitchen counter. Lol
 
swampy1970 said:
That came more from weight loss than a power increase. The last three months have been groveling grinding out the hours in a suitably big gear. Not happy times at all but I did lose 30lbs. Another 12 and I'll be down to 154 which will be good for the Everest and a great start for next year.
Way to go swampy! That's awesome!
 
lanierb said:
Way to go swampy! That's awesome!

Thanks!

Now that I've start getting the weight under control and hills start to feel a little more like they used too it's added a fair bit of motivation to keep going for the latter half of the year rather than spend the second half of the year soaking up the sun and having a few beers.

I'm still about 30 watts shy of last year but that situation should resolve itself over the next few months.
 
cutegirl said:
Come on, DM - you know better than that...In order to get some info, you gotta give up some info too...

Ha ha, but I did earlier in the post, though granted, those numbers are a little outdated now. Such is the life of the newer rider where PB's are best written in pencil :)
 
DancenMacabre said:
Ha ha, but I did earlier in the post, though granted, those numbers are a little outdated now. Such is the life of the newer rider where PB's are best written in pencil :)

When you start such a thread you are almost obliged to share ;)
 
ryanfiddler2000 said:
Cat II. Need to work on the short intense stuff, gotta have better 5 sec and 1' power

The Physiology of Cycling: A Training Blog
Just curious how you got to cat 2, what kinds of races did you do to get the points to get there? Team or no team, how many races, etc. The reason I ask is that I'm interested to compare the US and British categories. If I recall, the US system has 5 levels (cat 1 to cat 5) and so do we though we name them differently (elite to cat 4).
 

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