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POWER BENCHMARKS?

Juan VergaraJuan Vergara
in General Training Discussions

New to TRAINING WITH POWER (3rd week) I am trying to figure out a TARGET but I have not been able to find benchmarks . Any tips on where to find them? I HAVE NOT YET TESTED PROPERLY (getting used to power before testing per coach's advice, will test in 1 week when i hit OS week 8). Today I did a 1h18m ride, 906kJ, TSS 138, IF 1.034, NP 197, Avg. Power 194, Avg HR 126, Avg. Cadence 100, VI 1.02, 56.3k and though I was ABP I wonder how close to the back of the pack that is???????).

Comments

  • cdntriguycdntriguy
    I would say that "you" are the benchmark for yourself. As you know you cannot compare your power output to someone else's or one powertap to another for that matter. If you're looking for how fast you can bike 180km at "x" ftp then I would say it depends but others can chime in here. So many factors to consider such as watts/kg at said ftp, aerodynamics, how long you stay aero, how you follow the race guidance, etc. Just by looking at your numbers, you are nowhere near the back of the pack and will improve drastically. My advice is to keep your head down and follow the plan. Happy testing!!!
  • jhbinscjhbinsc

    +1 to Wayne. Watts are meaningful alone but more meaningful when compared to other metrics such as weight, CDA (aero-ness), ability to hold % of FTP for X hours, etc. Try not to get too wrapped up in the #'s now as there is plenty of time for that later! Happy testing!

  • Shaughn SimmonsShaughn Simmons

    Ditto what Jeff said.  Look at Jeff's signature line where he shows a current w/kg of 4.2 and goal of 4.8...........imrprovement in w/kg is what makes you faster, not watts alone.  I can increase watts, but if I gain weight in the process, I am going nowhere faster.........

    Balancing that with improvements in vDOT along the way is an art.............

  • Keith WickKeith Wick

    If this felt like an ABP ride, which is 80-85% (lets say 82% for the calculations), then your estimated FTP will be somewhere around 240. You look pretty consistent (VI) over the ride time, which is awesome. What I would suggest is to do this weeks FTP intervals at around 230 watts to get a sense of how that feels for a longer interval. (I imagine that your interval length this week is someplace between 12-20'). On Tuesday if it feels good, do it again on Thursday for the first interval set, then see if you can kick it up a few watts on the second set. This will give you a more narrow range to gauge your upcoming test, plus let you see how much the effort you put in on Tuesday fatigued your legs in relation to repeating an FTP ride on Thursday.

     

  • Tom GlynnTom Glynn
    You should never compare yourself to others, but of course everyone does image

    half way down is a power profile spreadsheet. http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/power-profiling.aspx

    It's also available in WKO+
  • Juan VergaraJuan Vergara
    Tks all for the input.
  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Juan it's not so much how you measure to everyone else, but how you stack up in 3 months vs you-right-now. image
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