How high a TSB?

whoawhoa said:

Just interested in your opinions on how high a TSB to taper into given that my goal race is a 20k tt. I've been planning around +10.

I suspect it's a very personal thing, but I've had my best results shooting for a taper in the 0 to +5 TSB range. And that's for weekend stage races. If I was only riding a 20 k TT I sure wouldn't shoot for a TSB as high as +10. I find I race better if I've had some good steady work leading up to the race with just a single rest day two days out and a wake and shake ride the day before with a few short FTP/L5 efforts. That's just me and I sure tried racing on some +10 to +15 TSB peaks earlier this season they left me feeling blocked up and I couldn't even hit power levels I normally hit in training during short TTs.

just my 2 cents, I do suspect everyone is different here and it's probably relative to your current CTL as well.

Good luck,
Dave

I think it probably depends most on the "trend" of TSB, i.e. if you typically run a TSB in the -10 to 0 range, then +10 doesn't reflect much of a taper. But if you typically run in the -30 to -20 range, that +10 TSB will reflect a pretty well-rested state.

It's also worth remembering that a positive TSB should have more effect on short effort performance, not longer steady-state efforts like a 20k TT. And as DRW points out, CTL plays a role as well. In prep for a 4 stage/ 3 day race, I did a month of build/base type training that drove my CTL up to 125 on 6/24 from a low of 112 following my spring targets. (TSB low was -30) CTL is now drifting slowly down again as I race and do more top-end work and will probably be between 117 and 120, with a +10 or +15 TSB for the start of my stage race next weekend.