Power stats for racing

giannip said:

Hi

I'm very interested to see any stats available for the racing scene in your area.

For example I'd be interested to see what power one would require to be competitive in Cat 4,3,2,1 etc.

This is just out of curiosity

Male/Cat 3

Chicagoland

Moderately competitive in crits and road races

Very competitive in TT

FTP: 3.91 w/kg
5 min: 4.60 w/kg
1 min: 7.59 w/kg
5 sec: 15.07 w/kg

Jim

otb4evr said:

Male/Cat 3

Chicagoland

Moderately competitive in crits and road races

Very competitive in TT

FTP: 3.91 w/kg
5 min: 4.60 w/kg
1 min: 7.59 w/kg
5 sec: 15.07 w/kg

Jim

Hey Jim - I was just glancing at your power numbers, impressive actually - and from the profile it puts you along the lines of an 'all-rounder'. Yet you do much better in TT's?

Then I remember that power numbers alone are not any guarantee of racing results.

Lucy_Aspenwind said:

Hey Jim - I was just glancing at your power numbers, impressive actually - and from the profile it puts you along the lines of an 'all-rounder'. Yet you do much better in TT's?

Then I remember that power numbers alone are not any guarantee of racing results.

Lucy,

Thanks for the compliment.

I train to be more of an all-arounder... I think that is very important.

3 things that might explain why I do very well in Time Trials vs. Crits and Road races:

1. I enjoy the slow burn of a long effort. I can hold a high, steady wattage for a long time. I also build as the miles go by. My latest TT was 367 avg. to the turnaround and 399 avg. coming home.
2. I only race crits ~10 times a year. I am OK at holding a wheel, my quadrant analysis is very good, but the final 3 laps are where I am particularly weak mentally. I have crashed several times and I would rather not do that again. My 30 second power, though, is fantastic and I usually pass quite a few people in the final stretch. I have been successful in driving breakaways and finishing strong, though.
3. I am a big guy. Anything bigger than a 2% - 3% hill and I need to put out way too much power to stay in the mix. Rollers are better, but I have seen quite a bit of time spent above 700 watts during a race... Not really conducive to a great finish...

Jim

otb4evr said:

Lucy,

Thanks for the compliment.

I train to be more of an all-arounder... I think that is very important.

3 things that might explain why I do very well in Time Trials vs. Crits and Road races:

1. I enjoy the slow burn of a long effort. I can hold a high, steady wattage for a long time. I also build as the miles go by. My latest TT was 367 avg. to the turnaround and 399 avg. coming home.
2. I only race crits ~10 times a year. I am OK at holding a wheel, my quadrant analysis is very good, but the final 3 laps are where I am particularly weak mentally. I have crashed several times and I would rather not do that again. My 30 second power, though, is fantastic and I usually pass quite a few people in the final stretch. I have been successful in driving breakaways and finishing strong, though.
3. I am a big guy. Anything bigger than a 2% - 3% hill and I need to put out way too much power to stay in the mix. Rollers are better, but I have seen quite a bit of time spent above 700 watts during a race... Not really conducive to a great finish...

Jim

You are quite welcome. We newbies marvel at some of these numbers you know [img]cyclingforums.comsmile.gifOpen ↗[/img]

I understood what you said and it makes sense. While you may have this or that power which is nominally ideal for an event, one actually has to do the event and have all the characteristics to do well - bike handling, space, etc etc. Even the simple idea of enjoying a competition, which it sounds like crits are not your favorite, plays a part.

I'm curious, perhaps out of novelty, to see how my perceived (anemic) strengths and weaknesses compare to a power profile (when I soon build one).

otb4evr said:

1. I enjoy the slow burn of a long effort. I can hold a high, steady wattage for a long time. I also build as the miles go by. My latest TT was 367 avg. to the turnaround and 399 avg. coming home.

Holy sh!tz, man!

So let's say you have an FTP of 380 and you weigh 97 kgs (I'm guessing here, but I'm trying to get to the 3.91 w/kg you posted). I just have to believe that you have a HUGE advantage during a flat TT over someone who weighs 72 kgs with an FTP of 280 even though the Watts/Kg is the same for both.

Does that at least partly explain why you do so well in the TTs?

--Steve

[quote="Lucy_Aspenwind Then I remember that power numbers alone are not any guarantee of racing results.[/QUOTE"]


Isn't this the truth, easy to suck wheel. gimmie some mountains.

giannip said:

Hi

I'm very interested to see any stats available for the racing scene in your area.

For example I'd be interested to see what power one would require to be competitive in Cat 4,3,2,1 etc.

This is just out of curiosity

36 y.o. male Cat 3
65kg

Northern California

FT - 4.5 w/kg
5' - 5.9 w/kg
1' - 8.7 w/kg
5" - 15.2 w/kg

Competitive all-rounder, not much of a sprint, my wins in the 4's came in hilly RR's. Best result as a 3 is 8th - and that was three minutes off the winning time for a 45' hill climb. My #'s look nice on the CP power profile spreadsheet, but there are plenty of riders around here that are considerably stronger than I am. Not to mention all the ones that are smarter. 😉

ZimboNC said:

Holy sh!tz, man!

So let's say you have an FTP of 380 and you weigh 97 kgs (I'm guessing here, but I'm trying to get to the 3.91 w/kg you posted). I just have to believe that you have a HUGE advantage during a flat TT over someone who weighs 72 kgs with an FTP of 280 even though the Watts/Kg is the same for both.

Does that at least partly explain why you do so well in the TTs?

--Steve

Don't forget frontal area - smaller riders have an easier time getting a low CdA, which can balance out a lower overall wattage #. Think Janez Brakovic.
😄

Pretty high numbers eh Gianni 🙂

giannip said:

For example I'd be interested to see what power one would require to be competitive in Cat 4,3,2,1 etc.

The answers to this question will be very much a function of two things: (1) the competitiveness of the local racing community (e.g., NYC, NorCal and SoCal are going to require big numbers to be competitive in all categories); and (2) the topography of the local racing courses. In hilly and/or mountainous areas, w/kg is going to be key whereas in more flat areas (e.g., Midwest) raw power is going to rule.

The other key determinant (huge, actually) to success is one's anaerobic capacity (AC), because this is often why people get dropped after they have burned a bunch of matches and can't make the next selection. The best measure of AC would probably be 3min MP, but 5min MP is pretty good too. This comes into play in everything but TTs and even there it should come into play if the course is hilly.

22 year old cat 3 (In UK we have E/1/2/3/4 - 4 are beginners)
76kg

FTP: 4.34W/kg
5 mins: 4.52W/kg
1 min: 7.48W/kg
5 sec: 16.47W/kg

Can you guess what my strength is and what I seriously need to work on?!

Mike

MikeMuk said:

Can you guess what my strength is and what I seriously need to work on?!

You run out of matches early.

peterpen said:

Don't forget frontal area - smaller riders have an easier time getting a low CdA, which can balance out a lower overall wattage #. Think Janez Brakovic.
😄

Agreed.

I liken myself to a '57 Chevy. You can get them to move pretty quick down the quarter mile, but you have to have a monster motor...

Jim

giannip said:

Hi

I'm very interested to see any stats available for the racing scene in your area.

For example I'd be interested to see what power one would require to be competitive in Cat 4,3,2,1 etc.

This is just out of curiosity

24y/o texas cat2

climber, sprint is ok. btw, i'm a lightweight.

FTP - 4.56w/kg
5m - 5.29w/kg
1min - 8.53w/kg
5s - 16.0 w/kg

PSUcycling said:

24y/o texas cat2

climber, sprint is ok. btw, i'm a lightweight.

FTP - 4.56w/kg
5m - 5.29w/kg
1min - 8.53w/kg
5s - 16.0 w/kg

Interesting...

your email said you like 1000k flyers and mnts...

I was going to comment that with a 1 min power like that you probably kill during a 1k flyer...

Jim

otb4evr said:

Interesting...

your email said you like 1000k flyers and mnts...

I was going to comment that with a 1 min power like that you probably kill during a 1k flyer...

Jim

it was a mistype. I mean 1000m or 1k!

The stat I am most interested in with respect to this topic is matches burned (or perhaps matches burned per hour to put races of different durations on a common basis) for crits and RRs. This is because I think matches is one of the determinant variables of race results. Of course, this requires a common definition of a match and a way of computing matches burned.

MikeMuk said:

22 year old cat 3 (In UK we have E/1/2/3/4 - 4 are beginners)
76kg

FTP: 4.34W/kg
5 mins: 4.52W/kg
1 min: 7.48W/kg
5 sec: 16.47W/kg

Can you guess what my strength is and what I seriously need to work on?!

Mike

hmmm you're a dirty tester and your weaknesses are changes in pace.😄

Quoted post said:

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeMuk
22 year old cat 3 (In UK we have E/1/2/3/4 - 4 are beginners)
76kg

FTP: 4.34W/kg
5 mins: 4.52W/kg
1 min: 7.48W/kg
5 sec: 16.47W/kg

Can you guess what my strength is and what I seriously need to work on?!

Mike

hmmm you're a dirty tester and your weaknesses are changes in pace.😄

Oi you - less for the cheek! At least I rev these days - was shocked to discover that I naturally TT at around 95 rpm.

Have you built your powertap yet?