Strange power profile -- help me understand?

ahaile said:

I just completed my first round of testing as perscribed by the Allen & Coggan book, and my power profile seems a bit strange. I was hoping some of the gurus on the board could give me some help interpreting it. Basically, my 1min w/kg is substantially higher than my FTP in the chart, and my 5min is WAY higher, 9 rows above the line for my FTP. In all the examples listed by A&C, profiles differ by maybe 3 or 4 lines max. What should I make of such a difference in mine?

Here's the data from the profile test.

5sec: 1341 watts, 16.21 w/kg, mid "Good/cat 3"
1min: 722 watts, 8.73 w/kg, mid/low "Very good/cat 2"
5min: 459 watts, 5.55 w/kg, high "Very good/cat 2"
FTP: 320 watts, 3.87 w/lg, mid "Good/cat 3" (tested 2 weeks by with the 20MP * 0.95 method)

Background on me: 32 yo, 5' 9", 182 lbs, my build looks more like a track racer than a roadie -- I get a lot of comments from other racers about my big thighs. 2nd year of racing, currently doing pretty well in the cat 4s with a win, 2nd, 4th and 5th out of 8 races. First year, I had 7-10 hours/week to train and based my program on Friel using a HRM. This last year, a new baby has limited me to 3-5 hours/week, and I've had no plan -- my "training" has consisted of the two local "weekly world championship" competitive group rides (mostly cat 3/4/5s). Next year, I hope for 7-10 hours/week again and to race in the 3s.

One caveat: my powermeter is the ibike, the accuracy of which is still in debate. All tests were conducted in as close to ideal conditions for it as I could find (ie, the smoothest roads around). With the exception of the FTP test, which I've only done once, the other tests have been reproducible: I averaged 1381 watts for 5 seconds in a county-line sprint a couple weeks ago, 620 watts for 1min in a race last Sunday in what felt like a less than all-out effort, and 440 watts for 5min before my FTP test. So whether accurate or not, these numbers are at least reproducible.

I'm thinking that there are three possible factors behind the big difference in my power profile.
1. Does the ibike skew mid-level power numbers high? I have no other powermeter to calibrate against, so can only speculate.
2. I said I'm built like a trackie, and A&C say an "inverted V" power profile is the hallmark of a pursuiter. Maybe some genetics at play?
3. In the group rides I've been doing, the selections usually happen on short hills or breaks, both of which are generally 1-3 minute efforts, so the bulk of my training has been in AWC and VO2Max efforts.

I'm thinking my power profile is from a combination of 2 and 3. 1 is just speculation, but I have to throw it out there, since the ibike's track record is still being established.

Sorry for such a long post. Any thoughts or help greatly appreciated!

1. I'd say it's too early to answer this question. Unless/until you can verify the accuracy of these measurements, though, I'd be very hesitant to read too much into them.

2. Taking the numbers at face value, it seems to me that you have the characteristics of a pursuiter, i.e., a high anaerobic capacity and VO2max, but haven't trained in such a manner as to raise your functional threshold power as high as it at least potentially could be.

3. That could very well explain things.

Thanks, Andrew! It sounds like you've more or less confirmed my own thoughts about the numbers. Putting aside temporarily the question of the ibike's accuracy, the profile makes some sense to me, not only from my build and training but from my experiences on fast group rides. I can definitely hang with riders on 3 minute climbs who I know would kill me on 20 minute ones. Also, I've learned that if the other riders "let up" a little in the couple miles before the finish, I do better against them as we come into the line. I assume that's because the break let me recharge my comparatively large AWC. On the other hand, if the pace stays hard until the end, then I only have my FTP power to work with and don't do as well.

I'm curious -- how big a range in ability do you normally see across the power curve in someone like a pursuiter? Are differences like mine not uncommon? This is mostly a curiosity question, but if the answer is "almost never," then I definitely suspect the ibike.

I plan to target my FTP in training for next season (not only from these numbers but b/c I haven't done much with it in the last year), with only enough L5 and L6 work to maintain ability.