Originally Posted by
Wylde06
Ive been dropped/pulled in more races than ive finished with the main group. Ive done ~50 races since I started. I think ive finished maybe 10 without getting dropped.
I DNF'ed 44 of 45 races one year, when I overtrained because I was now 18 and eligible to do the 120 mile state RR (and I still thought I could learn to climb). I think I got pulled in most of them. I DNF'ed three of the first four races I ever did, definitely pulled in those; I was 15. I honestly don't remember the 5th race I did, like the course or what. The next 20 races are a blur, I have to check my training diaries to see what they were etc.
Originally Posted by
TMonk
CDR has won races with like, 200w average? Something your average Joe, non-competitive, everyday cyclist is probably capable of. While that may have been a special circumstance, you can probably stand to save more energy during a race, and subsequently improve your results.
My best races are in the 170-190w range. At 200-205w I am usually so blown that I can't sprint. I've done well at 160w average, in "easier" races. About 175w avg in the Cat 2 Tour of Somerville (27.5 mph) until half a lap to go when I had to slow for a crash.
My FTP, depending on my fitness, is realistically between 200-230w. Right now it might be closer to 200-205w. Doing 222 watts for 2 min was so hard that I sat up. This was last night's trainer ride. I felt really good, I'd ridden 30min easy the day before (125-130w avg)so I decided to try an effort. I wanted to do a 20 min effort, started at 238-240w, had to ease, and realized at 2 minutes that there's no way I could hold even 220w for 20 min.
If I go out for a "hard ride" it's in the 170w range for an hour. I cannot sustain 160w for 2 hours, even when I'm pretty fit (climbing Palomar under pretty strong time pressure due to needing to get back before dark).