Originally Posted by
carpediemracing
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).
Wow. This is really eye-opening to me and a true testament to how much skill and form plays a role in cycling. Since acquiring a power meter a meter a few months back, I've demonstrated to myself that I can produce 180w for 4 hours, and 230w for 1.5, but still have trouble in certain situations.
During races where you average below 200w, I imagine your NP is much higher, no? Are you able to produce 400+W for slightly extended periods in those final laps to maintain position?