I'd agree with this.

I'm small, only 5ft6in and weigh 140lbs. I can drop that weight more and probably should a little. My ftp doesn't sound great, around 260 at the moment but had it up to 280 last year. My w/kg is around 4.
Yet I beat taller, stronger guys in racing.

Part of it is that I benefit more than most for drafting and part of it is that I have quite explosive acceleration and I'm fairly aero in comparison. I can hit 1100w in a sprint - held 1049w for 10s earlier this year sprinting against a Pro I was training with. I also seem to recover relatively quickly between efforts.

I have no idea what my numbers were when I was in my 20's and 127lbs but I was certainly faster than I am now at 53 but given I'm racing against guys in my own age category, we're all in the same mid-life shape so the extra pounds are not as harmful to my results.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c54d1def38.png

If I had the choice of 300W at 60 kg and 400W at 80 Kg, I know which one I would take every single time.....the one with the higher W/m^2

Apart from anything else, the body's ability to cool itself is far better when not covered in a layer of fat; less likely to overheat in summer, less sweat, less hydration needed.
Just in general the machine runs more efficiently when it's lean.

The more efficient metabolism gets fat with the fewest calories. The fattest for the same intake and output are the most efficient. Ask Indurain.

For this thread, I'd wager all things being equal (and they are not) that the fatter person puts out more watts longer. I think we'd agree the typical fatter person is less trained, so that would skew thing. Many (for <1 hour) fatter have higher power and over single digit body fat composition cyclists.

This. Currently at 63 years old my FTP is a touch below 300. 10 years ago, actively racing, my FTP was well north of 300, and an hour above 300 in a TT was well within my capabilities.

However, ranging between 90 and 100 kg, those numbers end up being pretty pedestrian.

I generally agree, but you have to factor in what you’re trying to achieve. Road race with climbing and no doubt the lighter rider is better off. Flat TT , where w/surface volume becomes more important than w/kg, and the bigger more powerful rider may be better off.

Which explains why guys like Fabio Cancellera dominate TT’s but can’t win mountain stages, and on a lower stage, why I’ll never win a mountainous RR, but have some decent results in TT’s and crits.

Ill take 400w @ 80.. with non-cyclist arms

Lol, 80kg isn't really "mamil" fatboy cyclist sizing. It's not small either, but 176lb isn't that bad.

The Zwift cheats are usually in the 100kg range, and that' what they're willing to use on the video game. I can only imagine add some more KG's for "reality" out the door riding.

No hills in Zwift short of a few Alpe ramps and the radio tower are even steep enough for weight vs. power/aero. When a climb averages under 6% riders with equal w/kg but one rider with more watts period......well we know how that works out.

I'm off to Mallorca at the end of next week and I'm going to try and make time to push it up Sa Calobra and Puig Major. I really thought 30 minutes on Sa Calobra might be possible, but I don't think I can make the physics work. At my weight, 160lbs, I think I'd need to do at least 350w. 320 SHOULD be in the bag, and I'd be happy with 330. Motivated on the day, with lovely Spanish sunshine, and maybe even a tickle of a tailwind, maybe I'll squeeze out 335 or 340. I've decided rather than focus too much on the 30 minutes, where I might be disappointed, I'm going to make my number 1 goal a power PR.

We are going to Mallorca next year. It will be our 4th trip. Have a great time.

Ha, I forgot to say that having a great time should be number 1 goal. Always too caught up in chasing numbers...

What are the "can't miss" rides? I've got some ideas, but I'd love to hear it from someone who's been.

Was this answered already? What % of Zwifters can do it?

I've never raced but may start soon; only been riding three years. I can hold far more standing for an hour than seated for an hour. Is that normal? I could post my recent ride #s and weight/age but unless people want to know, there seem to be enough individuals saying either they can or can't hold 300W.

Honestly, in a Zwift race, it doesn't really matter. All that matters is how many matches you've got to burn. Unless, of course, you're doing an hour long time trial or a race up Alpe du Zwift or Ven-Top.

As far as cheaters, sure they're out there. Unless you're racing in the A's, even if the people racing against you are cheating, they still have a limited number of matches to burn, and, if their cheating means they don't have a limit, they'll be promoted to A. Just stay in Cat Enforcement races and you'll find yourself mainly racing folks that you can sort of race against (unless you find yourself at the very bottom of a cat and are always falling off the back, which is where I am right now as a low B) and don't worry about whether the other people deserve to be there or not. They're just something to push yourself against and the knowledge that they're real people rather than bots serving as rabbits may help you push yourself a little harder (it does for me - helped me set a 1 minute PR of 621 W up the legsnapper this morning - not a lot for most here, but I was happy with it).

Helps to think of it as a fun game or a workout. If you start caring too much about the results and whether or not the people around you are cheating it takes a lot of the fun out of it (at least it did for me until I got my mind refocused).

The ride to Deia from Palma via the Col de Soller is fabulous as well as the ride from the coast to the Formentor. The climbs in Mallorca are named in many websites.