Climbing and FTP
 

Assume that you are going to be going on a long/hard ride at kind of 'the top end' of your ability (not past it). And it is a hilly ride with multiple long (several miles) climbs. Where do folks tend to ride vs. their ftp (like 100% or 90% or whatever).

Just curious. I don't have any continuous/long climbs in my area, so I have no data/experience to offer here.

Thanks.

dave

I would think it would depend on other factors with total mileage and speed being very important. If you ride uphill constantly for an hour at 100% FTP you theoretically should be used up so I would say 90% or so then a recovery between hill climbs.

Pacing on long steady climbs isn't that hard. Pacing on long climbs that aren't steady (that vary in slope and exposure to the wind) kinda is. Pay more attention to normalized power than average power.

I agree with @Spdracer39 that it really depends on the total duration you need to ride that day.

It also depends very much on your level of conditioning and training, and how much recovery you'll get between the climbs, and your genetics.

The key is to keep it at or below threshold, in which case you can keep riding for a long time. Time spent over threshold will decrease the total amount of climbing you can do that day (but of course will result in a faster time).

For me personally, if I stick to 80-85% FTP on the actual climbs, I can keep going semi-indefinitely. Hours (like 6 hours of up and 2 hours of down/stopped time) would not be a problem. If I push things to 90-100% FTP, its going to be way less, like a couple of hours. Despite the definition of FTP, I don't think its true that everybody can only ride at FTP for 1 hour. But that conversation is beyond the scope of this post.

there are too many factors


1. How long is overall ride
2. How much effort have you put in so far, have you been drafting all day or pulling.
3. How long is the climb and how far are you from the ride end.
4. How hydrated are you? have you been eating.
5. Were you out drinking last night
6. It is a slow group ride or fast. If fast you may be required to dip into the red to keep pace.


I love my power and train by it, but I actually don't know my FTP. It is my contention that it is not really that helpful. First thing it is hard to find an uninterrupted road to do an FTP. Second, unless you are doing a TT it is hard to empty the tank.

For me, knowing how long I can hold 300w, 400w and 500w is more important. As this allows me to close gaps and track people down.

also, I am learning that your position on the bike is as important as watts.


crude example:
350 watts on the hood into a stiff head wind for 20 minutes
vs
300 watts in the drops into a stiff head wind for 20 minutes

1) most everything in training with power flows from FTP. if your not testing it, and basing training from there, you're just scratching the surface of training with power. Read Training and Racing with power by Coggan and Allen.

2) the suggestion that position on the bike is more important than watts ( in the context of climbing, and this a thread about climbing) is absurd. Sustained climbing is almost entirely about w/kg.

Agree but worth mentioning that changing positions will allow you to sustain those watts for a longer duration by shifting the muscle groups that are creating them.

The "FT" in FTP stands for "functional threshold." People trained effectively with power before FTP but by using other measures of "threshold."

I've never been able to get all the way through that book.

1. I could extrapolate my 20 minute and 40 minute by applying a formula (as many recommend) to determine my FTP. Strava and Zwift have done that for me. Plus I have gone all out for an hour on my rollers(with magnetic resistance) so my FTP is not totally unknown to me.

2. Yes, this thread is about climbing and FTP and so I should have qualified my example by stating "on a flat road". No where in my statement did I state that position on the bike is more important than power out.


3. As a heavier rider (192 lbs) no one is more aware of watts/kg than me :P . 6+% appears to be the gradient where this really kicks in for me, this is when the smaller riders smile as they pass me on the climbs.