where is good stretch of road for 20min FTP test ?

[Vetplant]

Awesome, thank you for taking the time to explain it to me. I knew it had benefits but I've never rode in a peleton or done any road race (other than the 94.7 on the mtb) so my frame of reference has always been a solo riding 

Also, (much shorter this time ). Power is widely used for specific training sessions as the intensity level can be seen basically immediately as compared to HR which lags compared to the actual effort.

[Stockman]

Not from Cape area, but is the West Coast Road not a decent length fairly flat piece of road for an FTP?

[Bike Mob]

What this beautiful hooman said.  

Westlake robots up Oukaaps to silver mine parking
Tokai Mast Tar 
 

[shaper]

Awesome, thank you for taking the time to explain it to me. I knew it had benefits but I've never rode in a peleton or done any road race (other than the 94.7 on the mtb) so my frame of reference has always been a solo riding 

Irrespective of whether you road race or sit in a peleton, if you want to get stronger/faster, it is worth knowing your FTP, so that if you do structured workouts with the aim of getting stronger/faster, then you know you are training in the right power zones to achieve this.

 

A long time ago FTP use to be your LTHR and you trained on HR.  These days everyone trains on power, hence why knowing FTP is significant and of interest.

 

If you just ride for riding sake and are not worried about how quick or how slow you are in getting there.... then knowing or not knowing your FTP is irrelevant.

[It's me man]

One personal anecdotal story of where my power figures helped me:

 

I eyed a specific event. I knew the route and there was a specific uphill stretch that I earmarked for an attack. I went to my power history profile to know how many Watts I can push for 6mins without bombing out, and memorized that number.

 

Come race day, a break established long before my specific earmarked point on the route, but I wanted to bridge to them and used the same point to launch my bridge attempt and kept to the power I knew I could sustain for that stretch of road.

 

Long story short, I caught them just as that stretch ended with barely anything left in the tank. I then sat on for the next 10kms, catching my breath and then beat the other 3 in the sprint to take the W.

 

My Power Readings helped me guage my effort, not the 1hour FTP specifically, but rather the full history of sustained power levels for different times that I had built up and kept record of.

 

I knew what my body was capable of and stuck to that. If I didn't have the power readings on the bike I might have blown up in the first two minutes or under-powered my attempt and missed them before the descent.

That ladies and gents is basically why i need those numbers, understanding my limitations and structure a training program to increase my output and sustainability - i have rollers so i will probably end up thru the glass doors if i try this at home. 

 

i thought that a fairly level stretch without hills, stops and junctions is more even keeled for the test result. 

[It's me man]

Not from Cape area, but is the West Coast Road not a decent length fairly flat piece of road for an FTP?

trucks are a bugger on this road - but it looks like the North could work. 

['Dale]

Make an outing of it

Franschoek Pass

And you get to visit the baboons and the mountain gods.

 

A good excuse to go beyond Pinelands passport control

[riteshm]

Also, (much shorter this time ). Power is widely used for specific training sessions as the intensity level can be seen basically immediately as compared to HR which lags compared to the actual effort.

FTP is critical for setting up the training zones however it is also valuable to know your 5 second, 1 minute, 5 minutes power, to work on your weaknesses / strengths.

[davidtinker]

The 95% of 20m power or 75% of 5m power "rules" for FTP are just picking particular points on a power curve going out to 1hr. You can actually use any power and duration number if you have the curve defined (i.e. what % of that power is FTP with longer durations having a higher %). Thats the approach Intervals.icu uses to estimate FTP. Its nice because you can use any max effort on good legs to judge where you are.

 

I like Kloof Nek (7-8m), sometimes up to the cableway (13-14m).

[Vetplant]

FTP is critical for setting up the training zones however it is also valuable to know your 5 second, 1 minute, 5 minutes power, to work on your weaknesses / strengths.

Agreed

[Andrew_Smith]

Make an outing of it

Franschoek Pass

And you get to visit the baboons and the mountain gods.

 

A good excuse to go beyond Pinelands passport control

 

Really wish we had a climb like that here in Durbanville...

[Kom]

There seems to be two schools of thought here:

1-doing a 20 min up a hill

2-doing a 20min on rolling/flat roads

 

For 2, the section from Misty cliffs to cape point is prime

For 1, the last set of traffic lights in camps bay to suikerbossie top would just about work

 

I’d be careful of basing zones or more so a training peaks program off the data off the 1st results

[bleedToWin]

Really wish we had a climb like that here in Durbanville...

It's a 50km warmup to get to Franschhoek. I do it often, easy pedalling there, then smash the climb, then whatever (coffee and cruise home, or tempo home, or whatever)

[bleedToWin]

If you don't mind me asking- why are you not interested in a trainer?

 

Wind, temp, road conditions and other factors can be controlled better surely?

Not OP, but for me who never trains indoors it doesn't make sense doing an indoor test. I test outdoors to calculate zones for use outdoors.

Edited April 14, 2021 by bleedToWin

[bleedToWin]

What is the value of an FTP? I'm not asking because I'm a knob, I'm merely asking because I don't really understand.

I can understand the math behind it and can understand why its something to know when you're in a discussion with a scientist over a coffee or in a lab, but what does the value of your FTP help you when out on a ride?

I mean when I'm going up a climb and I see someone flying past me, do I ask him / her: Hey, what's your FTP for you to be able to ride so much faster than me up his particular climb? 

 

I bet that that person will not even be bothered with FTP  . All I'm trying to say is that we geek out about all the numbers but sometimes forget that there's sooooooo many variables on the day that have an effect on our performance. 

 

Sure, you use the FTP as a measuring tool to see your progress over a period of time but one need to remember that the purpose of an FTP is to measure your power output in a controlled environment 

I agree that for some the number becomes the goal, and this missing the forest for the trees. The number is a tool.

 

I did a 2 hour endurance ride yesterday at 65% FTP. That meant going faster on the flats than I would if riding on feel (most people idle on flats), and going easier on the hills than I would on feel (most people want to protect their average speed and overpower up hills).

The endurance goal of the workout was achieved.

 

Today I did 3min hill repeats. The first 2 repeats felt impossible at 110% FTP, but I knew the numbers don't lie so kept going. Did the middle couple at 115% FTP and the last 2 at 120% FTP which is theoretically my VO2max.

Knowing the numbers meant I did 9 quality hill repeats. Goal of the day achieved.

 

[Opc_danny]

Absolutely this.

 

So if i do a trainer road workout outside and say its 5X12 min at 95% ftp - say i find a section of flat road and decide to start the interval, to maintain 95% ftp im at 95% hr, i do same interval on a climb and my hr is at 70%. If the workout is V02 related i make sure all intervals are done on a flat road to lift the hr and absolutely put myself in the hurtlocker.

 

If its a more torque type lower cadence workout then i will find a decent gradient climb and probably do repeats.

 

 

There seems to be two schools of thought here:
1-doing a 20 min up a hill
2-doing a 20min on rolling/flat roads

For 2, the section from Misty cliffs to cape point is prime
For 1, the last set of traffic lights in camps bay to suikerbossie top would just about work

I’d be careful of basing zones or more so a training peaks program off the data off the 1st results