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Question Did I mess up my Trainer Road ramp test?

ConnorEzra

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Dec 18, 2019
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Hi there,
Quick background: I’m a NorCal Cat 3 road racer who’s consistently in the top 10 (but not quite top 5). I was a competitive runner and mtb racer prior to being a roadie.
Issue: I’m new to Trainer Road and just got started. I didn’t start SSB MV1 until today. However, I took a ramp test three days prior to officially starting (out of curiosity) and had a w/kg result of 4.02, with FTP of 241. When I took the first ramp test it was early in the morning and I hadn’t eaten anything. Today, I took the first official ramp test of SSB MV1 after work and was quite full of food/energy. My w/kg for this ramp test was 4.28, with FTP of 256. I made sure to calibrate my Quarq Dzero power meter before the test. I noticed that by the last minute I was holding significantly lower than the required watts but still held on as hard as I could.
Question: Does food/energy make THAT big of a difference or did I mess up the result by holding low-ish watts for the last minute? Also, if I go with the higher FTP, is there a risk of over training? And if I go with the lower FTP, is there a risk of under training? It’s a 15 watt difference in FTP’s but I figure that could totally skew my training zones.
To be completely honest, 4.02 sounds pretty consistent with where I think I am (top tier of Cat 3), especially in December. 4.28 would be amazing but I’m not confident that that is where I am.
Any insight would be super helpful for this TR newbie.
Thank you in advance!appvalley tutuapp tweakbox
 
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As Red Flanders said, yes it's better to slightly underestimate your FTP than than go over. FTP is rarely a static thing anyway, so a good program will have you test it again further down the track as confirmation of the training you're doing. If it's definitely too low you will feel it after a week or so, but 15 Watts isn't massive as the starting point.

Blood sugar can make a bit of a difference, along with how warmed you are and cumulative fatigue. It's usually recommended to test when fresh and recovered, and after your usual pre training meal/snack
 

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