Testing is training, training is testing.Jeroen Swart said:To overcome this problem requires an aversive test such as a MAP or FTP test (both of which interfere with training).
I have to take exception with this assertion.Jeroen Swart said:There is no evidence to show that holding a steady power is in any way advantageous. If you look at the optimal pacing strategy for events from the 4000m pursuit through to a 200km TT, none of them equate to a constant power. The most effective and common power profile is one which has a biphasic response (hard start, steady middle and surge at the end). Carl Foster and Jos De Koning have published extensively on this. Why anyone has come to the conclusion that you should go out and hold a steady power output in intervals and that this is beneficial is beyond my understanding. It goes against all the evidence.
If you examine the individual pursuit, I think you'll find that the best performances are typically ridden with very little variance in the lap split times (and hence power), apart from the opening lap of course where the initial rate of energy expenditure is highest due to the requirement to accelerate up to desired pursuit speed.
Generally a strategy that gets up to desired speed, perhaps over shooting by no more than 1.5km/h is ideal with a very gradual fade through the event being OK. Zero to around 1 second per km fade is about the most I think for a really well paced pursuit. More and you could have ridden faster overall if paced better. If you are going faster at the end, then you left some time out there.
As for long time trials, then optimal pacing is somewhat dependent on terrain, but if flat (as say with an hour record on a track), then you will again want to ride as steady state as possible. The energy cost of going a bit fast and fading, or worse acceleration/decelerating, is high in terms of overall speed.
Having coached an hour record, I can assure you the strategy that provides the best outcome is steady state.
Where terrain is variable gradient, then there is time to be gained by augmenting power output accordingly, however an maximal iso-power (or near iso-power) strategy is still very fast, and likely faster than what some actually end up doing (and that's too hard on the climbs and too soft elsewhere, or the classic beginners mistake of going out too hard and fading).