I’m relatively new to racing and as of this morning had a racing score of 574 after 2 races.
I decided to do The Grade to get a new FTP as I had a feeling mine was too low (hadn’t done a test in months). Legs felt great and I flew up it (10:28 at 482 Watts), at the top of the climb they gave me an FTP of 417 (from 358), that seemed excessive but not as excessive as the change in my racing score which is now 741!
I am the fittest I’ve been and with the weather in Scotland I’ve been almost exclusively riding on Zwift but those numbers don’t seem right. I’ve emailed Wahoo to ask about the trainer (I’ve got the KickrCore that came with Zwift Ride) but wondered if anyone here had any ideas?
So I just get absolutely roasted in the Cat A races until my score normalises or is there anything else I can do?
Taking the numbers at face value, if you’re able to hold 482w for over 10 minutes you’ll be fine racing against just about anyone. That’s huge, even more so if you’re anything close to average weight.
If you’ve been moved to 741 then that’s your score floor, you can’t get it any lower through results. But if you’d done that effort before your first race it would have put you at 872.
As to whether that power is realistic, there have been some issues with virtual shifting and trainers that have automatic calibration which can make the trainer report extra watts. Your setup could have this issue.
Are you using the latest kickr core firmware v1.5.36 - 28th October 2024?
Once you’ve got that it could be worth doing a manual spindown. And if your not getting close to those power numbers after that then get in touch with support to have your power history reset.
Sadly, getting roasted in races is the norm. In Cat A there are some serious athletes and hoping to beat them is likely unrealistic. (Though that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it your all trying!)
We all just have to adapt to our place on the food chain and find satisfaction in incremental improvements via better tactics and addressing our relative weaknesses.
Though on a positive note, you may be the “One Zwifter” to rule them all, so just keep doing what you’re doing, give it a lash and see where you get to!
Thanks Tom. That sounds exactly what my issue is - I did the firmware update after my ride today (it doesn’t seem to notify me when an update is due) and have done the manual spin down thing so will try and get on tomorrow to see what my numbers look like.
They certainly won’t be at that level - my previous best for 8 mins was around 400 watts, this ride was 485.
Will update this post once I’ve tried again in case it’s useful for others.
Yeah, before I started cycling and then Zwift I did a reasonable amount of weightlifting with the odd 5k run and some 5 a side football (soccer for any US forum members) so my leg strength is good but my use of that strength is, er, not so good!
I don’t think I’ll need the number of any pro teams! I’m pretty sure my trainer is throwing out watts above what I’m producing. I’ve emailed Wahoo and I’ve updated firmware and run a manual spin down (will update once I’ve repeated the climb post those changes).
I’m 86/87 kg so I’m certainly heavier than most on Zwift which partly explains the high wattage
That’s definitely not A pace on mountains then, the quick A folks I sometimes ride with are all down near 40 minutes on ADZ. I’m about 5 minutes behind them at best, but I’m also just under 60kg. But my FTP also isn’t high. On the flip side I have a tough time downhill or when its flat, or even the small rolling hills.
Your weight, unfortunately that will hurt on the HC climbs, but it would be IRL too, the really big climbs you can’t just punch over them. Just look at all the top Haute Route riders, they are nearly all built like stick insects and have crazy power levels.
However, you probably still have a chance on flatter courses if you are alert. But James above has a point as well.
Yeah at 82kg you are not going to be an A climber.
A races are stated as being for riders with an FTP of 4.0 - 6 w/kg, so you are scraping into the A category.
Having said that, your high absolute watts means you should be competitive on the flat, but with your bodyweight, your lower relative watts means you will suffer on climbs.
I am 78kg, FTP 330 and I get smashed on climbs in A races.
An FTP of 458 is massive.
The only part of your experience that troubles me is you were not aware of that capability.
You didn’t state your pedigree so it maybe true.
Even if an athlete is a runner or swimmer, it takes a while to develop the specific muscles for cycling at such a high level.
Those athletes may have the VO2 max to allow it but it takes a lot of specific work.
You questioned your trainer
Perhaps that is an issue.
You will only know if you dual record.
If you fancy a change of job, Americas cup teams look for cyclists with a minimum 420w FTP. If its legit you are in very thin air with those in the same world as you. Probably looking at a Vo2 of 75+
Updated the firmware, did a normal spin down (although apparently not needed with this model), tried a factory spin down (after advice from Wahoo) which failed.
Redid the climb and ended up with higher watts and quicker time.
10:14 and 434 as a new FTP. Something clearly off with the trainer - will keep on at Wahoo and try to find a way to dual record
This is the discussion that Tom was referring to earlier, in case you haven’t seen it
The other test you could do is put a cassette on the trainer, install a bicycle, turn off virtual shifting, factory spindown, then see what comes out. Of course this sucks and if you can’t do a factory spindown then Wahoo need to answer for that.
Thanks Paul, I did see that article but it’s not what I’m seeing on my rides, there’s no free watts, I just think there’s more of them than there should be at all powers and cadence.
I’ve gone back to Wahoo for suggestions but suspect I’ll spend part of my weekend sticking a cassette on and bringing my road bike up the stairs.
The other thing I’m going to do is pop to the gym and have a go on one of their atom bikes to get an idea of what Watts I can hit on that on a 10/12 m hard effort. That won’t be perfect but gives me a figure to compare to as I haven’t done any comparable efforts on Zwift previously.
