Since everyone, for now, is the exact same weight, on pretty much the same bikes, and on the same road under the same weather conditions I assume watts to speed conversions should be the same except for the impact of drafting.
But when I look at the Strava leaderboard number 19 put out an average of 294 watts for a lap but is being beaten by multiple people who put out less than or right around 200 watts. There a are multiple other examples of this too.
I saw comments about dropping in next to a friend impacting speed, so that might be it. But it did make me wonder if we could have a more detailed explanation of how speed is determined. How much impact will “power ups” like new wheels have on speed from power numbers? How is the benefit of drafting calculated?
I’ve only ridden once so far and my speed seems realistic based on power and the virtual conditions, but I was just hoping for further info on the theory that understanding what is going on leads to better feedback.