When you realize that skipping leg day means that you are weak as fuck>

You have to differentiate between aerobic power (i.e. sustainable for long periods of time) and anaerobic power (i.e. sustainable for a few minutes). A pro rider on the world tour should be able to stay anaerobic for at least 5 minutes before completely blowing up.

The crazy thing about pro cycling isn't the amount of time they can stay anaerobic. It's the wattage they can put down without going anaerobic. Looking at the heart rate profile of a pro is enough to make any amateur dizzy.

World tour riders have many different styles. But top tier time trialists like Tony Martin or Tom Dumoulin are able to push 450watts+ for an hour, that should be the top end goal for all of us cyclists desu.

trained in road racing for a couple of years, I peak around 340W but that's under full exertion and even then I only last 5 minutes or so. I've accepted that Tony Martin is not human, just a motorcycle. Or on gear.

anyone else here done a VO2 max test recently?

I've been training and racing for 8 years now. While I wish I had the FTP of a Cat-1 pro, I don't get all mind-boggled over it either. 6W/kg is impressive when you're down at 4.1W/kg, but it's not like I'm ever going to come up against someone like that in any road race I'll ever do, either. Frankly the guys that piss me off are the guys who are sandbagging so they can avoid upgrading because they like to win races, and if they upgrade they'll have to actually race against guys on their actual level. They kind of ruin it for everyone else.

Races aren't even won on athleticism alone. Sure, if you have no real endurance, and especially if you have no sprint to speak of, you're not going to place well. But beyond that it's all race-smarts and race tactics, especially when there's teams involved. Being in the right place at the right time in a road race makes the difference between having a shot at the podium and not.

ITT's are the 'ride of truth' but it's only one discipline amongst many for a road racer.

A top time trialist would collapse after finishing..

Northing compared to the Dutch top gangstas desu.

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>A top time trialist would collapse after finishing..
Sure. At some point near the finish you go all-out and burn everything you got left, trying to shave a few more seconds (or fractions of a second) off your time. Standard TT strategy. It's not like you're going to be doing anything else that day (other than a cool-down spin afterwards).

>Frankly the guys that piss me off are the guys who are sandbagging

That's a bingo. I'm a racer as well and I can't stand people who don't upgrade. I get decent places in crits, but can't do well in a hilly course to save my life. I haven't raced in a few years due to school, but I should be in good enough shape to knock out a lot once I graduate. Looking forward to nagging all the Cat 3's that should actually be Cat 2's.

I just like to have fun

>but can't do well in a hilly course to save my life
Lacking muscular endurance? Don't skip muscular endurance day; do your long Tempo rides and Threshold intervals at 70-80rpm cadence. You'll suffer but later you'll climb like a demon. Also don't skip your lactate tolerance reps, either. They'll make you cry for you mommy but they'll push your anaerobic endurance through the roof.

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Also I had a brilliant ride at over 300W for the entire time, but it was dropping out like a cunt.

those drops are caused by a powermeter failure, as you can see from the cadence levels

what app is that?

THIS. Sure it's crazy that they can do 6 W/kg for an hour, but the really insane bit is that they do this after 4 hours of consistent 5 W/kg

>tfw my FTP is 3.8 W/kg ;_;
still might be able to make cat 2 this year.

Strava. It's for tracking endurance sports... the majority of the userbase is cyclists but runners use it too. Lots of good cycling related analysis tools, especially with some of the free extensions.

If you're serious about training you should really track with software like Golden Cheetah though.

>you will never climb a road like this

youtube.com/watch?v=a6jdNsjUtt8

feels bad man

For a time trialist W/kg doesn't matter nearly as much as W/CdA. On flat to rolling aero really is everything. Shit, even up mountains, pros are moving so fast that anything below about 8% average, drafting still matters

the Need for Speed tier music says enough lel

EPO is the good shit man, it really works.

Thanks! I'm not very serious about training though, I just like to spend whole days in the summer to cycle somewhere I haven't been before, enjoy the scenery. I do it for fun basically, it's very peaceful

there are quite a few of us like that. I like to check my flybys after a ride and see what other routes are common. Its also nice to be able to compare yourself to the general population and see just how terrible you might actually be

>tfw not enough to win

>W/CdA
I've been training and racing for 8 years and I've never seen that abbreviation before, and what are you even talking about? Threshold is threshold, that's what you have to be able to hold as long as possible to do your best in a TT.

I use the Strava route creation tool a lot to plan rides, and use the "explore segments" thing to find the most ridden stuff in the area. It's really handy, especially since it builds routes based on popularity and you can print out turn by turn directions. I used it a fair bit over the summer for some very rural rides.

>EPO
Unless you're a Cat-1 pro rider you're taking a stupid risk for relatively little gain. Just train more and forget the risky drugs.

I dont use epo for racing I use it so I can fuck harder and longer

Watts per coefficient of drag times frontal area, it's one of the common notations for watts per aerodynamic drag, i.e. what matters in a TT. The "Drag_(physics)" page on wikipedia has a good intro to the relevant equations.

I jest, I don't want the Lance ball cancer.

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>Watts per coefficient of drag times frontal area
That sounds way too much like being a 'weight weenie' for me. I think I'll just train and race. xD

I think we can all appreciate this

youtube.com/watch?v=usNpx2BOabE

I don't TT, I leave that shit to the triathlete nerds. So, same, just trying to have fun riding, training, and racing.

Meanwhile I could build a simple engine with 1kw output

Humans are weak

youtu.be/RCIYMpo_SMM?t=1h6m51s

Watch cross

>I dont use epo for racing I use it so I can fuck harder and longer
So, what, 60 seconds instead of 30 seconds?

So, you don't race?

>I'm too fat and weak to ride a bike, I have to have a motor on it

No I'm not saying what the guy in OP can do isn't relatively impressive. It's just sad that the highest echelon of humans can be outworked by a piece of metal

EPO doesnt make you superman, its main thing is that it increases your endurance in 4hour+ races.

I like lance armstrong, he put the human body to its limit.

I only TT during stage races. Mostly stick to road races and crits. There are a lot of stand alone TT's where I live as well, but fuck that.

>not racint TTs

Are you cycling dudes hippies? I am a top end scientist working at a major company and riding whenever I get free time. Hippies are actually my main enemies. You dont want to eat DNA??

No your not.

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to people who might complain about lance doping.
businessinsider.com/lance-armstrong-doping-tour-de-france-2015-1