Where Did I Get That Number??

It seems I have gone and done it again confusing riders and coaches alike with my "70% of your 3min time trial wattage" guideline. As many of you ETS riders know our fall and winter tradition involves the task of performing two time trials at the start of the sessions and sometimes midway through or at the end. Many grumble and even stay home so as to avoid doing the 3min time trial, rest 12 minutes then ride a 20min time trial protocol.

When we started doing these time trials, I kept track of all the test numbers from each class so we could see how each person performed, to get a broader sense of how our participants performed and whether or not we could find that someone special who could become a "Pro" or at the very least an solid Provincial competitor. It was during that time that a trend or statistic emerged in which the average ETS participant produced for their 20min time trial approximately 70% of the power they did for their 3min time trial. There were some who did 80% and those who were in the low 60% range as there are always outliers.

Nothing voodoo or arbitrary about this from me. Just hard objective data.

I then began calculating 70% of each person's 3min wattage during the rest period and gave them that as a target or carrot to reduce the question "so Jack how hard should I go"? Many have heard me state "if you target this 70% wattage for the first 3min of your 20min time trial you will keep from starting too hard and fading and allow your aerobic system to catch up to the initial effort". After this initial 3min period is when we start to build our power production to improve upon that 70%.

The net effect has been an increase in the performance of our participants during their 20min time trials such that we often see achievements in the range of 73-76% of their 3min power for their 20min time trial result.

There are those who lack anaerobic capacity or mental tenacity to produce an optimal 3min time trial which leads to false wattages and therefore training ranges as their 20min wattages are at very high percentages of their 3min power (80-82%).

Additionally there are those who lack an adequate aerobic system in which the 3min time trial leaves them in a haze and unable to recover adequately for the 20min time trial and leaving them struggling for 20min and achieving in the range of 58-65% of their 3min power.

As the sessions progress and the general fitness of the riders increases, so to do their wattages for both their 3min and 20min time trials along with the 20min percentage of their 3min power.

Of course there are many other factors that can be noted and explain the variances but these are the typical two I will cite here.

Finally, I am often asked "how can improve and what can I do to get better"? My response is usually "you have to ride and/or train more" as most people only get in one to two rides per week and little else other than DH skiing, which is not training for cycling. Sorry.

JVD