Real Wattages?

[FWCC_neil]

I agree, I'm not disputing that. What I mean is that a fully equiped lab testing session is outside the bounds of a lot of cyclists and a Field test is perfectly applicable.

[ras11]

.....You simply won't build a "steady state" of lactate. Much better are the socalled "Freiburger Staffel" (100/20/3)....

What exactly do you mean by a better "steady state" test?

[John979]

Humm... I'm not sure blasting yourself for 30min is the best way...

I disagree in this instance. The test you describe is best carried out in a lab setting and it is usually blood lactate that is mapped against power to establish LaTH in such a test, not HR. Even then it is not always a simple task to determine the point of inflexion which leaves room for error. In such a protocol there is also a second step which you don't mention.
There is a difference between LaTH and maximal steady state power. In terms of performance it is MSPO that regulates how fast a tempo you can maintain not LaTH. The lab protocol uses several 9min steady state tests at various power levels around the determined point of inflection to determine this MSPO because simply using HR or power @ LaTH could lead to undertraining.

The suggestion I put up that a 30min TT would be better was done because I think, for most of us, it is a much quicker/easier and more accessable way of determining this MSPO.

Dr. Coggan argues that for most, laboratory testing is unnecessary, presuming the availability of a power meter. From a heart rate perspective, a field test has its limitations, but a power test does not, save for extremely hot conditions or lack of a suitable course.

[peterpen]

There is no way a test "in the wild" is more accurate than a test in the lab on an ergometer. It's always best to increase wattage step by step until you blow and measure lactate and O²/CO² ratio (spiroergometry).
...

Hmm, do you race in the lab?

All tests carried out in labs are mere predictors of actual performance. People can have wildly different levels of steady state blood lactate - mine happens to be close to the textbook 4mmol but others can be higher than 7mmol. Lab tests may be useful to initially set training zones, but the gold standard for performance is..... (drum roll, please) performance itself.

By nature, a 'test in the wild' (ie, the real world) is in fact always more accurate than an test in a lab. Unless, of course, your end goal is increasing power on a ergometer for a given amount of blood lactate. Then, by all means, a lab test is the way to go.

[STARNUT]

So I know the Power/Weight ratios and so forth for categories, like 3.2-3.8w/kg for Cat 3, etc. However, these seem to be kind of useless to me, as a rider who generates 4w/kg and is 120 pounds is not going to be able to hold onto a rider who is 4w/kg at 200lb over a course, as on the flat the 120 pound rider would not be able to put out near the same amount of power.

As such, I was kind of wondering what wattages each category generally generates at LT - I'm 4.2w/kg and 150lb, and I guess that means I should theoretically be Cat 2 quality, but 290w just doesn't seem big enough to really get me past Cat 3...

I know it's all about how you race, not how much power you put out, but this is still something that I've wondered about for a while.

Thanks!
-estone2

Estone2
you should most likely look at races where the winning selections/moves are made in the hills. I produce a little more power than you and am a bit lighter and find I have trouble won courses that are flat and or windy.

Second, it would be helpful to know what your talking aout here. Is you 20FTP this much or is a 30min or 60 min or......what? I'm assuming its you 60 min but..............

I have a riding partner that is a big ol' guy and he can absolutly drill it for 20 min. I'm mean drill it. His 10k times are stupid fast for his age and cat......but his 60 min FTP is lower than mine, he just plain runs out of gas. He has a track/pursuit background which plays to this stregnth. HE has yet to perform well in a 40k TT, for obvious reasons. So..........knowing what your good at is half the battle. Knowing when and what to race is a big deal. I usually don't bother with races that typically end in sprints. Thats not me.......I've beaten a lot of riders that were much stronger than I because I knew how to play the game, when to move, when not to move. When to attack, when to sit, when to pull, and when not to pull. That makes more diffrence than your watts. If it simply boiled down to watts we wouldn't need to race. You show up at the race get on a trainer and bust out a 60 min FTP ride and the highest wins . Thankfully, it dosen't work that way.

This compleatly leaves out the idea about proper tapering and traning, and yada yada yada.........

Starnut

[Dr.Dos]

Hmm, do you race in the lab?

Uhm, do they measure the power of - say a car - on a race track??? No, they put it on a test stand.

And also:

A good racer needs more than a specific amount of w/kg.

Sheer power says nothing about your quality as a racer.

I do not compete on a trainer and I don't do tests on the road either. Pretty logical, isn't it? I can transfer anything found in a test on a trainer directly to the road. If my trainer says "do 15-12-9' with 360-370-380W" on the road because my LT power was 370W in the lab I'll do that and it simply works.