Originally Posted by
ZHVelo
Why is that? According to that chart, that is way beyond cat 5 level. Bigger guys just make up for it with raw power on flat courses? Or stick with and at the end out-sprint others? And how much is lighter in your eyes?
Sorry for the barrage, just curious.
It might because of the area I’m in. Southern California is quite competitive. I have friends who push close to 4W/kg and weigh 30-40lbs more than me who can’t really top 10 cat 4 races. Another friend who FTPs around 350W @ 175lbs and has handles to match but can’t break away in cat 4.
I weigh around 130-135 in race form. Most races around here are flatter so you’ll see big guys dominate. By big I mean 165-180lbs.
I’d say that chart is definitely a bit generous. I’ll agree with all the other posts that say power is not everything in a race. But in a super competitive field, you’d be surprised as to how much power it takes just to stay in the draft. I think there is a range of power curves that are viable in each category. They’re just way closer to each other than that chart suggests.
In fact, FTP and especially 5 minute power matter more in a crit than I think people realize. I can put out close to 1200W for 5s when I’m not dying and get a good leadout. But if you make me go over threshold constantly for 20-40 minutes and I have to go all out for the last 5 minutes to hang on, I’d be lucky to cross 900 for 1s. A big sprint is useless without fitness to match. So I wouldn’t worry too much about those sub 30s power numbers.