# Is 4.41 w/k at age 16, Good as an FTP



## KiNG SiG (Jan 16, 2014)

Ive been riding for about 2 years, but have only been training seriously for about 4 to 6 weeks. I recently did a 20 minute test to get a gauge of where i am. I produced an average of *302 watts* at *65kg* for *20 minutes*. Taking 5% of this result i can get a accurate estimate of my FTP being around *287 watts* and therefore *4.41w/k*. I just dont know what this really means, is it good, okay, average. 

If someone could give me a better understanding of my performance it would be much appreciated.

Thanks.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

1) There is a thing called "cross-posting"...it's when you post the same question in different sections of a forum. It's annoying, don't do it. 

2) Typing in all bold is nearly as annoying as typing w/ the caps lock on. Or cross-posting. Don't do it.


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## Cableguy (Jun 6, 2010)

To expand on the above post,

3) Yes, that is pretty good. The following graph would estimate you're a cat 2 level rider (Power-to-Weight Ratios: Bicycling Training | Bicycling Magazine). Keep in mind your power to weight ratio is a very generic description of your abilities and there are many other aspects to racing.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

I forgot #3, yeah...that is pretty good :thumbsup:


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

That is a real good result IMO. I coach a HS MTB team in Utah and the general observation is that a lot of kids have good P/W, mainly because most of them are so light. 

But 4.41 is really good and would definitely put you towards the top of the Varsity field, of course depending on your handling skills. The top guys in the Varsity are probably round 4.5-4.8 W/kg; one of them has a Cat2 road license which he earned his Junior year (which included wins in Cat 3 crits; pretty rare for a little guy). But from what I remember, he was racing since he was 12.


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## Alfonsina (Aug 26, 2012)

Poncharelli said:


> I coach a HS MTB
> 
> B
> .


 Hey. off topic but do you know what team Hillcrest High school kids ride with? Or can kids ride with their boundary school even if they don't attend it? TIA.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Cableguy said:


> To expand on the above post,
> 
> 3) Yes, that is pretty good. The following graph would estimate you're a cat 2 level rider (Power-to-Weight Ratios: Bicycling Training | Bicycling Magazine). Keep in mind your power to weight ratio is a very generic description of your abilities and there are many other aspects to racing.


I take that graph with a grain of salt. I think I once held a little more than 5w/kg for about 11 minutes during an uphill TT and got something like 17th place in Cat 4 at the Joe Martin a few years ago. I'd have to double check the numbers since Garmin Connect is down at the moment.


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

Alfonsina said:


> Hey. off topic but do you know what team Hillcrest High school kids ride with? Or can kids ride with their boundary school even if they don't attend it? TIA.


Give Lori a call at the league office. Contact info here: Contact ? Utah

I'm in Ogden so don't know how the teams are combining in SLC. But in general practices are super open for any kid who wants to attend, parents just have to sign a simple release form give to the head coach prior to attending:

http://www.nationalmtb.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/AgreementtoParticipateandReleaseofLiability.pdf

Hopefully you can help out since sometimes there is not enough volunteer riders for the kids.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

this is pretty damn good. 

My buddy's kid who is 15, and he's been riding for about 3 years now, and has been racing for just over a year, and now he's on a junior development team, and the dude can drill with cat1/2 guys in a crit without too much issues. It's the TT that separates the men from the boys. It's funny, but there are older guys who can handily beat the kid in a TT, but then these same guys would get dropped like a rock in a crit whereas the kid wouldn't.


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## runabike (Jun 18, 2013)

KiNG SiG said:


> *Ive been riding for about 2 years, but have only been training seriously for about 4 to 6 weeks. I recently did a 20 minute test to get a gauge of where i am. I produced an average of 302 watts at 65kg for 20 minutes. Taking 5% of this result i can get a accurate estimate of my FTP being around 287 watts and therefore 4.41w/k. I just dont know what this really means, is it good, okay, average.
> 
> If someone could give me a better understanding of my performance it would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks.*



Here's the thing about numbers like these: they don't mean anything in a race. Sure, you'll get someone saying you need xxx watts for xx minutes and all that jazz, but the only important number is the one beside your name on the results list. 

All the wattage in the world won't do a thing for you if you don't know how to maximize what you have. My advice would be to not fixate on the numbers, not worry about the w/kg, and instead plug into group rides with the best riders possible. 

Shoot for results and the numbers will take care of themselves. Shoot for the wattage numbers and... well, you'll have nice numbers. May not do much for your palmares, though.


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## runabike (Jun 18, 2013)

spade2you said:


> I take that graph with a grain of salt. I think I once held a little more than 5w/kg for about 11 minutes during an uphill TT and got something like 17th place in Cat 4 at the Joe Martin a few years ago. I'd have to double check the numbers since Garmin Connect is down at the moment.


I finished mid pack in Elite crit nats with an ftp of ~4.4... 

Not a good result by any means (though I had several wins that season at that same w/kg), but it does show how inconsequential ftp can be if you know how to race and play to your strengths.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

runabike said:


> I finished mid pack in Elite crit nats with an ftp of ~4.4...
> 
> Not a good result by any means (though I had several wins that season at that same w/kg), but it does show how inconsequential ftp can be if you know how to race and play to your strengths.


My FTP is generally around that, although I haven't done a real test in a few years. 

The uphill TT is 2.5 miles and generally ~10-11 minutes for the upper 3rd of Cat 4. Such a short effort is a given amount over FTP. I looked at the graph and compared my 10min power to the 5min power. Despite my 10min power being over 5w/kg that day, I was barely inside the top 20. I think I might try my hand at a few longer uphill time trials since I do much better at the longer efforts.


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