# Old topic but what is your best 15 second ....



## Sonomasnap (Feb 10, 2010)

Best 15 second power. Include your Cat and age.

Just curious how we all stack up.

1200 watts, Cat3 53 years old.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Completely useless w/o weight. 1200w/15" is pretty impressive. How was it measured? Over the last couple of months my best is 850w. 11.36 watts/kilo. I weigh 170, SRM.


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## Sonomasnap (Feb 10, 2010)

cxwrench said:


> Completely useless w/o weight. 1200w/15" is pretty impressive. How was it measured? Over the last couple of months my best is 850w. 11.36 watts/kilo. I weigh 170, SRM.


You are correct sir. I weigh 170 and it was SRM.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

This year, 1130 watts, cat 2, 175 lbs 
2011, 1250, cat 3, 182 lbs

both by PT


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## Sonomasnap (Feb 10, 2010)

Wow. Big power loss for losing 7 lbs.

I am trying to drop 11 lbs over the winter and actually increase my pwr.


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

[email protected]/cat2/45y.o.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

No idea about my current numbers since I haven't cared about top end power for the last two years.

With that said, three years ago my best 30 second was in the mid 900 watt range with a max over 1500 (5 second in the mid 1400 range). I was 39 (I'll be 43 this December) and a CAT 3 weighing in around 192 pounds at the time. I was using a Powertap for measurement purposes.

Now I do TT's almost exclusively so anything under 20 minutes is almost irrelevant to me these days


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

I remember my best 10s being around 1000Ws. So 15 a little lower I imagine. 

46 year old, Cat 3, 160 pounds. I do sprint work once or twice a week. 

On Saturday I outsprinted a guy who I had been battling with during a cross race, so good thing I had been working on it. It wound up being for 4th place though.

Wookie, I remember reading your concerns about crit/road crashes and such, and therefore your focus on TTs. Have you given CX a try yet?


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

*Mark Cavendish after 200 km's of racing*

From a recent interview he said at the end of a race he does over 1100 Watts for 15 seconds. I guess he weighs about 150lbs. His aero position would help.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Poncharelli said:


> Wookie, I remember reading your concerns about crit/road crashes and such, and therefore your focus on TTs. Have you given CX a try yet?


I did CX my first season of road racing and enjoyed the first couple races ... then Cross Crusade hit and there were so many people that if you missed the hole shot ... it became a training ride instead of a race (150 - 200 people per class was crazy).

Then add in the fact that it's muddy, you have to dismount and conditions can be very uneven ... it raised the risk of injury to a level higher than I was willing to risk (starting out in A Masters didn't really help either, though I was a mid pack finisher). I've had several knee surgeries and should have had a couple more. One wrong dismount and not only would it ruin the end of this season, but most of next years season as well.

Besides ... TT season runs from February to the end of August around here, so it's good to get a break from racing every now and then


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## aussiebullet (Sep 26, 2005)

Havn't tested that duration specificially at my current weight (68kg down from 77kg.) but did a standing 250m this morning strait after a VERY hard 20min "tune up" interval in preparation for this w/end's Masters National Road Championships and took the highest 15'sec from that. 
In December I will be fresher in prep for track/crit season and I have a standing 250m sprint eliminator event first up so will have a better idea as that time of year gets closer.

1128w
37yo
68kg (150lbs)
In Aus our grading system is a dogs breakfast. At club level A grade, scratch/block depending on who shows up and how many of them are NRS guys.

Some impressive numbers here from the more mature riders, maybe there's hope for me yet.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I don't really focus on my 15 second efford. It would likely be extremely bad, especially at my Category and (lack of) weight.


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## fdghsrtws (Dec 17, 2006)

913w, first year racing - CAT5, 34 years old. 84kg. My best 30 sec (in a race) was 800w.

In Michigan, power usually trumps power/weight ratio.

That said, I'm working on my sprint over the winter...


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Sonomasnap said:


> Best 15 second power. Include your Cat and age.
> 
> Just curious how we all stack up.
> 
> 1200 watts, Cat3 53 years old.


I agree that this is impressive. You guys should also post your peak power. 

If you can do 1200 watts for 15 seconds...


I don't have a powermeter but I recently picked up a garmin. I took a KOM up a 15% grade this morning and strava estimated my 19 second segment at 863 watts. But those strava estimates are suspect. I weigh around 160lbs and I'm 34. I was a state champion on the track in 2012 and of the seven road races I won this past year, two came from bunch sprints. The remainder were solo's or sprints from a small break. On that note, a lot of people talk about their power, FTP, etc. Aside from what strava says, I don't even know my numbers. If my 15s power really is ~900 watts...well that's all it takes for me to get to the line.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

Sonomasnap said:


> Wow. Big power loss for losing 7 lbs.
> 
> I am trying to drop 11 lbs over the winter and actually increase my pwr.


It wasn't so much due to the weight loss as change in focus. I find its easier to be competitive if you can mash away at the competition rather than hold on for dear life and out sprint them at the end.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Local Hero said:


> If my 15s power really is ~900 watts...well that's all it takes for me to get to the line.


At the amateur level ... you don't need 1500 watts to win races and most people won't be able to put that out at the end of a 2.5 hour race anyway.

When I was doing a lot of road races, my peak power was mid 1500 watts with my 5 second power mid 1400 watt range. At the end of races where I was winning in both small group sprints and larger field sprints, my peak power was in the mid 1300 watt range an my 5 second power was closer to mid 1100 watt range.

It's great to be able to put out tons of power on a training ride ... but can you do it at the end of a race when you are spent?

On top of that ... can you hold 550-650 watts for the final minute leading up to a 1300 watt sprint? If you can't ... chances are you won't be there to sprint regardless of how fast you are.


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

Wookiebiker said:


> At the amateur level ... you don't need 1500 watts to win races and most people won't be able to put that out at the end of a 2.5 hour race anyway.
> 
> When I was doing a lot of road races, my peak power was mid 1500 watts with my 5 second power mid 1400 watt range. At the end of races where I was winning in both small group sprints and larger field sprints, my peak power was in the mid 1300 watt range an my 5 second power was closer to mid 1100 watt range.
> 
> ...



Excellent post. Worth repeating for those that think those of us that obsess over various issues from training plans to nutrition to bike fit are crazy. It's interesting how those w/o power seem to be really interested in your max power as if that is the one metric that defines the fitness of a rider. I'm more interested (impressed) with the guy that can do exactly what Wookie outlined above and in a sense train to do that!


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## DMH2979 (May 24, 2011)

Totally agree with wookie and woody. My 15 sec power (800+ depending @ 155-160 lbs) sucks compared to what people on the internet say they post, but I can probably do this after 4+ hrs. 

40 y/o, Cat 1 (most of my early years racing were in CO), been racing for over 15 years and using an SRM for most of that time. My strength is Vo2 up to LT, not short sprints and am more of a diesel. So while not fastest at the start, I usually have the same power after many hours. 

Seems to have worked out ok for me. There is so much more that goes into racing and winning than a 15 second snap shot. I think local hero has the best point, in the grand scheme of things, if 150 watts gets me on to the podium, I'd take that any day.


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## seppo17 (Dec 7, 2008)

2012 - 900w w/ pt, 78kg, 34y/o, cat 4 
2013 - 896w w/ quarq, 78kg, 35y/o, cat 2

I pretty much ignored sprint work this year, with no intervals under 10min. And my results were alot better.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Wookiebiker said:


> TT season


just. wrong.


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## Sonomasnap (Feb 10, 2010)

Agree with most of the responses. And yes that power was on a training ride not after 1.5-3.0 hour race. The max number I have ever hit on sprint intervals is just a tad over 1400. 1415 I think. In a race in a field sprint holding anything over 1000 watts for the final 10-15 seconds with an initial spike to maybe 1150 is more common in a race for me.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Creakyknees said:


> just. wrong.


TT season is oh so right. Wish there were more in my area. I'm currently down to only one TT in my area.


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## Cableguy (Jun 6, 2010)

I'm a terrible sprinter, on all the power to weight ratio charts for 5-15 seconds I'm in the "Untrained" category. Have never broke 1000w at all, best 15s is prob somewhere within 750-800w. I'm 160lb. Best one hour effort is almost 4.0 w/kg though which is supposedly cat 2 territory for that duration. 

It's kind of weird knowing the average lazy, out of shape guy off the street is just as a good a cyslist (if not better) than me for <15 seconds haha


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I had a crit where I hit 700w a few times at 120lbs. That hurt.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

spade2you said:


> I had a crit where I hit 700w a few times at 120lbs. That hurt.


120?!? Damn son, you need a burger or 17.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

cxwrench said:


> 120?!? Damn son, you need a burger or 17.


The funny thing is that my doctor specifically told me that I am not to lose any weight. My best season was a few years back when I started race day at 119lbs. 

It's too bad the climbs aren't decisive in my area. My attempts to race in the PacNW have been thwarted by work in 2011, baby in 2012, and some expen$ive basement work in 2013.


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## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

spade2you said:


> The funny thing is that my doctor specifically told me that I am not to lose any weight. My best season was a few years back when I started race day at 119lbs.
> 
> It's too bad the climbs aren't decisive in my area. My attempts to race in the PacNW have been thwarted by work in 2011, baby in 2012, and some expen$ive basement work in 2013.


There are only a couple races on the calender with huge climbs up here in the NW other than cascade in Oregon. I thought you wanted to do well at TT's? Put on some weight and power and that will be a bit easier


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

misterwaterfallin said:


> There are only a couple races on the calender with huge climbs up here in the NW other than cascade in Oregon. I thought you wanted to do well at TT's? Put on some weight and power and that will be a bit easier


I put most of my effort in the TT due to the lack of climbs in my area. I was hoping to do one of the uphill TTs near Portland this year. 

Despite a not so aggressive TT posture, I get pretty decent speed and results. I'd like to stay light in the hope that I can eventually travel and do some good climbing races.


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