I remember my first race. I was not expecting such a fast start. I was D grade and it way over stated power. I TT’d like a mofo for 14km to get back on, towing two or three guys behind me all the way as I couldn’t get them to work a pace line. Bridged the gap, we all got back on, they gave me Ride Ons and the group dropped me like a bad habit.
Good workout though 
It automatically changes mine to a roadie.
I don’t do many Zwift races, but when I do I roll out of the gate easy until near the back, then see how far I can work through the field.
Dunno why, just find it more engaging hopping from group to group, resting up then going again. No ego, no getting wound up by the 45kg electronic dopers but a solid workout.
First turbo session for a while over the weekend, weighing ~10kg heavier than I used to and no bike training for the past couple of years… 2.7w/kg 
Time to put some work in. Reckon I could easily increase the watts just by doing some actual cycling, and should be relatively easy to cut the weight as I was coming back from 6 weeks of doing sod-all over the xmas break. 4w/kg by the summer is the goal… not sure it will be achievable but lets see
First time doing the ramp test as well… so much different from trying to do a 20 min test!
Seems you lasted one more step than me. I bailed at 315 whereas you got through that minute. The best I’ve ever done is lasting through a minute of 343.
I got back to failing at 330 last year after a couple of months of training post marathon, so the aim is to get back there as fast as possible and then start building further.
Thoughts? The main thing I find with it is it gives you a reasonable reflection of your current fitness, without having to be “fit” beforehand. If I’d tried a 20min test after a few months off regular cycling, the number would have been pitiful, and whilst, yes, that would reflect I’m not amazingly trained right now, I think it would make subsequent sessions excessively easy.
Last time I did a ramp test, I failed at 275. A 330 fail is impressive!
I like the fact that I could probably do a ramp test every week if I wanted (though obviously wouldnt), great for constant validation I guess. I’m actually thinking of having another go in a few days to try and squeeze another minute or so out - it was literally my first time on a turbo or doing any form of bike training so pretty sure I could re-learn to suffer more.
And then likely validate using a 20 minute test in a few weeks when I have done more sessions - as per your point I don’t really want to be taking sessions easier simply because I couldnt suffer through an FTP test. I definitely couldnt handle it now though and would probably bail after 10 minutes or just easy cycle for a huge period of it
It’s all relative as you know, but I do take the point.
My 280 FTP target at the outset of this thread would require lasting a minute at 375. That’s 75w higher than what I managed for a full minute last week, but more than that, it would have meant more than another 5 minutes of work at that level or above (assuming roughly 15w steps). That’s when I realise how far away I’m shooting for
I do a Zwift race every week and to be fair, they are about as taxing as a CP20 if they are more than about 40 mins.
How have you worked out that a minute at 375 would equal 280?
The rough maths is they take 75% of the final minute (or max minute power). Although there is some overlay to that to account for how well/accurately, or not, you rode the preceding intervals.
I did some Googling a while back to find out the details of the ramp test as I don’t subscribe to any software and wanted to set one up for myself. It’s basically a MAP test, that’s been around for years, and your FTP should equate to 72-77% of your MAP.
I did find some variation on how to perform the test though. I think Trainer-road use 6% of your FTP per minute whereas the British cycling one specifies 25W per minute for non-elite males (obviously they could be quite similar depending on your FTP)
Trainerroad is actually quite good with the season functionality, and how you can set them up to be whatever you want. Using that, I can visualise just how much I need to recover where I was…
71.5kg this morning. That’s a serious downward shift I’ve seen this week, off the back of resuming commuting by bike. I imagine a chunk of that is dehydration, as I’ve not increased hydration to compensate.
But, ignoring that likely reality, with no FTP adjustment at all, this takes me to 3.1w/kg! 10% of the way there. Woohoo. 
Cycling to work allows a lot of guilt-free calorie consumption!
Had another attempt last night and held a minute longer, completed 334 but barely held anything at the next level of 348. Still at the same weight (which is since xmas and significantly heavier than I have ever been before) so came out at 2.9. It’s a long way to go to 4.0!
I think I’ll retest in a week or two. A 5x7min sweetspot session last night felt a bit easier, so I think I’m making some headway. But I’d rather solidify that than jump the ftp too soon and then be struggling again.
I did a 3*10 minute session tonight, Zwift was hovering between 3.6-4 but I didn’t have it lapping for the reps.
Felt fairly hard but I’m a bit tired, although HR was struggling to get over 163, I have fairly small zones and did the 1:25 half around 170 a few weeks ago.
Should probably do a test myself, but need to be rested and up for it really.
Jeff
Agonisingly close tonight with my 20 min FTP test @ 3.95WKG. My matchstick legs just about held up.
Nice! Where were you at the last time you tested?
I’m hopeful of getting to about 3.3ish when I next test, if not better. Which would be a reasonable stepping stone from my lowly starting point
