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I am going to give that a go. 49 seconds might be a longer term goal than an immediate target though. 😉
I'm 70kg and doubt I could hold 500w for more than 15-20s.
Wont try it just yet as still down on power post covid in Jan. pre covid my FTP was 265, last week I did a virtual TT and couldn't hold 250w for 5mins!!!
I didn't try the 500w for 5 mins last night as it wasn't my planned workout but I did manage 8 reps of 498w - 557w for 20 secs using my vector 3 for power on Zwift as I'[m sure the Vortex Smart bumps the figures up somewhat. I'll run the workout again with the trainer for power to see the difference. (Won't be tonight though!) For reference I'm 67kg. Whether I could manage 49 secs is a different story!
Just looked on zwift for a reference. 994,414,282 and 251
20 min not much lower that 5 minute. I guess that is mostly because i tend to do longer rides (for me) on there. Now how to set up that custom workout to fall short of 49 seconds.
73kg here, going to give it a crack on Zwift if I remember and see how long I can last the biggest challenge is try to remember to post back here. Got a drivo II, this also reminded me to calibrate it. So many things to remember!
I'm sure there are plenty of larger people that could do 500w for 5 mins and it doesn't really have any relevance to anything but it will be good to have a go and see how far I get...
Raced as 2nd cat on road for several seasons. Even at my peak I doubt I'd get close to 350W for 5 min, nevermind 500W. Thats was at 75kg (I'm not even close to that nowadays)
Looking at some of the charts previously linked my power numbers wouldn't have been good enough to be classed as a 4th cat never mind 2nd cat. Seem to have really low ftp and and always done badly on any stationary bike tests.
However put me in a race and I could suffer all race and still have a decent sprint at end of race. Power numbers aren't always everything.
Good luck to anyone trying 500W for 5 min, not my idea of fun and no chance I'd even try it.
Thinking of this in terms of FTP, this would be just under 160% for me. For 5 mins? I wouldn’t even try. If it was 130% I’d be fairly confident.
Yes, you need to look at it as a percentage of FTP rather than absolute figures. Even 3mins at 120% of FTP is bloomin' hard work - that's typically top end of VO2max, so you'd need an FTP of somewhere around 420W to even consider it.
Fillipo Ganna averaged 488W for 12mins27secs in the Etoile de Besege so it is possible if you are good enough.
For the record my best one minute power is 406W so no way could I manage 500W for five minutes.
Love this thread 😀
^ Good way to look at this thread through the prism of the rough requirement of a 420W FTP for 5 mins at 500W. I think it helps to put some of the BS in to context 🙂
That is an inhuman effort for a 60kg GT winner or a really decent effort for a national level 80kg rider. Even if you were 100kg that still puts you ahead of most people who ride/ train regularly year after year and put a decent amount of effort in!
Yes I think we are all looking at this from the perspective of cyclists, not other kinds of athlete.
Most of the hill climbers at the top of the UK sport can do it while weighing not a lot.
Yes they specifically train for that time and IMO anyone who is at 400w from "normal" riding would be able to hit it at 500w with specific work. Probably quite a lot of it too.
Andrew Feather 493w (after doing 550 in the shorter event 2 hours earlier) weighs 63kg according to Strava.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4121530948/power-curve/300
Andrew Feather 493w ... weighs 63kg
Snort
I mentioned Mr Feather 2 months ago on page 2 😉
There's no way that he weighs 63kg.
Recently started using a coach instead of be self coached and had to do some power tests to reset my training zones. One of them was my five minute max. After a good warm up I ground out a 430W effort. More than pleased with that number, especially as I don’t normally train for this sort of duration (long distance TT’s are my bag) I also did a twenty minute test the day before so might’ve had a bit of fatigue in my legs. Could I hit 500 ? At my age (47) and the amount of training I’ve done over the years (my gains have slowed down dramatically) I very much doubt it.
However put me in a race and I could suffer all race and still have a decent sprint at end of race. Power numbers aren’t always everything.
There's been a bit about this on Twitter recently from Cameron Rooney-Mason, FTP doesn't win races, being fast in the right places wins races.
A good way to look at this is the kids (15, 16, 17yr olds) at the top of the BC development programme are all knocking out well over 5w/kg for their FTP and most of them weigh naff all and quite a few of the older ones are heading to Europe as part of U23 development squads.
There’s no way that he weighs 63kg.
<stalkermode>
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/fitness-and-training/andrew-feather-hill-climb-champion/
</stalkermode> 😀
I'm 16yrs old (58kg) and new to the great sport of cycling. I train around 10 hours a week and only started training properly since January this year. I have done a 5min test on a climb and managed 379w at 58kg and held 406w for 4mins. I did a seperate 2min test and did 465w. I enjoy riding uphill fast, is my power good because I train alot, or is it maybe because I have a good V02max system? If I was 77kg, I guess I could hold 500w for a minute?
It's probably got something to do with youth as well! Most of us are middle aged on here.
Those seem like good numbers. But numbers aren't everything. Certainly at your weight and age you'll be flying up the hills. Don't over do it. Remember to have rest periods. But you'll only get stronger over the next few years in my experience. I rode with a skinny 16 year old (6years ago) who was fairly handy. I'd normally have the upper hand. He just got better and better and is being paid to ride a UCI race next week with some of the best. He'll do ok.
Are you a member of a club. The best way to compare yourself is to pin a number on and race. I'd suggest you have a look for a club and enter some hill climbs in late summer. They can be found on the CTT website. You'd also do well at hilly time trials.
Most of all above numbers, stay healthy and enjoy yourself.