Last week, I talked about my training progression in the last two months and gave a cursory outline of my plans for the future. Today, I’d like to show you the power testing results from the last two weeks.

In the past couple weeks, I’ve gone out and set power “bests” in order to get a gauge of the efforts I’m capable of doing. This is useful because I will be able to better manage my power output in time trials and in races. It will also help me in identifying where my strengths (and weaknesses) lie.

So, I’ve set bests in 5 seconds, 1 min, and 5 min (and estimated my 60 min power) to fill out this chart:

(Power Profile as of Valentine’s Day)

I should emphasize that this chart is not a predictor of performance, it’s just a point of reference. There are a lot more things that go into a good result than power output. Use Cautiously.

This chart confirms my subjective view of my “on-paper” abilities. Since the end of the collegiate season, I’ve thought my biggest strength lies somewhere in the 1-2 min power to weight ratio (i.e. short, steep climbs) just based on my relative ability in the group during efforts like that.

My maximal power output isn’t great, but many sprints (especially in criteriums) are more about positioning than power output. Right now, I’m more concerned with getting to the right position than what I actually do in the sprint.

Still my number one priority is improving threshold power sustainably. Reaching my goals this season is contingent on being able to do decently in time trials and getting into race-winning breakaways.

Finally, I think my second biggest priority now is improving VO2max efforts (3-8 min). It’s these kind of efforts I’m going to have to do to break away or just keep from getting dropped.

Next Saturday, I’d like to talk about my plan for reaching these training and racing goals. Thanks for reading!