Power/FTP/Pacing flats v climbs

penski

Hi all,

I have a question about pacing that I've not been able to find any information on.

Assume my FTP is 200, and W/KG is 2.5. I have only ever ridden a flat road.

On a 1 hour climb, how do I pace myself? Will I be able to maintain 2.5W/KG or would I need to lower it more and more the steeper the gradient.

Tom Dean

Everyone's different. Pace it as you would on the flat and see how you feel

maryka

Many people can push more watts on a climb than on a flat road. So it's likely your 200w on the flat could be 210-220w on a long steady climb. You can get an idea of whether you're one of these people by climbing something about 5-10 min long about as hard as you can -- steady effort though, so steady gradient -- and seeing what watts you do. Then seeing if you can push the same watts on an uninterrupted flat stretch of road, preferably without much head or tailwind. If it feels like a lot more effort on the flat road to do the same watts, you should be able to push better watts up the long climb.

As far as pacing yourself goes, it's just like any 60-min FTP effort, start out strongly but hold back a bit, at the 15 min mark see whether you'd feel ok pushing a bit more or not. Empty the tank for the last 10-15 min.

penski

Oh thats interesting...I was under the impression because a climb is harder, I would be able to maintain less power.

But I guess what is happening is, with the same power output as flats..due to the climb, I am going at a slower speed.

maryka

I have a theory that whether you can put out more power on a climb vs flat is related to where in the pedal stroke you put out your best power (or what kind of pedalling inertia suits you). On a climb, I think you can continue pushing much further around the "clock" because you're still pushing against gravity due to the gradient, so if you are the kind of person who can put out power towards the the bottom of the stroke, it will suit you more than flat riding. Where where on the flat you might stop being able to put power through your leg at 3pm, on a climb it's more like 4pm? (broad generalisation).

Speed probably comes into it too. I also think it's trainable, so people who put out lousy watts on the flat can improve that by training it more. This is partly why the pros do motorpacing, so they know what it's like to be doing FTP watts or higher at 60km/h or whatever.

Interesting article about it here http://cyclingtips.com/2013/09/climbing ... -affected/

BrandonA

Penski wrote:

Oh thats interesting...I was under the impression because a climb is harder, I would be able to maintain less power.

But I guess what is happening is, with the same power output as flats..due to the climb, I am going at a slower speed.

If you pass yourself a watt is a watt. an FTP of 200 means you can average 200 watts for an hour. As long as you have adequate gearing and pace yourself you should be able to average 200 watts up a climb. If your FTP was based on 95% of a 20 min effort you might not be able to drop 200 for an hour, it would depend on your power curve as everyone has difference skills.

your weight is irrelevant. All this does is effect how fast you go when you drop your 200w. Same for you aero setup.

penski

Yes this all makes sense to me now.

Just tackled a few hills that I couldn't have dreamed of climbing at length..but pacing yourself is key. Looks like I used to go way way way too hard previously. I understand why riding with power is so effective now.

Thanks for your help