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How proper testing and structured training lead to dramatic results.
Cycling fitness is now commonly quantified in what has become a standard determiner of ability, the power to weight ratio. This number is the amount of power in watts an athlete can sustain at threshold, divided by the rider’s weight.
Michele Ferrari, the renowned trainer of Lance Armstrong and other top pros originated this statistic along with the "magic number" of 6.8 Watts/Kilo as the ratio needed to win the Tour de France. To understand this number, a person weighing 165 pounds needs to generate just over 500 (500!) watts at threshold to drink champagne on the Champs-Élysées. Among the top Tour de France contenders the difference between the winner and the 10th place finisher is just a tiny percentage equalling the arm strength of a four year old child, so even the slightest improvement can mean a lot. Of course, top professionals are already highly trained and cannot really improve that much, but what we have found is that by applying similar training principals to beginning cyclists and less than optimally trained racers we can create huge gains. Click here to see power to weight tables for all categories and time periods.
Before customizing a training program, TEAM NYVELOCITY.COM tests each athlete's lactate threshold. The results of the test enable us to determine proper training zones in both watts and corresponding heart rate zones, eliminating guesswork and time wasted in training. The test also enables us to determine your current power to weight ratio, maximum stainable power, and the Onset of Blood Lactate Accumulation (OBLA) threshold.
On average our riders have improved their power to weight ratio by 17% within six months; the difference between a beginning Category 5 beginner and a very competitive Category 4 racer.
