10th June ‘25: FTP

In the world of cycling, one of – if not the – most ubiquitous means of determining ‘cycling fitness’ is FTP (functional threshold power); and refers to the maximum power a cyclist is able to sustain for a period of time (typically an hour).

If you’re interested in knowing more, there are plenty of resources available, but this is a good place to start.

I’ll be doing a lot of my training on an indoor trainer, using Zwift (an online, virtual platform/world where you can compete in races, join group rides or follow structured training plans); An accurate FTP is an important factor when working out training zones and optimising effort for maximum gains.

I’ll talk a bit more about my indoor training setup in another post, but tomorrow morning I’ll be putting myself through a ‘ramp test’ – which is one of the ways Zwift allows you to get a pretty decent estimate of your FTP. A ramp test is typically done over around 20 mins, with the effort increasing every minute – and you go until exhaustion… can’t say I’m looking forward to it but I’ll report back tomorrow.

I’m expecting my FTP to currently sit around a fairly mediocre 200 watts… by my reckoning – to be competitive in a race – I need that to be somewhere around 280-300 watts.. so around a 40-50% improvement.

Now, that’s definitely at the (very) high end of what’s possible – but assuming my current fitness is pretty low I’m hopeful there’s some low hanging fruit to make some significant gains in the short term. Well, here’s hoping.

Wish me luck.