What is more important? That's a bit like asking, to stay alive "Is the heart is more imprortant than the lungs are more important than the brain is more important than the...?"
Maybe that is what Gavin was getting at when he suggested that legs were pretty improtant.
Perhaps yo are really asking "What should I work most on?"
What is most important is whatever is letting you down at the moment. The weakest component. The one that needs the most work.
And the answer is that it is hard for anyone else at the other end of an internet connection to know. But whatever it is, once you work on it and improve it, something else will become the "most important".
Most important physiological features for a road cyclist?
- ColinOldnCranky
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby ColinOldnCranky » Tue Jul 22, 2014 3:32 pm
Unchain yourself-Ride a unicycle
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby zill » Tue Jul 22, 2014 3:42 pm
Other ways I use to track progress is doing longer rides and looking at the times of popular routes with minimal traffic like the 1 in 20.
- Derny Driver
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby Derny Driver » Tue Jul 22, 2014 3:50 pm
Go bash yourself up against some other punters in a few bicycle races mate.zill wrote: I've gauged my progress by ......
.... to get an idea of ability and potential ....
No-one cares how much training others do or dont do or what gadgets they have, what Strava records they set, what bike they ride or what numbers they put out.
Its simple: Winner takes all ..bragging rights for the week and free ego inflation.
I recommend it!
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby zill » Tue Jul 22, 2014 3:57 pm
Yeah I get you. Actually, one reason I am doing all this training is to be able to "kill" everyone in races (at all the grades)! But I'm just taking one step at a time at the moment.Derny Driver wrote:Go bash yourself up against some other punters in a few bicycle races mate.zill wrote: I've gauged my progress by ......
.... to get an idea of ability and potential ....
No-one cares how much training others do or dont do or what gadgets they have, what Strava records they set, what bike they ride or what numbers they put out.
Its simple: Winner takes all ..bragging rights for the week and free ego inflation.
I recommend it!
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby Aussiebullet » Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:33 pm
zill wrote:Yeah I get you. Actually, one reason I am doing all this training is to be able to "kill" everyone in races (at all the grades)! But I'm just taking one step at a time at the moment.Derny Driver wrote:Go bash yourself up against some other punters in a few bicycle races mate.zill wrote: I've gauged my progress by ......
.... to get an idea of ability and potential ....
No-one cares how much training others do or dont do or what gadgets they have, what Strava records they set, what bike they ride or what numbers they put out.
Its simple: Winner takes all ..bragging rights for the week and free ego inflation.
I recommend it!
Most of us race for fun and fitness, some lucky guys and girls are lucky enough to ride/race for a living and even as good as they are many of them have never killed anyone in races and some have never won a Road race at what ever level their team is licenced to race at be it National, Continental or Pro tour level.
Reguardless of talent or training it will take sometime to master road racing and right now all you are doing is waisting time and not learning just how HARD racing is and what type of racing you like and what it is you you need to work on for those races.
FTP willl get you so far at lower grades and maybe it wont even be enough to progress with out years of racing and working on things that improve your results.... Racing is HARD! Berry berry hard but a lot of fun no matter what grade your racing in,
if I had raced just to kill everybody then I would have given up trying 10yrs ago but that's not why I race it's the juorney the challenge and the friendships I've made along the way that keep me turning up to this insanely hard and brutel sport.
Get out there and start learning.
- chucknitro
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby chucknitro » Tue Jul 22, 2014 9:09 pm
+1 and don't forget to tell us what you learntAussiebullet wrote: <snip>
Get out there and start learning.
2018 Canyon Endurance SLX DB 9.0 DI
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby S-train » Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:49 pm
Just having n FTP that above everybody else in the grade your racing against does not grantee a win, as i regularly discover.Yeah I get you. Actually, one reason I am doing all this training is to be able to "kill" everyone in races (at all the grades)! But I'm just taking one step at a time at the moment.
-Not being able to go around a corner carrying speed means you have to put in an effort to catch up, stay at the back of a crit race and discover the elastic band, when it snaps you know all about it quickly.
-crafty racers who can pick the exact point where drafting is the greatest, ride with a bunch of older guys and watch them from behind they are moving around the back of the younger guys all the time, saving energy, i get shocked when i review my HR and Power data at how much less work is done only 3-4 riders back.
-Race suffering vs trainer suffering, i am yet to get a personnel best power over x time that was'nt in a race, i get close in training but always mange a little bit extra in races, that extra competitive drive can be worth a bit.
-timing, timing, you have sensational 4 minute power, 500 W above everybody else, when do you use it? i lost a race cause my brain switch off for 10 seconds recently, i let a guy get in front and a gap on me, then up the hill i was closing the gap but it was hard, the back of the hill was still having to close, no one else was helping me chase down, he got away. race craft is worth alot of watts in my book.
Go out ride your bike, racing is fun, lots of fun, coming last is a learning experince, winning a huge bunch sprint is awesome, ridding to X watts on a Watt bike is boring
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby toolonglegs » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:42 pm
4 minute power 500w above anyone else ... That's ... You would ride away from a car let alone a cyclistS-train wrote: -timing, timing, you have sensational 4 minute power, 500 W above everybody else, when do you use it? i lost a race cause my brain switch off for 10 seconds recently, i let a guy get in front and a gap on me, then up the hill i was closing the gap but it was hard, the back of the hill was still having to close, no one else was helping me chase down, he got away. race craft is worth alot of watts in my books
- Derny Driver
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Re: Most important physiological features for a road cyclist
Postby Derny Driver » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:51 pm
I like your work sonS-train wrote:
Just having n FTP that above everybody else in the grade your racing against does not grantee a win, as i regularly discover.
-Not being able to go around a corner carrying speed means you have to put in an effort to catch up, stay at the back of a crit race and discover the elastic band, when it snaps you know all about it quickly.
-crafty racers who can pick the exact point where drafting is the greatest, ride with a bunch of older guys and watch them from behind they are moving around the back of the younger guys all the time, saving energy, i get shocked when i review my HR and Power data at how much less work is done only 3-4 riders back.
-Race suffering vs trainer suffering, i am yet to get a personnel best power over x time that was'nt in a race, i get close in training but always mange a little bit extra in races, that extra competitive drive can be worth a bit.
-timing, timing, you have sensational 4 minute power, 500 W above everybody else, when do you use it? i lost a race cause my brain switch off for 10 seconds recently, i let a guy get in front and a gap on me, then up the hill i was closing the gap but it was hard, the back of the hill was still having to close, no one else was helping me chase down, he got away. race craft is worth alot of watts in my book.
Go out ride your bike, racing is fun, lots of fun, coming last is a learning experince, winning a huge bunch sprint is awesome, ridding to X watts on a Watt bike is boring
+1 !!
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