WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT FTP?

The training benchmark most talked about among cyclists is Functional Threshold Power. But how much does our prized FTP value really tell us? Nick Busca investigates

- Nick Busca

“Good job on improving your FTP!” my then coach Richard Laidlow congratulated me two years ago. My Functional Threshold Power was now 290 watts, he informed me, and I was thrilled. A year later came the cold shower: I did a physiological test with a different coach, and my Anaerobic Threshold was measured as 250 watts – how had I lost 40 watts, and where had they gone?

I subsequently learned more about the aerobic pathway, where energy is released from glucose and fat in the presence of oxygen. Using this aerobic energy system, I’m able to produce only 250 watts – the ‘missing’ 40 watts were from my body’s anaerobic contribution, where energy is unlocked from glucose without oxygen. FTP included both: the watts I was producing aerobically and anaerobically. The key lesson was that there are multiple thresholds, each meaning different things – so why as cyclists do we rely so heavily on FTP?

It’s important to remember that aerobic and anaerobic pathways are always intertwined and working together. Many of us assume that FTP tells us the pace we’re able to ride for an hour – but often this doesn’t stack up in practice. Setting aside discrepancies between different power meters and apps, how can we be accurate in how we discuss and apply FTP in our training? More importantly, is FTP the best metric to assess our fitness and upon which to base our training intensities — or should we look elsewhere?

What is FTP?

The scientific definition of FTP, according to the “father of FTP”, exercise physiologist Andy Coggan is “the highest power that a rider can maintain in a quasi-steady state without fatiguing for approximately one hour.”