FTP

The go-to fitness test for cyclists around the world has left many of us in a sweaty heap

While few cycling-related abbreviations are as recognisable as FTP (functional threshold power), truly understanding its nuances and frailties, and using it to advance your bike fitness, is less universal. Phil Cavell, author of the bestselling book The Midlife Cyclist, is a critic of the metric and the effect it’s had on the general cycling population – it’s the “god we all worship”, he memorably once told us. It gets bandied around by riders at gran fondos and races, as if it’s the ultimate arbiter of your level. Though it can offer a snapshot of form, like any one metric taken in isolation, it does not and cannot tell the whole story. For good or ill, however, it’s certainly left its mark on the cycling community. The measurement’s roots go back…

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Cycling Plus (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2024

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