Training: Power to weight ratio for cyclists

Expert road bike reviews and the latest road bike news, features and advice. Find rides & events, training articles and participate in our forums

Share

How To

Six things you need to know about… power to weight ratio

Why power to weight ratio is a crucial figure in determining climbing ability

6. A session to improve your power to weight ratio

  • Training camp, Andalucia, mountain, climb, climbing (Pic: George Scott/Factory Media)

    Hill reps are an effective way to improve your climbing prowess

  • Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, pic: Sirotti

    While professional cyclists are secretive about their power to weight figures, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador will both be over 6w/kg (Pic: Sirotti)

  • Cycling: 67th Tour de Romandie 2013 / Stage 5 Tony Martin (Ger)/ Geneve -Geneve (18,7Km)/ Time Trial Contre la Montre Tijdrit TT / Ronde Rit Etape TDR /(c)Tim De Waele

    While Tony Martin is no certainly slouch going uphill, his build and physiology are best-suited to the demands of a time trial, where power is more important in relation to aerodynamics (Pic@ Tim de Waele/Etixx-QuickStep)

  • Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Tour de France 2012, stage 11, Albertville - La Toussuire, pic: ©Stefano Sirotti

    Having reach his physiological potential, Bradley Wiggins improved his climbing ability by losing weight, rather than necessarily focusing on increasing his power (Pic: Sirotti)

  • Alpe d'Huez sign, pic: ©Media-24, submitted by Mike Cotty, used with permission

    Peter Cossins' looks at 'cycling's greatest climb' in Alpe d'Huez (pic: Media-24)

  • No matter how good your kit is, you can't escape the suffering that comes from riding uphill in the heat (Pic: Strava)

6. A session to improve your power to weight ratio

As we’ve already covered, the best – and most sustainable – way to improve your power to weight ratio is to focus on improving your power.

Power to weight on long climbs is all about sustainable power – your anaerobic threshold – so here is a session to work on that all important Functional Threshold Power. This session refers to your training zones – find out how to set your zones here.

  • Warm up for 15 minutes in zone two
  • 2 x 20 minutes progressive zone four effort – start at the bottom of zone four and finish right at the top of zone four/bottom of zone five
  • 10 minutes zone one recovery between efforts
  • 10 minutes cool down

Topics:

Related Articles

Gear

The clothing of the Classics

The Castelli Gabba is the standard for weatherproof jerseys, but else is out there?

The clothing of the Classics: weatherproof kit from Castelli, Sportful, Endura, Santini, Vermarc, Moa and Rapha
Gear

The evolution of the chainset and the rise of the semi-compact

How the 52-36t semi-compact chainset may just offer the best of both worlds

The evolution of the chainset and the rise of the semi-compact
Racing

Volta a Catalunya preview: Froome and Contador to resume hostilities

Chris Froome faces off with Alberto Contador for second time this season

Volta a Catalunya 2015 - preview: Chris Froome and Alberto Contador to resume hostilities
Racing

Revamped Wiggle-Honda target top spot as women's cycling continues to rise

Behind-the-scenes at the British team's 2015 launch

Revamped Wiggle-Honda target top spot as women's cycling continues to rise
Sportive

Cycling etiquette: the 'rules' of the road

How to make (and keep) friends out on the road

Cycling etiquette: the 'rules' of the road
Newsletter Terms & Conditions

Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy.

Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions.

Cookies help us deliver our services. By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn More

Accept
production