W/kg and Racing Catagory...do tell

I know that W/kg is just a number, and definitely not the “end all” to race fitness or results. Buuuut, big numbers do help. Anyway, that rant is not why I am writing.

I’m curious, what are some “ballpark“ averages for W/kg and racing categories that people may have seen or read about? Get it? What is your watts per kg, and what road race (or MTB) catagory do you race in?

Does anyone have links to studies on this topic?

Thanks, y’all!

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Several lists covered here:

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Thanks a ton, I really appreciate your help @mcneese.chad. I knew you would know, and was trying to avoid messaging you directly…lol. Guess I need to get my search game on point…

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Last year I was 3.2watt/kg. Fairly consistently in the front third of cat 4 CX races.

I have a ramp test coming up on Tuesday. I think I’m already back to where I was as I peaked going into cross season last year. I think I should be able to get to around 300 watt ftp this year, which depending on weight will be somewhere a bit north of 3.5watt/kg. Hoping to podium at least once this year, and maybe make a run at cat 3.

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3.7 w/kg Cat 4 road.

You didn’t ask about results…:pleading_face:

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@Ramon_Thompson …I would bet with a 3.7 your results stand a chance of being very good in the 4’s. So…how about 2019 results?

4.5w/kg for a Cat3 in the UK (me).

I can ‘sit at the table’ in a 1/2/3 road race but I’m not going to be a deciding factor. Those chaps have their skills dialled and know exactly how many matches they have and when to use them.

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FTP in w/kg isn’t really a deciding factor in road racing. I’m currently sitting with a TP of 4.8w/kg. Last season there only in crit races lasting around 40 mins did I get close to those figures. Most races, the hardest 20 min effort was around 4w/kg. What was a deciding factor for the races with half decent results was the ability to go deep when you’re fatigued. The hardest race last year was 2hrs 15min at 3.5w/kg, with the last 20 mins at 4w/kg, then a final effort of 3 mins at 6w/kg.

(Cat 3 road, UK)

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Man, I am happy to hear you say that. My FTP is probably down around 3 right now, and I’ve been worried about being able to hang with the field in P/1/2 RRs like I used to (been a few years since I’ve raced, at least seriously). Guess it is time to going back to working on my sprint!

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I’m approx 4.75w/kg right now and will likely end up around 5w/kg once the spring rolls around with a few more watts a few less pounds. Race category? I haven’t purchased a license for years!

I don’t really have time to race, so normally just do local training races.

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No results to speak of.
Most of the races I actually did I finished mid pack. My best finish was 29th; I always have a hard time on the last lap, and suffer at the hands of heavier riders!
Basically, I have a REALLY hard time recovering from hard efforts and surges. So I’ve been working with my coach to try and address that.

Additionally, I’m a Cat4 BUT my races mostly are Cat3/4 fields.

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46 years old 2.73 w/kg, FTP right at 197
MTB Cat 3 Podiumed 5 out of 6 races, 2nd in Spring State Championship 40-49 Cat 3 2019
MTB Cat 2 9th place in the last Cat 2 championship race of the year 2019
2019 5th Open Male Overall in the National 24hr Solo Endurance Championship Series.

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I’m a cat 1 on the road in the US at around 4.7-4.8 w/kg during race season. That said - I was also at that same w/kg as a cat 2 and a cat 3. The numbers let you play the game, but don’t mean you’ll have good results. At that w/kg as a 3 I was able to brute force my way onto the podium without much skill. At that w/kg as a 2 and as a 1 I have to play the game very carefully to get good results

Sample numbers from two events below

In a 3:10 long road race I had a NP/kg of 3.94 and finished with 12 minutes at a w/kg of 5 (2nd place in a P123 field)

In a 0:57 long crit I had a NP/kg of 4.49 (1st place in a 35+ crit)

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So well said. Everyone needs to pay attention to this. It’s easy to let your numbers get to your head, but they’re only a small part of success in racing.

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I have to agree. Seems like the TR career homepage, podcast and this forum are all about w/kg. If I recall they asked Amber on the podcast RE her pro racing w/kg and she didn’t have any idea what it was.

I’ll stick with raw watts, the ability to bury yourself when the move happens, and raw watts again as what really matters for the vast majority of amateur races.

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I’m a Cat 1, raced Continental Pro for a year, albeit very unsuccessfully (please do not look me up on ProCyclingStats… :rofl:) and then have stuck around for a while after with some local races. I’ve won a couple primes, helped some teammates bridge to breaks, pulled back some breaks, and stuff like that, but cat 1 is LEGIT here in Texas. So now at <4.0w/kg, I hang on for dear life. My crowning achievement is the 470w for 5 minutes that I did once.

Currently, I’m training for IMTX, so it’s all aero all the time and kind of depressing given my history:

  • FTP: 305w
  • Weight: 80kg
  • W/kg: 3.83w/kg.

I’m confident I could do ~330-335w on the road bike after a couple weeks of re-adjusting to the position, though.

At my best:

  • FTP: 370w
  • Weight: 75kg
  • W/kg: 4.93w/kg

I do intend to lose another 3-4kg before the race. I’m fat naturally, so I blew up from 165lbs to nearly 190lbs within about 8 months of getting a real job.

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Currently at 82kg and 301w
Aiming for 77kg and 320w

Never raced before, should be interesting in Cat5

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Probably worth asking for absolute FTP as well. Unless there’s a lot of elevation this is just as, if not more relevant.

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291/81kg ~ 3.6w/kg

Just racing for fun like the amateur I am. Hoping to do La Marmotte with a 4.0w/kg this summer :sweat_smile:

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4 w/kg 4.1-2 on good days

Cat 2 road and cx
Cat 1 MTB

Short and aero and kind of heavy for my height. High sub 5 min watts, best 5 min is 450W. I don’t do races with steep climbs over 5 minutes.

W/KG isn’t the end all of race categories or results.
I know people over 5W/kg that had trouble getting out of cat 3 because they are terrible at racing.

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