Anyone here using Intervals.icu? I am curious about what power profile you see there.
I always have been a Sprinter according to The Sufferfest, however Intervals.icu says I would be an All Rounder from since I started using a powermeter.
The 2019 (pink) line is the only one showing close to accurate 1-min max power. For that 60s effort I was trying a get a Strava KOM which lasted 1min20s.
The 60s 2020 was obtained in a short hill (2 min), trying to keep with the pack during a race. The 60s 2021 was obtained in my last Full Frontal test. So these last 1-min efforts are not real maximal ones.
A friend of mine told me about icu, he seems to run his life by it, but I am overwhelmed by the data and prefer to just stick to the SUF plans. That said, I do like the power curve in icu so will occasionally take a peek.
All of my power data is from SUF sessions and the 20 min âbest effortâ is from FF so itâs not really a true best effort (when you have just done the 5min best effort before it). I think thatâs the issue with power curve (and these charts) as it would assume all those power curve data points are best efforts whereas if you are doing repeats in interval sessions you are not going 100% full out, and similarly, SUF FF and HM are making more complex assessments to get FTP.
FWIW - Iâd say you were definitely leaning towards sprinter! Certainly seem much better rated in the 5s category and have a steeper line than mine for similar eFTP. For reference, SUF says I am a climber with VO2 weakness.
@WillD I stopped using it for similar reasons. Now I just concentrate on doing the SUF workouts and refining my training plans and it seems to be working.
Iâm a Pursuiter in SUF and All-rounder in intervals.icu.
Not sure what the significance is really. I do feel like a reasonable all-rounder in real life, although I train mainly for endurance events so my FTP and MAP are relatively higher than my AC and NM. Donât do much sprinting or crits.
Cool app! I started SUF as a Rouleur in 2020, then became a Sprinter in subsequent FF assessments. It does seem like âPuncheurâ should be a SUF profile as well.
Interesting. My last 2 FF tests have 1000+ NM values in SUF, but intervals.icu shows my max as 835. This definitely has to affect the calculation of my profile.
Thank you All.
It seems most of us and others I know are classified as All-Rounders there.
I have quite good 5s and 1min bests relative to my other bests and still an all-rounder.
According to a traditional Coggan table, I would be classified as a sprinter, matching my always classification in Sufferfest.
I would be curious to biopsy my muscular fibers, I am quite skinny to be a proper sprinter (181 cm / 68-69 kg). I donât know where the power comes to push a sprint at a top-level to my age. On the other hand, I am always struggling with sustained efforts.
I found the ICU app interesting to keep track of my progression. I am still using Sufferfest but after some SUF plans, I decided to personalize myself the plan for the next 3 months. Letâs see the result, I have the hypothesis that I need a higher volume at Z2 combined with sustained intervals. I set my TSS in the range of 500-700, about 10-12 hours/week, in 3 by1 traditional week periodization. I will have 2 Suf indoor specific workouts stimulating FTP and MAP, plus a Saturday with some stimulus (usually tempo or sub-threshold). The rest will be recovery or Z2, plus a Cadence builds after a strength workout to the maintenance of off-bike strength training.
@emacdoug you have to adjust settings for âPower Spikesâ in ICU. The same happened to me. To avoid that I set the threshold to 300%, the standard value is 20% and it will âcutâ quick surges as in 5s and 1min if the power raises too high too fast.
Thanks for that tip. Iâve adjusted it to 300% and that did it.
Still shows me as an All Rounder. SUF had me as an Attacker, but now classes me as a Sprinter (likely because after a break my NM went up, but everything else went down).
I found this at their forum: Coggan type category determination - Bug Reports - Intervals.icu Forum
The function looks nice but they say âit is just cosmeticâ and âItâs not very scientificâ. They are looking into their Coogan Male profile (the second picture I originally posted). One has to be located at a higher Category for 5s to be classified as a sprinter.
For me, intervals.icu still seems to be a nice tool for other purposes, including to know how I compare with other cyclists at each of the time-based bests.
Remember that your position on the chart in terms of % is vs.sample population which is the icu users on first chart (probably has more road cyclists) vs. World best in Coggan chart (I.e. 100% for 5s would be Olympic medal track cyclists)
I always kinda wanted to get the âall-arounderâ classification in SF; but I always get either a Time Trialist OR an Attacker, based on how my FF test goes. I think (assume) my 5 min power is too weak relative to 1 min and 20 min. Otherwise it is strange that I go back and forth between those 2 designations.
Thanks, @WillD, you are right. Although I have a pretty decent 5s power (among The Suf and Intervals.icu users), it is not outstanding compared to the other maximal power outputs in Cooganâs Power Profile Chart.
I have the last edition of Training and racing with a power meter from Allen, Coggan, and McGregor. The table there puts me exactly at the level between Good and Very Good for the 5s. Each category has 6 steps/rows, I am only approximately one step below for the 1 min and approximately an extra step below for 5min and 20 min.
Comparing to the examples here, it is indeed quite a flat profile typical of an All-rounder.
As you mentioned one at the top of the Exceptional category would be able to power 22.76 W/kg for 5s, which would translate to 1550+ W in my case. I would be happier consolidating my FTP above 4 W/kg than improving my sprint to that level.
@jackriddle2, if you have a sharp V pattern for your profile it would be good to check your numbers or either work that weakness.
The book from Allen, Coggan, and McGregor says âthe sharp V pattern is a relatively unlikely combination, given the expected inverse relationship between neuromuscular power and lactate threshold and the positive relationship expected between VO2max and lactate threshold.â
Only started cycling for the past 6-7 months, before I used to go to the gym for like 2 years consistently so I guess my aerobic engine sucks while my anaerobic is somewhat good for a total noob
Does export to intervals.icu still work? I know there isnât a direct export, but Iâm sure mine used to work by exporting to Garmin and then onto intervals.icu. Last ride on SUF doesnât show up in intervals.icu, but a run I directly recorded on my Garmin did
@RichardK & @Martin I use Strava as the upload point, itâs a good aggregator. I have a .ICU account and I donate too, so my files are actually pulled and stored there too I believe in the event Strava go titsup or changes their T&Câs. All my files are also backed up to dropbox.
Check out https://tapiriik.com/ for sync between platforms - it lets me point everything at Strava and takes care of the rest (dropbox/trainingpeaks/RWGPS)
As far as the PMC goes - itâs only as good as the data you put in. You need to keep it well fed throughout the season to get a realistic view.
