Long-distance triathlon glossary·FTP

FTP : Functional Threshold Power

Bike

The maximum power in watts you can sustain for 1 hour on the bike.

FTP is the anchor for cycling plans. It defines your intensity zones (Z1 recovery, Z2 endurance, Z4 threshold, Z5 VO2max) from a single number. A 250 W FTP means you can sustain that power for about one hour before full exhaustion.

In TriPaced:

In TriPaced, your FTP is auto-detected from your Strava activities (20-60 min max efforts). It feeds into every prescribed bike session and into your fitness metrics (CTL/ATL/TSB).

Source Allen, Coggan & McGregor, Training and Racing with a Power Meter (3rd ed., 2019)

Related terms

  • Cadence : rotation frequency
  • Drafting : energy saving by sitting in someone's slipstream
  • W/kg : Watts per kilogram
  • Aero position : aerodynamic optimization on the bike
  • CdA : Aerodynamic drag coefficient
  • Critical Power : CP