Find out how to analyse your cycling post-race data so you can train and perform better in the future.
Finishing Time
The first thing we all do after an event/race is look at our race finishing time. This can lead you to feel one of three ways:
- Over the moon with happiness
- Crushingly disappointed
- Happy enough, but wondering if I could do more
However, taking your finish time at face value is not always an accurate method of analysis. Unless it is the same race that you have done before with the same conditions, you will never be comparing apples with apples. There are dozens of variables that can significantly affect your time.
The Best Way to Analyze Results
You will have performed your fitness test 4-8 weeks before your race and used this information to plan your pacing strategy for your race. You can now use it to evaluate your results. Check planned values against actual values within Training Peaks over different parts of the race. You will need to take into account the nature of the course and the variables that may have affected your performance (positively or negatively).
Analysis is by no means a perfect process because of the sheer number of variables involved. But using recent performance test data is always better than looking at race splits in isolation.
You may, after an initial disappointment with your result, come to realize that you actually performed well on the day. Using recent performance test scores rather than assumptions will help you stay grounded in reality, giving you a far better idea of how you raced and how to improve in the future.
Conclusions
- There are lots of uncontrollable variables that can significantly affect your race results.
- Simple fitness tests can provide useful benchmark performance data.
- The level of your competitors will vary from one race to another. You cannot always compare directly against them.
Read Phil's full blog: Race Analysis
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