Nico Young's FTP Test Results

I was not an international level elite runner but I was pretty good (8 min 3k, 14 min 5k)

I always cycled a bit from being a kid but never consistently and never "training".

Assuming that the pros do circa 6w/kg and that they do Alpe D'Huez in about 40 minutes means that, very roughly 4w/kg up Alpe d'Huez is about 60 minutes.

I did this at the end of the summer track season on my first bike ride of the year.

With a bit more cycling under my belt I did about 1:23 up Mont Ventoux against the pros doing just less than an hour which also roughly stacks up.

Now I'm 20 years older I do quite a bit of zwift and have an estimated FTP of about 4w/kg.

No doubt in my mind that an elite distance runner could get to at least 4w/kg with 1-3 months training.

Based on your last comment, I suspect we have a similar sense of power numbers, but the use of the term FTP may be different. We can ballpark FTP by using power over a set amount of time, but this doesn't match the physiological definition as there will be different TTE.

From the same study you've linked, 90th percentile 20min is 6.6W/kg, 30min is 6.2W/kg, and 60min is 5.8W/kg (rounding to 1 decimal since that's the same precision of my estimate). The drop-off as 20min stretches out toward 60min is huge, and 6.3W/kg for 37min as I ballparked is reasonably consistent for a top performer compared to those numbers.

You can think of it this way. Why is Nico good at running?

High VO2Max (going to translate to the bike)

Exceptional Running Economy (not going to translate to the bike)

High Lactate Threshold (Will translate to the bike but going to take time and activity specific training)

Anecdotal evidence. I'm a fairly decent runner, far below the level of Nico Young (think like 2:30 marathon type). A few years ago, I took a few months off running and did full time cycling (think like 3+ hours on a bike per day, with pretty structured training). By the end my FTP was around 4.8ish. I had a proper power meter and everything. Obviously everyone is built different, but hitting 4W/kg should be a piece of cake for anyone at the caliber of Nico Young.

We’re still bloviating about this? Don’t you all realize that any decent distance runner should be able to get on a bike and within a few months be a top professional in the peloton and better than Pogacar, Van der Poel, or any other top cyclist? 🙄

literally everything this kid has to say should be negated based on this comment alone

Nico is not a kid.

As somehow who runs and rides, I find the idea of elite runners failing to hit 4W/kg on an FTP test absurd. That being said, I know from firsthand experience the fact that the muscular demands are different, but if they’re doing any amount of cycling, even commuting a bit, I would expect them to blow that number away. For comparison, I can do FTP style tempo workouts (2/3 x 15-20min @FTP) just under 6min/mile; the same intervals on the bike I’d do at 4.4-4.7W/kg depending on fitness. The big X factor for successful moving to the bike is probably how much of their running success was due to a naturally strong running economy as opposed to the aerobic engine.

is FTP the power for 1hr? Either way 4w per KG after a few months of cycling is doable for an athlete like Nico...

1hr is harder than 20min

I guess that means all the guys on my college team who didn't break 15 weren't "healthy."

They weren't, they were chugging cheeze-wiz out of the can and eating curly fries for breakfast.

No my Stages power meter is not broken. For context 3.2 to 4 ftp range is for Zwift “B” races and you won’t even be competitive unless you’re pushing 3.8+ in the B races. There literally hundreds of random dudes in these races at all hours of the day. you need to push 3.2 to be competitive in C races. If you want to be competitive in A races you are close to 5 or higher.

so yes, Any very average runner who spends time training bike muscles should be able to do 3+ and it would be shocking if an elite runner couldn’t do more than 4 with a modest amount of training.

good points.... Although he is a top runner there probably are less talented runners who would be better at cycling. But this is about Nico.

The best runner does not mean best cyclist. If anything, he would be a climber which does require watts per kg.

First of all, 4w/kg is not amazing. I'm a decent Cat2 woman and I'm above that.

To answer your question though, running and cycling require different muscle groups, positioning, etc., so I don't think Nico's excellence on the track would necessarily translate. Were he to pick up cycling seriously for a few months, though, yes he'd probably be pretty good.

It depends who you ask. There's no clear, authoritative definition for FTP. Some define FTP as 1 hour power, while others define it based on lactate curves, and others define it somewhat vaguely.

I like to think about it as the "tipping point", where going beyond that will cause someone to blow up in the next 5ish minutes. Last summer during a 1 hour max test, I was feeling "good" up until I had some sugar water about 35min in that caused me to lose a few breath, but that was enough. I had to drop 10-20W for 1-2min after because I had a sudden onset of lactate that I could NOT clear at the same power level. After dropping power for a short while, I returned to my previous power and held on.

Take a look at the Norwegian on lower mileage thread. Sirpoc who'd progress there has been good, was an ex cyclist with success many years ago. I do not think he has cycled but only ran for 3 years and not ridden bike since 2017. From data I can gather on Strava, recently he did an FTP just to see what would happen based on just running. On bike he did 4.7w/kg for 20 mins. Any pro I would expect could do at least this with zero training. He is just hobby jogger now.

Exactly correct. This is why age is so important when assessing performance. Guys are getting better up until 25/26 years of age.

Nico is fit but I can tell you certain fitness test he would likely not pass for example there is not a chance in hell he would pass the physical PST for SEAL training no way he would pass the requires Push Ups or Pull Ups. They don't let you half that stuff it's perfect form to the deck Push Ups and the Pull Ups are perfect dead hang he is not completing the required numbers on those and he would be a burden to any boat crew during Log Pt, Boat Pt, and any other upper body activity. He also could not physically pass the o course he doesn't have the upper body for that.