I recently signed up for a 1 day a week, 8 weeks total cycling class at VisionQuest Coaching. The classes start this Saturday and the first class is a 20 minute FTP test to benchmark everyone. My stupid question is: Should I taper for Saturday to go into the test with fresh legs? I’ve been doing Sufferfest videos twice a week for the past 3 months with an easier/longer ride on Saturdays. My plan was to stop cycling three days before Saturday. Is that a stupid idea?
Yes, if you plan on tapering for every one of your FTP workouts, otherwise no.
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Ask the coach or trainer for the program. If they base the training levels on a “rested” FTP then taper, if they base the levels on a non rested, then don’t taper.
In general I’d say don’t taper, but don’t hammer your hardest wo ever the day before either.
I agree, don’t blast yourself the day before and be consistant from test to test
jaretj
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My plan was to stop cycling three days before Saturday. Is that a stupid idea?
If you want to do a formal test, a short taper is a good idea.
Stopping cycling for 3 days prior to that test is a stupid idea. At minimum, you should do an easy ride the day before with a few “openers”. IME, racing or testing after multiple days off the bike leads to decreased performance.