Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast · Rob Wilby

Training in Bad Weather, FTP Testing, TSS Explained: Listener Q&A| Ep 582

·31 min

The episode opens with Rob Wilby greeting listeners, thanking them for sending in questions, and inviting more questions from the audience. He checks in on training and safe racing through a changeable week of UK weather before settling into the listener Q&A format that drives the show. A question about FTP testing leads him into the main comparison between the classic one-hour time trial and the more common 20-minute test. He explains that the 20-minute result is usually multiplied by 95 percent to estimate FTP. He then points out that for many athletes the real issue is not the test itself but the ability to hold that power for a full hour. Some riders can produce strong short efforts but fade when the duration gets longer, and he treats that gap as useful information about where fitness needs work. He also distinguishes between testing on your own and racing in a highly motivated environment with other riders around you. That difference matters because many athletes can hold more in a race than they can in a solo test. From there he broadens the advice into the limits of shortened FTP formats. He is not a fan of ramp tests or other compressed versions because the further the test moves from an hour, the more room there is for the numbers to drift. That problem is especially obvious for powerful athletes whose profile skews toward shorter efforts. He returns to the idea that a test should tell the truth about what you can actually sustain. The episode keeps that practical lens throughout. It does not chase fancy metrics for their own sake. It keeps pointing back to race conditions, long-term development, and the gap between a number on paper and a number you can ride. The listener comes away with a clearer sense of why FTP is useful only when it reflects real effort. The advice is framed as something to apply, not admire. It is coaching aimed at athletes who need their training to be honest. The overall tone stays measured and instructive. Even when he pushes back on common testing trends, he does it as a correction, not a rant. The episode is built to help athletes stay patient, avoid overreading one test, and focus on sustainable progress.

As heard by us

A practical discussion of FTP testing and the gap between test numbers and real-world effort.

This episode offers a practical coaching Q&A on FTP testing and the familiar difference between what an athlete can manage in a short effort and what they can sustain for an hour.

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Why you'd press play

Need a clearer read on FTP before your next hard session?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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