POWER ≠ GLORY

Power doesn’t equal glory – but it can help guide the way. Deena Blacking strips away the false promises and explains how to be wise about watts

- Deena Blacking

“As far as I’m aware, no bike race has ever been won on a power meter,” wrote Peter Sagan in his autobiography My World. The triple world champion and owner of more points jerseys than there are days in a Grand Tour doesn’t care for big talk about wattages. And yet, if you were to believe the chat on your Saturday morning Zwift ride, you could be forgiven for imagining that power was the be-all, end-all of cycling success.

These days, most cyclists who follow structured training use power. The advent of online power-based training platforms, plus the likes of Velon making power part of live racing coverage means performance data has become a major currency for pros and amateurs alike. Never mind “if it wasn’t on Strava, it didn’t happen”, it’s almost as though rides without attached power files don’t count anymore.

The first power meter was invented more than 30 years ago by SRM, but it wasn’t until the mid-2010s that power meters became widely accessible to ordinary riders. In 2006, Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan published the first edition of Training and Racing with a Power Meter, then the only such guide available. Today you can find a near limitless supply of research papers, podcasts, books (and Cycling Weekly features) to help you make sense of how to use a power meter.

Modern cycling fans react with dismay when a pro races without a power meter. This may be an ominous sign of overdependence on this form of performance measurement. Power is definitely a valuable tool in the cyclist’s toolbox, but it is far from everything. To return to Sagan: “Nobody ever got points for wearing the Maximum Output jersey” – and few people are better qualified to comment on winning actual jerseys.