3.1 W/kg
Median 35-44 male amateur
Roughly the boundary between fit recreational and competitive amateur.
+15%
Realistic 12-month FTP gain
Typical band for a trained rider on a structured plan.
9 hrs
Weekly training to race competitive sportives
Far less than most riders assume. Quality > volume.
~5%
FTP loss per decade after 35
Untrained. Coached masters routinely beat this.
01 — FTP BY AGE GROUP
ABSOLUTE POWER BY AGE
Functional Threshold Power — roughly the wattage you can sustain for an hour. Numbers are absolute watts for the actively-training amateur male cyclist. Use the W/kg table below to interpret these against bodyweight.
| AGE | 25TH | 50TH (MEDIAN) | 75TH | 90TH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 195W | 240W | 290W | 340W |
| 25-34 | 200W | 245W | 295W | 345W |
| 35-44 | 195W | 235W | 285W | 335W |
| 45-54 | 180W | 220W | 270W | 315W |
| 55-64 | 165W | 200W | 245W | 285W |
| 65+ | 145W | 175W | 215W | 250W |
03 — TRAINING HOURS BY GOAL
HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED?
Less than most riders assume. The bands below cover what we see across goals — finishing a sportive, racing one competitively, or holding the bunch at Cat 4 / Cat 3. Quality and structure beat raw volume long before the 15-hour mark.
SPORTIVE COMPLETION
4-7h/wk
Get round a 100-160km sportive feeling strong, not broken. Goal is finishing comfortably, not racing.
Typical weekly TSS: 300-450
SPORTIVE COMPETITIVE
7-10h/wk
Race the back third of an Etape, Marmotte, or Fred Whitton. Targeting a top-25% finish or a personal time.
Typical weekly TSS: 500-700
RACING CAT 4
8-12h/wk
Hold the bunch at entry-level road races and crits. Sharper top-end work alongside endurance volume.
Typical weekly TSS: 600-800
RACING CAT 3
10-15h/wk
Compete at regional level — animate races, finish in the bunch, take the occasional result. Demands serious training discipline.
Typical weekly TSS: 750-1000
05 — REALISTIC FTP IMPROVEMENT
WHAT'S A REALISTIC GAIN?
Under structured training, with a credible baseline test and consistent execution. The typical band is what most coached riders see; the top quartile combines structure, body composition gains, and proper recovery.
AFTER 3 MONTHS
TYPICAL
+5%-10%
TOP QUARTILE
+10%-18%
First-block 'newbie gains' for previously unstructured riders. Long-trained riders sit closer to the lower end.
AFTER 6 MONTHS
TYPICAL
+8%-15%
TOP QUARTILE
+15%-25%
Beyond the initial spike, a base + build cycle compounds. Body comp and consistency become the rate-limiting step.
AFTER 12 MONTHS
TYPICAL
+12%-20%
TOP QUARTILE
+20%-35%
A full training year, including a peak event and a recovery block. Top quartile usually combines structure, weight loss, and a coach.
METHODOLOGY
HOW THIS REPORT WAS BUILT
We aggregated public training-platform releases and the Coggan power-profile reference, then triangulated against ~250 actively-training riders inside the Roadman community. Every number on this page is indicative — not the output of a single primary academic study.
POPULATION
Actively-training amateur male road cyclists, training a minimum of 4 hours/week for at least 12 months, riding with a power meter or calibrated indoor trainer.
- ✓Self-identifies as actively training (4+ hrs/week, 12+ months consistent)
- ✓Rides with a power meter or calibrated smart trainer
- ✓FTP set within the last 8 weeks via 20-min, ramp, or extended-effort test
- ✓Bodyweight measured within the same window
SOURCES
TRAINERROAD PUBLIC STATE-OF-THE-CYCLIST DATA
Aggregated FTP and W/kg distributions published annually since 2021 from the TrainerRoad user base.
COGGAN & ALLEN POWER PROFILE CATEGORIES
The reference power-to-weight bands underpinning the W/kg interpretation in this report (Training and Racing with a Power Meter, 3rd ed.).
STRAVA YEAR-IN-SPORT REPORTS (2022-2025)
Used for sportive finish-time distributions and weekly volume context across the European amateur cohort.
ROADMAN CYCLING COMMUNITY DATA
~250 riders across the Not Done Yet paid community and Clubhouse free community with logged FTP, weight, and event results.
PUBLISHED TIMING DATA FROM REPRESENTATIVE SPORTIVES
Wicklow 200, Etape Caledonia, Fred Whitton, Etape du Tour, and La Marmotte official results 2022-2025.
LIMITATIONS — READ BEFORE QUOTING
- ·Self-reported FTP overstates true threshold by ~5% on average. We've smoothed against measured 20-min tests where available.
- ·The dataset is heavily male-skewed. Female-cyclist percentile bands run roughly 80-85% of the male values shown; we are gathering data to publish a separate female table.
- ·Active-trainer bias — riders who use a power meter and structure are stronger than the broader amateur population. Numbers should not be read as 'all cyclists'.
- ·FTP improvement rates assume a credible starting test. A bad baseline test inflates apparent gains.
- ·Sportive times include feed-station stops and are weather-dependent — read the bands as ranges, not point estimates.
CITATION
Roadman Cycling. The Roadman Amateur Cycling Performance Report 2026. Version 1.0, 2026-04-28. Available at https://roadmancycling.com/benchmarks.
Licensed CC BY 4.0 — share or reuse with attribution.
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