THE SHORT ANSWER
Andrew Feather, four-time british national hill climb champion; bath-based amateur cyclist; finished ahead of tadej pogačar at the pogi challenge in slovenia (with a head start), has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Feather lands on periodisation. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS ANDREW FEATHER?
Andrew Feather is the British amateur hill-climb specialist who finished ahead of Tadej Pogačar at the 2024 Pogi Challenge — admittedly with a 6–7 minute head start on a handicap, but at 6.3 W/kg for 44 minutes at age 40, the performance is itself the headline. His career is the cleanest case study in what a true amateur uphill specialist can do, and how the W/kg numbers that win UK national hill climbs compare with what WorldTour climbers are putting out at the very top end.
FEATHER ON PERIODISATION
Feather’s key positions on periodisation.
- 6.3 W/kg held for 44 minutes at age 40 puts a top UK amateur hill climber inside the same W/kg bracket as a strong WorldTour climber for short uphill durations.
- Handicap-format climbs are won by the rider whose actual W/kg most exceeds the organiser's assumption — Feather hit 6.2–6.3 vs an estimated 5.5.
- Net-time over the climb is the real number — Pogačar was about 3.5 minutes quicker than Feather over the 15km, 1,200m ascent.
- Quinn Simmons' Il Lombardia ride — 355W average across 4+ hours, climbing at 400+W — defines the modern WorldTour ceiling, and Pogačar still caught him with 2.5 minutes to spare.
- Top amateur W/kg numbers are catching elite numbers for short durations, but the 4-hour durability gap is what still separates the categories.
IN FEATHER’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from Andrew Feather’s appearances on the podcast.
“I think for 44 minutes I did 397 W which is around 4.6 kilos. I'm weighing about 63 kilos at the moment, so um yeah, massive massive uh he's he's incredible basically.”
“I was consistently looking down at my power meter and I was seeing around 420, 430, so obviously with those downhill bits I would have lost a bit of average power.”
“The handicap at the start, I mean, I've heard various reports, anything between 6 and 7 minutes, and that kind of stacks up because when I crossed the line, I was waiting for about 3 minutes and then he crossed the line. So the net time between me and him was 3 minutes 29, so 3 and 1/2 minutes basically, that he was quicker than me.”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where Andrew Feather covers periodisation and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does Andrew Feather say about periodisation?
Andrew Feather, four-time british national hill climb champion; bath-based amateur cyclist; finished ahead of tadej pogačar at the pogi challenge in slovenia (with a head start), has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Feather lands on periodisation. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Feather's main point on periodisation?
6.3 W/kg held for 44 minutes at age 40 puts a top UK amateur hill climber inside the same W/kg bracket as a strong WorldTour climber for short uphill durations.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover Andrew Feather on periodisation?
Feather discusses periodisation in this episode: "How an Amateur Beat Pogačar | Roadman Cycling Podcast".
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