This week, GCN partnered with Zwift to produce a video analyzing millions of power data points from Zwift users gathered over the past 12 months. The data, when combined with users’ weight, age, and gender, helps answer a few common questions cyclists ask, especially:
- How fit am I compared to the universe of cyclists?
- How does my fitness change with age?
Here’s the full video… a quick and worthy watch before we dig into the numbers below:
Finding Your Data
To compare yourself to the stats presented in the video, you will, of course, need to know your numbers! These can be found just about anywhere you send your cycling data, including Zwift and Strava:
- Zwift shows your Power Profile Over Time (a new feature!) at zwift.com/feed (click MY PROFILE, then POWER)
- Strava subscribers can see their Best Efforts Power Curve under Training>Power Curve (strava.com/athlete/analysis)
It’s worth noting that Dan mentions a very valid caveat to the accuracy of the data presented in the video. The data is pulled from Zwifters’ activities over the past 12 months, but we don’t know how many of those riders have actually completed max efforts at the four durations below. It’s likely that the actual max-effort numbers for the Zwift population are a bit higher than what you see below.
With that said, here’s the Zwift data presented in the video, so you don’t have to hit pause while calculating your values…
5-Second Power
Male
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 4.16 W/kg | 8.75 W/kg | 14.06 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 3.94 W/kg | 8.21 W/kg | 13.00 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 3.91 W/kg | 7.96 W/kg | 12.42 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 3.74 W/kg | 7.36 W/kg | 11.32 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 3.44 W/kg | 6.56 W/kg | 9.99 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 2.85 W/kg | 5.52 W/kg | 8.41 W/kg |
Female
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 3.41 W/kg | 6.53 W/kg | 10.42 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 3.12 W/kg | 6.01 W/kg | 9.49 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 3.09 W/kg | 6.00 W/kg | 9.30 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 2.95 W/kg | 5.60 W/kg | 8.50 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 2.73 W/kg | 5.12 W/kg | 7.57 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 2.37 W/kg | 4.36 W/kg | 6.47 W/kg |
1-Minute Power
Male
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 2.88 W/kg | 4.75 W/kg | 6.82 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 2.74 W/kg | 4.52 W/kg | 6.47 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 2.68 W/kg | 4.37 W/kg | 6.21 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 2.54 W/kg | 4.05 W/kg | 5.70 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 2.34 W/kg | 3.67 W/kg | 5.09 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 1.97 W/kg | 3.18 W/kg | 4.44 W/kg |
Female
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 2.42 W/kg | 3.86 W/kg | 5.45 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 2.24 W/kg | 3.63 W/kg | 5.13 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 2.20 W/kg | 3.58 W/kg | 5.02 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 2.08 W/kg | 3.36 W/kg | 4.71 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 1.92 W/kg | 3.09 W/kg | 4.29 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 1.67 W/kg | 2.71 W/kg | 3.84 W/kg |
5-Minute Power
Male
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 2.27 W/kg | 3.63 W/kg | 5.10 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 2.15 W/kg | 3.41 W/kg | 4.73 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 2.10 W/kg | 3.28 W/kg | 4.51 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 1.99 W/kg | 3.05 W/kg | 4.16 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 1.82 W/kg | 2.78 W/kg | 3.76 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 1.54 W/kg | 2.43 W/kg | 3.34 W/kg |
Female
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 1.95 W/kg | 3.07 W/kg | 4.28 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 1.81 W/kg | 2.88 W/kg | 4.02 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 1.77 W/kg | 2.82 W/kg | 3.89 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 1.69 W/kg | 2.65 W/kg | 3.65 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 1.56 W/kg | 2.45 W/kg | 3.36 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 1.36 W/kg | 2.15 W/kg | 2.89 W/kg |
20-Minute Power
Male
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 1.95 W/kg | 3.09 W/kg | 4.32 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 1.86 W/kg | 2.93 W/kg | 4.05 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 1.83 W/kg | 2.84 W/kg | 3.89 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 1.73 W/kg | 2.67 W/kg | 3.63 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 1.61 W/kg | 2.45 W/kg | 3.32 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 1.36 W/kg | 2.16 W/kg | 2.97 W/kg |
Female
| Age Group | Bottom 10% | Average Rider | Top 10% |
| 20-29 | 1.69 W/kg | 2.65 W/kg | 3.70 W/kg |
| 30-39 | 1.57 W/kg | 2.51 W/kg | 3.50 W/kg |
| 40-49 | 1.55 W/kg | 2.47 W/kg | 3.42 W/kg |
| 50-59 | 1.48 W/kg | 2.34 W/kg | 3.22 W/kg |
| 60-69 | 1.38 W/kg | 2.18 W/kg | 3.00 W/kg |
| 70-79 | 1.19 W/kg | 1.92 W/kg | 2.69 W/kg |
Additional Metrics
The video above also shares some simple graphs showing additional data:
- How much our power output changes with age
- How much our weight changes with age
As I said… well worth a watch.
Your Thoughts
So how do you measure up? I managed to make the top 10% for my age group (40-49) in 1-minute and 5-minute power, but fell just short in 5-second power and well short in 20-minute power. (Interestingly, this is quite a different result from when I compared my data using ZwiftPower’s rider phenotypes charts back in 2020. Either I’ve changed, the population data has changed, or both. Or maybe it’s time for a 20-minute power test?)
Share your results and any other thoughts and questions below!
