Training Smarter: FTP vs VO2Max, Training Lessons with Nate Wilson

Introduction: The Hidden Complexity of Performance

When we think about pro cyclists, it’s easy to picture watts, podiums, and long climbs. What we don’t often consider is the hidden machinery that makes peak performance possible—everything from travel logistics, recovery strategies, fueling practices, and yes, the eternal debates about how to train FTP, VO2Max, and training structure.

Nate Wilson, High Performance Director at EF Pro Cycling, brings a unique perspective. A former racer, U23 coach, and now architect of WorldTour training camps and athlete development, Nate works daily at the intersection of science, logistics, and human performance. 

His insights are just as relevant to amateurs chasing local podiums as they are to professionals lining up at Grand Tours.

Managing Travel, Recovery, and Energy

One of the most overlooked performance variables is travel stress. For amateurs, “travel” might mean a Friday drive to an omnium six hours away. For pros, it often means multi-day transfers, time-zone shifts, lost bikes, or overnight flights after stage races.

EF will sometimes delay flights after stage races so riders can eat a proper dinner, sleep, and fly the next morning—reducing illness risk when athletes are immunosuppressed and carb-depleted after hard stages. The goal is minimizing public-exposure stress (airports) when the immune system is down.

Amateur takeaways

  • If a race requires travel, build in post-travel recovery (sleep + proper meals) rather than racing home the same night.

  • Avoid early-morning flights right before key events when possible; preserve sleep leading in. If possible, give yourself an extra day to get there in case logistics get messed up!

Coaching WorldTour vs. Amateur Athletes

In terms of personalities, the same spectrum exists at all levels—from ultra-organized planners to laid-back improvisers. The biggest difference is time: pros might ride ~25 hours weekly because it’s their job; amateurs juggle careers, families, and training. That reality shapes the training “extras” (mobility, gym, fueling strategies) and how much each athlete can realistically execute.

Nate also cautions against doing too many extras; sometimes the most productive “tool” is simply a nap. Filter the noise and stick with what matters long enough to see if it actually helps.

Wearables: Helpful Confirmation, Not Daily Dictation

Wearables (Whoop, Oura, sleep trackers) can be valuable as long-term trend indicators (6–12 months of HRV, RHR, sleep data) but are less reliable day-to-day for dictating training. Some athletes get psyched out when the device says “poor recovery” despite feeling fine. Use these tools to start conversations and flag potential illness or chronic fatigue—don’t let them overwrite internal sensations and context.

How to Prescribe Endurance: HR, Power, RPE—Use All Three

Nate blends heart rate, power, and RPE:

  • After time off, illness, altitude/heat changes → heart rate first (internal load).

  • As fitness stabilizes → power becomes a solid anchor, with HR as a ceiling.

  • RPE stays in the loop to develop internal awareness and guide where you sit within a zone.

Example: If your Z2 is 200–250 W with HR cap 150 bpm, and you hit 150 bpm at 220 W that day, 220 W is enough—respect the internal signal.

VO2Max Training: The Main Archetypes

Nate uses three broad categories depending on context and the athlete:

  1. 40/20s (on-off intervals)

    • Typical target: ~110–115% FTP on the “on” segments (not full-gas)

    • Aim: accumulate time in the VO2Max zone with manageable fatigue; ideal when you want VO2 stimulus in base without frying the athlete

    • Example progression: three blocks of 10 × (40s on / 20s easy) and build volume over time.

  2. Steady VO2Max efforts

    • e.g., 4 × 4 minutes near VO2Max power

    • Pushes the aerobic ceiling with stable output; great when quality is the priority and athlete is ready for sustained “red zone” work.

  3. Over-Unders

    • e.g., 3 minutes at ~85% FTP + 2 minutes at ~110% FTP, repeat

    • Trains lactate clearance under load while still nudging that ceiling upward.

For more on structuring VO2 work, see Training in Extreme Heat — which shows how environment impacts intensity.

Amateur vs. Pro frequency
Pros often get plenty of high-intensity from racing; amateurs may need structured VO2Max to keep that stimulus consistent across the year.

VO2Max in Base? Yes—If You Manage It

Want to improve VO2Max without wrecking base? Keep frequency modest, intensity controlled, and accumulate time rather than chasing peak numbers. Think “expose, don’t explode.” Build to larger blocks (e.g., from 3×5 minutes of 40/20s up to 3×10–12 minutes blocks over weeks).

Racing Reality: Be There at the End

A lot of decisive moments happen after you’re already tired (our Road Race Prep Guide shows how to manage energy for the finale). If your fitness or pacing leaves you dropped with an hour to go, you’re missing the hardest race stimuli and the most valuable learning. For group rides and amateur races, conserve early so you can participate when the fireworks start. Train to arrive fresh enough for the decisive phase.

Internal Awareness: The Skill ERG Mode Can’t Teach

Power targets matter, but racing is rarely steady. Building internal pacing sense (feeling changes before the numbers drift) is a competitive advantage. Nate referenced coaching philosophies where intervals are prescribed as “all-out by feel” (e.g., 4×8 min) and power is analyzed afterward—forcing athletes to learn pacing via trial and error. That skill transfers directly to racing.

Rethinking FTP: It’s What’s Above and Below

Rather than fixating on endless 2×20 @ threshold, Nate frames FTP as a product of two engines:

  • Above: VO2Max (your aerobic ceiling)

  • Below: Endurance/efficiency (your ability to sustain high fractions of that ceiling)

Diagnostic shortcut: Compare best 5-min vs best 20-min powers.

  • If 20-min is a high % of 5-min → ceiling likely limiting; emphasize VO2Max work.

  • If 20-min is a low % → endurance/efficiency limiting; emphasize tempo/sub-threshold volume and durability.

Threshold intervals still have a role for familiarization (learning the discomfort and steadiness), but most athletes don’t raise FTP by only riding at FTP. They raise it by lifting the ceiling and thickening the floor, then touching threshold enough to execute it well.

Strength Training: Build It, Then Keep It

Gym work yields injury resilience, neuromuscular efficiency, and power. The ideal: build a foundation in base so you can maintain some lifting (scaled to logistics and intensity) during the season instead of dropping it completely. Consistency beats boom-and-bust cycles.

Base Training in Two Phases

Base 1: Adaptation

  • Gradually increase weekly volume

  • Ride mostly Zone 1–2 (easy → moderate aerobic)

  • Layer in foundational skills: high-cadence drills, torque/low-cadence efforts, and short sprints to prime neuromuscular recruitment

Base 2: Expansion

  • Grow the long-ride volume

  • Add tempo (repeatable, sub-threshold aerobic strength)

  • Continue torque/sprint work; practice fatigue resistance (e.g., finish long rides with tempo blocks)

Why tempo matters
Despite “no-man’s land” myths, tempo is highly productive and repeatable when zones are set correctly, building resilience and sustainable aerobic power without excessive stress.

High-Carb Training: The Underrated Edge

Nate’s hot take: carb-restricted training is overrated; high-carb training is underrated.

Training the gut to handle ~90 g/hr (and sometimes up to ~120 g/hr) empowers harder sessions, faster recovery, and better repeatability across the week. For performance-focused cyclists, fuel the work to maximize adaptation. Start where you are and build tolerance upward.

Lessons Learned: Context Is King

Nate’s biggest coaching lesson: zoom out. Sequencing, timing, health, racing volume, and individual response dictate what comes next. Ideas are easy; context is the craft. And while it’s fun to push novel methods, base is still everything—the substrate that lets advanced work stick.

Practical Playbook (Amateur Edition)

  1. Plan travel recovery (sleep + good meals) after long trips.

  2. Use HR + Power + RPE; cap Z2 by HR when conditions or fitness shift.

  3. Build VO2Max smartly: on-offs for time-in-zone during base; progress to steadier efforts.

  4. Diagnose your limiter via 5-min vs 20-min relationship, then bias training accordingly.

  5. Keep lifting (scaled) year-round; don’t abandon strength once racing starts.

  6. Treat tempo as a tool, not a taboo. Repeatable aerobic strength wins races.

  7. Fuel hard: train your gut toward ~90 g/hr for key sessions.

Final Word

Whether training VO2Max or FTP, the winning approach isn’t a single workout—it’s sequencing stress and recovery atop a robust base, fueling it well, and developing the internal awareness to execute when it matters. Get those right and the numbers take care of themselves.

Brendan HouslerComment