Ask a Pro: What are the most important power meter metrics?

It's hard to say what the most important metrics are. Different metrics are important for different types of riders, or depending on what a rider is trying to train. A track sprinter will say his most important effort is his max 1 second power, whereas a worker rider at the Tour de France will say his tempo pace, which he's doing all day riding the front for his team, is the most important. A sprinter like Mark Cavendish, whose sprint is good enough, will probably care about his max 1-20 seconds, but I'll bet he trains his threshold more, in the hopes of getting over the climbs to make the front group at the finish.

The standard numbers that most riders will know for themselves are max 1-second, which basically says what you'll do in a sprint, max 5 minute (a VO2 effort), max 20 minute, and LT.

The metric I probably follow closest is my 5-min power. That's an effort that's easy to improve, since you can train it often without killing yourself, and a length of time that can get you to the top of most climbs, establish or bridge to a breakaway, etc. Doing those efforts once a week the day before I race, it's a good way to map out my form over the year.