Do The Numbers Lie? (Part 2)

At the suggestion of Andy Coggan, I did a Quadrant Analysis plot of the race data. WKO+ 3.0 makes it really easy to do this, but I don't have 3.0 yet and don't want to go through the personal steps required for me to change over to it right now, so I used a spreadsheet. Here is the plot:

Here are the descriptions of the quadrants, swiped from the linked-to page above:

Quadrant I (upper right): high force and high velocity.

At the extreme, this would represented by sprinting, but most any extended supra-threshold effort on level ground (e.g., attack or bridge attempt during a race) would entail "quadrant I pedaling". Perhaps not surprisingly, mass start racing on the track (e.g., points race) invariably entails a significant amount of such high force, high velocity pedaling, due to the typical aggressive nature of such racing and the use of a fixed gear.

Quadrant II (upper left): high force but low velocity.

Typically, "quadrant II pedaling" occurs when climbing or accelerating, especially from a low speed. Indeed, a standing start, in which the initial CPV is zero, is the one situation in cycling where strength is truly limiting, i.e., only when CPV is zero will AEPF be maximal. Racing off-road (i.e., cyclocross or mountain bike racing) also often involves a significant amount of such high force, low velocity pedaling. However, even a race held on pavement may require a large percentage of such pedaling, if the climbs are steep and/or the rider is overgeared.

Because AEPF is sufficiently high, pedaling in both quadrant I and quadrant II would be expected to entail significant recruitment of fast twitch fibers.

Quadrant III (lower left): low force and low velocity.

Rides that entail a very large percentage of pedaling that falls into "quadrant III" would typically be those used for recovery or for social purposes (e.g., coffee shop rides), not for actual training. However, a mass start race in which power is highly variable may also involve a good deal of such low force, low velocity pedaling, e.g., when recovering from harder efforts when there is little possibility of an attack, or when soft-pedaling in a large bunch.

Quadrant IV (lower right): low force but high velocity.

Perhaps the most obvious example of "quadrant IV pedaling" would be use of a low fixed gear or rollers in an attempt to improve pedaling smoothness. Racing, however, may also involve a significant amount of such low force, high velocity pedaling, especially during events in which there is a frequent need to accelerate rapidly (e.g., criteriums).

Looking at the plot, it looks to me like things are relatively evenly distributed; no single quadrant dominates. Maybe there is a little more in II than others, but the evidence doesn't look overwhelming.

What do you think?