Performance curves

Mean-maximal power/speed curves and best-effort splits — real observed peaks from your own recorded data, the same numbers Strava/Garmin paywall.

Illustrative mean-maximal power curve shape Illustrative example — not a real athlete

5s1min5min20min

Mean-maximal power curve (MMP)

For each duration (5s, 1min, 5min, 20min...), the highest average power you actually sustained over any rolling window of that length — an observed peak, never a model.

Worked example Verified real-world example

A specialist track sprinter’s 60-second mean-maximal power point: ≈700 W sustained for a full minute.
Covered by mainstream cycling press (UCI.org, Cyclist), not self-reported.

This is the same duration-grid extraction MyThreshold runs over your own power stream — the mean of a rolling window, never an instantaneous spike.

Source: Robert Förstemann’s press-covered effort (UCI.org, Cyclist)

Formula, provenance & citation

Formula: For each duration_s: slide a window of duration_s×sample_rate_hz samples across the power stream, skip any window with a gap, take the max window mean.
Inputs: Per-second power stream; durations_s grid (1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 300, 480, 600, 1200, 1800, 3600 s, config).
Provenance: measured
Unit: W
Method: Mean-maximal power extraction (power-duration curve)
Citation: Allen H., Coggan A. — Training and Racing with a Power Meter, 2nd ed.
Licensing note: The extraction technique itself is not licensed software; Strava/intervals.icu/TrainingPeaks paywall the FEATURE (showing you your own curve), not the underlying published concept.
Implementation pointer: api/backend/backend/pipeline/metrics/curves.py:216 (power_curve). Tests: api/backend/tests/pipeline/test_metrics_curves.py.

Ride peak-power best efforts

Your peak power at the standard training-zone anchor durations (5s neuromuscular, 1min anaerobic, 5min VO2, 20min threshold) — the subset of the full curve conventionally called "peak powers."

Worked example Widely reported (secondary source)

Förstemann’s widely circulated ≈2,638 W figure is a very short (~1-second) neuromuscular sprint spike, reported by Förstemann himself rather than independently measured by a lab or governing body.

Usable as a data point, but self-reported — it carries the "widely reported" badge, deliberately never the "verified" badge, exactly to keep that distinction visible.

Source: Förstemann’s self-reported 2,638 W peak

Formula, provenance & citation

Formula: Mean-maximal power (same sliding-window core as power_curve) evaluated at 5, 60, 300, 1200 s anchors.
Inputs: Per-second power stream; ride_peak_durations_s = 5, 60, 300, 1200 (config).
Provenance: measured
Unit: W
Method: Peak-power best effort at conventional training-zone anchors
Citation: Same underlying mean-maximal-power technique as power_curve, restricted to the conventional anchor durations.
Licensing note: No trademarked vendor term.
Implementation pointer: api/backend/backend/pipeline/metrics/curves.py:412 (ride_best_efforts). Tests: api/backend/tests/pipeline/test_metrics_curves.py.

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