Is “The Grade” the Best Way to Estimate Your FTP on Zwift?

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2025.06.09 UPDATE: Our friends over at Best Bike Split added both Hilltop Hustle and The Grade to their Zwift Routes! I’ve updated completion times specific to The Grade in the section “Perhaps, Not Ideal for Age 50+ Riders“.
• An average 2.2 W/kg 50-year-old would conquer The Grade in about 27:59.
• An average 1.8 W/kg 60-year-old would reach the top in 34:12.

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Zwift Camp: Inside Out wrapped up Monday, and those five workouts were magic. Then came Stage 6: Hilltop Hustle with The Grade FTP test—which tested more than just my legs. Who actually loves an FTP test?

As Team OWL’s Directeur Sportif, I had to ask: Is The Grade really the best way to measure FTP on Zwift? And does this test truly serve us?

My team tackled it anyway (sorry, ladies—I owe you coffee!). The data revealed something powerful: we’re capable of far more than any single number suggests. That’s the fire that drives me to dig deeper and advocate louder.

What Exactly is an FTP Test?

Your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is your cycling superpower—the highest average watts you can sustain for about an hour. It’s that magic number that tells you where you stand, so every pedal stroke counts.

Here’s how I see it: FTP is what you can hold for 60 minutes before your legs stage a full rebellion.

An FTP test tells you the highest average power in watts you can hold for about an hour before you start shouting “Shut up, legs!”

Zwift’s FTP Testing Menu

Zwift makes it accessible with options for every rider:

1. 20-Minute Classic
After a warm-up, you pedal flat-out for 20 minutes. Zwift takes 95% of your average power and that’s your FTP. It’s straightforward. It works. But it’s also a sufferfest.

2. Ramp Test
Resistance increases every minute until you wave the white flag. Your FTP is 75% of your best one-minute power. Options include:

• Ramp Test: Starts at 100 watts, increasing 20 watts per minute.
• Ramp Test Lite: Starts at 50 watts, increasing 10 watts per minute. (Great for lighter or less experienced riders—likely most OWLs.)

3. The Grade FTP Test
This newer test puts you on a 3.5 km climb and uses algorithms to calculate your FTP based on your average power and how quickly you summit. It’s the shiny new option.

4. Auto-Detection
Here’s my favorite: Zwift watches your 8–60 minute efforts during any ride and updates your FTP automatically. No special test needed. Just ride strong, and it levels you up effortlessly!

Real Results from Zwift Legends…

In Eric Schlange’s review of The Grade on Zwift Insider, he brought along Zwift legends Nathan and Gabi Guerra. Here’s how their results stacked up:

• Nathan: 10:37 finish → 335 W FTP (4.97 W/kg)
• Gabi: 11:46 finish → 251 W FTP (4.54 W/kg)
• Eric: 14:02 finish → 302 W FTP (3.5 W/kg)

On the surface, Nathan won. But that’s not the real question, is it?

Nathan and Gabi are seriously fit! These two are basically cycling superheroes!

Here’s what these numbers actually tell me: Nathan and Gabi are seriously fit. The higher your watts per kilogram (W/kg), the fitter you are.

Does The Grade, Make The Grade?

Here’s the big question: Can you get an accurate FTP estimate from a test that isn’t based on a set time?

The classic 20-minute test is set at 20 minutes for a reason. Your power drops over time—that’s your critical power curve. Sprinters drop like a cliff; endurance riders have a gentler slope; all-rounders sit in the middle.

Quick Lesson: The Critical Power Curve

Your critical power curve shows how your maximum wattage starts high and gradually drops as time goes on. The speed of that drop is your fatigue resistance—essentially, how long you can hold a big effort before your legs start filing a complaint. resistance—essentially, how long you can hold a big effort before your legs start filing a complaint.

Here’s how I see it: think of it like a rollercoaster that only goes downhill:

• On the left, power is sky-high for short, explosive efforts (sprints).
• As you move right, the curve gracefully slides down as the minutes tick by.
• Sprinters: curve drops like a cliff
• Endurance riders: gentler slope, holding power longer
• All-rounders: somewhere in the middle—neither too steep nor too flat

With The Grade:

• Nathan: 10:37 → 53.1% of 20 minutes
• Gabi: 11:46 → 58.8% of 20 minutes
• Eric: 14:02 → 70.2% of 20 minutes

None of them even approached 20 minutes. Nathan and Gabi were still in the “fresh legs” early part of their power curve. Eric hung on longer, but still not close.

If The Grade were a 20-minute uphill slog instead of a distance-based test, how would their FTP numbers change? I don’t know. But I’d love to find out.

It’s Not Just Your Power Curve that Declines Over Time…

Age happens.

But at age 65, here’s how I look at it: Age is not an obstacle…it’s a gift!

Yes, our power curve shifts over time, and FTP gradually declines. Peak performance often comes in the late 20s to mid-30s, then eases downward. For women, that change becomes more noticeable after 50—but it doesn’t define us.

These numbers tell part of the story:

• 30s: 2.5–3.5 W/kg
• 40s: 2.0–3.0 W/kg
• 50s: 1.8–2.8 W/kg

By the time women hit the 60+ club, FTP settles down to a relaxed 1.3–2.3 W/kg.

But they don’t measure resilience, discipline, or the strength that comes from showing up year after year. Fitness evolves, but so do we—and there is real power in that.

How Did Team OWL Actually Do?

How Did Team OWL Actually Do?

How did Team OWL, our Grandmasters TTT team (ages 65+), do on The Grade?

• Fastest: 16:54 – pretty impressive for a 67-year-old, if you ask me!
• Slowest: 27:46 – she ran the Stockholm Marathon the same week!
• Oldest: 17:04 – 72 years old and …strong! #NeverTooOld

Our team isn’t average. While most riders 60+ hover between 1.3–2.3 W/kg, Team OWL sits between 2.5–3.3 W/kg. And that 72-year-old, Maria Shannon, finished in 17:04 with 3.3 W/kg—just below Eric’s 3.5 W/kg. Eric is 46. Someone better warn him: the OWLs are coming.

Completion times as a percentage of 20 minutes:

• Fastest: 84.5%
• Slowest: 138.8%
• Oldest: 85.3%

How accurate is this test if you’re not finishing in around 20 minutes? For many OWLs, 20 minutes is more of a suggestion than reality.

Might Not Be Ideal for Riders 50+

IfIf you’re in your 50s, your average FTP is roughly 1.8–2.8 W/kg. In your 60s, it dips to 1.3–2.3 W/kg.

Using Best Bike Split and the Bologna TT climb as a proxy (2 km vs. The Grade’s 3.5 km), I estimated:

• Average 50-year-old at 2.2 W/kg: ~30:52 on The Grade
• Average 60-year-old at 1.8 W/kg: ~37:52 on The Grade

Now, seriously—who in their right mind would sign up for a 38-minute FTP test? in their right mind signs up for a 38‑minute FTP test?

Now, seriously—who in their right mind would sign up for a 38-minute FTP test?

Why Pro Teams Are Moving Away from FTP

Pro teams are giving FTP the side-eye, and for good reason. It doesn’t tell the whole story:

• Limited scope: FTP captures steady effort, but racing is full of sprints, attacks, and surges.
• Not race-specific: FTP doesn’t measure how well you handle tactical accelerations.
• Individual variation: FTP tests can vary and don’t always reflect each rider’s unique strengths.

FTP is helpful, but it’s not the whole cycling enchilada. Metrics like VO₂ max, power-duration curves, and heart-rate variability give a fuller picture. The new approach is holistic: strength, endurance, mental toughness, nutrition, and tactics.. The new approach is holistic: strength, endurance, mental toughness, nutrition, and tactics.

What Really Matters?

At 65, the goal isn’t to squeeze every last drop out of your body. It’s to ride sustainably, healthily, and with enough energy left over to enjoy life off the bike.

Do you need to know your FTP? Maybe. If it helps you structure training, sure. But don’t let it become the boss of you.

Zwift gives you options now: the 20-minute test if you love traditional suffering, the Ramp Test if you prefer short, sharp pain. But my money? It’s on auto-detection. Let Zwift watch your normal rides. Let it learn who you are without asking you to spend 30 minutes grinding up a hill that wasn’t designed with you in mind.

The real joy comes from the ride itself, no matter what the numbers say. And if you’re 50+ and The Grade feels like punishment instead of empowerment, pick a different test. You already know what you’re capable of.

You don’t need a number to prove it.