Cycling step-test protocol: determine LT1 and LT2 in watts

The cycling protocol in the guide

For many recreational and ambitious cyclists, the source uses four- to five-minute stages with 20-watt increments. Stronger riders may use 25–30 watts to avoid an unnecessarily long sequence.

• Warm up easily for 10–15 minutes
• Start 50–100 watts below the suspected LT1 workload
• Hold each stage for four to five minutes
• Increase by 20 watts in the standard example
• Sample during the final 30 seconds

Choose a deliberately easy opening workload

Starting too high removes the flat beginning of the curve and makes LT1 less certain. As rough examples, the German guide gives 60–100 watts for beginners, 100–160 for trained cyclists and 160–220 for very strong riders. These examples still need to fit the individual.

End with enough data, not necessarily complete exhaustion

Stop when the next stage cannot be held properly or the measured lactate is clearly beyond the threshold region. The source discusses a peak of 5–8 mmol/L as sufficient for many analyses; it does not require riding to complete exhaustion.

Use the resulting watt zones in context

Enter watts and lactate together to derive LT1, LT2 and power zones. Indoor conditions are easier to reproduce. Outdoors, the article calls for considering wind, terrain and position alongside the numbers.