After a ride, WattPlan shows your hard efforts as "matches"—a visualization of when you significantly tapped your anaerobic reserves.
What Is a Match?
A match is a notable effort above threshold that depleted your W' significantly.
The term comes from coaching: "How many matches do you have left to burn?" It's a way to count and visualize your hard efforts.
Note: "Matches" is a visualization concept, not a scientific measurement. The real metric is W' Expended (in kilojoules).
What Counts as a Match?
An effort counts as a match when:
- You rode above your threshold (CP)
- For a meaningful duration (not just a 2-second spike)
- And depleted W' significantly (>15% drop)
Short spikes (under 10 seconds) and tiny efforts are grouped into micro-efforts instead.
Match Size (Flame Intensity)
Not all matches are equal. The flame size shows how much energy that effort cost:
| Size | W' Burned | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 🔥 Small | 1.5-3 kJ | Quick dig, recovered fast |
| 🔥 Medium | 3-6 kJ | Solid hard effort |
| 🔥 Large | 6-10 kJ | Deep dig, hurt for a while |
| 🔥 Huge | 10+ kJ | Emptied the tank |
Bigger flame = harder effort = more recovery needed.
Reading the Display
W' EXPENDED: 15.5 kJ
HARD EFFORTS
🔥 🔥 🔥 🔸
3.2kJ 5.8kJ 4.1kJ micro
M1 M2 M3 2.4kJ
3 matches + micro-effortsPrimary Metric
W' Expended: 15.5 kJ — Total anaerobic energy used (the scientifically valid number)
Effort Breakdown
- M1, M2, M3 — Individual hard efforts with energy cost
- Micro — Accumulated small efforts that didn't qualify as individual matches
Micro-Efforts Explained
Sometimes you make many short efforts above threshold—attacks, surges, responding to changes in pace. Each one is too short to be a "match," but together they add up.
Example: 12 short bursts of 4 seconds each
- Each burst: ~400 Joules (too small for a match)
- Total: 4,800 Joules (significant!)
WattPlan captures these as micro-efforts so nothing is lost.
Match Details Table
For each match, you can see:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Time | When in the ride it occurred |
| W'bal Drop | Starting % → Ending % |
| Duration | How long the effort lasted |
| Peak Power | Highest power during the effort |
| Recovery | How much you recovered afterward |
This helps identify patterns:
- Are you digging too deep too early?
- Are you recovering enough between efforts?
- Which efforts cost the most?
Using Match Data
After a Race
- Count your matches vs competitors' typical patterns
- Did you have matches left at the finish? (paced too conservatively)
- Did you crack before the finish? (too aggressive early)
After Training
- Did you hit the target number of hard efforts?
- Were you recovering adequately between intervals?
- How does this compare to previous similar workouts?
Over Time
- Are you burning more or fewer matches per ride?
- Are your matches getting bigger (higher W' capacity)?
- Is your recovery rate improving?
Common Questions
Why don't I see many matches on my endurance ride?
Endurance rides should stay below threshold, so you won't burn matches. That's correct! Matches appear when you go hard.
I did intervals but only see 3 matches. Why?
If your intervals were only moderately above threshold, they may not have depleted W' enough to count as matches. Check the W' Expended total—it captures everything.
What's a good number of matches?
It depends on the ride:
- Endurance ride: 0-2 matches
- Threshold workout: 3-6 matches
- VO2max intervals: 5-10 matches
- Race: 8-20+ matches
Related Articles
- What is W'bal?
- Understanding W'
- How to Use Match Data to Race Smarter