Hi, I’m just started with xert and still have a lot to figure out…I’m planning to participate in a roadbike race end of June and am not sure which athlete type would be correct (am i right in assuming that the chosen athlete type rather defines what you want to be (or what kind of type you need to be for a certain planned race than rather what you are at the moment?)
The race is 22k with an altitude gain of almost 1200m, whereas its 99% uphill 
last time i participated (unfortunately without powermeter) it took a bit more than an hour (1:09) and as there is a almost constant need for high wattage, i assumed that Time-Trial is the proper profile (1hr constant effort around 300W)? Thanks for any suggestions!
Lots of newbie tips in this thread including a profile questionnaire you are welcome to post the answers to here (so we have more background info to best advise you) –
Beginner questions - Support - Xert Community Forum (xertonline.com)
I used to race lumpy time trials, they usually came out at either climber or GC specialist for the focus duration for the event. For what it’s worth, I think choosing an athlete type in their current form is very confusing, for example you would assume that Time Trailist would be correct in this instance, but most people will tell you to choose one with a shorter focus duration. As most of the Athlete types are quite close together, I think it would be easier to reduce the number and relabel them, so for example you could have an Endurance type, which would include things like longer Time Trials , Gravel and Long Distance stuff, All rounder which would have a shorter focus and could be used by people who do shorter TTs, lumpy races or even Strava KOMs (if that’s your thing) and then maybe one for the Crit racers, Sprinters etc. At the moment there seems to be too many to choose from and they don’t always seem to do what they say on the tin, so to speak.
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Thanks @ChopStick and @havella for the useful advice. I figured out that time trialist probably would not be the correct profile for this race. Also, today when riding up quite a steep hill, I noticed that my power-output was far from constant. It moved between around 200W in slightly flatter parts when I was not pushing too hard and 400W specially in and after turns. So I changed my profile to climber, but as I can’t follow the recommended workouts 1:1 most of the time as I’m riding outdoors, I assume that the chosen rider-profile is not that crucial anyways.
I read somewhere else, that in climbing specific workouts and intervals one should also do low-cadence intervals. Are there any workouts that take into account the cadence?