I work closely with my coach, who builds my training plan down to the smallest detail. Every session has a purpose, sometimes it’s about power and threshold, other days it’s about recovery or endurance. I use data to keep training honest and balanced. Heart rate, HRV, training load and power give me a clear picture of how hard to go and when to back off. It is not about chasing numbers, it is about using them to build steady progress week after week. Power meters stay my anchor because 250 watts is 250 watts, no matter the wind or heat.

But over the past weeks, I’ve been training at home on my familiar climbs, testing the HUAWEI WATCH GT 6 Pro and its Virtual Power feature. And honestly, the results were much better than I expected.

For anyone training with structure, FTP (Functional Threshold Power) is key. It’s basically the highest average power you can hold for an hour. My own FTP sits around 400 watts, and it’s the foundation of almost everything I do, from base rides to interval sessions and race pacing. You need a dedicated power meter, either built into the pedals or the crank, to calculate power accurately. I connected mine to the HUAWEI WATCH GT 6 Pro via Bluetooth and after a few rides I had my first reliable FTP numbers.

For riders without a power meter, the HUAWEI WATCH GT 6 Pro can still estimate power using HUAWEI’s Virtual Power algorithm, which combines speed, gradient and GPS data. It gives a good overall sense of effort, but it does not generate an FTP value, only real-time estimated average power throughout each ride. When I compared it with my power meter over several rides, the accuracy was surprisingly good on average. For sure close enough to make it genuinely useful for day-to-day training. Of course, simulated power can only be accurate when conditions are stable. On a calm, steady climb it works great, but strong wind or rapid gradient changes can throw it off. Still, for structured training it’s incredibly helpful.

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The watch automatically learns your performance profile and, when connected to a power meter, it continuously refines your FTP estimate over time.

So no, it’s not a replacement for a real power meter. But it’s a smart, affordable, and practical alternative that gives you a much clearer understanding of your effort, something most cyclists never get from heart rate alone, and exactly the kind of insight other smartwatches usually don’t offer.

The thing I like most about the HUAWEI WATCH GT 6 Pro is how it fits into my training routine. It’s always with me and the automatic start and stop of the training, is especially comfy. Even the type of training is detected automatically.

During two alpine training rides (left: 110 km ride with power meter / right: an 80 km ride using virtual power) a clear pattern emerges. The spread of values (min/max) is noticeably larger with virtual power, since factors like wind, road surface, and gradient can distort the estimation. However, when zooming into the 150–300 W range, both data sets align surprisingly well.

It tracks the data I care about: heart rate, load, recovery, and now virtual power, and makes it easy to understand afterward. In the HUAWEI Health App each ride appears with distance, duration, map, and key averages. The recovery tab suggests how long to rest and shows how the session fits into my weekly load.

Here’s an example from one of my rides last week: a 81.55 km session with 1200m meters of climbing, lasting 2 hours and 46 minutes.

On rolling terrain, the virtual power tracked my effort reasonably well, though its accuracy changed a little with gradient, surface, and riding style. On smooth tarmac with a steady cadence it matched my feel and the readings from a mounted power meter very closely, while on rougher roads or when a short tailwind or a bit of drafting crept in, the estimate drifted. That makes sense, since the algorithm uses speed, gradient, and GPS, and each of these can fluctuate quickly while the calculation needs a moment to settle.

By comparing segments afterward, I could see where I rode more efficiently and where I lost energy. For example, holding speed with a lower heart rate on firm surfaces, then paying for it on loose gravel or into a gust. The session itself tells the story: average speed was 30.0 km/h, average heart rate 135 bpm, and maximum 183 bpm. Average virtual power was 157 watts, peaking at 1046 watts on the steeper ramps. Seated climbs with smooth cadence produced stable readings, while short standing surges spiked the curve. Stops and coasting were filtered well, which kept the averages clean.