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PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES TO OFF-ROAD CYCLING PERFORMANCE. |
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Impellizzeri FM, Rampinini E, Sassi A, Mognoni P, Marcora S.
The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between maximal andsubmaximal tests for aerobic fitness and performance in an off-roadcross-country circuit race. Thirteen competitive off-road male cyclistsparticipated in the study. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), peak power output, andlactate thresholds corresponding to 1 mmol x l(-1) above baseline (lactatethreshold) and to 4 mmol x l(-1) (onset of blood lactate accumulation) weremeasured during an incremental cycling test. Race time and final ranking withinthe same group of cyclists were determined during a cross-country off-roadcompetition. All correlations between the measured parameters of aerobic fitnessand off-road cycling performance were significant, particularly between racetime and physiological parameters scaled to body mass0.79 (r = -0.68 to -0.94; P< 0.05) and between final ranking and physiological parameters expressedrelative to body mass0.79 (r = -0.81 to - 0.96; P < 0.001). Moreover, there wasa large difference (effect sizes = 1.12-1.70) in all measured parameters ofaerobic fitness between the group of six cyclists with a race time above themedian and the group of six cyclists with a race time below the median (P <0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study provide empirical support to thewidespread use of these maximal (VO2peak, peak power output) and submaximal(lactate thresholds) parameters of aerobic fitness in the physiologicalassessments of off-road cyclists. Furthermore, our results suggest body sizeshould be taken into account when evaluating such athletes.
J Sports Sci. 2005 Jan;23(1):41-7. |
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