Effect of exercise duration on optimal pedaling rate choice in triathletes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an exercise duration similar to triathlon's cyclism event (approximately 1 hr), on factors determining the freely chosen cadence. Nine trained triathletes completed a cycling track session conducted at a speed corresponding to 75% of maximal heart rate. This session was composed of five submaximal rides performed at five cadences presented in a random order (65, 80, 95, 110 rpm and freely chosen cadence) realized before and after a 1-hr exercise at the freely chosen cadence. Results show, during the first condition, that triathletes choose spontaneously a cadence (90,1 +/- 10,7 rpm) close to the neuromuscular optimum (89,6 +/- 1,1 rpm) while at the end of exercise, a decrease of the freely chosen cadence (82,8 +/- 8,7 rpm) was observed toward the energetically optimal cadence (78,6 +/- 5,8 rpm). These findings suggest the hypothesis of an adaptation of the movement pattern with the exercise duration in order to minimize the energy cost rather than the neuromuscular cost of cycling.