Day to day variation in time trial cycling performance

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Human Performance

Background:

• Assessing laboratory cycling performance reproducibility is crucial for reliable research.
• Understanding variability in physiological responses during exercise is key to interpreting results.
• Previous studies have not fully elucidated the reproducibility of time-trial cycling performance in well-trained athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reproducibility of laboratory cycling performance in well-trained male cyclists.
• To determine the coefficient of variation (CV) for performance time across different exercise durations.
• To investigate potential order effects and physiological variability during repeated cycling trials.

Main Methods:

• Eight well-trained male cyclists completed 12 laboratory cycling trials.
• Trials included four performance rides at each of three work outputs: long (LT), medium (MT), and short (ST).
• Exercise bouts represented durations of approximately 105, 12, and 0.5 minutes, conducted on a computerized cycle ergometer.

Main Results:

• The mean coefficient of variation (CV) for performance time was approximately 1.01% for LT, 0.95% for MT, and 2.43% for ST.
• ST showed a significantly greater CV for performance time compared to LT and MT.
• In LT, performance time improved and mean %VO2max increased by the fourth trial, with no order effect in MT or ST.

Conclusions:

• Trained cyclists can reproduce endurance cycling performance with high reliability (CV ~1.0%) in a time-trial protocol.
• Shorter duration cycling trials exhibit greater performance time variability.
• Laboratory cycling performance testing protocols are reliable for assessing endurance capacity in trained athletes.