Durability and repeatability of professional cyclists during a Grand Tour

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Cycling Performance Analysis

Background:

• Durability and repeatability are increasingly recognized as critical determinants of cycling performance.
• Understanding how these physiological markers differentiate between professional cyclists of varying competitive levels is essential for performance optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in durability and repeatability between WorldTour (WT) and Proteam (PT) cyclists during a Grand Tour.
• To assess the impact of accumulated fatigue and mechanical work on power output maintenance in elite cyclists.

Main Methods:

• Studied 8 WT and 7 PT cyclists during 'La Vuelta 2020'.
• Durability assessed via mean maximal power (MMP) after varying mechanical work (0-35 kJ·kg^-1).
• Repeatability evaluated by the ability to repeat efforts >95% MMP.

Main Results:

• No overall difference in durability between WT and PT cyclists across the entire race.
• A significant interaction effect revealed WT cyclists achieved higher MMP with increasing fatigue and work done, particularly in later stages.
• No significant differences in repeatability of high-intensity efforts were observed between WT and PT cyclists.

Conclusions:

• Durability, specifically the ability to sustain power output under fatigue, emerges as a key performance differentiator between WT and PT cyclists.
• Repeatability of high-intensity efforts does not distinguish between these professional cycling categories.
• Findings underscore the importance of fatigue resistance in elite cycling performance.