Blood lactate accumulation during maximal cycling sprints and its relationship to sprint performance characteristics

Blood lactate accumulation (ΔBLC) during maximal short-term exercise is a crucial indicator of peak glycolytic activation in anaerobic performance assessment. However, the relationship between ΔBLC and sprint performance remains inconsistent, potentially due to variations in testing protocols and the use of absolute rather than relative performance metrics. This study investigated the relationship between ΔBLC and cycling sprint performance, hypothesizing normalization to body weight is essential for accurate metabolic performance evaluation.

Twenty-two trained male athletes performed a 10-s maximal isokinetic cycling sprint on an ergometer. Power output and cadence were continuously recorded to calculate peak power (P_peak), time to peak power (t_Ppeak), mean power (P_mean), and power increase during the lactic phase (maxΔP, ΔP). Capillary blood samples were collected pre-exercise and up to 12 min post-exercise to determine pre-exercise (BLC_pre) and maximal post-exercise blood lactate concentration (BLC_max). ΔBLC was calculated as BLC_max-BLC_pre. Statistical analysis included Pearson correlations and stepwise multiple regression.

ΔBLC exhibited significant correlations with body-weight-normalized maxΔP (r = 0.78, p < 0.001), P_mean (r = 0.70, p < 0.001), and P_peak (r = 0.65, p < 0.01). In contrast, no significant correlations were observed with absolute metrics (p > 0.05). Stepwise regression analysis identified adjusted maxΔP and P_mean as the strongest predictors of ΔBLC (adjusted R² = 0.648, p < 0.001).

Relative, body-weight-adjusted metrics, particularly maxΔP and P_mean, are strongly associated with ΔBLC. The use of these relative metrics may enhance the precision of anaerobic performance assessment, facilitate more effective training monitoring, and improve talent identification processes in sports requiring high-intensity efforts.