RACLET: the Ramp Above Critical Level Endurance Test to evaluate critical power in cycling.

Area of Science:

• Exercise physiology
• Sports science
• Human performance

Background:

• Critical power is a key physiological determinant of endurance performance.
• Traditional methods for determining critical power parameters can be time-consuming and exhaustive.
• A need exists for reliable and valid non-exhaustive testing protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the Ramp Above Critical Level Endurance Test (RACLET).
• To assess the reliability and concurrent validity of the RACLET for critical power parameter estimation.
• To compare RACLET performance against traditional time-to-exhaustion (TTE) protocols.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-three participants underwent both RACLET and TTE protocols.
• RACLET involves a decreasing power ramp with intermittent sprints, inducing moderate fatigue.
• Data analysis focused on reliability (ICC) and concurrent validity (systematic/random errors).

Main Results:

• RACLET demonstrated high reliability for initial power (ICC > 0.97) and critical power (ICC > 0.97).
• Reliability for the time constant (τ) was good (ICC = 0.70).
• Concurrent validity against TTE showed low systematic errors for key parameters, with predictive capacity for TTE having minimal error (-0.6%).

Conclusions:

• The RACLET is a reliable, valid, and efficient alternative to traditional critical power testing.
• It provides comparable accuracy to exhaustive methods without inducing exhaustion.
• RACLET is particularly suitable for populations where exhaustive testing is difficult or contraindicated.