Physiological Responder Profiles and Fatigue Dynamics in Prolonged Cycling

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Performance Analytics

Background:

• Understanding multidomain physiological responses to maximal exercise is crucial for athlete monitoring.
• Individual variability in fatigue and recovery dynamics necessitates personalized approaches.
• Differentiating physiological profiles between professional and amateur athletes can inform training strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize multidomain physiological responses to a maximal cycling effort.
• To identify consistent physiological responder profiles in cyclists.
• To compare professionals and amateurs and assess the practical value of profiles for personalized monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Observational study with 22 trained male cyclists (10 professionals, 12 amateurs).
• Maximal 20-min functional threshold power (FTP) test with complementary physiological assessments (jump tests, blood markers, cardiovascular).
• Data collected at baseline, immediately post-test, and 24 hours post-test; statistical analyses included t-tests, ANOVA, and correlations.

Main Results:

• Professionals demonstrated significantly higher FTP, greater post-exercise lactate, and higher 24-h creatine kinase (CK) responses.
• Cardiovascular and metabolic recovery slopes were faster in professionals, who also showed reduced neuromuscular fatigue.
• Eight responder profiles emerged, with professionals exhibiting more multi-domain adaptation patterns; FTP correlated strongly with 5-min all-out and Wingate mean power.

Conclusions:

• Fatigue and recovery in cycling exhibit significant interindividual variability across physiological domains.
• Professional cyclists recover faster and display more frequent multidomain responder profiles.
• A four-variable model (FTP, lactate, CK, jump test ratio) provides a practical framework for identifying physiological responder types and personalized performance management.