Influence of road incline and body position on power–cadence relationship in endurance cycling

• Published in: European journal of applied physiology Vol. 112; no. 7; pp. 2433 - 2441
• Main Authors: Emanuele, Umberto, Denoth, Jachen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.07.2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Anaerobic threshold; Bicycling; Bicycling - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Experiments; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human Physiology; Humans; Hypotheses; Male; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Original Article; Physical Endurance - physiology; Physical Exertion - physiology; Posture; Posture - physiology; Sports Medicine; Task Performance and Analysis; Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports; Anaerobic threshold; Optimal cadence; Power output; Uphill; Performance; Pedaling rate; Human; Sport; Cyclism; Rhythm; Endurance; Power
• ISSN: 1439-6319; 1439-6327
• DOI: 10.1007/s00421-011-2213-8

In race cycling, the external power–cadence relationship at the performance level, that is sustainable for the given race distance, plays a key role. The two variables of interest from this relationship are the maximal external power output ( P max ) and the corresponding optimal cadence ( C opt ). Experimental studies and field observations of cyclists have revealed that when cycling uphill is compared to cycling on level ground, the freely chosen cadence is lower and a more upright body position seems to be advantageous. To date, no study has addressed whether P max or C opt is influenced by road incline or body position. Thus, the main aim of this study was to examine the effect of road incline (0 vs. 7%) and racing position (upright posture vs. dropped posture) on P max and C opt . Eighteen experienced cyclists participated in this study. Experiment I tested the hypothesis that road incline influenced P max and C opt at the second ventilatory threshold ( and ). Experiment II tested the hypothesis that the racing position influenced , but not . The results of experiment I showed that and were significantly lower when cycling uphill compared to cycling on level ground ( P  < 0.01). Experiment II revealed that was significantly greater for the upright posture than for the dropped posture ( P  < 0.01) and that the racing position did not affect . The main conclusions of this study were that when cycling uphill, it is reasonable to choose (1) a lower cadence and (2) a more upright body position.