TY - JOUR
T1 - Mechanical and Morphological Determinants of Peak Power Output in Elite Cyclists.
AU - Kordi, Mehdi
AU - Folland, Jonathan
AU - Goodall, Stuart
AU - Haralabidis, Nicos
AU - Maden-Wilkinson, Tom
AU - Patel, Tejal Sarika
AU - Leeder, Jonathan
AU - Barratt, Paul
AU - Howatson, Glyn
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - Mechanical peak power output (PPO) is a determinant of performance in sprint cycling. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between PPO and putative physiological determinants of PPO in elite cyclists, and to compare sprint performance between elite sprint and endurance cyclists. Thirty-five elite cyclists (18 endurance; 17 sprint) performed duplicate sprint cycling laboratory tests to establish PPO and its mechanical components. Quadriceps femoris (Q
VOL) and hamstring muscle volume (HAM
VOL) were assessed with MRI, vastus lateralis pennation angle (Pθ
VL) and fascicle length (FL
VL) were determined with ultrasound imaging, and neuromuscular activation of three muscles was assessed using EMG at PPO during sprint cycling. For the whole cohort, there was a wide variability in PPO (range 775-2025 W) with very large, positive, bivariate relationships between PPO and Q
VOL (r =.87), HAM
VOL (r =.71), and Pθ
VL (r =.81). Step-wise multiple regression analysis revealed that 87% of the variability in PPO between cyclists was explained by two variables Q
VOL (76%) and Pθ
VL (11%). The sprint cyclists had greater PPO (+61%; P <.001 vs endurance), larger Q
VOL (P <.001), and BF
VOL (P <.001) as well as more pennate vastus lateralis muscles (P <.001). These findings emphasize the importance of quadriceps muscle morphology for sprint cycling events.
AB - Mechanical peak power output (PPO) is a determinant of performance in sprint cycling. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between PPO and putative physiological determinants of PPO in elite cyclists, and to compare sprint performance between elite sprint and endurance cyclists. Thirty-five elite cyclists (18 endurance; 17 sprint) performed duplicate sprint cycling laboratory tests to establish PPO and its mechanical components. Quadriceps femoris (Q
VOL) and hamstring muscle volume (HAM
VOL) were assessed with MRI, vastus lateralis pennation angle (Pθ
VL) and fascicle length (FL
VL) were determined with ultrasound imaging, and neuromuscular activation of three muscles was assessed using EMG at PPO during sprint cycling. For the whole cohort, there was a wide variability in PPO (range 775-2025 W) with very large, positive, bivariate relationships between PPO and Q
VOL (r =.87), HAM
VOL (r =.71), and Pθ
VL (r =.81). Step-wise multiple regression analysis revealed that 87% of the variability in PPO between cyclists was explained by two variables Q
VOL (76%) and Pθ
VL (11%). The sprint cyclists had greater PPO (+61%; P <.001 vs endurance), larger Q
VOL (P <.001), and BF
VOL (P <.001) as well as more pennate vastus lateralis muscles (P <.001). These findings emphasize the importance of quadriceps muscle morphology for sprint cycling events.
KW - maximum cadence
KW - maximum power
KW - maximum torque
KW - muscle
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074608440&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/sms.13570
DO - 10.1111/sms.13570
M3 - Article
VL - 30
SP - 227
EP - 237
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
SN - 0905-7188
IS - 2
ER -