Thresholds Power Profiles and Performance in Youth Road Cycling

Gallo, Gabriele; Filipas, Luca; Tornaghi, Michele; Garbin, Mattia; Codella, Roberto; Lovecchio, Nicola; Zaccaria, Daniele

doi:10.1123/ijspp.2020-0579

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Previous studies have investigated the relevance of absolute and relative power output (Gallo et al, 2021;Lee et al, 2002) and peak power (Faria et al, 2005) for success by relating performance data measured in a laboratory setting to success in outdoor competitions that are not directly related to that data. This study advances such work by focusing on mixed-reality sports platforms to analyze performance data from competition in combination with the directly corresponding competition outcome.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Race success correlates with the peak power an athlete is able to perform in a laboratory test (Faria et al, 2005). Thus, it can be noted that the outcome of a cycling race depends on power-to-weight characteristics (Gallo et al, 2021;Lee et al, 2002). Van Erp and Sanders, (2020) show that in professional cycling races maximum mean power over shorter durations (<5 min) are higher for riders who are placed in the top-10 of a race than for riders who are not in the top-10.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies show that several factors, such as high peak power or high power-to-weight ratio, can influence the result in cycling races. However, the physical performance was mostly determined in laboratory tests with a time lag before or after the competition (e.g., Lee et al, 2002;Babault et al, 2018;Gallo et al, 2021). Thus, it is still unclear what influence the actual power output in the competition has on the competition result.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Performance-Result Gap in Mixed-Reality Cycling – Evidence From the Virtual Tour de France 2020 on Zwift

et al. 2022

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Background: Mixed-reality sports are increasingly reaching the highest level of sport, exemplified by the first Virtual Tour de France, held in 2020. In road races, power output data are only sporadically available, which is why the effect of power output on race results is largely unknown. However, in mixed-reality competitions, measuring and comparing the power output data of all participants is a fundamental prerequisite for evaluating the athlete’s performance.Objective: This study investigates the influence of different power output parameters (absolute and relative peak power output) as well as body mass and height on the results in mixed-reality competitions.Methods: We scrape data from all six stages of the 2020 Virtual Tour de France of women and men and analyze it using regression analysis. Third-order polynomial regressions are performed as a cubic relationship between power output and competition result can be assumed.Results: Across all stages, relative power output over the entire distance explains most of the variance in the results, with maximum explanatory power between 77% and 98% for women and between 84% and 99% for men. Thus, power output is the most powerful predictor of success in mixed-reality sports. However, the identified performance-result gap reveals that other determinants have a subordinate role in success. Body mass and height can explain the results only in a few stages. The explanatory power of the determinants considered depends in particular on the stage profile and the progression of the race.Conclusion: By identifying this performance-result gap that needs to be addressed by considering additional factors like competition strategy or the specific use of equipment, important implications for the future of sports science and mixed-reality sports emerge.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Performance-Result Gap in Mixed-Reality Cycling – Evidence From the Virtual Tour de France 2020 on Zwift

et al. 2022

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“…Therefore, evidence suggests that superior race results from U17 onward are associated with a PRO road cycling career. In a recent study, Gallo et al 13 reported that U17 riders who scored at least one point in the annual Italian national ranking possess significantly higher absolute and relative power output at 2 and 4 mmol•L −1 of blood lactate concentration compared with riders who did not score points. Menaspà et al 9 found that higher classified cyclists in U19 annual Italian national ranking have higher physiological aerobic characteristics compared with cyclists who scored less points.…”

Section: Differences In Success Between Pro and Non-promentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Race Results in Youth Competitions Predict Future Success as a Road Cyclist? A Retrospective Study in the Italian Cycling Federation

Gallo¹,

Mostaert²,

Faelli³

et al. 2022

International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between youth road cycling success and becoming a professional cyclist. Specifically, the authors sought to analyze (1) the differences in the success scores in youth categories between future professional (PRO) and future nonprofessional (NON-PRO) cyclists, (2) whether relative age effect influences youth road cycling career pathways, and (3) whether youth competition success could predict a future career as a professional cyclist. Methods: The number of points gathered in the annual national ranking of 1345 Italian cyclists in the U17, U19, and U23 categories were retrospectively analyzed. Participants were divided into 2 groups: PRO (n = 43) and future NON-PRO (n = 1302), depending on whether they reached the professional level. Results: PRO outperformed NON-PRO in all the youth categories considered (ie, U17, U19, and U23). Older cyclists within the same annual age group were not overrepresented in PRO and do not have an advantage over younger cyclists within all the competition years. The number of points gathered in youth competitions provides an indication of probability of becoming professional cyclists from U17 onward with the predictive value increasing with age category. Conclusions: Handling the transition to a new age group well (especially the U19–U23 transition), and therefore having success competing against older and more experienced cyclists, is an important factor for talent identification in youth cycling.

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“…Some previous studies already described external and internal training characteristics of PRO men and women [3][4][5] and U23 men [3,6] cyclists. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have reported training characteris tics of JUN cyclists yet [7]. In a recent study, the crosssectional dif ferences in external and internal race demands between JUN, U23 and PRO have been investigated [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in Training Characteristics Between Junior, Under 23 and Professional Cyclists

et al. 2022

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The aim was to compare the training characteristics of junior, under 23 and professional road cyclists. Training data collected during the 2019 competitive season of thirty male cyclists, divided into three age-related categories (JUN; U23; PRO), were retrospectively analyzed for training characteristics, external and internal training load. Higher duration per training session were observed in PRO (2.6 ± 0.3 h) compared to both U23 (2.2 ± 0.3 h; P < 0.001) and JUN (2.0 ± 0.2 h; P < 0.001). Elevation gain per distance was higher in PRO (13.8 ± 1.9 m⋅km-1) compared to U23 (10.6 ± 0.9 m⋅km-1; P = 0.001) and JUN (6.7 ± 0.3 m⋅km-1; P < 0.001), and in U23 compared to JUN (P < 0.001). Annual total work was lower in JUN (3694 ± 467 kJ⋅kg-1) compared to U23 (5268 ± 746 kJ⋅kg-1; P = 0.001) and PRO (5759 ± 1103 kJ⋅kg-1; P < 0.001). eTRIMP per hour was higher in JUN (151 ± 40) compared to both U23 (115 ± 23; P = 0.003) and PRO (112 ± 22; P = 0.013). JUN spent more training time at medium and high heart rate intensity zones compared to U23 and PRO (P < 0.05).

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Thresholds Power Profiles and Performance in Youth Road Cycling

Cited by 7 publications

References 11 publications

The Performance-Result Gap in Mixed-Reality Cycling – Evidence From the Virtual Tour de France 2020 on Zwift

The Performance-Result Gap in Mixed-Reality Cycling – Evidence From the Virtual Tour de France 2020 on Zwift

Do Race Results in Youth Competitions Predict Future Success as a Road Cyclist? A Retrospective Study in the Italian Cycling Federation

Differences in Training Characteristics Between Junior, Under 23 and Professional Cyclists

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