The Record Power Profile of Male Professional Cyclists: Fatigue Matters

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aimed to determine the influence of fatigue on the record power profile of professional male cyclists. We also assessed whether fatigue could differently affect cyclists of 2 competition categories.

Methods: We analyzed the record power profile in 112 professional cyclists (n = 46 and n = 66 in the ProTeam [PT] and WorldTour [WT] category, respectively; age 29 [6] y, 8 [5] y experience in the professional category) during 2013-2021 (8 [5] seasons/cyclist). We analyzed their mean maximal power (MMP) values for efforts lasting 10 seconds to 120 minutes with no fatigue (after 0 kJ·kg-1) and with increasing levels of fatigue (after 15, 25, 35, and 45 kJ·kg-1).

Results: A significant (P < .001) and progressive deterioration of all MMP values was observed from the lowest levels of fatigue assessed (ie, -1.6% to -3.0% decline after 15 kJ·kg-1, and -6.0% to -9.7% after 45 kJ·kg-1). Compared with WT, PT cyclists showed a greater decay of MMP values under fatigue conditions (P < .001), and these differences increased with accumulating levels of fatigue (decay of -1.8 to -2.9% [WT] with reference to 0 kJ·kg-1 vs -1.1% to -4.4% [PT] after 15 kJ·kg-1 and of -4.7% to -8.8% [WT] vs -7.6% to -11.6% [PT] after 45 kJ·kg-1). No consistent differences were found between WT and PT cyclists in MMP values assessed in nonfatigue conditions (after 0 kJ·kg-1), but WT cyclists attained significantly higher MMP values with accumulating levels of fatigue, particularly for long-duration efforts (≥5 min).

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of considering fatigue when assessing the record power profile of endurance athletes and support the ability to attenuate fatigue-induced decline in MMP values as a determinant of endurance performance.