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Mechanical and morphological determinants of peak power output in elite cyclists
Author(s) -
Kordi Mehdi,
Folland Jonathan,
Goodall Stuart,
Haralabidis Nicos,
MadenWilkinson Tom,
Sarika Patel Tejal,
Leeder Jonathan,
Barratt Paul,
Howatson Glyn
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.13570
Subject(s) - sprint , cycling , hamstring , medicine , motor unit recruitment , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , electromyography , archaeology , history
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.