Why Fitness Testing Is Important for a Cyclist

The cyclists need to be assessed to check their fitness levels. The two major reasons for this are monitoring changes in the cyclist’s physiology and to identify the strengths and weaknesses.

Cycling is a brilliant sport and the cyclist is required to keep the right fitness levels. They are given professional training and ensured that they maintain the right balance if they are keen to enter professional Cycling competitions.There are various ways to measure the fitness levels of the cyclists.

Cycling is very different from other sports lie swimming and distance running because of the highly variable nature. Different tactics, environmental conditions and drafting makes it difficult for the cyclists and their coaches to monitor changes accurately. The weaknesses in fitness can go unnoticed and the cyclist may not achieve optimal performance. Hence it is important to undertake fitness testing.

Fitness testing is essential to measure the performance level of the athletes and identify their specific areas of their strengths. The physiological variables can be tested. Standard protocols conducive to the athletes have to be set also keeping in mind the environment and the equipments involved.

There are two reasons for fitness testing. The first reason is to systematically monitor changes in a cyclist’s physiology over time and finding out how effective is it in the current training regimen. Changes in training can influence different aspects of physiology. A novice trainer can improve muscular efficiency after endurance training. A sprinter can focus in anaerobic power. If fitness testing is done regularly, then the coach can evaluate the signs of overtraining.

Blood Sample

The second reason for fitness testing is to identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of a cyclist’s physiology that may be influential in achieving a goal. A cyclist with good anaerobic power may be a good sprinter and is likely to do well in track cycling events.

After analyzing the requirements of a particular event the results can be compared with optimal physiological evaluation. This can highlight the weaknesses and they can be overcome by appropriate training.

The physiological evaluation of two riders may be the same but their performance in actual competition may differ significantly. There can be other features that can influence competitive performance. Physiological changes need to be monitored systematically. In addition to this, alternative methods can also be used outside the laboratory environment for those who cannot afford laboratory equipments.

The usual testing procedures are aerobic capacity testing (VO2max testing) performed on ergo meter and endurance performance testing where the cyclists ride on their own bicycles in the laboratory.

V02 Metabolic Cart

Photos from topendsports.