Physiological Characteristics of a Professional Cyclist

A professional road cyclist has to have a lot of physical endurance. One of the striking characteristics is high aerobic power and capacity. This holds good for both maximal and submaximal intensities.

Information regarding adequate values of maximal and submaximal intensities have been given in various literature. A group of professional world-class cyclists have been examined and tested using a protocol in the preceding section, Padilla et al. (1999, 2000a, b). The report showed the Wmax values ranging from 349 to 525 watts ( 5.7 and 6.8 watts per kilogram). This shows that when friction accounts for 9% in the transmission system of the ergometer then one of the cyclists attained a Wmax of 572 watts, which is a remarkable achievement.

The same cyclist attained VO2max values of 4.4 to 6.4 liters per minute (69.7 to 84.8 millimeters per kilogram per minute), HRmax of 187 to 204 beats per minute, and peak BL concentration at the end of the previously mentioned incremental testing protocol of 6.9 to 13.7 mol per liter.

Ideal professional road cyclist has to have a power output of 334 watts (76 percent Wmax), an oxygen uptake of 4.0 liters per minute(77% VO2max)and a heart rate of 163 beats per minute(84% Wmax). Typical values corresponding to the OBLA are 386 watts( 87% Wmax), 4.5 liters per minute(86% VO2max), and 178 beats per minute(92% HRmax).

A five-time winner of Tour de France was studied and the results showed a power output at OBLA of 505 watts and an oxygen uptake at this intensity of 5.65 liters per minute (Padilla et al. 2000a). Professional road cyclists also show a mean mechanical efficiency where an average of 23% of maximal and submaximal cycling intensities is taken.

For professional cyclists the physical work is given much importance. The aerodynamic resistance is considered which mainly depends on FA, air density, and speed of motion. The rolling resistance depends on BM, pressure in the tires, and the characteristics of the road surface and tires. Hence the physical endurance of a cyclist determines the physiological factors.

Ergometer shows the reading in the laboratory setup but the actual road setup shows the interaction of the cyclist with the environment. For more accurate prediction of the cyclist’s performance potential in the outdoor field it is necessary to assess his or her physiological capacity relative to anthropometric characteristics, (BM, FA, BSA). This procedure is known as scaling. Scaling can be done for maximal, submaximal power output and oxygen uptake by relating these values with individual anthropometric characteristics, which include BSA, FA, BM, BM0_n, BM0_32. It has been proved that uphill cycling ability can be best predicted by oxygen uptake and power output values relative to BM and BM0_79. Cycling on a flat terrain can be predicted with the help of BM0_32.

For a professional cyclist the laboratory offers a non-competitive situation. It helps in analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the cyclist. Differences between two top riders are usually attained in time trial and mountain stages. It can be a matter of only very minimal time like 60 seconds but laboratory measurements ignore such differences.