Abstract des Autors

The purposes of this study were (I) to assess the reproducibility of endurance performance testing on an air-braked cycle ergometer, and (II) to compare laboratory performances to performances in road races. Ten well-trained, competitive cyclists (peak power output (PPO) 443+/-37 W) undertook either: (I) three 20 km and three 40 km time trials (TT) on an air braked ergometry system (Kingcycle TM) (n=6), and/or (II) three 40 km laboratory TT and two 40 km road TT competitions (n=8). The time taken for the laboratory simulated 20 km and 40 km TT rides were highly reproducible (coefficient of variation 1.1+/-0.9% and 1.0+/-0.5%, respectively). However, the mean power output and heart rate were significantly different (p<0.0001) between the 20 km and 40 km TT (327.5+/-16.9 vs 303.9+/-14.9 W and 171.4+/-5.1 vs 168.3+/-4.4 beats/min, respectively). A strong relationship (r=0.99, p<0.001) was observed between the mean cycling time and the average sustained power output. A significant correlation (r=0.98, p<0.001) was also observed between laboratory and road race times, although road race times were, on average, some 8% slower. These findings indicate that the Kingcycle ergometry system can be used as a reliable method of assessing short term endurance cycling performance. Verf.-Referat