Abstract

Performance in race cycling is continuously improving and one may wonder how far it can go. A method for improving performance is altitude training. However, altitude training is not a panacea, and may easily lead to overtraining. In well-trained athletes altitude training does not lead to extra physiological adaptations, that might lead to better lowland performance. Lactate measurements are generally used in sports. However, lactate data should be interpreted with care and expertise. Conconi proposed that anaerobic threshold can be determined from heart rate deflection. Scientifically spoken the Conconi test is invalidated. A relevant problem in sports is the early detection of overtraining. Several blood chemical variables have been proposed, however, until today, no sensitive and reliable marker has been found. The results of cycling races suggest that the progression in training has been faster in surrounding countries compared to the Netherlands. Verf.-Referat