ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2017 January-February;176(1-2):10-5

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.16.03314-3

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Predictive validity of critical power for mountain bike cross-country race performance

Allan INOUE ^1-4, Camila C. GRECO ⁵, Fernando A. POMPEU ⁶, Andrea C. DESLANDES ⁷, Tony M. SANTOS ^{3, 4, 8} ✉

¹ Physical Education Department, Estácio de Sá University, Nova Friburgo, Brazil; ² Physical Education Center Admiral Adalberto Nunes, Brazilian Navy, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; ³ Performance Laboratory, Recife, Brazil; ⁴ Exercise Psychophysiology Group, School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; ⁵ São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, Brazil; ⁶ School of Physical Education and Sports, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; ⁷ Exercise and Sports Sciences Postgraduate Program, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; ⁸ Physical Education Graduate Program and Physical Therapy Graduate Program, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

BACKGROUND: Critical power (CP) is considered a variable for measuring and predicting aerobic performance. However, there is no evidence supporting the use of CP with mountain biking aerobic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between CP and cross-country (XCO) race time.
METHODS: Seventeen XCO riders (30.2±5.6 years, 67.9±6.3 kg, 174.8±5.5 cm, 7.0±2.3% body fat, 64.4±4.5 mL∙kg-1∙min-1 VO2max, 272.5±13.5 W estimated CP) classified as performance cohort level three (PL3 - trained) completed three separate testing sessions and a XCO race. In the first session, the participants performed a maximal incremental test for the determination of maximal oxygen uptake and peak power output (PPO). In the second and third sessions, the participants performed a time limit test for the determination of CP and in the fourth session, they performed a XCO race.
RESULTS: Significant correlations were identified between CP relative to body mass (r=-0.64, 95% CI -0.85 to -0.23, P<0.01) and PPO relative to body mass (r=-0.80, 95% CI -0.92 to -0.52, P<0.001) with race time.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study support the use of CP for assessing mountain biking racing performance. However, the association between XCO performance and PPO relative to body mass was greater than the association between XCO performance and CP. Therefore, the traditional progressive maximum test is sufficient to predict XCO performance.

KEY WORDS: Exercise test - Athletic performance - Bicycling