Investigation of FTP, VO 2 max and Anaerobic Threshold Variables of Cyclists with Special Needs: A Case Study

The participation of individuals with special needs in performance sports has been increasing from past to present. As in athletes with normal development, stages are planned and implemented in accordance with the goals of high-level performance sports. This study aims to determine the functional threshold power (FTP), VO 2 max and anaerobic threshold values of a cyclist with special needs to create performance prediction for athletes in similar disability groups. Fırat Uğur, a 26-year-old athlete with special needs who has been participating in cycling competitions for three years and has a body weight of 68 kg and a height of 180.5 cm, participated in the current study. In the findings obtained from the study, the normalized power value of the athlete was found as 204.3 watts, the FTP value as 204.3 watts and the relative power value as 3.00 watts / kg. The athlete's VO 2 max value was 48.3 ml/kg/min; VO 2 max load was 298 watts, and VO 2 max heart rate was 175 beats/min, anaerobic threshold VO 2 value was 24.7 ml/kg/min, anaerobic threshold load was 103 watts and anaerobic threshold heart rate was 127 beats/min. When the research findings of the cyclists with special needs were compared with the results obtained from the current study, Fırat Uğur's findings were at lower levels. Considering that the athlete has only participated in competitions as a performance athlete for three years, it can be predicted that he will increase his performance level in the following years. It is recommended that the athlete's training be prepared according to the findings obtained and that the performance development be followed with measurements to be made at regular intervals.


INTRODUCTION
Individuals with special needs are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as deficiencies or limitations in the performance of behaviors, duties and abilities that are considered normal by individuals or our body and expected to perform as a whole (WHO, 1980).Bicycle, a two-wheeled human-powered and non-motorized vehicle (Morpa, 1997) is defined as "para-cycling" for individuals with special needs (UCI, 2023).Para-cycling is divided into seven different events within the road and track branch.Road cycling events are defined as the road racing consisting of individual time trial, handcycling (bicycles ridden using the athlete's hand) team time trial.Track events are; on the other hand, considered as tandem sprint, team sprint, 500 m time trial, kilometer time trial, individual pursuit and stratch racing (UCI, 2023).
The way it is classified by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for individuals with special needs consists of three levels.These are the national classifier, the elite national classifier and the international classifier.National and elite national classifiers ensure that some or all characteristics of athletes with special needs are conducted at the national level.International classifiers, on the other hand, ensure that some or all components of athletes with special needs are carried out at the international level.Athletes are divided into appropriate categories according to the special needs situation (UCI, 2023).
The para-cycling branch is covered in four main sections.It is divided into groups according to the type of bicycles used by the UCI and the functional special requirements of the athlete.The first letter indicates the group of functional impairment, and the second digit indicates the level of special needs condition.The most severe special requirement case is expressed by one.People in the B1-B3 range refer to blind and special visual needs athletes who use tandem.The C1-C5 range includes some amputees riding a normal bicycle and athletes with cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injury.T1-T2 refers to athletes with certain cerebral palsy or brain injuries who use tricycles.H1-H4 identifies athletes with spinal cord injuries, amputees, and athletes with certain neurological special needs who use handcycles (Boucher et al., 2013).
As in performance athletes with normal development, FTP, maximum oxygen utilization amount (VO2max) and anaerobic threshold values are accepted as performance determinants for cycling in individuals with special needs.FTP is defined as the highest power value that an athlete can complete in a semi-stable manner for an hour (Allen & Coggan, 2006).Tests can be performed for eight minutes or 20 minutes et al., 2007).In Anaerobic threshold the intersection point on the V slope where the athlete's pulmonary carbon dioxide excretion (VCO2) increases more than the oxygen uptake (VO2) and where the slope of VCO2 / VO2 is greater than one is indicated as the anaerobic threshold (Wasserman et al., 2011).VO2max is defined as the maximum amount of oxygen our body can use during vigorous exercise (Rusdiana, 2020).Regular performance follow-up of athletes is significant in terms of determining their objective training load.When it comes to individuals with special needs, awareness raising should be followed by long-term athlete development stages for athletes with special needs after the first contact (Boucher et al., 2013).
In our Turkey, the participation of individuals with special needs in cycling competitions is increasing day by day.For example, three athletes participated in the Bodrum Granfondo race in 2021, 11 athletes in 2022 and 7 Paralympic athletes in the Bodrum Granfondo race in 2023 (Bilnet Okulları Bodrum Halikarnas Granfondo, 2021;Bodrum Granfondo, 2023;Uluslararası Corelli Bodrum Granfondo, 2022).The competitive environment created with the increase in the number of participants in the competitions has made it necessary to implement training plans and programs on scientific grounds.A search of the EBSCO SPORTDiscus with Full Text database with the keyword "para-cycling" showed a total of 14 studies.Four of the studies were related to competition speeds, three were survey studies, two were nutrition-related reviews, two were simulations, two were track competitions and one was a case study.In the "ISI-Web of Science" database, a total of 29 studies were found in the search with the same keyword.There is no study of Turkish authors among these studies.As a result of the screening, it was seen that studies were carried out on competition speeds of athletes (8), bicycle simulation (7), classification of athletes (4), case reports (4), bicycle performance components (VO2max, speed, watt) (3), compilation (2), injury and integration questionnaires (2).Due to the scarcity of studies based on the identification and follow-up of performance components related to individuals with special needs and the diversity of disability groups, more scientific research is needed in this context.The aim of this study is to examine the FTP, VO2max and anaerobic threshold values of a cycling athlete who participates in competitions with special needs in our country.Thuswise, a performance prediction will be created for athletes in similar disability groups.

MATERIAL & METHOD
One cycling athlete with special needs participated in this study.In the study, FTP, VO2max and anaerobic threshold values of special needs cyclists which are accepted as performance determinants for cycling were examined.
The height of the participant athlete was measured with a minimal clothing (wearing only a bicycle jersey) and with a 0.1 cm precision "SECA" brand while having a prosthesis on the foot (Gordon et al., 1988).Body weight was measured on the athlete with a minimal suit (only in a bicycle jersey) with a precision of 0.1 kg with a "Tanita BC-601" model device.Before the FTP test was applied, the athlete was asked to warm up for 10 minutes without causing fatigue.After the warm-up phase, the athlete was asked to rest for 2x20 seconds of maximal loading and three minutes in between.The athlete underwent five minutes of rest after two loads.When the rest period was completed, a 20-minute FTP test was applied and the athlete was asked to perform to the best of his ability during the test (Jeffries et al., 2021).The VO2max test was performed on the bicycle ergometer with the athlete's own locking pedal shoe (SPD) in the form of a workload increase of 25 watts per minute.The test continued until the athlete voluntary exhaustion.The Cosmed Fitmade Pro test was carried out and the instrument was calibrated before measurement (Hill et al., 2002;Klika et al., 2007).After the VO2max test was performed on the athlete with the Cosmed Fitmate Pro device, the pulse and power values at the aerobic and anaerobic threshold points given by the device were taken as basis.

Data Analysis
The data obtained in the tests and measurements were transferred to the computer with Excel (Analyses Tool Pack) and the necessary descriptive analyzes were performed in SPSS 26.0 program.

Ethical Considerations
For this study, the ethics committee permission numbered E-33117789-604.01.01-103029 dated 28.03.2023 was obtained from the Bingöl University Rectorate Health Sciences Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Committee.

FINDINGS
Descriptive information about the cycling athlete with special needs within the scope of the study is given in Table 1.The findings of FTP values are presented in Table 2 and the findings of VO2max value are presented in Table 3.The age of the cycling athlete with special needs who participated in the study was 26, cycling sport year was 3, height was 180.5 cm, and body weight was 68 kg.The mean power value of the cyclist with special needs who participated in the study was found as 202, the maximum power value as 403, the normalized power value as 215, the functional threshold power as 204.3 watts and the relative power value as 3.0 watts/kg.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION
In the study conducted by Nimmerichter et al. (2010), 15 male cycling athletes with a VO2max value of 67±5 ml/kg/min participated.Three road cyclists ranked in the top five in the general classification participated in Gallo et al.'s (2022) study in order to prepare a training strategy for the Giro d'Italia.
VO2max values of the athletes participating in the study were found to be 81, 82, 80 ml/kg/min and the minimum relative power outputs of 20 minutes between December and May were 6.6, 6.6 and 6.4 watts/kg, respectively.The VO2max value of the cyclist who participated in the case study on the effects of ultra endurance exercise was determined as 70 ml/kg/min (Neumayr et al., 2002).In the study conducted to determine the strength outputs of the athletes who completed the race in the Women's World Cup, the data of 15 female cycling athletes were examined.The mean age of the athletes examined was 24.1±4.0years, the mean body weight was 57.9±3.6 kg, the mean height was 168.7±5.6 cm, and the VO2max value was 63.6±2.4 ml/kg/min (Ebert et al., 2005).12 male cyclists participated in the study conducted to determine the relationship between CP (critical power) and power duration in the FTP and 16.1 km time trial (TT) test.According to the findings obtained from the results of the study, CP and FTP values were found to be 275±40 and 278±42 watts (Morgan et al., 2018).A total of 100 cyclists, including 25 mountain bike and 75 road bike athletes, participated in the study, which was conducted to determine the anthropometric characteristics of mountain and road bike athletes and to determine the somatic variables affecting aerobic capacity.As a result of the study, mountain bike athletes had less watts, body weight, height and absolute oxygen consumption than road cyclists (Zatoń et al., 2014).In order to determine the compatibility between CP and FTP, 17 trained cycling athletes and triathletes with a mean age of 31±9 years, body weight of 80±10 kg, VO2max value of 51±10 ml/kg/min participated.The FTP values of the athletes participating in the study were determined as 249±44 watts (Karsten et al., 2021).Lucia et al. (2002) (Russo et al., 2021).Twenty-three male cycling athletes with an average age of 24.25 years, a height of 1.69 m, a body weight of 62.5 kg and a minimum sports age of four years participated in the study.According to the results obtained, the normalized power value of the athletes participating in the study was 276.65 watts, the FTP value was 262.85 watts, and the relative power value was 4.69 watts/kg (Ferney & Leguizamo, 2020).The cycling age of the athlete who participated in the current study was 3 years, the average power value was 202, the maximum power value was 403, the normalized power value was 215, the functional threshold power was 204.3 watts and the relative power value was 3.0 watts/kg.The results obtained from the current study are at a very low level than other studies.
As a result, the experience that the athlete will gain with the progression of cycling sports age will support his success.In addition, making training programs according to the training zones (based on measurements to be made at regular intervals) will ensure that the athlete's performance is increased to higher levels.The current study and future research on special needs will be important to create performance predictions for athletes with similar disabilities.

Table 1 .
Descriptive findings of study variables

Table 3 .
Findings conducted a study on first class cyclists and 11 male cyclists with an average age of 26.1 years and a VO2max value of 72.0±1.8 ml/kg/min participated.
ml/kg/min.The study, which included five class H para cycling athletes aged 19-38 and 3-12 years of sports history and five athletes without special needs, found significant differences in performance values between the two groups