1. Training for Elite Team-Pursuit Track Cyclists-Part I: A Profile of General Training Characteristics.
- Author
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Stadnyk AMJ, Stanley J, Decker T, and Slattery KM
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Young Adult, Athletic Performance physiology, Anaerobic Threshold physiology, Torque, Physical Endurance physiology, Adult, Resistance Training methods, Team Sports, Bicycling physiology, Physical Conditioning, Human methods, Heart Rate physiology, Oxygen Consumption physiology
- Abstract
Purpose: To profile the training characteristics of an elite team pursuit cycling squad and assess variations in training intensity and load accumulation across the 36-week period prior to a world-record performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games., Methods: Training data of 5 male track endurance cyclists (mean [SD]; age 21.9 [3.52] y; 4.4 [0.16] W·kg-1 at anaerobic threshold; 6.2 [0.28] W·kg-1 maximal oxygen uptake 68.7 [2.99] mL kg·min-1) were analyzed with weekly total training volume and heart rate, power output, and torque intensity distributions calculated with reference to their 3:49.804 min:s.ms performance requirements for a 4-km team pursuit., Results: Athletes completed 543 (37) h-1 of training across 436 (16) sessions. On-bike activities accounted for 69.9% of all training sessions, with participants cycling 11,246 (1139) km-1 in the training period of interest, whereas 12.7% of sessions involved gym/strength training. A pyramidal intensity distribution was evident with over 65% and 70% of training, respectively, performed at low-intensity zone heart rate and power output, whereas 5.3% and 7.7% of training was performed above anaerobic threshold. The athletes accumulated 4.4% of total training volume at, or above, their world-record team pursuit lead position torque (55 N·m)., Conclusions: These data provide updated and novel insight to the power and torque demands and load accumulation contributing to world-record team pursuit performance. Although the observed pyramidal intensity distribution is common in endurance sports, the lack of shift toward a polarized intensity distribution during taper and competition peaking differs from previous research.
- Published
- 2024
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