Assessment of the Reproducibility of Performance Testing on an Air-Braked Cycle Ergometer

The purposes of this study were (I) to assess the reproducibility of endurance performance testing on an air-bralked 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, [values are mean ± SD]) undertook either: (I) three 20 km and three 40 km time (trials (TT) on an air braked ergometry system (Kingcycle™) (n = S), 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 (coefficieint 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 Wand 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.

Key words

Exercise - cycling time trial - cycling road race - validity