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Cycling efficiency in male and female competitive cyclists

Hopker, James G., Jobson, Simon A., Carter, Helen, Passfield, Louis (2010) Cycling efficiency in male and female competitive cyclists. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 9 . pp. 332-337. ISSN 1303-2968. (KAR id:26275)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine differences in cycling efficiency between competitive male and female cyclists. Thirteen trained male (mean + SD: 34 ± 8 yr, 74.1 ± 6.0 kg, Maxi- mum Aerobic Power (MAP) 414 ± 40 W, VO2max 61.3 ± 5.4 ml·kg-1·min-1) and 13 trained female (34 ± 9 yr, 60.1 ± 5.2 kg, MAP 293 ± 22 W, VO2max 48.9 ± 6.1 ml·kg-1·min-1) competitive cyclists completed a cycling test to ascertain their gross effi- ciency (GE). Leg and lean leg volume of all cyclists was also measured. Calculated GE was significantly higher in female cyclists at 150W (22.5 ± 2.1 vs 19.9 ± 1.8%; p < 0.01) and 180W (22.3 ± 1.8 vs 20.4 ± 1.5%; p = 0.01). Cadence was not significantly different between the groups (88 ± 6 vs 91 ± 5 rev·min-1). Lean leg volume was significantly lower for female cyclists (4.04 ± 0.5 vs 5.51 ± 0.8 dm3; p < 0.01) and was in- versely related to GE in both groups at 150 and 180W (r = -0.59 and -0.58; p < 0.05). Lean leg volume was shown to account for the differences in GE between the males and females. During an “unloaded” pedalling condition, male cyclists had a significantly higher O2 cost than female cyclists (1.0 ± 0.1 vs 0.7 ± 0.1 L·min- 1; p < 0.01), indicative of a greater non-propulsive cost of cycling. These results suggest that differences in efficiency between trained male and female cyclists can be partly accounted for by sex-specific variation in lean leg volume.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports medicine
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Sport and Exercise Sciences
Depositing User: James Hopker
Date Deposited: 21 Jan 2011 09:42 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:04 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/26275 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Hopker, James G..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4786-7037
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Jobson, Simon A..

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Passfield, Louis.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6223-162X
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
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