EXPLORING DIFFERENCES AND FACTORS AFFECTING CYCLING EFFICIENCY IN MALE VS FEMALE CYCLISTS

Анотація

Introduction. In road cycling, there are three major factors which define rider’s performance. They are maximal oxygen consumption (O2max), lactate threshold (LT), and cycling efficiency (CE) (2,7). Most of studies related to CE have involved only male participants analyzing differences between trained and untrained riders (3). Hopker et al., (2010) was the only one to analyze gross efficiency (GE) differences between male and female competitive cyclists at 4 different intensities (150W, 180W, relative power to LT and 60 % of maximal aerobic power (MAP) finding a higher GE in 150W and 180W in female cyclists compared to male cyclists. Authors discussed that leg volume could have an influence in GE (4). Strength seems to have an important role in GE, improved maximal strength has been associated with improved cycling performance (7). However, factors determining GE differences in gender are still unclear. Coyle et al. (1992) showed in his study that fiber type I percentage could be an important factor related to CE. It seems that a higher fiber type I percentage is associated to a higher CE. Rothschild et al. (2022) suggests that women have a higher percentage of fiber type I compared to men which can explain why women have a higher GE than men. This study will focus on the analysis and comparison of GE between well trained men and women cyclists. Fiber type percentage and muscle strength will be analyzed as possible variables influencing GE.