The effect of environmental conditions on performance in timed cycling events
Journal Title: Journal of Science and Cycling - Year 2014, Vol 3, Issue 3
Abstract
Air temperature, pressure and humidity are environmental factors that affect air density and therefore the relationship between a cyclist’s power output and their velocity. These environmental factors are changeable and are routinely quite different at elite cycling competitions conducted around the world, which means that they have a variable effect on performance in timed events. The present work describes a method of calculating the effect of these environmental factors on timed cycling events and illustrates the magnitude and significance of these effects in a case study. Formulas are provided to allow the calculation of the effect of environmental conditions on performance in a time trial cycling event. The effect of environmental factors on time trial performance can be in the order of 1.5%, which is significant given that the margins between ranked performances is often less than this. Environmental factors may enhance or hinder performance depending upon the conditions and the comparison conditions. To permit the fair comparison of performances conducted in different environmental conditions, it is recommended that performance times are corrected to the time that would be achieved in standard environmental conditions, such as 20 oC, 760 mmHg (1013.25 hPa) and 50% RH.
Authors and Affiliations
Dan B Dwyer| Centre for Exercise & Sport Science. Deakin University, Australia
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP2896
- DOI -
- Views 437
- Downloads 19
Low dose fish oil increases the omega-3 index improving cycling efficiency and heart rate recovery
Background: Dietary fish oil provides long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The heart (Charnock et al., 1986: Annals of Nutrition and Met...
The effects of 4 months handbike training under free-living conditions on physical fitness and health outcomes
Purpose Handcycling has become a popular mode of propulsion to engage in a physically active lifestyle for wheelchair-bound individuals. Recognizing the encouraging effect of challenging events to initiate training, the...
A measurement system for the bicycle crank angle using a wireless motion sensor attached to the crank arm
In this study, we propose a system for measuring the rotational angle of a bicycle crank arm. This system consists of a wireless motion sensor with bi-axial acceleration and angular velocity sensors attached to the crank...
Effect of environmental temperature on pacing during a simulated 16 km cycling time trial
Background: In cycling time trials (TT) the aim is to produce greatest average power possible for the duration of the effort; to do this an athlete must distribute their effort efficiently to ensure that they do not fati...
European dominance in Triple Iron ultra-triathlons from 1988 to 2011
The aims of this study were (i) to investigate the participation in Triple Iron ultra-triathlons covering 11.4 km swimming, 540 km cycling, and 126.6 km running between 1988 and 2011 and (ii) to analyze the nationalities...