INFLUENCE OF CYCLING CADENCE ON SUBSEQUENT RUNNING PERFORMANCE DURING TRIATHLON

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the influence of different cycling cadence on metabolic and kinematic parameters during a subsequent run. Eight triathletes performed two incremental tests (running and cycling) to determine maximal oxygen uptake (O2 max) and ventilatory threshold (VTcycle and VTrun), a cycling specific test to assess the energetically optimal cadence (EOC), four 45-min cycle-run transitions (TR) and one 45-min control run (CR). During TR sessions, subjects performed 30-min cycling at VTcycle and 15-min running at 5% above their VTrun. During the cycle bouts, four cadence cycling were presented: the running frequency (SRC; 85,2 ± 3.3 rpm), the theoretical mechanical optimal cadence (NOC; 90 rpm), the freely chosen cadence (FCC; 81.2 ± 7.2 rpm) and EOC (72.3 ± 5.0 rpm). Results: Oxygen uptake (VO2) significantly increased after 30-min of cycling conducted at NOC (+ 12.04%), SRC (+ 6.9%), FCC (+ 10.4%) while no significant variation in cycling economy was observed at EOC. Whatever the prior cadence cycling, VO2 and minute ventilation (VE) recorded during the run bout were significantly higher after cycling than after the control Run. Furthermore, a significant increase in VO2 was observed the last fifteen minutes of NOC-run (+ 4.1%) and SRC-run (+ 4.3%) conditions while no increase was observed for EOC. These results suggest a significant effect of cadence choice on subsequent running performance during a triathlon. Changes in muscle fibre recruitment or in the hemodynamic could be suggested to explain this effect.