A COMPARISON OF ANAEROBIC POWER AND RANKING AMONG PROFESSIONAL BMX RACERS

Bicycle motor cross (BMX) racing is primarily an anaerobic activity lasting from 45–60 seconds. This suggests that anaerobic power output should correlate to racing success. The purpose of this study was to compare the correlation of lower body peak power output (PPO), mean power output (MPO), relative PPO (RPPO), relative MPO (RMPO), fatigue index (%FI), vertical jump (VJ) and lean body mass (LM) of seven professional BMX racers to their ranking. Methods: Data was collected at the 2000 BMX Grand National Championships held in Louisville, KY. Seven professional BMX racers (age = 23.1 ± 2.1 yrs, ht = 178.3 ± 8.1 cm, wt = 75.0 ± 10.5 kg) volunteered to participate in this study. A 10 second Wingate bicycle test was used to measure PPO, MPO, RPPO, RMPO and %FI. The sum of a 7-site skin fold was used to measure LM and the Vertec was used to measure VJ. Results: VJ measurements showed a significant relationship to rank (r =−.781 p = .038), there was no correlation found between PPO, MPO, RPPO, RMPO, %FI and LM to rank. Conclusion: Results suggest that PPO, MPO, RPPO, RMPO, %FI and LM may not be appropriate predictors of racing success. Due to similar anaerobic power values among different ranks of professional BMX racers, factors not considered such as technical skill and racing experience may contribute to an athlete's ranking.