Altitude and Endurance Performance in Altitude Natives versus Lowlanders: Insights from Professional Cycling

Introduction Acute altitude exposure influences exercise performance, although most research, especially regarding altitude natives, comes from laboratory data in nonathletes. Purpose We analyzed the influence of altitude on real-world cycling performance in top-level professional cyclists attending to whether they were altitude natives or not. Methods Thirty-three male cyclists (29 ± 5 yr) were studied and were classified as lowlanders (n = 19) or altitude natives (n = 14) attending to the altitude of their place of birth (431 ± 380 and 2583 ± 334 meters above sea level (m a.s.l.), respectively). Both groups included top 3 finishers (including winners) in the general classification of Grand Tours and major races. Using data from both training and competitions during years 2013–2020 (8 ± 5 seasons per cyclist), we registered participants’ mean maximal power (MMP) for efforts lasting 5 s, 30 s, 5 min, and 10 min, respectively, at altitudes ranging from 0–500 to>2000 m a.s.l. Results A significant altitude–MMP interaction effect (two-factor repeated-measures ANOVA) was found in lowlanders (P
Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: APPLIED SCIENCE Source Type: research