Publication detail

Ultra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Review

TIEMEIER, L. NIKOLAIDIS, P. CHLÍBKOVÁ, D. WILHELM, M. THUANY, M. WEISS, K. KNECHTLE, B.

Original Title

Ultra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Review

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

Background: Ultra-endurance events are gaining popularity in multiple exercise disciplines, including cycling. With increasing numbers of ultra-cycling events, aspects influencing participation and performance are of interest to the cycling community. Main body: The aim of this narrative review was, therefore, to assess the types of races offered, the characteristics of the cyclists, the fluid and energy balance during the race, the body mass changes after the race, and the parameters that may enhance performance based on existing literature. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar using the search terms 'ultracycling', 'ultra cycling', 'ultra-cycling', 'ultra-endurance biking', 'ultra-bikers' and 'prolonged cycling'. The search yielded 948 results, of which 111 were relevant for this review. The studies were classified according to their research focus and the results were summarized. The results demonstrated changes in physiological parameters, immunological and oxidative processes, as well as in fluid and energy balance. While the individual race with the most published studies was the Race Across America, most races were conducted in Europe, and a trend for an increase in European participants in international races was observed. Performance seems to be affected by characteristics such as age and sex but not by anthropometric parameters such as skin fold thickness. The optimum age for the top performance was around 40 years. Most participants in ultra-cycling events were male, but the number of female athletes has been increasing over the past years. Female athletes are understudied due to their later entry and less prominent participation in ultra-cycling races. A post-race energy deficit after ultra-cycling events was observed. Conclusion: Future studies need to investigate the causes for the observed optimum race age around 40 years of age as well as the optimum nutritional supply to close the observed energy gap under consideration of the individual race lengths and conditions. Another research gap to be filled by future studies is the development of strategies to tackle inflammatory processes during the race that may persist in the post-race period.

Keywords

Endurance; Performance; Race across America; ultra-cycling

Authors

TIEMEIER, L.; NIKOLAIDIS, P.; CHLÍBKOVÁ, D.; WILHELM, M.; THUANY, M.; WEISS, K.; KNECHTLE, B.

Released

29. 4. 2024

Publisher

SpringerOpen

ISBN

2198-9761

Periodical

Sports Medicine-Open

Year of study

10

Number

48

State

Federal Republic of Germany

Pages from

1

Pages to

18

Pages count

18

URL

https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-024-00715-7

Full text in the Digital Library

http://hdl.handle.net/11012/245528

BibTex

@article{BUT188546,
  author="Lucas {Tiemeier} and Pantelis T. {Nikolaidis} and Daniela {Chlíbková} and Matthias {Wilhelm} and Mabliny {Thuany} and Katja {Weiss} and Beat {Knechtle}",
  title="Ultra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Review",
  journal="Sports Medicine-Open",
  year="2024",
  volume="10",
  number="48",
  pages="1--18",
  doi="10.1186/s40798-024-00715-7",
  issn="2198-9761",
  url="https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-024-00715-7"
}