The Influence of Prior Accumulated Work on the Torque-Cadence Relationship in Junior Cyclists

• Giorgi, Andrea ^[3] ; Martinez-Gonzalez, Borja ^[4] ; Vicini, Maurizio ^[4] ; Tarocchi, Matteo ^[1] ; Modesti, Pietro Amedeo ^[1] ; Leo, Peter ^[2]
  1. [1] University of Florence

     University of Florence

     Firenze, Italia

     
  2. [2] University of Innsbruck

     University of Innsbruck

     Innsbruck, Austria

     
  3. [3] Department of Internal Medicine, Specialist Medicine and Rehabilitation, Azienda USL Toscana-Southeast, Siena (Italy)
  4. [4] VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè Professional Cycling Team

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• Localización: Journal of Science & Cycling: Breakthroughs in Cycling & Triathlon Sciences, ISSN-e 2254-7053, Vol. 14, Nº. Extra 2, 2025 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Special Issue of the 2025 Science & Cycling Congress | Lille - June)
• Idioma: inglés
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  • Understanding the torque-cadence-power relationship in fatigue is crucial for assessing cyclists' performance potential. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of prior accumulated work (like a junior cycling road race) on the power duration and torque cadence relationship. Results showed that race simulation workload induces reductions in Critical Power (CP: fresh = 301 ± 41; fatigued = 282 ± 46; p = 0.021), work capacity (W': fresh = 12497 ± 2846; fatigued = 9780 ± 2396; p = 0.009), 15 seconds, 3 minutes and 12 minutes all out efforts along with lower cadences (p < 0 .05). On the other hand, torque values did not change under fatigue across all out efforts. These findings highlight that accumulated work influences the torque-cadence-power dynamics showing that drop in power output is mainly driven by declines in cadence rather than torque.