Brain endurance training in road cyclists: in two RCTs, a 6-week block of response-inhibition tasks AFTER each session (5×/week) improved time to exhaustion and 20-min TT more than control, with lower RPE and no physiological differences; 5-min TT did not change
Protocol
Cyclists trained five times a week for six weeks and, after each session, either did cognitive response-inhibition tasks (Post-BET) or listened to neutral sounds (control). Study 1 (n=26): TTE at 80% of peak power, a 30-min Stroop task, then TTE at 65%. Study 2 (n=24): 5-min TT, 30-min Stroop task, 60-min submaximal incremental test and a 20-min TT.
Key Findings
Study 1: Post-BET improved TTE at 80% (p = 0.032) and 65% of peak power (p = 0.011) more than control, with lower RPE.
Study 2: 5-min TT did not differ between groups; RPE in the 60-min submaximal test was lower with Post-BET (p = 0.034) and the 20-min TT improved more than control.
No group differences in physiological measures; Stroop reaction times improved more with Post-BET in both studies.
Practical Application
In two small RCTs in road cyclists, six weeks of cognitive response-inhibition tasks done AFTER training (5×/week) improved time to exhaustion and 20-min TT and lowered RPE more than the same training alone, with no physiological difference and no change in 5-min TT (Staiano 2023) — a perception-side lever for long efforts, not a physiological one.
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: keep the cognitive work away from key sessions and race week, and rank it below sleep, fuelling and the training itself.
Limitations
Two small trials from one group; the abstract does not give effect sizes.
The 20-min TT was one test; the 5-min TT showed nothing.
Full text not read; everything above is from the abstract.
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
two parallel RCTs of 20-39
Content correction 2026-09-27
Anchored to Staiano et al. 2023, J Sci Med Sport 26(7):375-385, DOI 10.1016/j.jsams.2023.05.008 (the entry's citation named MSSE, and its DOI resolved to an unrelated paper). Identified by an author/topic search and attached with the owner's explicit OK (2026-09-27).
BET is "after" training here, not "during or before" as the entry described. Findings refilled from the abstract; Level C+ -> B+ (two parallel RCTs, n=26 and n=24). The creatine cross-reference was removed.