REF-755 · Decroix L, Lamberts RP, Meeusen R — 2018 · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, · Paper · PubMed
In six professional female cyclists on an 8-day training camp, the LSCT showed overreaching as higher power at the clamped heart rates plus higher RPE, and/or failure to reach 90% of HRmax
The "better" power number was the fatigue sign; all values were back to baseline three days after the camp
Protocol
Six professional female cyclists performed the LSCT (6 min at 60%, 6 min at 80%, 3 min at 90% HRmax, 1 min recovery) on days 1, 5 and 8 of an 8-day camp and 3 days after it, alongside training diaries and POMS.
Key Findings
Mid- and end-camp: increased power during stages 2 and 3, accompanied by increased RPE and/or inability to reach 90% of maximal heart rate.
All athletes reported more fatigue and muscle soreness; POMS energy balance was less indicative.
After 3 days of recovery all LSCT parameters returned to baseline — the authors read this as functional overreaching.
Practical Application
On a heart-rate-clamped test, more power is good news only if RPE did not rise and the athlete could still reach the top heart rate. Higher power with higher RPE, or a heart rate that will not climb to target, is the overreaching pattern.
On a power-clamped test (fixed watts) the same state shows as a lower heart rate at the same power with higher RPE — easy to misread as "fitter".
After a camp or overload block, expect the markers to normalise within about three days of easy riding; a test that has not normalised after that is a reason to keep it easy.
Limitations
n = 6, no control group, one camp; the classification as functional overreaching rests on the return to baseline, not on a performance test.
Professional women; transfer to amateurs is assumed, not shown.