REF-789 · van Erp et al., 2021 · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Vol. · Paper · PubMed

Maintaining Power Output with Accumulating Levels of Work Done Is a Key Determinant for Success in Professional Cycling

Blimited evidenceMeasured on elite to world-class athletesWritten before October 2026, being re-checked

Power data from 26 professional cyclists over 85 seasons (2012-2019) were analysed. Riders were classed as climbers or sprinters and each season as successful (CAT.1, ≥400 PCS points) or less successful (CAT.2, <400). Maximal mean power over 20 min, 5 min, 1 min and 10 s (per kg) was determined after six levels of prior work (0-50 kJ/kg).

Prior work lowered power in both rider types, but in successful seasons climbers lost less 20- and 5-min power, and sprinters less 10-s and 1-min power, after high amounts of work.

Participants

n=26 professional cyclists, 85 seasons in total, data collected between 2012 and 2019. Classified as "climber" or "sprinter", and each season as CAT.1 (≥400 procyclingstats points, successful) or CAT.2 (<400, less successful). Sex is not stated in the abstract.

Protocol

For each season: body-weight-relative maximal mean power (MMP) over 10 s, 1 min, 5 min and 20 min.
Six levels of completed work before the effort: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 kJ·kg-1.
Decline in MMP at each duration after each level of prior work, compared between categories with a mixed model.

Key Results

Prior work done lowered the performance of both climbers and sprinters.
Climbers: after large amounts of prior work, 20- and 5-min MMP fell less in CAT.1 seasons than in CAT.2 seasons.
Sprinters: after large amounts of prior work, 10-s and 1-min MMP fell less in CAT.1 seasons than in CAT.2 seasons.
The abstract gives no sizes of the declines, no fresh MMP values and no statistics.

Practical Application

In 26 professional cyclists over 85 seasons of power files, the successful seasons were the ones in which the rider's specialty power held up after large amounts of prior work — climbers kept more of their 20- and 5-min power, sprinters more of their 10-s and 1-min power. Fresh numbers are not what races are decided on; the power you still have in your key duration late in the race is.
Test the duration that matters for your racing after a set amount of work (in kJ per kg), not only fresh.
This abstract cannot say how much difference separated the groups; for magnitudes use REF-192 (professional profile decline by kJ/kg) and, for amateurs, REF-790 and REF-427.
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: which athletes need durability as the block's lever, and how to train it, is in SYNTH-32.

Limitations

Retrospective, observational: success is a season's ranking points, which also depend on team role, programme and luck.
Field MMP after prior work depends on whether riders actually went all out at that point.
No sizes of the declines in the abstract.
Written from the abstract and record metadata only (full text not read).
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level

retrospective cohort of 26 riders; no magnitudes in the abstract

Content correction 2026-09-27
2026-10-01: cross-reference repointed from a merged framework to the one that replaced it (SYNTH-01→31, 05→34, 09→70, 12/15→32, 19→26).
2026-10-01: citation of the superseded pointer SYNTH-12 repointed to SYNTH-32, which carries the cited content.