REF-849 · Atkinson & Brunskill, 2000 · Ergonomics, Vol. · Paper · PubMed

Pacing Strategies during a Cycling Time Trial with Simulated Headwinds and Tailwinds

Blimited evidenceMeasured on recreational to trained athletesWritten before October 2026, being re-checked

Seven male cyclists rode a simulated 16.1-km flat time trial with an 8.05 km/h headwind for the first half and an 8.05 km/h tailwind for the second, first self-paced, then at a constant power equal to their self-paced mean, then with 5% more power into the headwind and correspondingly less in the tailwind.

Self-paced, they started 14% above their race mean over the first 1.61 km and then dropped below it. Both enforced strategies were faster than the self-paced trial (1661 and 1659 s vs 1671 s, p = 0.009) at a similar mean power (234-235 W), and the variable strategy gave the lowest overall RPE and delta lactate.

Participants

n=7 male cyclists (abstract: "Seven male cyclists"), riding their own bicycles on a Computrainer ergometer. Age and fitness values are not given in the abstract.

Protocol

Simulated 16.1 km flat time trial: 8.05 km h(-1) headwind in the first half, 8.05 km h(-1) tailwind in the second.
Initial time trial (ITT): self-selected pace, best effort.
Constant (C): whole trial at the ITT mean power.
Variable (V): first (headwind) half at 5% above the ITT mean, then reduced in the last 8.05 km so the overall mean matched the ITT and C.
Power, heart rate and RPE every 1.61 km; finish and 8.05 km split times; blood lactate before and after (delta lactate).

Key Results

TrialFinish time (mean ± SD)
ITT (self-paced)1671 +/- 131 s
Constant1661 +/- 130 s
Variable (5% more into the headwind)1659 +/- 135 s
C and V were significantly faster than the ITT (p = 0.009), with overall mean power similar across trials (234 - 235 W; p = 0.26).
Self-paced start: 267 +/- 56 W over the first 1.61 km, 14% above the overall race mean of 235 +/- 41 W; power then dropped below the race mean after the first few kilometres.
Overall mean RPE and delta lactate were lowest in trial V (p < 0.05); RPE did not rise significantly during the first 8.05 km of V despite 5% more power than in C.
Heart rate: no main effect of pacing strategy (p = 0.80); strategy × split interaction not significant (p = 0.07).
The authors' summary: about a 10 s gain from constant pacing and a 12 s gain from the variable (5% +/- mean) strategy.

Practical Application

In seven male cyclists over a simulated 16.1-km time trial with a headwind half and a tailwind half, riders left to themselves started 14% above their average and faded; enforcing even power saved about 10 s and putting 5% more power into the headwind half saved about 12 s at the same mean power (234-235 W), with the variable plan feeling no harder. In a windy time trial, do not blow the first kilometres; ride a little harder into the headwind and back off with the tailwind.
The authors' rule: constant power when conditions are constant; a planned variable power when the course has hills or changing wind.
Pace the swings with a power meter, not heart rate or feel: heart rate did not separate the strategies, and RPE barely registered a 5% change in power.
Inference, not tested here: the self-paced trial always came first, so part of the gain in the later trials may be learning the course and effort; the fast-start fade is the more robust lesson.

Limitations

n=7 men; training status not described.
The self-selected trial always came first; the order of C and V is not described, so a learning effect cannot be excluded.
Simulated wind on an ergometer (fixed 8.05 km h(-1) each way), not outdoor riding.
Written from the abstract and record metadata only (full text not read).
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level

within-subject comparison, n=7; the self-paced trial always came first