REF-853 · Peinado et al., 2018 · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, Vol. · Paper · PubMed

Physiological Profile of an Uphill Time Trial in Elite Cyclists

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

Fourteen elite road cyclists did a graded test to exhaustion and then an uphill time trial on a 9.2-km first-category mountain pass averaging 7.1%, with VO2, power, heart rate, lactate and perceived exertion measured throughout. Mean power was 302 ± 7 W (4.2 ± 0.1 W/kg) at 18.7 ± 1.6 km/h, mean VO2 61.6 ± 2.0 mL·kg-1·min-1 and mean heart rate 178 ± 2 beats/min.

Values were significantly affected in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and final kilometres. Lactate reached 10.87 ± 1.12 mmol/L and perceived exertion 19.1 ± 0.1 at the end. The authors conclude that the climb was ridden at 90% of maximal heart rate and VO2 and 70% of maximal power output.

Participants

n=14 elite road cyclists (abstract: "Fourteen elite road cyclists"): 25 ± 6 y, 174 ± 4.2 cm, 64.4 ± 6.1 kg, fat mass 7.48% ± 2.82%. Sex is not stated in the abstract.

Protocol

Graded exercise test to exhaustion (maximal values).
Field uphill time trial: 9.2-km first-category mountain pass, 7.1% slope.
Measured throughout the climb: VO2, power output, heart rate, lactate and perceived exertion.

Key Results

Measure (whole climb)Value
Mean power302 ± 7 W (4.2 ± 0.1 W/kg)
Mean speed18.7 ± 1.6 km/h
Mean VO261.6 ± 2.0 mL·kg-1·min-1
Mean heart rate178 ± 2 beats/min
Lactate at the finish10.87 ± 1.12 mmol/L
Perceived exertion at the finish19.1 ± 0.1
Intensity: 90% of maximal HR and VO2, 70% of maximal power output (authors' conclusion).
Values were significantly affected by the 1st, 2nd, 6th and final kilometres (P < .05); the abstract does not say in which direction.

Practical Application

In fourteen elite road cyclists on a 9.2-km, 7.1% mountain-pass time trial, mean power was 302 W (4.2 W/kg), mean VO2 61.6 mL·kg-1·min-1 and heart rate 178 beats/min — about 90% of maximal HR and VO2 and 70% of the power reached in the graded test — with lactate at 10.87 mmol/L and RPE 19.1 at the finish (descriptive field study). An uphill time trial of this kind is ridden close to the aerobic ceiling and finishes near maximal effort.
Inference, not tested here: expect heart rate around 90% of maximum on such a climb; a much lower HR in a genuine all-out climb suggests the effort was held back or the maximum is set too high.
The power share (70% of maximal graded-test power) is a ratio to a ramp-test peak, not to FTP or CP; do not convert it to a threshold percentage from this entry.
Inference, not tested here: the start and the final kilometre stood out, so pace the opening kilometres with restraint and save the finishing effort, as in flat time trials (REF-851).

Limitations

Descriptive, one climb, fourteen riders; no pacing intervention.
The ± values for power, heart rate and RPE are unusually tight for fourteen riders (e.g. 302 ± 7 W, RPE 19.1 ± 0.1) and may be standard errors; the results do not label them.
Inference, not tested here: carrying a portable gas analyser may have changed the effort; the abstract does not address it.
Duration of the climb and sex of the riders are not 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

descriptive field study, n=14