Analysis of the pedaling biomechanics of master’s cyclists: A preliminary study

The crank torque represents the kinetics of the propulsive torque within the crank cycle. These kinetics are one of the important determinants of cycling performance. At our knowledge, works in literature concerning the pedaling pattern of master cyclist is lacking although this group of cyclists concerns the majority of practitioners. The purpose of this experimentation is to study the biomechanics of cycling in masters cyclists during an incremental test. Eleven trained masters cyclists (53.5 ± 4.1 years) have participated at this study. The results indicate that the master cyclists have a significant asymmetry (30 ± 8 to 23 ± 13 %) during the pedaling exercise at all power output level tested in this study (100, 150, 200 and 250 W). The present preliminary study suggests that the pedaling pattern asymmetry observed in the master cyclists should be taken into account to prevent knee or muscle overuse injuries.