semmelweis university - Faculty of Physical Education and Sport ...

Le Douairon Lahaye S. 1 , Avril F. 1 , Krasniak T. 1 , Zouhal H. 1
1 Movement, Sport and Health Sciences Laboratory, Rennes, France
2 University - ENS Cachan, France
Comparison of 2 Strategies of Relay on Team Time Trial Cycling Performance
Introduction: During a team time trial (TTT), two modalities of relay can be used by the
cyclists: one-line relay or double-line relay. In TTT-one-line relay, cyclists are taking long
relays (about 20 seconds) whereas in TTT-double-line relay, each cyclist achieves short relay
so as to perform a continuous turnover. These different modalities can influence the drafting
effect enjoyed by cyclists and thus the exercise intensity. So, the present study was
undertaken to compare these 2 strategies of relay in term of performance, physiological and
psychological responses.
Methods: A team of 4 well-trained cyclists, preparing the TTT junior championship of
Britain (France), performed 2 tests of 10km TTT on two different days with 4 days rest. The 2
tests consisted on performing, in a randomized order and on the same circuit, TTT-one-line
relay or TTT-double-line relay. The environmental conditions (wind, temperature, humidity)
didn‘t differ significantly between the 2 trials. The power output and heart rate (HR) were
continuously recorded by a sensor Powertap®. After each test, all the cyclists gave their
perceived difficulty by using the CR 10 Borg perceptual scale.
Results: A higher average speed was observed for the TTT-one-line relay (42 km/h)
compared to that performed on double-line (40.5 km/h). The values of average power output
were significantly higher for TTT-one-line relay (286.5±6.2 Watts) than for TTT-double-line
relay (271.7±8.0 Watts) (p