Hays, Arnaud, Devys, Simon, Bertin, Denis, Marquet, Laurie-anne, Brisswalter, Jeanick, Institut des Sciences du Mouvement Etienne Jules Marey (ISM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Laboratoire Motricité Humaine Expertise Sport Santé (LAMHESS), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), and COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)
International audience; Objectives: To evaluate the physiological requirements imposed by the current mountain biking Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) format. Methods: Sixteen Cross-Country cyclists competing at national or international level participated in this study. All participants completed a simulated and a real official race on a cycling-accredited race track. Oxygen consumption ((V) over dotO(2)) and heart rate (HR) values expressed as %(V) over dotO(2max) and %HRmax, respectively, were divided into three physiological intensity zones. The first zone (Z1) was the physiological region below VT1, the second zone (Z2) corresponded to a region between VT1 and VT2, and the third zone (Z3) was located between VT2 and VO2max . For power output, an additional fourth zone was considered above maximal aerobic power (MAP). Results: When competing in the current XCO format, 37.0 +/- 17.9% of the race is performed above the second ventilatory threshold at a mean intensity of 87% (V) over dotO(2max) and 25% of the race was spent above MAP. This contribution varied between laps, with a very high intensity during the first lap and more aerobic subsequent laps. The durations of most of the periods beyond MAP oscillated between 5 and 30 s. Between these short, repeated bursts, low-intensity periods of exercise were recorded. Conclusion: The current XCO race format is an acyclical and intermittent exercise comparable to high-intensity team sports. Moreover, our results highlight the relevance of (V) over dotO(2) values when analyzing XCO performance, they should be combined with commonly used HR and/or power output data.