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In cycling, drag is the force that opposes the cyclist's motion and is caused by the cyclist's and their equipment's interaction with the air. The surface area of the cyclist and their equipment, such as the bike, helmet, and body postures, substantially impact how much drag they encounter. This study compared the energy cost (Ec) of an able-bodied and shoulder amputee cyclist through numerical simulations using computer fluid dynamics (CFD). According to the hypothesis, an able-bodied cyclist may use more energy at a given speed than an ablebodied cyclist. For this study, a professional male cyclist who weighs 65 kg and is 1.72 m tall took part. The estimated Ec was lower for a shoulder amputee in comparison to an ablebodied cyclist. Significant statistical differences and relationships were found between the cyclists for the 11 selected speeds. Altogether, this study allows us to conclude that, for the same conditions, an able-bodied cyclist delivers less Ec in comparison to a shoulder amputee. Such knowledge contributes to understanding cycling performance and may inform training, equipment design, and energy optimisation strategies for diverse cyclist populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drag crisis has been described as a drop in the drag coefficient (Cd). This procedure was lately assessed in able-bodied cyclists in time trial position by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the phenomenon of the drag crisis by computer fluid dynamics in transradial and transtibial amputee cyclists in the upright position. A male elite-level cyclist was recruited for this research. The subject was scanned (3D geometry with a 3D Scan) with his competition bicycle, helmet, suit, and shoes. Consequently, transradial and transtibial 3D models were created editing the able-bodied 3D model. To perform the CFD analyses, a domain measuring 7 x 2.5 x 2.5 m (length, width and height, respectively) was created around each bicycle-cyclist model. The domains were meshed with more than 42 million elements. Numerical simulations by CFD were performed in fluent numerical for speeds between 1 m/s and 13 m/s, with increments of 1 m/s. The total Cd decreased with speed. It ranged from 0.84 to 0.55 in the able-bodied, 0.86 to 0.64 in the transradial and 0.90 to 0.61 in the transtibial. The drag crisis phenomenon was observed between 1m/s and 4m/s in all models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]