Ultra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Review

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dc.contributor.authorTiemeier, Lucascs
dc.contributor.authorNikolaidis, Pantelis T.cs
dc.contributor.authorChlíbková, Danielacs
dc.contributor.authorWilhelm, Matthiascs
dc.contributor.authorThuany, Mablinycs
dc.contributor.authorWeiss, Katjacs
dc.contributor.authorKnechtle, Beatcs
dc.coverage.issue48cs
dc.coverage.volume10cs
dc.date.issued2024-04-29cs
dc.description.abstractBackground: Ultra-endurance events are gaining popularity in multiple exercise disciplines, including cycling. With increasing numbers of ultra-cycling events, aspects influencing participation and performance are of interest to the cycling community. Main body: The aim of this narrative review was, therefore, to assess the types of races offered, the characteristics of the cyclists, the fluid and energy balance during the race, the body mass changes after the race, and the parameters that may enhance performance based on existing literature. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar using the search terms 'ultracycling', 'ultra cycling', 'ultra-cycling', 'ultra-endurance biking', 'ultra-bikers' and 'prolonged cycling'. The search yielded 948 results, of which 111 were relevant for this review. The studies were classified according to their research focus and the results were summarized. The results demonstrated changes in physiological parameters, immunological and oxidative processes, as well as in fluid and energy balance. While the individual race with the most published studies was the Race Across America, most races were conducted in Europe, and a trend for an increase in European participants in international races was observed. Performance seems to be affected by characteristics such as age and sex but not by anthropometric parameters such as skin fold thickness. The optimum age for the top performance was around 40 years. Most participants in ultra-cycling events were male, but the number of female athletes has been increasing over the past years. Female athletes are understudied due to their later entry and less prominent participation in ultra-cycling races. A post-race energy deficit after ultra-cycling events was observed. Conclusion: Future studies need to investigate the causes for the observed optimum race age around 40 years of age as well as the optimum nutritional supply to close the observed energy gap under consideration of the individual race lengths and conditions. Another research gap to be filled by future studies is the development of strategies to tackle inflammatory processes during the race that may persist in the post-race period.en
dc.description.abstractBackground: Ultra-endurance events are gaining popularity in multiple exercise disciplines, including cycling. With increasing numbers of ultra-cycling events, aspects influencing participation and performance are of interest to the cycling community. Main body: The aim of this narrative review was, therefore, to assess the types of races offered, the characteristics of the cyclists, the fluid and energy balance during the race, the body mass changes after the race, and the parameters that may enhance performance based on existing literature. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar using the search terms 'ultracycling', 'ultra cycling', 'ultra-cycling', 'ultra-endurance biking', 'ultra-bikers' and 'prolonged cycling'. The search yielded 948 results, of which 111 were relevant for this review. The studies were classified according to their research focus and the results were summarized. The results demonstrated changes in physiological parameters, immunological and oxidative processes, as well as in fluid and energy balance. While the individual race with the most published studies was the Race Across America, most races were conducted in Europe, and a trend for an increase in European participants in international races was observed. Performance seems to be affected by characteristics such as age and sex but not by anthropometric parameters such as skin fold thickness. The optimum age for the top performance was around 40 years. Most participants in ultra-cycling events were male, but the number of female athletes has been increasing over the past years. Female athletes are understudied due to their later entry and less prominent participation in ultra-cycling races. A post-race energy deficit after ultra-cycling events was observed. Conclusion: Future studies need to investigate the causes for the observed optimum race age around 40 years of age as well as the optimum nutritional supply to close the observed energy gap under consideration of the individual race lengths and conditions. Another research gap to be filled by future studies is the development of strategies to tackle inflammatory processes during the race that may persist in the post-race period.en
dc.formattextcs
dc.format.extent1-18cs
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfcs
dc.identifier.citationSports Medicine-Open. 2024, vol. 10, issue 48, p. 1-18.en
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s40798-024-00715-7cs
dc.identifier.issn2199-1170cs
dc.identifier.orcid0000-0001-9592-7332cs
dc.identifier.other188546cs
dc.identifier.researcheridAAI-6467-2020cs
dc.identifier.scopus55129225600cs
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11012/245528
dc.language.isoencs
dc.publisherSpringerOpencs
dc.relation.ispartofSports Medicine-Opencs
dc.relation.urihttps://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-024-00715-7cs
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalcs
dc.rights.accessopenAccesscs
dc.rights.sherpahttp://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/2199-1170/cs
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/cs
dc.subjectEnduranceen
dc.subjectPerformanceen
dc.subjectRace across Americaen
dc.subjectultra-cyclingen
dc.subjectEndurance
dc.subjectPerformance
dc.subjectRace across America
dc.subjectultra-cycling
dc.titleUltra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Reviewen
dc.title.alternativeUltra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Reviewen
dc.type.driverarticleen
dc.type.statusPeer-revieweden
dc.type.versionpublishedVersionen
sync.item.dbidVAV-188546en
sync.item.dbtypeVAVen
sync.item.insts2025.10.14 14:06:07en
sync.item.modts2025.10.14 10:04:20en
thesis.grantorVysoké učení technické v Brně. Centrum sportovních aktivit. Centrum sportovních aktivitcs
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