Critical Power in Cycling

Full description

An important contributor to success in endurance cycling is a high fatigue threshold. Two metrics commonly used to assess this threshold are the second Lactate Threshold (LT₂) and Critical Power (CP), which aim to detect an athlete’s maximum power output sustainable without a significant drop in performance. A benefit of the CP model over LT₂ is that it can also determine an anaerobic measure; the work capacity above CP (W′), hence providing a more holistic physiological profile.

Traditionally, LT₂ and CP are laboratory-derived, despite enhanced ecological validity when athlete testing is conducted in the field. The aims of this study were to evaluate the reliability of field-based CP testing, and the level of agreement between laboratory- and field-derived metrics.