Introduction: To complete an exercise bout and/or maximise exercise performance, exercisers have to distribute and manage their effort. This process is known as pacing. Pacing, and the subsequent exercise performance, can only be optimised if exercisers make decisions based on the most relevant information. In today`s competition, athletes can consult performance-feedback (e.g. speed, heart rate, power output, etc.) on different external devices assisting the decisions they need to make regarding pace regulation during the race. But how important is this information? The aim of the present study was to examine whether instantaneous performance-feedback contributes to maximising performance and pacing in well-trained athletes, and how they pace themselves when they are blinded from it, relying on intrinsic feedback. Methods: Three successive 20-km cycling time trials were performed. Participants were appointed to an experimental (EXP) group (n = 10) blinded from feedback, or a control (CON) group (n = 10) with the possibility to consult feedback (i.e. speed, heart rate, power output, cadence, elapsed time, elapsed distance) continuously. Results: Whereas CON did not change their pacing-strategy (i.e. power-distribution) throughout the trials, the strategies of EXP varied across the trials. However, no between-group differences were found in performance time (CON: 28.86 +/- 3.68 min; 29.16 +/- 3.93 min; and 28.88 +/- 4.12 min vs. EXP: 30.95 +/- 2.77 min; 30.80 +/- 3.76 min; and 30.45 +/- 3.17 min; for respectively trial 1, 2, and 3) and mean power output (CON: 3.61 +/- .58 W/kg; 3.61 +/- .56 W/kg; and 3.70 +/- .60 W/kg vs. EXP: 3.46 +/- .37 W/kg; 3.49 +/- .44 W/kg; and 3.56 +/- .42 W/kg; for respectively trial 1, 2, and 3). When trials were analysed without end-spurt, that is excluding the last 10% of the pacing-strategy of each trial, it was demonstrated that EXP was able to adopt a pacing-strategy comparable to that of the CON-group by the third trial. Conclusion: Pacing in welltrained athletes, and the subsequent exercise performance, does not seem to depend on provided instantaneous performancefeedback throughout the first 90% of the race. Only feedback providing precise knowledge of the end point seems profitable in maximizing performance in the last 10% of the race. We conclude that information other than external performance-feedback seems directive in decision-making in pacing throughout the largest part of the trial in well-trained athletes.
© Copyright 2014 19th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Amsterdam, 2. - 5. July 2014. Julkaistu Tekijä VU University Amsterdam. Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään. / Kääntänyt https://www.DeepL.com/Translator