We must seek to change the paradigm, towards a Health and Prevention perspective. As a rule, it is always bad practice to wait for something bad to happen. Even if the athlete has a low weekly training frequency, does not have competitive goals and only sees sport as a hobby. If your interaction with the bicycle is compromised and has never been subject to a meticulous Biomechanical Assessment, over time, whether due to advancing age, loss of flexibility or mobility, joint restrictions, development of compensatory patterns, asymmetries, etc., pain, discomfort, inflammation, etc. will eventually appear. which will develop into a chronic injury if you do not act accordingly.

The Biomechanical Study is a complex and multifactorial procedure, contingent on countless variables (e.g., flexibility, mobility, form, joint and/or muscular restrictions/limitations, etc.). As such, it is recommended and desirable to carry out a Biomechanical Study at least every year (if during this period there are no accidents, injuries, significant changes in the athlete's physiology or anatomical or morphological structures)

Although cycling is a sport where the athlete is practically fixed on the bike, at different points of contact, in a position with few degrees of freedom and which is sustained for long periods of time, such constraints and biomechanical restrictions should not be a reason to experience any discomfort, numbness, pain, etc., if the configuration is optimized for the individual. The only acceptable pain while pedaling a bicycle is muscular, i.e., felt in the legs, and which derives from high efforts or intensities. In extreme events such as ultra-distances, or stage competitions, due to the accumulation of fatigue and duration, discomfort or pain may appear in certain areas that are more susceptible to developing certain pathologies. However, even in these cases, there are always modifications that must be made to accommodate this greater sensitivity.

It is quite common to think that there is a unique saddle model for each person, and that, if this has not yet been found, problems will always arise at this point of contact (e.g., localized and/or generalized pressure, numbness, friction or dermatological irritation, folliculitis, etc.). However, these problems are often not caused by the saddle model, but rather by the poor interaction that results from the fact that the person has not yet been subject to a biomechanical intervention and , consequently, it is in the correct positioning of the saddle (i.e., height, setback, inclination, etc.) that lies the solution.

A good professional knows that a Biomechanical Study carried out on the eve of a recreational or competitive objective should only aim to introduce small changes in the biomechanical configuration, as there will not be enough time for adaptation. Therefore, there are no issues for customers who have already carried out a Biomechanical Study, and who already have their position and configuration optimized. In the same way, a new client must be aware that, if they present a case with high complexity and require a deeper and more extensive intervention, their performance in the most immediate objectives will be compromised by subsequent adaptations.

As humans, we are asymmetrical and adaptable beings. A bicycle is a fully symmetrical and adjustable mechanical device. As such, one should never seek to achieve absolute symmetry (e.g., L/R Force Balance = 50%-50%, Center of Pressure on the Saddle and/or Feet completely stable and with all respective metrics exactly balanced, etc. ), as this is the exception to the rule. There is no ideal position, but rather a range of optimization, in which the athlete must operate, without any problem.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not only possible, but recommended to conduct a Pedaling Technique Optimization process, as an integral part of the Biomechanical Study, in the final stage, after all changes have been made. In fact, this protocol is one of the main differentiating factors of our methodology, meaning that all scientific and mathematical foundations are proprietary. This stage is transversal to the client's objective, which is related to Health and/or Income Optimization, as it has crucial repercussions and implications in both areas.

A Biomechanical Intervention is an iterative and interactive process. Without communication from both parties, results cannot be achieved. There are fine adjustments that may be necessary when moving from the controlled environment of the studio to the field and, to this end, the athlete's feedback is essential throughout the adaptation period. Furthermore, depending on the demands and characteristics of different objectives and/or competitions, additional adjustments (even if millimetric) may be necessary to accommodate the athlete's position and the configuration of the bicycle in accordance – Dynamic Biomechanical Optimization Concept.

Impatience and impetuosity can compromise and slow down the adaptive process. There is always a time window for accommodation of the biomechanical changes made, which can be significant (variable, according to the weekly training frequency), roughly between 6 and 8 weeks. During this period it is necessary to take certain precautions. In the first few days, you should reduce the duration of each session, look for terrain that is not too demanding (i.e., flat or undulating) and only train at low intensities. Progression must be monitored, so that you can begin to reintroduce duration, terrain variation and intensity, in this order.

Cycling is a sport that requires a high capacity to adapt to changes in equipment and, consequently, biomechanics (e.g., brand, model, geometry and size of bicycle, models of saddle, shoes, etc.). Professional cyclists are often limited by the options presented to them by sponsors. As such, there is a natural filtration process that occurs from the youngest layers, up to the maximum level of professionalism. Having a genetic predisposition and ability to adapt to exceptional training stimuli is a necessary condition, but it is not a sufficient condition. Only athletes who are also, albeit unconsciously and naturally, excellent at finding compensatory patterns to accommodate the various changes to which they are subject, reach the highest level – WorldTour. In this way, professionals present performances considered superhuman, often despite any Biomechanical Intervention to which they have been subjected, and not because they are specimens with positions, configurations and biomechanics to idolize.

It is common to see plateaus lasting between 3 and 5 minutes in other laboratories. However, this duration does not allow heart rate and lactate values to be stabilized, meaning it does not allow the evolution of physiological parameters over time to be identified with due precision. For example, for a given intensity, say 140W, after 3 min the recorded lactate value may be 2.3mmol/l. However, if the plateau lasts 10 minutes and still does not show good durability or ability to sustain such effort, without metabolic consequences, the value recorded for those same 140W, after 10 minutes, may already be 6.2 mmol/l! As a consequence, if the duration of the plateaus is short, the heart rate and lactate concentration values, at each plateau, will still be a reflection of the previous plateaus, as physiologically it is not possible to reach this steady state in such a short time.

Another error that occurs regularly is that the jump in-between steps is too abrupt and, as such, precision is lost. Despite reaching a higher final level of intensity, this is just an artifice of the fact that a shorter protocol is being carried out, with larger jumps.

Yes. If lactate samples are taken from the finger, given the enormous constriction and local pressure, the values are inflated and unreliable. This procedure should always be carried out on the earlobe.

If your training is only based on the VO2MAX value, you could make a big mistake. This is because what differentiates the experienced professional athlete with greater maturity and years of career, from the under-23 athlete, is not their VO2MAX value (which are very similar), but rather the physiological response and request and use of energy substrates. at a certain intensity. Therefore, one should try to regularly monitor the Lactate Curve, as it more accurately reflects the athlete's evolution and progression.

No. To measure VO2MAX, the protocol must be much more aggressive than that used in the Level Test, with collection of lactate values. The protocol must have levels of 3 minutes with increments of 20 to 30W, as this is the only way to minimize fatigue and achieve exhaustion at an intensity that will elicit maximum oxygen consumption, that is, VO2MAX. Taking lactate samples at the same time as performing a VO2Max test is completely counterproductive. One requires a protocol with long levels and smaller jumps between levels, the other short levels with larger jumps.