Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Faculty of Sport Sciences, Human Performance and Sports Science Laboratory, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
J Appl Physiol (1985). 2024 Feb 1;136(2):432-436. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00798.2023. Epub 2024 Jan 4.
Cycling Grand Tours are arguably the epitome of strenuous endurance exercise, and they have been reported to represent the ceiling of sustained energy expenditure for humans. It remains unknown, however, if an average recreational athlete could endure such an event. Through the analysis of power output (PO), we compared data from the 2023 Tour de France (21 stages, total distance = 3,405 km, elevation gain = 51,815 m) in a recreational (male, age = 58 yr; height = 191 cm; body mass = 96.1 kg; estimated maximum oxygen uptake = 45.4 mL·kg·min) and a sex-matched professional (World-Tour) cyclist (28 yr; 180 cm; 67.0 kg; 80.5 mL·kg·min). The recreational and professional cyclist completed the event in 191 and 87 h, respectively (average PO of 1.50 and 3.45 W·kg), with the latter spending a greater proportion of time in high-intensity zones. The recreational cyclist showed an estimated total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) of 35.9 MJ [or 8,580 kcal, or ∼4.3× his daily basal metabolic rate (BMR)], whereas lower absolute values were estimated for the professional cyclist (29.7 MJ, 7,098 kcal, ∼3.8× his BMR). Despite such high TDEE values, both individuals lost minimal body mass during the event (0-2 kg). The present report therefore suggests that, partly due to differences in exercise intensity and duration, not only professional cyclists but also recreational athletes can reach currently known ceilings of TDEE for humans. This case report indicates that a recreationally trained 58-year-old man can reach similar or even higher values of energy expenditure (∼4 times their basal metabolic rate) than professional cyclists, who are likely near the ceiling of sustained energy expenditure for humans. This was possible owing to a total longer exercise time coupled with a lower absolute and relative intensity in the recreational athlete.
自行车大环赛可以说是剧烈耐力运动的缩影，据报道，它们代表了人类持续能量消耗的上限。然而，目前尚不清楚普通休闲运动员是否能够承受这样的赛事。通过对功率输出（PO）的分析，我们比较了 2023 年环法自行车赛（21 个赛段，总距离=3405 公里，海拔升高=51815 米）中一名休闲（男性，年龄=58 岁；身高=191 厘米；体重=96.1 公斤；估计最大摄氧量=45.4 毫升·公斤·分钟）和一名性别匹配的职业（世界巡回赛）自行车运动员（28 岁；180 厘米；67.0 公斤；80.5 毫升·公斤·分钟）的数据。休闲自行车运动员用时 191 小时，职业自行车运动员用时 87 小时（平均 PO 分别为 1.50 和 3.45 W·kg）完成了比赛，后者在高强度区花费了更多的时间。休闲自行车运动员的估计总每日能量消耗（TDEE）为 35.9 兆焦耳[或 8580 千卡，或约为其每日基础代谢率（BMR）的 4.3 倍]，而职业自行车运动员的 TDEE 估计值较低（29.7 兆焦耳，7098 千卡，约为其 BMR 的 3.8 倍）。尽管 TDEE 值如此之高，但在比赛期间，两名运动员的体重都只减少了 0-2 公斤。因此，本报告表明，由于运动强度和持续时间的差异，不仅职业自行车运动员，而且休闲运动员都可以达到人类目前已知的 TDEE 上限。本案例报告表明，一名经过休闲训练的 58 岁男子可以达到与职业自行车运动员相似甚至更高的能量消耗值（约为其基础代谢率的 4 倍），而职业自行车运动员可能接近人类持续能量消耗的上限。这是可能的，因为休闲运动员的总运动时间更长，绝对强度和相对强度更低。
