The Routledge Handbook of Cycling Science

1. Introduction

Richard Davison and Arthur Henrique Bossi

Section 1: Demands of Competitive Cycling

2. Demands of Competitive Cycling: Short-Distance Events

Hamish A. Ferguson and Christopher R. Harnish

3. Biomechanics of Sprint Cycling

Louise Burnie, Paul Barratt, and Jon Wheat

4. Demands of Endurance Cycling Races

Guilherme Matta and Arthur Henrique Bossi

5. Ultra-Endurance Cycling

Guilherme Matta and Nicolas Berger

6. The Demands of Multi-Stage Cycling Races

Peter Leo and Iñigo Mujika

7. Off-Road Races

Matthew C Miller, Philip W Fink, and Carl D Paton

Section 2: Physiological and Performance Assessment for Cyclists

8. Critical Power: Theory, Methods, and Application

Mark Burnley, Jamie S.M. Pringle, and Andrew M. Jones

9. Body Composition in Cycling Performance

Richard Davison

10. Explosive Power

Joe Hewitt and Len Parker Simpson

11. Incremental Testing in Cycling

Richard Davison

12. Neuromuscular Fatigability and Fatigue Resistance During Cycling

Callum G Brownstein, Danilo Iannetta^, and Paul Ansdell

13. Utilising Training Data to Monitor Physical Progression and Fatigue

Dajo Sanders, Teun van Erp, and Kurt Bergin-Taylor

Section 3: Training for Cycling Performance

14: Individual Differences in Cycling: Genetics, Training Response, Nutrition, and Pacing

Arthur Henrique Bossi and Richard Davison

15. Training Zones

Arthur Henrique Bossi and Felipe Mattioni Maturana

16. Power-Based Measurement and Training in Cycling

Richard Davison and Uli Schoberer

17. Heart Rate-Based Training

Alejandro Javaloyes, Manuel Mateo-March, Iván Peña-González, and Manuel Moya-Ramón

18. Training Load Monitoring in Cycling

Shaun McLaren Jeffrey A. Rothschild, and Dajo Sanders

19. Improvement of Cycling Performance by Means of Strength Training

Ernst Albin Hansen and Mathias Vedsø Kristiansen

20. Training Intensity Distribution (TID) in Cyclists: A Review of Evidence and Methodological Challenges

Shawn Bearden

21. Tapering and Peaking for Road Cycling Events

Peter Leo and Iñigo Mujika

Section 4: Bike Setup for Comfort and Performance

22. Aerodynamics and Bike Fit

Bert Blocken, Fabio Malizia, and Steve Faulkner

23. Physiological and Biomechanical Basis for Positional Optimisation

Steve Faulkner, Jonathan Wheat, and Daniel Williams

Section 5: Nutritional Strategies for Cycling Performance

24. Carbohydrates – Storage, Utilization and Implications for Performance in Cycling

Niels Ørtenblad, Kasper Gejl, and Lars Nybo

25. Hydration in Cycling

Adam D Seal and Stavros A. Kavouras

26. Dietary Strategies to Effectively Reduce Body Mass

J. Marc Fell, James E.P. Moran, and James P. Morton

27. Supplements to Improve Cycling Performance

Bryan Saunders, Liliana Kataryne Ferreira Souza, Ricardo Augusto Silva de Souza, and Alfonso Meira

Section 6: Cycling Racing Strategies

28. Climbing

Simon Jobson

29. Pacing Strategy in Cycling

F.J. Hettinga and S.G.P. Menting

30. Group Riding Dynamics

Bert Blocken and Ian M Griffiths

31. Performance Analysis in Cycling

Teun van Erp, Dajo Sanders, Kurt Bergin-Taylor

Section 7: Specialist Cycling Applications and Unique Groups

32. Hand Cycling

Jonpaul Nevin and Paul M. Smith

33. The Master Cyclist

Richard Davison

34. The Female Cyclist

Lesley Ingram-Sills

35. Paracycling

Gary Brickley

36. The Youth Cyclist

Alfred Nimmerichter, Michael Methlagl, and Bernhard Prinz

Section 8: Environmental Factors Affecting Cycling Performance

37. Altitude

Giovanni Vinetti

38. Cycling in the Heat – Challenges and Opportunities

Lars Nybo

39. Cold

José-Antonio Salas-Montoro and Mikel Zabala

40. Vibration Measurement in Cycling: Methods and Applications

Mark D Taylor and Louis Moore

Section 9: The Role of Sport Science in Coaching Cyclists

41. Integrating Sports Science into Effective Coaching Practices

Andy Kirkland

42. Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Coaching

Nicolas Berger, Paul B. Laursen, and Andrea Zignoli

43. Cycling Injuries and Illness

Thomas Fallon and Neil Heron

Biography

Richard Davison is an internationally recognised exercise physiologist with 35+ years of academic and coaching experience, currently serving as a Visiting Professor of Exercise Physiology at the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, UK. He is a Fellow and former President of the European College of Sport Sciences and a Fellow and former Chair and Honorary Treasurer of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. He has held editorial board positions at leading sport science journals, including the Journal of Sports Sciences, the Journal of Sport Medicine, and the Journal of Science and Cycling, and has contributed to the BASES Physiological Testing Guidelines since 1996. Richard spent 22 years as a Coach Educator with British Cycling, and his research and expertise have been applied to coaching riders to British and World Championship victories and podiums at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

Arthur Henrique Bossi is a lecturer and applied researcher at Edinburgh Napier University, specialising in exercise physiology and endurance performance. His work centres on understanding individual responses to exercise training and translating that knowledge into personalised performance interventions. Before taking up his lectureship, Dr Bossi spent more than 12 years coaching cyclists at every level, from beginners to elite mountain bikers, and served as a consultant for the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland. This breadth of experience, spanning both the laboratory and the field, has given him a deep understanding of the cyclist-bicycle interaction and the physiological determinants of endurance performance. In this book, he brings a practical, evidence-based perspective firmly grounded in the realities of competitive cycling.