Effect of Different Cycling Conditions on Sagitall and Frontal Lower Limb Kinematics of Competitive and Recreational Cyclists

The aim of the current study was to compare sagittal and frontal hip, knee and ankle joint kinematics between competitive and recreational road cyclists across different workloads and pedalling cadences. Five competitive and five recreational healthy male road cyclists performed four conditions (85 rpm and 95 rpm at 200 W and 65 rpm and 75 rpm at 230 W) in random order to cover a variety cadences and workloads used during competition or training (plane, slight hill, medium hill and steep hill). Lower limb kinematic data were collected with nine infrared cameras. T-test and effect size statistics established significant differences in the power phase (0-180°) of the crank cycle for knee abduction, knee extension and hip adduction between the two groups. Increase in hip and knee frontal plane motion indicated altered pedalling technique for recreational cyclists.