Do Kinematics of the Pelvis and Lower Limb Vary between Novice and Highly Trained Cyclists?

INTRODUCTION Previous studies have shown that novice and highly trained cyclists use different patterns of leg muscle recruitment when cycling [1, 2]. Novice cyclists are characterized by greater individual variance, greater population variance, longer durations of muscle activity, more extensive and more variable muscle coactivation, and less modulation of muscle activity. The data also show that modulation of muscle activity decreases with increasing cadence in novice cyclists but is not influenced by cadence in highly trained cyclists. However, kinematics were not controlled in these studies of cycling so differences in leg muscle recruitment between novice and highly trained cyclists may relate to kinematic variations. The purpose of this study was to determine if kinematic variations are likely to account for differences in leg muscle recruitment between novice and highly trained cyclists.