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Elite cyclists are more resilient to mental fatigue

Date:
July 26, 2016
Source:
University of Kent
Summary:
As British cyclist Chris Froome celebrates his third Tour de France victory, research shows for the first time that elite endurance athletes have superior ability to resist mental fatigue. The new finding showed that while the recreational cyclists slowed down after performing a computerized cognitive task to induce mental fatigue, the professional cyclists' time trial performance was not affected.
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As British cyclist Chris Froome celebrates his third Tour de France victory, research from the University of Kent and Australian collaborators shows for the first time that elite endurance athletes have superior ability to resist mental fatigue.

Professor Samuele Marcora, Director of Research in Kent's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, co-authored a report in the journal PLOS ONE entitled Superior Inhibitory Control and Resistance to Mental Fatigue in Professional Road Cyclists.

For the study, Professor Marcora and colleagues compared the performance of 11 professional cyclists and nine recreational cyclists in various tests. As expected, the professional cyclists outperformed the recreational cyclists in a simulated time trial in the laboratory. The new finding was that while the recreational cyclists slowed down after performing a computerised cognitive task to induce mental fatigue, the professional cyclists' time trial performance was not affected.

In addition, the professional cyclists performed better than the recreational cyclists in the computerised cognitive task which measure 'inhibitory control' or willpower. This is not surprising as the ability to suffer is a major factor in the sport of cycling .

Professor Marcora, says that the two effects go hand in hand, because becoming resistant to mental fatigue should bolster willpower during the latter stages of a competition such as the Tour de France.

Although largely hereditary, he speculates that superior willpower and resistance to mental fatigue may be trained through hard physical training and the demanding lifestyle of elite endurance athletes. Professor Marcora is also developing, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, a new training method (Brain Endurance Training) to boost resistance to mental fatigue and endurance performance even further.


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Kent. Original written by Sandy Fleming. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Kristy Martin, Walter Staiano, Paolo Menaspà, Tom Hennessey, Samuele Marcora, Richard Keegan, Kevin G. Thompson, David Martin, Shona Halson, Ben Rattray. Superior Inhibitory Control and Resistance to Mental Fatigue in Professional Road Cyclists. PLOS ONE, 2016; 11 (7): e0159907 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159907

Cite This Page:

University of Kent. "Elite cyclists are more resilient to mental fatigue." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 July 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160726123214.htm>.
University of Kent. (2016, July 26). Elite cyclists are more resilient to mental fatigue. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160726123214.htm
University of Kent. "Elite cyclists are more resilient to mental fatigue." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160726123214.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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