Elite mountain bike enduro competition: a study of rider hand-arm vibration exposure

Abstract

Limited information is currently available regarding the hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure for professional off-road cyclists. Previous reports have suggested that commuting and recreational cyclists are at risk of exceeding exposure limit values (ELV) in a single ride and, therefore, further investigation of HAV exposure in competitive mountain biking is warranted. Partial and total eight hour exposure data (Ai(8), A(8), ms-2) are presented for a national level mountain bike race. Assessment of hand-arm vibration meets the requirements of BS EN ISO 5349-1:2001 (BSI 2001) whereby recording frequency was 3.2 kHz and frequency weighting filters were applied (Wh). The data presented shows that HAV exposure during one day of competitive enduro mountain bike racing exceeds ELV and is greater than the HAV exposure observed in recreational cycling. This suggests that further work is required to determine the exposure associated with changes in equipment, technique and international racing events in professional athletes.

Hand nerve function after mountain bike cycling

“…The mean A(8) value retrieved from the intervention group in our study (3.68 ms −2 ) was considerably lower than was measured in elite mountain bike endure cyclists during competition, i.e., A(8) at 5.84 ms −2 in a study conducted by Kirkwood et al [29]. One explanation for the lower A(8) value in our study could be the difference in the degree of velocity and therefore also in vibration exposure [30].…”

“…From the literature, little is known about HAV exposure during mountain bike cycling and related effects on the nerve function in the hands. The HAV exposure during cycling has been evaluated in other studies [25][26][27][28][29][30]. However, to our knowledge, there is no literature data on HAV exposure during mountain bike cycling on trails or cycling at all, combined with examination of effects on the nerve function of the cyclists.…”

Immune Response of Elite Enduro Racers to Laboratory and Racing Environments: The Influence of Training Impulse and Vibration

“…A one-day international enduro race in the United Kingdom consisting of five race stages was chosen for the race analysis. The race stages featured a range of technical terrain as previously described [ 25 , 26 ]. Weather conditions were 10 °C, overcast, and the tracks were damp.…”

“…Enduro mountain bike racing consists of timed downhill race stages linked by noncompetitive transition stages and a general classification is determined by accumulated race stage time. Enduro events typically cover a wide range of challenging, rough terrain including roots, rocks, and jumps [ 25 , 26 ]. Elite enduro mountain bike athletes train and compete on successive days on a regular basis, highlighting the requirement to investigate the recovery of the immune system following competition.…”

“…Elite enduro mountain bike athletes train and compete on successive days on a regular basis, highlighting the requirement to investigate the recovery of the immune system following competition. The demands of enduro mountain bike racing are unique among cycling disciplines, placing substantial aerobic and anaerobic workload demands on the athletes over prolonged durations in conjunction with the requirement to attenuate large terrain-induced vibration [ 25 , 26 ]. Considering that acute vibration exposure can induce transient changes in CD4 and CD8 T-cell count [ 27 ], it is possible that terrain-induced vibration may influence the immune response to enduro mountain bike competition.…”