The Age-Related Performance Decline in Ultraendurance Mountain Biking

Abstract

The age-related changes in ultraendurance performance have been previously examined for running and triathlon but not mountain biking. The aims of this study were (i) to describe the performance trends and (ii) to analyze the age-related performance decline in ultraendurance mountain biking in a 120-km ultraendurance mountain bike race the "Swiss Bike Masters" from 1995 to 2009 in 9,325 male athletes. The mean (±SD) race time decreased from 590 ± 80 min to 529 ± 88 min for overall finishers and from 415 ± 8 min to 359 ± 16 min for the top 10 finishers, respectively. The mean (±SD) age of all finishers significantly (P < 0.001) increased from 31.6 ± 6.5 years to 37.9 ± 8.9 years, while the age of the top 10 remained stable at 30.0 ± 1.6 years. The race time of mountain bikers aged between 25 and 34 years was significantly (P < 0.01) faster compared with the race time of older age groups. The age-related decline in performance in endurance mountain bikers in the "Swiss Bike Masters" appears to start earlier compared with other ultraendurance sports.

Sex and age-related differences in performance in a 24-hour ultra-cycling draft-legal event – a cross-sectional data analysis

“…Our data are also consistent with the finding that the decline in cycling performance in triathlon was not significant until the age of ~55 years [27]. However, the age-related decline in performance in 24-h road cycling appears to start later compared with a 120 km endurance mountain cycling race where a significant decline in performance was observed after the age of ~35 years [24]. …”

“…There were also studies focusing on the influence of age and sex on running performance [18-20], however, only a few studies investigated other endurance disciplines such as swimming [21,22] or cycling [23,24]. Cycling as a non-weight-bearing activity represents an interesting model because it can be performed even in older ages [7] because of its non-technical and its non-weight-bearing character [25].…”

Age group athletes in inline skating: decrease in overall and increase in master athlete participation in the longest inline skating race in Europe &ndash; the Inline One-Eleven

“…The finding of an increased participation of master athletes was verified by other authors in marathon running and ultramarathon running 3,5–10. Other endurance competitions held in ultraswimming,11–14 ultracycling,15–19 and ultratriathlons started in the late 20th century 20–22…”

What Motivates People to Engage in Sports?

“…Dla po rów na nia Haupt i wsp. [18] wyka za li, że wy trzy ma łość uczest ni ków star tu ją cych na dłu gim dy stan sie ma le je wraz z wie kiem. Au to rzy w latach 1995-2009 pro wa dzi li ba da nia wśród uczest ni ków szwaj car skie go ma ra to nu ro we rów gór skich, od by wają ce go się na dy stan sie 120 km.…”

“…Short-and mid-distance was often chosen by older participants. For comparison, Haupt et al [18] demonstrated that endurance decreases with age of participants competing in long-distance races. Between 1995 and 2009 the authors conducted a stu dy among participants of the Swiss mountain biking marathon held over a distance of 120 km.…”