AUTHOR=Laaksonen Marko S. , Andersson Erik , Jonsson Kårström Malin , Lindblom Hampus , McGawley Kerry 

TITLE=Laboratory-Based Factors Predicting Skiing Performance in Female and Male Biathletes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2020.00099

DOI=10.3389/fspor.2020.00099

ISSN=2624-9367

ABSTRACT=<p>Skiing in biathlon is a high-intensity, intermittent endurance discipline. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between laboratory-derived physiological variables and skiing performance during a field-based biathlon competition (BC) for female and male biathletes. Fourteen female (23 ± 3 year, <inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>V</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2max</sub> 56 ± 4 mL·kg<sup>−1</sup>·min<sup>−1</sup>) and 14 male (24 ± 4 year, <inline-formula><mml:math id="M2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>V</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2max</sub> 66 ± 3 mL·kg<sup>−1</sup>·min<sup>−1</sup>) biathletes performed a submaximal incremental test and a maximal time-trial (TT) using treadmill roller-skiing for the assessment of oxygen uptake at a lactate threshold of 4 mmol·L<sup>−1</sup> (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>V</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2@4mmol</sub>), gross efficiency (GE), aerobic (MR<sub>ae</sub>) and anaerobic (MR<sub>an</sub>) metabolic rates, peak oxygen consumption (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M4" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>V</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2peak</sub>), anaerobic capacity and TT performance. Field-based skiing performance was assessed during a BC. The TT and BC skiing performances were significantly correlated in both sexes (<italic>r</italic> = 0.68–0.69, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01). <inline-formula><mml:math id="M5" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>V</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2peak</sub> (31/21%), anaerobic capacity (1/0%), and GE (35/32%) explained 67 and 52% of the variance in BC skiing performance for the females (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) and males (<italic>p</italic> = 0.051), respectively. A second model showed that <inline-formula><mml:math id="M6" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>V</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2@4mmol</sub> (30/35%), anaerobic capacity (0/0%) and GE (37/13%) explained 67 and 48% of the variance in BC skiing performance for the females (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) and males (<italic>p</italic> = 0.077), respectively. Results of this study suggest that a high <inline-formula><mml:math id="M7" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>V</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula>O<sub>2@4mmol</sub> and GE, but not anaerobic capacity, are important for BC skiing performance, especially for females. In addition, a laboratory-based TT could be useful for regular laboratory testing of biathletes due to its relationship with field-based skiing performance in biathlon.</p>