As a sport, cycling consists of multiple disciplines, including:
? Road bike racing, which involves both team and individual competition and races are contested in various ways (time trial to multi-stage events).
? Track cycling, which takes place on banked tracks or velodromes and athletes compete on bicycles that do not have brakes or freewheels. Events are diverse and range from individual and team pursuits, two-person sprints, to various group races.
? BMX racing, one of the fastest and youngest disciplines, where athletes compete on a track of tight, banked bends, jumps and rollers.
? Mountain biking incorporates downhill racing, four-cross, Olympic format cross country, marathon, short track disciplines, enduro racing, and more recently ebike disciplines.
? Then there are the discipline crossing BMX and mountain biking typically associated with events like the X-games including freestyle, street, and big air.
Cycling has been contested in some form at every Summer Olympic Games, since the 1896 Summer Olympics with track and road cycling, with mountain bike racing entering in 1996, followed by BMX racing in 2008 and freestyle BMX in 2020.
In a recent analysis by
Millet al., 2021 it was identified that (among 9 other sports) cycling research was involved in 69% of the articles and 75% of the citations. Despite its growth in popularity, further research is needed to understand the factors underpinning cycling performance, as well as the mechanisms of injury and nutritional support that should be considered by athletes and coaches.
The aim of this Research Topic is to build on the existing literature in cycling and create a comprehensive resource for training, testing, and performance for amateur and elite cycling athletes. Specifically, we welcome papers that address:
? Factors determining performance, including technical, physiological, biomechanical, psychological and nutritional factors
? Training interventions and testing in cycling
? Injury prevention and rehabilitation in cycling
? Head injuries
? Acute and chronic effects of cycling
? Development pathways for cycling
? Recent developments within cycling research
This Research Topic is open to submissions inclusive of any cycling event.