Athletic performance and recovery-stress factors in cycling: An ever changing balance.
We sought to examine whether the relationship between recovery-stress factors and performance would differ at the beginning (Stage 1) and the end (Final Stage) of a multi-stage cycling competition. Sixty-seven cyclists with a mean age of 21.90 years (SD = 1.60) and extensive international experience participated in the study. The cyclists responded to the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport) and rated their performance (1 = extremely poor to 10 = excellent) in respect to the first and last stage. Two step-down multiple regression models were used to estimate the relationship among recovery (nine factors; e.g. Physical Recovery, Sleep Quality) and stress factors (10 factors; e.g. Lack of Energy, Physical Complaints), as assessed by the RESTQ-Sport and in relation to performance. Model 1 pertained to Stage 1, whereas Model 2 used data from the Final Stage. The final Model 1 revealed that Physical Recovery (β = .46, p = .01), Injury (β = -.31, p = .01) and General Well-being (β = -.26, p = .04) predicted performance in Stage 1 (R(2) = .21). The final Model 2 revealed a different relationship between recovery-stress factors and performance. Specifically, being a climber (β = .28, p = .01), Conflicts/Pressure (β = .33, p = .01), and Lack of Energy (β = -.37, p = .01) were associated with performance at the Final Stage (R(2) = .19). Collectively, these results suggest that the relationship among recovery and stress factors changes greatly over a relatively short period of time, and dynamically influences performance in multi-stage competitions.
a School of Psychology , University of Central Lancashire , Preston , UK.|b Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences , University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara , Chieti , Italy.
Edson
E
Filho
b Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences , University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara , Chieti , Italy.
Selenia
S
di Fronso
c Department of Life Sciences , University of Trieste , Trieste , Italy.
Fabio
F
Forzini
c Department of Life Sciences , University of Trieste , Trieste , Italy.|d Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy , University of Cagliari , Cagliari , Italy.
Mauro
M
Murgia
c Department of Life Sciences , University of Trieste , Trieste , Italy.
Tiziano
T
Agostini
b Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences , University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara , Chieti , Italy.
Laura
L
Bortoli
b Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences , University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara , Chieti , Italy.
Claudio
C
Robazza
b Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences , University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara , Chieti , Italy.
Maurizio
M
Bertollo
D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001642:Bicycling / Q000502:physiology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
RESTQ-Sport; Recovery–stress balance; cycling