Evaluation of body position of competitive and recreational cyclists

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and to compare the body position when cycling of cyclists of different levels. The subjects were classifi ed as athletes (competitive) or non-athletes (recreational). A total of 36 recreational (n=17) competitive (n=19) cyclists were evaluated in their own bicycles. The body position assessment was carried out using a protocol that is well-recognized in the literature. The results demonstrated misalignment in the body positioning of 82% of the recreational cyclists evaluated, and 74% of the competitive cyclists evaluated. Saddle maladjustments were found to be the most common misalignments, related to both horizontal and vertical positioning of the saddle (observed in 82% of recreational cyclists and 79% of the competitive cyclists). Handlebar height was the second most common misaligned bicycle adjustment observed (observed in 12% of the recreational cyclists and 5% of the competitive cyclists). Based on the results obtained from the assessment of cyclists’ positioning, it was observed that the recreational cyclists are more susceptible to misalignments in body position during cycling; a situation that could indicate injuries in the future. These results can be explained by the different amount of time spent in the addle by the two groups due to their different objectives.