Effects of the cycling workload on core and local skin temperatures

Abstract

[EN] Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the influence of cycling workload on the variation of core and skin temperature of the different body regions, and the relationship between both temperature variables. Method: Fourteen cyclists performed two 45-min cycling tests at 35% and 50% of peak power output on different days. The cadence was constant in both tests (90 rpm). Core temperature was measured continuously throughout the test and local skin temperature was recorded before, immediately after and 10 min after finishing the cycling test. Differences in variation of the core and skin temperature and in the effort perception and body mass loss due to different cycling workload were analyzed. Additionally, the relationship between core and skin temperature was assessed. Results: Core temperature of the test at 50% was between 0.2 and 0.3 C higher than at workload of 35%. The tibialis anterior region, the ankle anterior region and the Achilles region presented higher reductions in skin temperature due to exercise for test at 50% than 35%, and knee presented a lower increase (p < 0.05). Core and skin temperatures showed either weak or moderate inverse correlation for most of the body regions, but in others such as knee, ankle anterior and Achilles region, a positive weak relationship was observed. Conclusions: The findings of the present study highlight the difficulty of linking skin temperature with cycling workload and core temperature due to the thermoregulatory system efficiency in the increase of the thermal gradient, alongside the multifactorial dependence of the skin temperature.