Muscle forces and powers during sprint cycling at optimal cadence

This study describes lower limb musculotendon unit (MTU) forces and powers during sprint cycling. Seven participants (2 female) performed maximal effort cycling at optimal cadence. Three-dimensional motion capture, pedal forces, and surface electromyography (EMG) data were input into participant-calibrated EMG-informed neuromusculoskeletal models to evaluate forces and powers produced by 18 lower-limb MTUs. In the pushing phase (10° - 170°, relative to the right crank at top dead centre), the hip adductor group generated the highest average force (1623.78 ± 980.62 N) and the vastus lateralis generated the highest average positive power (193.11 ± 153.07 W). In the pulling phase (170°-350°), the hip adductor group generated the highest average force (1140.48 ± 482.57 N) and average power (60.47 ± 68.87 W). In the transition phase (350°-10°), the vastus lateralis generated the highest average force (1432.26 ± 1169.40 N) and average power (76.98 ± 71.84 W). MTU power crank cycle-profiles were generated for each participant, highlighting differences in patterns of MTU power generation. Future work is needed to determine if targeted training based on cyclist-specific MTU force and power model outputs would lead to improved sprint cycling performance.