Investigation of biomotor and anthropometric parameters in elite cyclists

The aim of this research was to compare the biomotor and anthropometric parameters of elite mountain cyclists and road cyclists. 14 elite mountain cyclists and 14 elite road cyclists competing in different sports clubs in Turkey voluntarily participated in the research. The biomotor characteristics of the athletes were measured with hand grip, back-leg strength, vertical jump, 30 meters sprint, 20 meters shuttle run, T-drill agility, sit-and-reach, and Y-balance tests. The anthropometric parameters of the athletes were determined by subcutaneous fat measurement method, diameter, circumference, and length measurements. SPSS 21 (IBM Statistics 21) package program was used to analyze the data obtained from the athletes. Independent Sample t-test was used to test whether there was a statistically significant difference between the two independent groups. The significance level of the study was determined as p≤0.05. When the research data were evaluated, no statistically significant difference was found between mountain and road cyclists regarding height and body weight. There was no statistically significant difference between in environmental measurements; shoulder, thigh, biceps, waist, calf, hip, in diameter measurements; humerus, biacromial, wrist, ankle, chest, in length measurements; arm, hand, fathom, thigh, leg and foot values. There was no statistically significant difference in balance measurement, anaerobic power scores, hand grip strength, back strength, 30-meter sprint test scores, T-drill scores, flexibility measurement, 20-meter shuttle run scores, and body fat percentage (%) between the two groups, and values were found to be homogeneous (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in chest and biliac diameter between mountain cyclists and road cyclists (p<0.05). In conclusion, the biomotor and anthropometric parameters of Turkey's elite male mountain and road cyclists are similar. However, considering the literature, it was determined that the biomotor and anthropometric values were below the international level elite athletes, which is thought to be due to the fact that cycling is still a developing sport in Turkey.