Development of valid performance testing protocols for mountain bikers

Olympic distance cross-country mountain biking (XCO-MTB) and endurance cross-country mountain biking (XCE-MTB) are sports that require cyclists to traverse off-road terrain during competition. Past data has shown simple measures of aerobic and anaerobic power to correlate strongly with XCO-MTB performance. However, the requirement of suitable mobile power meters has limited the amount of available data given difficulties due to variances in crank lengths and bottom bracket configurations. Hence, research was warranted that explored more versatile technologies. Further, research that explored the contribution of other technical, cognitive and physical characteristics to mountain biking performance was warranted. Therefore, this thesis represents a body of work that provides various data which can assist in preparation for mountain biking competition.