Metabolic Signatures of Performance in Elite World Tour Professional Cyclists

To characterize molecular profiles of exertion in elite athletes during cycling, we performed metabolomics analyses on blood isolated from twenty-eight international-level elite World Tour professional male athletes from a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Team taken before and after a graded exercise test (GXT) to volitional exhaustion and before and after a long aerobic training session. Using dried blood spot collection to circumvent logistical hurdles associated with field sampling, these studies defined metabolite signatures and fold change ranges of anaerobic or aerobic exertion in elite cyclists, respectively. Moreover, established signatures were then used to characterize the metabolic physiology of five of these cyclists that were selected to represent the same UCI World Team during a 7-stage elite World Tour race. Collectively, these studies provide a unique view of alterations in the blood metabolome of elite athletes during competition and at the peak of their performance capabilities. Highlights We profiled metabolism of 28 international-level elite World Tour professional male athletes from a Union Cycliste Internationale UCI World Team during training and World Tour multi-stage race; Dried blood spot sampling affords metabolomics analyses to monitor exercise performance; Determination of lactate thresholds during graded exercise test (GXT) to volitional exhaustion shows a range of from 3.75 to 6.5 watts per kilogram in this group; Blood profiles of lactate, carboxylic acids, fatty acids and acylcarnitines differed between different exercise modes (GXT and 180 km aerobic training session); Metabolic profiles were affected by stage-specific challenges (sprint vs climbing) during a World Tour multi-stage race. Graphical abstract