Metabolic Signatures of Performance in Elite World Tour Professional Cyclists

IntroductionMetabolomics studies of recreational and elite athletes have been so far limited to venipuncture-dependent blood sample collection in the setting of controlled training and medical facilities. However, limited to no information is currently available if findings in laboratory settings are translatable to real world scenario in elite competitions. MethodsTo 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. 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. ResultsUsing 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. Blood signatures derived in controlled settings enabled comparison with blood sampled during competition, thus providing insight into fatigue status of the cyclists during the course of the 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. Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=146 SRC="FIGDIR/small/507793v4_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (54K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1a6bddeorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1fb6df5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f0034eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@69053c_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG SummaryNemkov et al. leveraged field sampling and blood metabolomics and lipidomics approaches to follow a professional Team of elite cyclists upon graded exercise test to volitional exhaustion, field aerobic training (180 km) and a during multi-stage World Tour race. They identify markers of cycling performance beyond lactate thresholds (ranging from 3.75 to 6.5 watts per kilogram in this group), including carboxylic acids, fatty acids and acylcarnitines. Key pointsO_LIWe 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; C_LIO_LIDried blood spot sampling affords metabolomics analyses to monitor exercise performance; C_LIO_LIDetermination 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; C_LIO_LIBlood profiles of lactate, carboxylic acids, fatty acids and acylcarnitines differed between different exercise modes (GXT and 180 km aerobic training session); C_LIO_LIMetabolic profiles were affected by stage-specific challenges (sprint vs climbing) during a World Tour multi-stage race. C_LI