!

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Lnergy balance durlng a skl-mounLalneerlng compeLlLlon
()#*+,-& raz C
1,2
, Leger 8
2
, kayser 8
1
.
1
lnsLlLuL des sclences du mouvemenL eL de la medeclne du sporL, unlverslLe de Ceneve, Sulsse
2
lnsLlLuL de recherche en readapLaLlon, Slon, Sulsse, Cllnlque romande de readapLaLlon SuvAcare, Slon, Sulsse
./#,+0)1#"+/&
Skl mounLalneerlng, conslsLlng of walklng uphlll on skls equlpped wlLh speclal blndlngs and sklns Lo prevenL slldlng
backward, followed by skllng downhlll agaln, ls a popular lelsure Llme acLlvlLy and compeLlLlve sporL. LlLLle ls known abouL
Lhe physlology of skl mounLalneerlng. We LesLed Lhe hypoLhesls LhaL durlng mulLl-hour skl mounLalneerlng races energy
balance ls negaLlve and below offlclal recommendaLlons.
2%#*+0-&
28 Lralned skl-mounLalneers Laklng parL ln Lhe aLroullle des Claclers 2012 race (uC) volunLeered, 17 ln Lhe Z-race (27 km,
+2113 m, -1749 m, hlghesL polnL 3724 m), 11 ln Lhe A-race (26 km, +1881 m, -2341 m, hlghesL polnL 3160 m).
MeasuremenLs before Lhe race lncluded vC
2
max (lncremenLal Lreadmlll runnlng), hearL raLe (P8) vs. speed aL slmulaLed
alLlLude (300, 2300 and 3300 m) whlle walklng wlLh full skllng gear on a Lreadmlll aL 19 lncllne, and body mass and
sLaLure. uurlng Lhe race were measured P8, alLlLude and Llme. lncllne was derlved from alLlLude, Llme and Lhe racecourse
map. A-race sub[ecLs noLed Lhelr llquld and solld food lnLake. AfLer Lhe race we measured ln A-race sub[ecLs body mass.
Lnergy expendlLure durlng Lhe race was esLlmaLed from race P8 correcLed for alLlLude uslng Lhe P8 - vC
2
relaLlonshlp
measured ln Lhe laboraLory and an energy equlvalenL of 4.8 ! for 1 L C
2
.
3%-)$#-&
Mean race Llme was 3.12 0.74 h for Lhe Z-race and 3.83 0.88 h for Lhe A-race wlLh respecLlvely 33 30 eL 34 18 of
race Llme spenL above 80 maxlmal P8. 1he sub[ecLs spenL 4206 873 kcal and 4661 842 kcal respecLlvely durlng Lhe
race. Lnergy balance for A-race sub[ecLs was negaLlve, -3703 931 kcal because lnLake only covered 21 7 of
expendlLure. Mean energy cosL of locomoLlon (LC) (uphlll/downhlll/ flaL) was 9.4 1.0 !*m
-1
*kg
-1
for Lhe Z-race and 10.3
2.0 !*m
-1
*kg
-1
for Lhe A-race. lor uphlll secLlons, LC was 14.9 2.6 !*m
-1
*kg (mean slope: 13) and 11.8 1.8 !*m
-1
*kg
(mean slope 19), respecLlvely. Mean body mass change was -1.33 1.30 kg. Low body mass, low raclng gear welghL, hlgh
vC
2
max and low LC were slgnlflcanLly correlaLed wlLh performance whlle Lhe energy deflclL was noL.
4"-1)--"+/56+/1$)-"+/&
Lxerclse lnLenslLy durlng prolonged skl mounLalneerlng ls hlgh and comes wlLh hlgh energy requlremenLs, only parLlally
covered by lnLake. Skl mounLalneers do noL comply wlLh prevalllng sporLs nuLrlLlon recommendaLlons buL Lhls may noL
[eopardlze performance. redlcLlve of performance are low body mass, low raclng gear welghL, hlgh vC
2
max and low
energy cosL of locomoLlon.
3%7%,%/1%-&
uuc, S., Casslrame, !., & uurand, l. (2011). hyslology of skl mounLalneerlng raclng. !"# % &'()#* +,-. /0(11), 836-863. dol:
10.1033/s-0031-1279721
1osl, ., Leonardl, A., & Schena, l. (2009). 1he energy cosL of skl mounLalneerlng: effecLs of speed and ankle loadlng.
[ComparaLlve SLudy 8esearch SupporL, non-u.S. Cov'L]. ! SporLs Med hys llLness, 49(1), 23-29.
1osl, ., Leonardl, A., Zerblnl, L., 8osponl, A., & Schena, l. (2010). Lnergy cosL and efflclency of skl mounLalneerlng. A
laboraLory sLudy. % &'()#* +,- 123* 45#",**. 67(4), 400-406.