Background: The Race Across AMerica (RAAM) is considered as one of the longest, and most difficult cycling races in the world. It can be performed in solo or in relay of two, four or eight persons.
Purpose/method: The aim of the present study was to investigate several physiological, perceptual and psychological responses before, during and after RAAM in a team of eight amateur cyclists. Because logistics of all team is demanding and complex, crew members have followed the same testing procedure.
Results: The main result is that parameters were globally not altered to a greater extent in cyclists than in crew members over the course of the RAAM, and that all variables returned to pre-race levels 1 week after the end of the race in both groups. In crew, body fat was decreased (p < 0.05) at mid-race (Mid) vs 1 week before the RAAM (Pre) (−1.5%) and total body water was increased (p < 0.05) at Mid vs Pre (+2.5%). In pre-relay quadriceps strength in cyclists was significantly lower (p < 0.05) at Mid vs Pre (41.6 ± 9.1 vs 45.0 ± 11.2 N, d = 0.36). Therefore, performing the race with eight well-prepared amateur cyclists seems to decrease potential risks on health. In crew, quadriceps strength remained stable at each assessment time but general fatigue increased all along the race. Anger was increased (p < 0.05) at Mid vs Pre in crew.
Conclusion: The most important message of this study is that crew members for a team of eight require adequate and sufficient preparation and training. Roles and responsibilities need to be thoroughly defined; individuals need to know each other beforehand and they must be prepared for sleep deprivation. The results of this study show the importance of the preparation of two teams: crew members, as well as cyclists.



中文翻译：

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参加由八名自行车手组成的跨美洲比赛：不要忽视机组人员的准备工作

背景：美国越野赛（RAAM）被认为是世界上最长、难度最高的自行车比赛之一。它可以单独进行，也可以由两人、四人或八人接力进行。
目的/方法：本研究的目的是调查 8 名业余自行车手组成的团队在 RAAM 之前、期间和之后的几种生理、感知和心理反应。由于所有团队的后勤工作要求高且复杂，因此机组人员遵循相同的测试程序。
结果：主要结果是，在整个 RAAM 过程中，自行车手的参数在整体上没有比机组人员更大程度地改变，并且两组的所有变量都在比赛结束后 1 周恢复到赛前水平。在机组人员中，在比赛中期（Mid）与 RAAM（Pre）前 1 周相比，体脂减少（p < 0.05）（-1.5%），在 Mid vs Pre（+ 2.5%）。在接力赛前，骑自行车者的股四头肌力量在 Mid vs Pre (41.6 ± 9.1 vs 45.0 ± 11.2 N, d = 0.36) 显着降低 (p < 0.05)。因此，与八名准备充分的业余自行车手一起参加比赛似乎可以降低潜在的健康风险。在机组人员中，股四头肌力量在每个评估时间保持稳定，但在整个比赛过程中普遍疲劳增加。在船员中，中与前的愤怒增加了（p < 0.05）。
结论：这项研究最重要的信息是，一个八人小组的船员需要充分的准备和培训。角色和职责需要彻底定义；个人需要事先相互了解，并且必须为剥夺睡眠做好准备。这项研究的结果表明了准备两个团队的重要性：机组人员和骑自行车的人。