Aim. To examine the importance of peak V.O2 in determining repeated-sprint ability (RSA), we recruited 20 well-trained females (10 team-sport athletes and 10 endurance-trained runners; mean SD peak V.O2: 3.3±0.2 L·min-1) who were homogenous with respect to peak V.O2 (mean difference = 0.05 L·min-1).
Methods. Tests consisted of a RSA cycle test (5×6-s max sprints every 30 s) and a peakV.O2 test. Venous and capillary blood was sampled immediately before and after the 5×6-s cycle test for the determination of hypoxanthine concentration ([Hx]), lactate concentration ([La-]) and pH; blood buffer capacity (ßblood) was also estimated.
Results. The team-sport athletes had significantly higher peak power for the 1st sprint (P1; W·kg-1), total work for 5×6-s sprints (Wtot; J·kg-1) and power decrement across the 5 sprints (Pdec), (p<0.05). There were also significant between-group differences for post-test values of [Hx], [La-] and pH (p<0.05). While there was no significant difference in ßblood between the 2 groups (p=0.10), there was a moderate effect (d=0.77).
Conclusion. These results suggest that factors in addition to peak V.O2 are likely to be important for RSA.