ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1683815
This article is part of the Research TopicEmerging technologies in sports performance: data acquisition and analysisView all 13 articles
Optimization of Physical Energy and Velocity Allocation for Cyclists in Road Cycling Individual Time Trial Using Genetic Algorithm
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China
- 2College of Electronics and Information, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
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Effective energy management for optimizing energy and speed allocation for athletes in road cycling individual time trials is crucial due to the race's long distances. Existing strategies often consume excessive body energy due to inadequately addressing the impact of slopes and curves. Herein, we propose an advanced energy allocation strategy using a genetic algorithm. Our research focuses on optimizing speed and energy allocation specifically in curves and on slopes given factors such as air resistance, friction, gravity and weather to maximize athletes' energy efficiency during time trials. For curve optimization, we optimize the athletes' cornering strategies based on the parameters including road width, inner curve radius and curve angles. The simulation results demonstrate that time is reduced by 9.7% on a standard 400-meter track and time is reduced by 6.35% on bridge testing comparing with pre-optimization strategies. Finally, we validate the optimizing strategy based on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games road cycling individual time trial course, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the strategy. This research provides athletes with valuable guidance for optimal energy distribution.
Keywords: Road cycling individual time trials, Energy and speed optimization strategy, Genetic Algorithm, Corners, Slopes
Received: 11 Aug 2025; Accepted: 14 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Zou, Wang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Benxu Zou, zoubenxu@163.net
Xin Wang, wangxin@syty.edu.cn
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