Mathematical simulation of energy expenditure and recovery during sprint cross-country skiing

Purpose: A cross-country sprint competition relies on maximal effort durations of 3-4 minutes. Significant anaerobic energy contribution is expected. Anaerobic energy contribution has been estimated in different sports to date from the accumulated O-2 deficit. However, the O-2-deficit model can be questioned. We investigate anaerobic energy contribution by applying other methods than the O-2 deficit. Methods: Theoretical model development. Results: For sprint cross-country competitions, the anaerobic energy contribution was 20%-25% independent of the employed mathematical model. Recovery times of a minimum 20 minutes were found to be required after sprint races to be sure that the performance in subsequent heats was not influenced. Conclusion: The O-2-deficit model gave anaerobic energy results in agreement with other models from the literature. Recovery times of a minimum 20 minutes were found to be required after sprint races to be sure that the performance in subsequent heats was not influenced.