Differentiated influence of off-road and on-road cycling practice on balance control and the related-neurosensory organization

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the sensorimotor strategies privileged by mountain bikers (MTB) and road cyclists (RC) for balance control. Twenty-four MTB and 24 RC (off-road Olympics, world, continental and national champions, Tour-de-France participants, on-road world cup race winner) volunteered to answer a questionnaire about the characteristics of cycling practice and perform a sensory organization test, aiming to evaluate balance control in 6 different sensory situations based upon visual and support surface perturbations (C1 ES to C6 ES). RC balance performances were better than those of MTB both during quiet stance eyes opened (C1 ES, p = 0.011) and when only somatosensory information is disrupted (C4 ES, p = 0.039), highlighting a higher use of vision to control balance in RC. Moreover, a positive correlation was shown in the whole population (MTB + RC) between the visual ratio ( R VIS = C4 ES/C1 ES) and the proportion of riding distance of on-road cycling ( ρ = 0.28, p = 0.054). In MTB, the use of proprioception (somatosensory ratio: R SOM = C2 ES(eyes closed)/C1 ES) was increased by a higher intensity of off-road cycling ( ρ = 0.49, p = 0.018) and that of vision ( R VIS) by a higher intensity of on-road cycling ( ρ = 0.41, p = 0.048). The difference in sensory organization between MTB and RC could be explained by adaptive processes elaborated from environmental stimulations and technical specificities of these disciplines.