Originally Posted by
Trakhak
Someone (maybe RChung) posted test results a while back that showed that current pro-level riders have a choppier pedaling style than amateurs, which I would guess just reflects the difference in average power levels between the two. Pedaling smoothly goes out the window at high power levels.
It's more complicated than that, see:
(1) Differences in Pedaling Technique in Cycling: A Cluster Analysis
The heavier the workload, the more the riders spread out that workload over the pedaling circle. Makes sense. And it depends on the length of the observed trial. In particular, TT riders definitely use the downstroke more heavily, seemingly because of the relatively short duration of the TT, compared say to Paris-Roubaix, and many of these pedaling studies use TT riders as a good example. I would say that therefore also the length of the ride makes a difference. Interestingly, I've observed that experienced randonneurs pedal at a higher cadence than many recreational riders, trading oxygen for glycogen, there being an unlimited amount of oxygen. I wonder if something similar is going on w/r to glycogen use - a question: Does each muscle use only the glycogen stored within it? IOW, the more muscles in use, the more glycogen available?
Personally, I've been riding rollers a lot for the past 25 years and the longer the ride, the better I placed.