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Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on January 9, 2009
Alcohol and Alcoholism, doi:10.1093/alcalc/agn108
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Medical Council on Alcohol. All rights reserved

Effect of a Small Dose of Alcohol on the Endurance Performance of Trained Cyclists

Virgile Lecoultre* and Yves Schutz

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

* Corresponding author: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Tel: +41-21-692-55-70; Fax: +41-21-695-55-95; E-mail: virgile.lecoultre{at}unil.ch

Received 28 August 2008; first review notified 17 November 2008; in revised form 19 November 2008; accepted 28 November 2008


  Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an acute small ethanol (EtOH) dose (0.5 ml EtOH/kg fat-free mass, combined with carbohydrate) in a drink on endurance performance of trained cyclists. Methods: Thirteen well-trained male cyclists took part in this study. A 60-min cycling endurance performance test (time trial) was performed in a calorimetric chamber after drinking an EtOH (30 ± 1.8 ml) or a non-EtOH control (C) drink. Results: Overall, EtOH induced a significant decrease in the average cycling power output (PO) (EtOH: 233 ± 23 W versus C: 243 ± 24 W, P < 0.01). The time course of mechanical PO showed an early decrease during the EtOH trial as compared to C (P < 0.01). Due to the lower PO, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production and glucose oxidation were significantly lower (P < 0.05) as compared to C. Relative to PO, heart rate response and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were increased by EtOH as compared to C (P < 0.05). In contrast, EtOH did not influence gross work efficiency, glycaemia and blood lactate concentration. Conclusions: These results show that the acute low dose of EtOH decreased endurance performance. An increase of cardio-vascular strain and psychobiological mechanisms may explain this decrease of endurance performance.


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