A successfull junior elite cyclists must be able to obtain a high amount of oxygen pr. kg body weight in an early age, and to develop a high ventilatory capacity. It is possible to increase the ventilatory capacity more than expected if structured training is started just after puberty. In junior elite cyclists there are only small differences in maximal oxygen uptake pr. kg body weight over years. The differences are mostly based on differences in the fat content. There are great differences in the power output at the anaerobic threshold measured in different training and competition periods. The differences are probably based on the great variations in the amount of training and therefore probably linked to changes in the enzymatic capacity. In junior elite cyclists there are highly significant correlations between cycling performances in time trials longer than 6 km - and the power output pr. kg body weight measured at the anaerobic threshold. There are highly significant correlations between cycling performance in a 4 km time trial and both the maximal oxygen uptake and the total amount of work performed in an all out 4'45" maximal cycle ergometer test. This makes it possible by simple laboratory cycle-ergometer tests to distinguish performance abilities in different time trial competitions among junior elite cyclists with reasonable accuracy.
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