Oral presentation at ECSS 2025: Cardiopulmonary responses to eccentric cycling
We are excited to announce that Marc-Étienne Villeneuve presented our lab’s research at the 30th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS) held in Rimini, Italy from July 1-4, 2025.
Cardiopulmonary Responses to High-Intensity Eccentric Cycling
Marc-Étienne delivered an oral presentation in the Cardiovascular Physiology II session (OP-PN29), presenting work developed in collaboration with Raphaël Richard and Jonathan Tremblay.
Key findings
This study investigated cardiopulmonary responses to high-intensity eccentric cycling (up to ~1000W) compared to isoenergetic concentric exercise. Seven participants who completed a 12-week progressive eccentric training protocol performed incremental cycling tests in both modes.
The results revealed that:
- Eccentric maximal power was 4.2 times higher than concentric (756±110 vs. 181±50 W) at similar oxygen consumption
- Eccentric cycling produced higher cardiac output (19.5±5.9 vs. 16.2±5.2 L/min) and heart rate (173±25 vs. 148±22 bpm)
- Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were lower during eccentric cycling
- Systemic vascular resistance decreased significantly, indicating peripheral circulatory adjustments
Clinical implications
These findings highlight eccentric cycling’s potential as a high-output yet metabolically efficient training modality, particularly for populations with reduced cardiovascular capacity. The ability to achieve greater mechanical work at similar metabolic cost opens new possibilities for cardiac rehabilitation and exercise prescription.
Learn more about our eccentric cycling research on our research page.
Congratulations to Marc-Étienne for this excellent presentation representing our lab on the international stage!
The LPEBA Team