Energy sources in alpine skiing (giant slalom)

Summary

The energy cost of a giant slalom event was measured in eight skiers of national level. The lap lasted on average 82 s. $\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }$was measured during the first, the second and the last third of the lap in different trials and also during recovery from a complete lap. Blood lactate was measured at the end of a lap. From the data obtained it was possible to calculate that: a) $\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }$, as measured during the lap, would correspond at steady state to 80% of the $\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2max}}} }$of the subjects; b) the total metabolic power delivered during the lap should be equal to about 72ml O₂·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹, corresponding to 120% of $\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2max}}} }$of the subjects. Considering the short duration of the trial and the power output delivered during maximal efforts on a bicycle ergometer, it appears that the giant slalom is not a very high energy demanding event.