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Guidelines to Classify Female Subject Groups in Sport-Science Research
Abstract
Aim: To review current cycling-related sport-science literature to formulate guidelines to classify female subject groups and to compare this classification system for female subject groups with the classification system for male subject groups. Methods: A database of 82 papers that described female subject groups containing information on preexperimental maximal cycle-protocol designs, terminology, biometrical and physiological parameters, and cycling experience was analyzed. Subject groups were divided into performance levels (PLs), according to the nomenclature. Body mass, body-mass index, maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2max ), peak power output (PPO), and training status were compared between PLs and between female and male PLs. Results: Five female PLs were defined, representing untrained, active, trained, well-trained, and professional female subjects. VO 2max and PPO significantly increased with PL, except for PL3 and PL4 ( P < .01). For each PL, significant differences were observed in absolute and relative VO 2max and PPO between male and female subject groups. Relative VO 2max is the most cited parameter for female subject groups and is proposed as the principal parameter to classify the groups. Conclusion: This systematic review shows the large variety in the description of female subject groups in the existing literature. The authors propose a standardized preexperimental testing protocol and guidelines to classify female subject groups into 5 PLs based on relative VO 2max , relative PPO, training status, absolute VO 2max , and absolute PPO.
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“Tier 2: Trained/Developmental is estimated from national reports of sport participation rates to include ∼12% to 19% of the population.[25][26][27]”
From Defining Training and Performance Caliber: A Participant Classification Framework (2022) · cites this paper as [26]
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Items 101–165 of 165
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“Six trained competitive [15] cyclists and triathletes (females: 4, males: 2; age: 37.2 ± 12.2 years) completed the study in its entirety.”
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“…2022, and further categorized into performance levels based on established criteria by Decroix et al. (2016) and Pauw et al. (2013): performance level 2 ( n = 9), performance level 3 ( n = 10), performance level 4 ( n = 9), and performance level 5 ( n = 7) (Pauw et al. 2013; Decroix et al. 2016).”
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InfluentialHudson, A. S. R., Lisboa, A. M. T., Andrade, P. V. R., Bruzzi, R. S., Martins, Y. A. T., Soares, D. D., Martins, F. S., & Wanner, S. P. (2025) · Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research · doi:10.1590/1414-431x2025e14196 · Cited by 3
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PROFIL HB DAN VO2 MAX ATLET BALAP SEPEDA PRA PON
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“Latihan interval (Suhdy, 2018) et al., 2016), sementara itu (Gharbi et al., 2015), ternyata ada hubungannya antara VO 2 max dengan kemampuan sprint.”
BackgroundDifferent doses of theacrine do not improve 4 km cycling time trial performance
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“…± 6.5, age (yrs) 21.3 ± 3.6) were defined as those with maximal effort cycling experience, cycle a minimum of 120 km per wk (minimum of 5 hrs/week) as per Decroix et al. (2016) recommendations, and have familiarity with the time trial (TT) position (knowledge and prior experience riding in it).”
InfluentialWatanabe, H., Onodera, T., Kadokura, Y., Saito, K., & Nagashima, K. (2025) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jp288932 · Cited by 1
“Moreover, based on their ˙ V O 2 peak , the participants were classified as performance level 2 according to the classification of subject groups in sports science research (Decroix et al., 2016), indicating that they were healthy adults.”
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“The level of cyclists included in the current study is also a key consideration, as higher-level cyclists spend proportionately more time on their bike training (31), increasing the risk and likelihood of experiencing saddle sores which may explain the variation compared with previous literature.”
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BackgroundSouza, M. S. A., Valadão, V. M. A., Teruyu, A. I., et al. (2023) · Sports Biomechanics · doi:10.1080/14763141.2023.2228281 · Cited by 1
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“…for cyclists (Jeukendrup et al., 2000), guidelines for classifying participant groups in sport-science research (De Pauw et al., 2013; Decroix et al., 2016) and indirect descriptive data in the articles regarding the level of competition, past achievements, etc. Physiological…”
Abbotts, K. S. S., Hudgins, J. H., Viveros, I. S., Minson, C. T., Wilkins, B. W., & Halliwill, J. R. (2025) · Physiological Reports · doi:10.14814/phy2.70587 · Cited by 2
“Individuals were between the ages of 18 and 60 who were experienced in cycling and classified as “trained” or “well-trained” (Decroix et al., 2016; Pauw et al., 2013).”
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Silveira, A., & Rama, L. M. P. L. (2020) · International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport · doi:10.1080/24748668.2020.1826692 · Cited by 1
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“According to VO2max classifications (De Pauw et al., 2013; Decroix et al., 2016), twelve men and four women were classified as untrained, 24 men and ten women as recreationally trained, 15 men and three women JSES | https://doi.org/10.36905/jses.2021.02.07 142 as trained and one man and one woman…”
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Hutchins, K. P. (2021) · Queensland University of Technology · doi:10.5204/thesis.eprints.207214
Cáparra, parada y fonda en la Vía de la Plata
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Barreto, G., de Oliveira, L. F., Saito, T., Klosterhoff, R. R., Perim, P., Dolan, E., Pereira, R. M. R., de Campos‐Ferraz, P. L., Lima, F. R., & Saunders, B. (2020) · doi:10.31236/osf.io/wnpjk
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Janssen, J. J. E. (2022) · doi:10.18174/573397
Tannion, K., Marcos, R. D. L. V., Horcajo, J., & Cuadrado‐Peñafiel, V. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292061
“In accordance with the guidelines outlinedfor classifying groups of female subjects in sports science, all participants met the criteria for performance level 2 (i.e., active) [21].”
Classification of middle- and long-distance runners based upon their performance
Iljukov, S., Iljukov, P., Kauppi, J.-P., Uusitalo, A. L. T., Peltonen, J. E., & Schumacher, Y. O. (2023) · Journal of Sports Sciences · doi:10.1080/02640414.2024.2309043
“Such classification was developed for both men and women (Decroix et al., 2016).”
BackgroundHow sport specialization age and training components influence the achievements of elite athletes
Novan, N. A., Mulyana, B., Syihab, S. F., et al. (2024) · Jurnal Keolahragaan · doi:10.21831/jk.v12i1.65064
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“29 For example, World Aquatics assigns swimming points to indicate how close a swimmer ’ s performance was in relation to the world record at that time.”
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“…or mountain bikers (age: 26.6 ± 5.3yrs, height: 1.70 ± 0.06 m, body mass: 65.7 ± 8.8 kg) competing at regional and county level, (performance level 2 (PL2): n = 5, PL3: n = 9, PL4: n = 2) with a training volume of 3–12 h per week participated in the exercise testing program of this study [38].”
InfluentialMorton, S. E. J., Forrest, L. J., Kavaliauskas, M., Easton, C., Rumley, K., & Macpherson, T. W. (2026) · Sports Medicine - Open · doi:10.1186/s40798-026-01001-4
“Despite Decroix et al. [142] employing similar procedures to this study, their definitions for performance level were broader than those incorporated in this study.”
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Marinho, A. H., Schamne, J. C., Hasegawa, J. S., Cavalcante, V. H. V., Gonçalves, F., Bertuzzi, R., Lima‐Silva, A. E., & Cristina-Souza, G. (2026) · Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach · doi:10.1177/19417381261455569
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Staying in the saddle: a case study of an elite cyclist during pregnancy
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“Participants were primarily endurance trained or well trained as 40% and 22% of trials recruited participants at performance levels 3 and 4, respectively [21, 22].”
Metadata
- Authors
- Decroix, L., De Pauw, K., Foster, C., & Meeusen, R.
- Affiliations
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE)
- Corresponding author
- Meeusen, Romain
- Venue
- International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
- Publisher
- Human Kinetics
- Published
- 2016-03
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 204-213
- ISSN
- 1555-0265 (ISSN-L)
- 1555-0273
- OpenAlex
- W4240624835
- Cited by
- 167
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 6.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (publishedVersion)
- VUBIR (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Keywords
- subject classification, cycling, VO2max, peak power, training status, sex differences, performance level, body mass index, body mass
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