Be Aware of the Benefits of Drafting in Sports and Take Your Advantage: A Meta-Analysis
Table 4
The variation between sports in the effect of drafting on the outcome measures: heart rate, blood lactate, oxygen uptake (VO2), ventilation (VE), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and electromyography (EMG).
n studies
n participants
% diff.
ES (CI 95%: upper, lower)
(Z-testoverall effect)
Heterogeneity I2()
Heart rate
15
152
3.84
0.71 [0.31, 1.11]
0.005
62% (<0.001)
Skating
4
53
3.09
0.92 [−0.26, 2.10]
0.13
85% (<0.001)
Kayaking
1
10
4.57
0.85 [−0.07, 1.78]
0.34
Cycling
3
30
5.09
0.82 [−0.32, 1.96]
0.16
76% (0.02)
Cross-country skiing
3
22
4.26
0.81 [0.19, 1.43]
0.01
0% (0.94)
Swimming
3
27
6.08
0.58 [0.04, 1.13]
0.04
0% (0.96)
Running
1
10
−2.53
−0.43 [−1.32, 0.46]
0.34
Blood lactate
13
133
26.03
1.54 [0.80, 2.29]
<0.001
84% (<0.001)
Cycling
3
30
27.26
6.14 [−0.76, 13.04]
<0.001
95% (<0.001)
Skating
2
39
31.31
2.52 [−0.61, 5.65]
0.11
95% (<0.001)
Swimming
6
48
24.71
0.87 [0.44, 1.29]
<0.001
0% (0.96)
Running
1
10
19.51
0.72 [−0.19, 1.63]
0.12
Cross-country skiing
1
6
7.25
0.25 [−0.89, 1.38]
0.67
VO2
12
94
9.11
0.88 [0.48, 1.29]
<0.001
39% (0.08)
Cycling
2
18
15.38
1.68 [0.89, 2.47]
<0.001
0% (0.98)
Kayaking
1
10
11.29
1.27 [0.29, 2.25]
0.01
Skating
4
26
10.09
1.16 [0.30, 2.02]
0.008
46% (0.14)
Swimming
4
32
5.76
0.39 [−0.13, 0.92]
0.15
8% (0.35)
Cross-country skiing
1
8
5.88
0.39 [−0.60, 1.38]
0.44
Ventilation
3
28
17.12
1.97 [0.46, 3.48]
0.01
78% (0.01)
Cycling
2
18
19.93
2.72 [0.55, 4.89]
0.01
76% (0.04)
Kayaking
1
10
10.53
0.79 [−0.13, 1.71]
0.09
RPE
9
87
11.72
1.00 [0.41, 1.60]
<0.001
67% (0.002)
Running
1
10
18.63
2.66 [1.39, 3.93]
<0.001
Swimming
5
42
13.69
1.19 [0.45, 1.92]
0.002
55% (0.07)
Skating
3
35
7.06
0.27 [−0.20, 0.75]
0.26
0% (0.70)
Heterogeneity not estimable, only one study in group; ES = effect size; CI = confidence interval; I2 = heterogeneity. The outcome measures are displayed in bold.
