All around the world in March, due to COVID-19, competitive sport calendars were suddenly canceled, jeopardizing the training programs of athletes. Moreover, in Italy, the government banned all non-essential travel across the entire country from the beginning of March. Consequently, Italian cyclists were banned from leaving their homes and therefore unable to perform their ordinary training activities. The Italian Association of Professional Cyclists (ACCPI) early on during that period noticed that several cyclists were experiencing a worrying decrease in their mental well-being and asked the authors to set up an online Sport Psychology Intervention (SPI) during lockdown to enhance the athletes' mental health. Through a number of unprecedented events and considerations, the aim of the current investigation was to assess the Italian cyclists' mental health during the lockdown and its changes after the SPI. We validated the Italian version of the Sport Mental Health Continuum Short Form (Sport MHC-SF)—presented in Study 1—and then applied it to a sample of Italian professional cyclists—presented in Study 2—prior to and after the SPI. To achieve these objectives, the reliability and construct validity of the Italian version of the Sport MHC-SF were tested in Study 1. RM-MANOVA tests were run to evaluate the effect of SPI on cyclists in Study 2. A total of 185 Italian athletes were involved in the validation of the MHC in Study 1 and 38 professional cyclists in Study 2. Results from Study 1 suggested a three-factor higher order model of Sport MHC-SF [Model fit: χ2(df) = 471.252 (252), p < 0.000; CFI = 0.951; RMSEA = 0.049; RMR= 0.048]. MCFA showed that the default model kept invariance among groups of athletes (i.e., female, male, individual, and team sports). Results from Study 2 highlighted that professional cyclists who followed the SPI were able to cope better with psychological stressors, showing improved well-being compared to the athletes that did not. No significant differences were found for emotional and social well-being. The present multi-study paper contributes to the theoretical field with a validated measure of Sport MHC-SF translated in the Italian language and culture. It also provides practical implications related to cases of reduced mental health due to injury, illness, or similar situations of home confinement in the future.

Monitoring the athletes' progression toward possible health issues and related poor performance is essential for the planning of training load and recovery. Recovery-stress balance and psychological states have been examined in cyclists participating in the 2012 Girobio competition. The importance of concurrently assessing various recovery and stress factors is presented in M. Kellmann's view of the interrelation between stress states and recovery demands. In addition to recovery-stress scales and mood states, psychobiosocial states of cyclists were also assessed during the Girobio. The research supports the feasibility and utility of monitoring recovery-stress balance and psychobiosocial states of road cyclists. The performance-recovery process in sport needs to be viewed as a unit typified by a balanced and cyclical relationship between the recruitment, utilisation, and recovery of athletes' resources for successful and consistent performance. Additional strategies to enhance performance and deal with exertion, fatigue, pain, and boredom can be used during the race.

BACKGROUND:Our purpose was to investigate: (1) differences in mood states between high and low performers at the beginning and end of the Girobio 2012 cycling race, and in respect to both actual and perceived performance; (2) whether the participants' mood states predicted the actual and perceived performance.METHODS:Profile of Mood States (POMS) of 72 elite cyclists were assessed the day prior to the first (T0) and last stage (T1). At the end of the race, we created two rankings, one based on the total time spent to complete the race (actual ranking) and one based on the average of self-evaluations provided at the end of each stage (perceived ranking). We compared high and low performers, considering both rankings, using a general measure of mood; i.e. the total mood disturbance.RESULTS:Total mood disturbance differed among high and low performers. In particular, high performers mood disturbance did not differ between T0 and T1, whereas low performing cyclists showed higher levels of mood disturbance at the end of the race. Furthermore, we found that mood disturbance at T0 did not predict either actual or perceived performance.CONCLUSIONS:The cyclists' mood states at the beginning of the race were not reliable predictors of performance throughout the race. High-performing cyclists maintained a more positive mood profile than their low-performing counterparts at the beginning and end of a multi-stage race.

We sought to examine whether the relationship between recovery-stress factors and performance would differ at the beginning (Stage 1) and the end (Final Stage) of a multi-stage cycling competition. Sixty-seven cyclists with a mean age of 21.90 years (SD = 1.60) and extensive international experience participated in the study. The cyclists responded to the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport) and rated their performance (1 = extremely poor to 10 = excellent) in respect to the first and last stage. Two step-down multiple regression models were used to estimate the relationship among recovery (nine factors; e.g. Physical Recovery, Sleep Quality) and stress factors (10 factors; e.g. Lack of Energy, Physical Complaints), as assessed by the RESTQ-Sport and in relation to performance. Model 1 pertained to Stage 1, whereas Model 2 used data from the Final Stage. The final Model 1 revealed that Physical Recovery (β = .46, p = .01), Injury (β = -.31, p = .01) and General Well-being (β = -.26, p = .04) predicted performance in Stage 1 (R(2) = .21). The final Model 2 revealed a different relationship between recovery-stress factors and performance. Specifically, being a climber (β = .28, p = .01), Conflicts/Pressure (β = .33, p = .01), and Lack of Energy (β = -.37, p = .01) were associated with performance at the Final Stage (R(2) = .19). Collectively, these results suggest that the relationship among recovery and stress factors changes greatly over a relatively short period of time, and dynamically influences performance in multi-stage competitions.

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine and compare the magnitude of pre–post recovery and stress scores among highly trained cyclists participating in the “Girobio”, and (b) identify stress/recovery balance factors that remained constant from pre- to post-race testing. Sixty-seven cyclists with extensive international experience and representing various teams participated in the study. Data were collected during the Girobio-2012, a multi-stage competition for Under 23 and Elite cycling categories, held annually in Italy. Participants responded to the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Sport 1 day before the first stage (test, T1) and on the day of the ninth/final stage (i.e., 5 h prior to the start) (retest, T2). Compared to test scores, at retest we expected to find higher stress and lower recovery values for all subscales with the exception of self-efficacy and self-regulation, which reflect goal-oriented experiences rather than psychophysical states linked to a given race. Overall, results were in this expected direction. No significant effects were found for one general stress subscale (i.e., Conflict/Pressure), two general recovery subscales (i.e., Success and Social Recovery), and two sport-specific recovery subscales (i.e., Personal Accomplishment, and Self-Efficacy), thus suggesting the stability of these stress/recovery factors over time. Collectively, these findings reinforce the importance of assessing multiple indicators of stress/recovery balance to establish mental training guidelines aimed at addressing and preventing both temporary and relatively chronic maladaptation among cyclists.