Effects of Acute Caffeine Supplementation on Integrated Biathlon Performance in Elite Male Athletes.

Caffeine increased distance covered in the first two laps of simulated biathlon competition but did not improve total distance.

• Lap 1: caffeine 1,824 ± 73 m vs. placebo 1,772 ± 66 m (p = .03, dz = 1.12)
• Lap 2: caffeine 1,801 ± 92 m vs. placebo 1,776 ± 84 m (p = .02, dz = 1.19)
• Total distance did not differ between conditions (p = .06)
• Study used a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design with seven elite male biathletes
• Caffeine dose was 3 mg/kg consumed 60 min before the simulated competition

Caffeine significantly increased blood lactate and ventilation during the simulated biathlon competition.

• Blood lactate was higher with caffeine (p = .01, ηp² = .85)
• Ventilation was higher with caffeine (p < .001, ηp² = .90)
• Heart rate did not differ between conditions (p = .07)
• Ratings of perceived exertion did not differ between conditions (p = .69)

Caffeine impaired standing shooting accuracy during the simulated competition.

• Standing shooting accuracy: caffeine 72.9 ± 16.0% vs. placebo 82.9 ± 7.6% (p = .03, dz = 0.87)
• Prone shooting accuracy during competition was not significantly impaired by caffeine
• Shooting bouts consisted of four five-shot bouts interspersed between skiing laps

Caffeine impaired postexercise precision shooting accuracy in the prone position.

• Postexercise prone precision shooting: caffeine 88.9 ± 6.0% vs. placebo 93.3 ± 7.5% (p = .04, dz = 0.65)
• Precision shooting was assessed with 20 prone and 20 standing shots pre- and postcompetition
• Postexercise standing precision shooting impairment was not reported as statistically significant

Caffeine supplementation did not improve integrated race times in any biathlon competition format.

• Individual format: caffeine 71.72 ± 5.27 min vs. placebo 71.58 ± 4.57 min (p > .77)
• Mass start format: caffeine 52.45 ± 3.67 min vs. placebo 52.57 ± 3.27 min (p > .77)
• Pursuit format: caffeine 44.18 ± 3.18 min vs. placebo 44.23 ± 2.83 min (p > .77)
• Integrated race times were calculated to account for both skiing performance and shooting penalties across three standard biathlon formats

The study design involved a simulated biathlon competition on a treadmill with interspersed shooting bouts.

• Protocol consisted of five laps of 6-minute treadmill skiing interspersed by four five-shot shooting bouts
• Seven elite male biathletes participated in the randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study
• Caffeine (3 mg/kg) or taste-matched placebo was consumed 60 min before the simulated competition
• Additional precision shooting (20 prone and 20 standing shots) was performed pre- and postcompetition

The authors identified task-specific effects of caffeine highlighting a trade-off between endurance and shooting performance in biathlon.

• Caffeine enhanced early-phase skiing performance but impaired shooting accuracy, particularly in standing position
• The net effect on integrated race performance across all three biathlon formats was negligible
• Authors concluded findings 'emphasize the importance of tailoring supplementation to integrated performance demands'
• The potential trade-off between caffeine-enhanced endurance and caffeine-impaired shooting accuracy was the central research question