Relative Age Effect and Performance Bias in Italian Youth Road Cycling

Authors

  • Andrea Colombo Department of Economic, Psychological, Communication, Education and Movement Science, University Niccolò Cusano, Rome, Italy
  • Matteo Ferro Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
  • Francesco Sartor Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
  • Maurizio Bertollo Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
  • Davide Curzi Department of Economic, Psychological, Communication, Education and Movement Science, University Niccolò Cusano, Rome, Italy

Keywords:

Relative Age Effect, Youth cycling, Age-specific analysis, Talent identification

Abstract

N/A

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References

Dudink, A. (1994). Birth date and sporting success. Nature, 368(6472), 592. https://doi.org/10.1038/368592a0

Jakobsson, J., Julin, A. L., Persson, G., & Malm, C. (2021). Darwinian Selection Discriminates Young Athletes: the Relative Age Effect in Relation to Sporting Performance. Sports Medicine - Open, 7(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-021-00300-2

Gallo, G., Mostaert, M., Faelli, E., Ruggeri, P., Delbarba, S., Codella, R., Vansteenkiste, P., & Filipas, L. (2022). Do race results in youth competitions predict future success as a road cyclist? A retrospective study in the Italian Cycling Federation. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 17(4), 621–626. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2021-0297

Filipas, L., Vecchi, S., Codella, R., Boccia, G., & Brustio, P. R. (2024). Performance trajectories of Italian professional cyclists: an analysis of the influence of youth performance on professional success. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 25(2), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2024.2398881

Voet, J. G., Lamberts, R. P., De Koning, J. J., & Van Erp, T. (2022). The role of the relative age effect on talent identification in professional road cycling. Journal of Sports Sciences, 40(19), 2159–2165. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2022.2144877

Published

2026-10-30

How to Cite

Colombo, A., Ferro, M., Sartor, F., Bertollo, M., & Curzi, D. (2026). Relative Age Effect and Performance Bias in Italian Youth Road Cycling. Journal of Science and Cycling, 15(2), 18. Retrieved from https://jsc-journal.com/index.php/JSC/article/view/1160

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2026): Special Issue of the 2026 Science & Cycling Congress | Barcelona - June

Section

Science & Cycling Conference, Barcelona 2026

Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Science and Cycling

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