4.1. Participants

Participants were recruited via mass advertising at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), local broadcast media, social networks and cycling groups in the city of São Carlos and the surrounding region. Participants included 34 apparently healthy recreational male cyclists. Inclusion criteria included the following: 20 to 40 years of age, nonsmokers, body mass index (BMI) less than 30 kg/m², and regularly involved in cycling training (minimum practice of 150 min/week for at least 6 uninterrupted months before the experimental protocol). Participants voluntarily signed an informed consent form, and all study procedures were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee at UFSCar (#2.303.309) and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (#{"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02984189","term_id":"NCT02984189"}}NCT02984189).