Intervention group - multi-component exercise program related to cycling (MEPC)
AIDS
The MEPC program is detailed in Supplementary file 2 “MEPC program”. It was developed to improve motor competence (balance, strength, cycling skills and techniques) and cognitive skills required for safe cycling. Participation in the three months intervention included eight outdoor sessions à 60 min. Participants took part with their own bicycles to ensure a good transfer to everyday life.Each session had a thematic focus (e.g. braking, dismounting) and the same structure: welcome and brief health evaluation, exercises without bicycle (balance and strength), repetition and consolidation of the contents of the last session with bicycle, teaching of techniques by instructors, practice of the techniques by participants. Strength and balance exercises were performed in moderate intensity and were increased with progression. The sessions built on each other and followed principles of progression (increasing challenge and complexity) and specificity (training of various skills required for safe cycling). The MEPC program aimed to train the basic skills required for daily cycling, but not one or several tasks of the cycle course. The standardized intervention, led by trained bicycle instructors, took place outdoors on two different large traffic-calmed community places. Both places provided equal opportunities to set up exercises with aids (cones, hula hoops, lines) and to use surroundings (narrow paths, small hills).