The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the beta 2-agonist albuterol (salbutamol) at twice the normal dosage (360 micrograms) on power output during a 30-second Wingate test and pulmonary function in highly trained cyclists (4 category 1 and 10 category II U.S.C.F. track cyclists). The cyclists did not have a history of exercise induced bronchial spasms, and a 5 step methacholine challenge confirmed all subjects to be non-asthmatic. The project was performed in a random block, double blind design. Twenty minutes before the 30-second Wingate cycle ergometer exercise, albuterol (90 micrograms per dose) or a saline placebo was administered by inhaler in 4 metered doses. Pulmonary function tests were performed at rest, 20 minutes post-inhalation, and 5, 10, 15 minutes post-exercise. After a standard warm-up, a 30-second Wingate anaerobic power test was performed on a cycle ergometer at a resistance of 0.10 kg (kg body mass)-1. Multi-variate ANOVA revealed no significant difference between the albuterol and placebo treatment for the anaerobic power measures: peak power (1,136.7 +/- 40.9 vs 1,124.8 +/- 39.8 W, mean +/- s.e.), total work (27,213.6 +/- 653.1 vs 27,093.3 +/- 677.4j), time to peak power (4.5 +/- 0.2 vs 4.8 +/- 0.5 s), and fatigue index (16.5 +/- 1.8 vs 16.6 +/- 1.8 W.s-1). Peak heart rate (181.6 +/- 3.7 vs 181.4 +/- 3.8 bpm), or blood lactate (14.0 +/- 0.9 vs 13.8 +/- 0.8 mmol.l-1) 3 min after the exercise bout were not significantly different between treatments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)