Background <p>Prolonged steady-state cycling is characterised by gradual neuromuscular and metabolic acute fatigue, which may affect an athlete’s movement patterns. We hypothesize that athletes might unconsciously reduce cadence as a compensatory strategy to maintain power output. To test this theory, we examined changes in cadence and internal load during extended submaximal cycling.</p> Methods <p>To test this theory, 17 trained cyclists performed a monthly standardised 60-minute effort at 75% of their functional threshold power for five months, yielding 85 paired observations. Cadence behaviour was analysed alongside cardiovascular drift and aerobic decoupling in order to ascertain whether cadence decline reflects a surrogate marker of acute fatigue.</p> Results <p>The results showed that cadence decline in the second half of the test was significantly correlated with both, cardiovascular drift and aerobic decoupling. Linear mixed model regression analysis revealed a robust association between cadence decline and cardiovascular drift (b = 0.61, <i>p</i> = 0.024), and a repeated measures correlation of <i>r</i> = 0.40 (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). On average, each additional rpm of cadence decline corresponded to a 0.61% increase in cardiovascular drift. The correlation between cadence decline and aerobic decoupling was also significant (<i>r</i> = 0.38, <i>p</i> = 0.001) and the regression analysis shows that each additional rpm of cadence decline corresponds to a 0.58% increase in aerobic decoupling (b = 0.58, <i>p</i> = 0.007).</p> Conclusion <p>These findings suggest that cadence decline is linked to both, cardiovascular and mechanical manifestations of acute fatigue. In practice, cadence monitoring offers a simple, non-invasive and widely accessible method of tracking fatigue. Moreover, it allows the design of training plans incorporating cadence-strategies and providing real-time feedback when cardiovascular strain may impair performance.</p>