Skeletal muscle oxygenation may be a factor that determines cadence during cycling exercise. It can be investigated non-invasively in humans via near-infrared spectroscopy, which determines degrees of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin, total haemoglobin and a tissue saturation index (TSI) (Grassi and Quaresima, 2016). For a given power output, increasing cadence is associated with a greater cardiopulmonary and metabolic response (Formenti et al., 2015). Previous studies presented an associated decrease in skeletal muscle oxygenation during cycling exercise (Skovereng et al 2016), when cadence was studied in an incremental sequence (from 60 to 110 revolutions per minute). We hypothesised that TSI would decrease both at a very low cadence (30 rpm) due to intermittent blood flow caused by the elevated intramuscular pressures, and at a high cadence (110 rpm) due to the associated increase in oxygen consumption. We recorded cardiopulmonary and metabolic responses (heart rate, lactate, oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production) to cycling at exercise intensities of 70% and 90% of the ventilatory threshold (Tvent), and used near-infrared spectroscopy to determine TSI as a measure of skeletal muscle (vastus lateralis) oxygenation. Twelve participants (7 male and 5 female) cycled at cadences of 30, 50, 70, 90 and 110 revolutions per minute (rpm), each for 4 min, in a randomised sequence, interspersed with periods of active recovery. Cardiopulmonary and metabolic responses were greater at 90% than at 70% Tvent (p<0.05), and at 110 rpm compared with lower cadences (p<0.05). In contrast, most indices of vastus lateralis oxygenation were not different between the two exercise intensities and five cadences tested (Figure 1). The amplitude of the cyclical TSI trace, a dynamic index of skeletal muscle oxygenation, did not show physiologically important differences between 90% and 70% Tvent, and between cadences. Our results indicate that skeletal muscle tissue saturation index is not substantially affected during cycling for short periods of time at constant, moderate exercise intensity at cadences between 30 and 110 rpm. We conclude that skeletal muscle oxygenation may not be an important negative feedback signal in the choice of self-selected cadence during cycling exercise.