Learning to ride faster and stronger is essential in triathlon. Of course, it's one of the three disciplines, but it's also the one that L consumes the highest percentage of your overall time. In fact, according to website triathlonbudgeting.com, the average super-sprint percentage split is 20% swim, 50% bike and 30% run, while the average Ironman percentage split is 10% swim, 51% bike and 39% run. In short, whatever distance you plan to race, you'll be spending about half your time on a saddle.
This split should broadly transcend to your training, so if you have six hours a week to train, pencil in three of those for cycling, of which one of your rides should be long. What is long depends on your goal distance but it's generally over an hour. This is not only essential to acclimatising to the mechanics of riding, but also cranks up your fat burning and helps you to become more efficient at utilising oxygen.
What follows are the foundations for improving our road-riding performance. And we must stress these are the essentials. Marginal gains like deep-rim carbon wheels and teardrop-shaped helmets clearly have a place in the performance artillery but, certainly when starting off, you'll enjoy much greater gains by learning these simple tricks and techniques. (They also won't break your bank like swathes of carbon.) That said, whatever level of triathlete you are should apply some affordable and simple time-saving tricks like eliminating flapping (no billowing jackets, please) for less drag and ensuring your tyres are always inflated to their optimum. Right, off we ride...
10 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR ROAD-RIDING PERFORMANCE
You spend the majority of any triathlon race in a saddle, so if you can make it as comfortable and hassle-free as possible, why wouldn't you? Here are 10 simple tricks and techniques to boost your ride time...
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Esta historia es de la edición July 2022 de 220 Triathlon.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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How to Carb Load - Packing your working cells with carbohydrates in the build-up to your big race is a proven strategy to race stronger and faster...
Whichever distance triathlon you're racing, the intensity and duration of your activity will see your body tap into its stores of carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) to power your effort. While it's possible to top up your tank on the go, it's better to start your event with your stores full to the brim.
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
"I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF TRIATHLON"
British Triathlon CEO Ruth Daniels talks Paris, her plans to grow tri and her own personal goals... knees allowing
ZWIFT RIDE
£1,199.99 Zwift's new Ride is an indoor bike that might help you break your PB... but won't break the bank
PARIS SHOWED THE VALUE OF OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
With the spotlight on triathlon like never before at these Games, debutant athletes talked about being overwhelmed by the unique environment
GAMES AT THE GAMES
After watching and enjoying the Olympic triathlon events, Brunt amused himself by playing the 'guess how far into each event I would die' game...
WHERE EAGLES DARE
With little heat prep, the wrong gear choice and a course-recce mistake, would experienced extreme triathlete Sean McFarlane soar like an eagle or drop like a stone in Italy?
HOW TO INCREASE RUN PACE WHEN FATIGUED
The ability to dig deep in the latter stages of a race helped Alex Yee achieve Olympic gold. Here Ben, a member of Team GB's coaching staff in Paris, explains how you too can find that extra gear...
BUYER'S GUIDE: BIKE COMPUTERS
Log your rides, find your way and monitor your multisport training with a quartet of impressive bike computers...
POLAR GRIT X2 PRO
\"You can't be anything other than impressed with the GPS, whose design is one of the significant changes to the V3\"
