You’ve exited the swim, shaken yourself down, pulled yourself out of your wetsuit and are ready to conquer the bike followed by the run. That requires generating power and reducing drag on two wheels, before holding a good pace on the final leg that won’t leave you firing up like an incinerator.
That might be the top line, but have you ever dug a little deeper into some of the physics and forces at play? Have you ever wondered why the faster you go, the more face-on the wind seems? Or why your tri-suit’s woven from a particular fabric? You have? Excellent news…
AERODYNAMICS MATTER
When it comes to the bike, and to a much lesser degree the run, aerodynamics count. This is one reason why: aerodynamic drag is cubic. What does that mean when seen through the prism of triathlon? Simply, that doubling your bike speed requires eight times as much power; in other words, the faster you go, the greater the air resistance. It’s why air resistance rather than friction, like from rolling resistance of your tyres, takes over as the dominant factor holding you back once you’re riding above around 16km/hr.
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
"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
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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...
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...
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...
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\"