Cycling

Introduction

Triathlon races divide neatly into two categories, ITU Draft-Legal, and non-draft. The main difference is how the bike segment is held. At this time I am only coaching non-draft, the type most common in the US, including Ironman events.

In the section on training I describe the six activities that you will combine to build a plan. Of those six, cycling stands out for a number of reasons.

• Impact on race outcome
• Nutrition opportunities
• Cost
• Complexity
• Risk

Each of these topics will be covered in more detail below. How much each one will impact you depends on your individual situation.

Impact on race outcome

There is a saying among triathletes, "You cannot win the race in the swim, but you sure can lose it." Runners are apt to proclaim that the run determines the winner, as without a strong run, winning is not possible. So where does that leave the bike? I have yet to find a similar saying.

In a race you will spend significantly more time on the bike segment than you will swimming or running, and you will do so moving at a much higher speed. Even tiny improvements in cycling efficiency translate into large time savings. Maybe the race is won in the run, but you need a good bike segment to set up a good run. If you get the bike wrong, you will be walking instead of running and losing huge amounts of time.

Nutrition opportunities

The bike segment plays a critical role in race day nutrition. The longer the course, the more important this is. In long course triathlon, when you come out of the swim you are already in a state of dehydration and calorie deficit. You cannot start straight in eating and drinking on the bike, as chances are your stomach will object. You have to ease into it, starting with water only, then switching to sports drink, and finally some solid food. As the finish of the bike segment approaches you must back off so that you do not start your run on a full stomach. Somehow, between these bookends, you need to consume more calories than your stomach will want, without puking.

Cost

Without a doubt you will spend more on cycling gear than swimming and running combined. Thoughtful selection can help you avoid overspending.

Always keep in mind the law of diminishing returns. Specifically, at the lower end of the price point range, spending more gets you more. As you move up the scale, performance gains become increasingly expensive.

As an example, let's look at three popular drive train sets from Shimano. (Prices shown are approximate and for comparison only.)

What is the difference?

Weight

The more you pay, the more more lightness you receive.

Precision

Tighter dimensional tolerances mean smoother, more consistent operation.

Reliability

Better engineering, materials, and quality control reduce the risk of component failure.

Panache

Pro cyclists use the best gear.

So far this discussion has only been about group sets. The law of diminishing returns applies to many more aspects of cycling gear. Wheels, tires, shoes, pedals. Sunglasses, hydration system, helmet. Food storage, tools and spares storage. Manual vs. electric shifting. And for electric shifting, wired or wireless.

If money is no object, go ahead and buy the best. It really is better. If you are just getting started, you will be fine at the lower price point. If you know you will be active for several more years but every dollar counts, aim for the middle.

Complexity

A modern race bike is a complex machine. You could just jump on and pedal in whatever way feels best, but chances are you will not achieve the results you are capable of. If you are new to the sport, plan on devoting time to learning the multitude of skills required. If you have been at it a while, do not allow yourself to become complacent. When it comes to riding a bike there is always something new to learn.

Pure cyclists often look down upon triathletes for having terrible bike skills. There is some truth to this, as pure cyclists typically train in a group in order to sharpen their skills for riding in a peloton, whereas triathletes typically avoid group rides because they race time-trial style, alone and never drafting. This is not an excuse to ignore bike skill development. Training rides are not done on closed courses. There will be cars, pedestrians, and other cyclists. An emphasis on bike skills will result in safer training with fewer crashes.

Risk

Of the three activities that comprise triathlon, running is by far the most likely to cause injury. That being said, it is bike accidents that pose the greatest risk. A single bike accident can take an athlete out of competition for the remainder of the year, and cause career ending, even life ending injury.

Here are some things to keep in mind in order to minimize risk on the bike:

1. Pay close attention to the road and your surroundings.
2. Wear light/bright colored clothing.
3. Have lights on the bike.
4. Ensure your bike is mechanically sound.
5. Avoid riding at night.
6. Stop when fatigue becomes noticeable.
7. Do high intensity interval (HIIT) workouts on a turbo trainer.

The bike

One question that gets asked again and again is, "Should I get a triathlon specific bike?" The answer is yes, of course, but only after you have developed excellent bike handling skills on a good road bike. Your TT bike should always be your second bike.

There is lots of terminology that gets tossed around here. For our purposes, a Time Trial (TT) bike is any bike designed specifically to have the rider sitting in a more rotated position that lowers their head and shoulders, which includes special bars and armrests that place the rider's arms close together in front of and just below their face. TT bikes used in UCI sanctioned events such as the Tour de France must adhere to rules that restrict design and geometry, whereas TT bikes used in triathlon have virtually no such restrictions.

TT bikes have some serious safety and handling limitations which make them unsuitable for beginners, in group rides, and on highly technical courses.

In the aero position the rider's hands are nowhere near the brake levers. Any situation that demands a quick reduction in speed, such as a car pulling out of a driveway, a pedestrian stepping off the curb, or coming around a bend to discover a wall of runners spread across the bike path, is made significantly more dangerous due to the eternity it takes to move from the aero bars to the base bar where the brake levers are located.

TT bikes have poor handling. A TT bike’s frame geometry is designed to open the hip angle in order to enhance power output while in the aero position. This is accomplished by moving the saddle forward relative to the crankset. Some of this is accomplished by shortening the chain stays, thus moving the crankset aft, but there is not much room there before the bottom bracket runs into the rear wheel. The rest comes from moving the saddle forward. This is accomplished by making the seatpost more vertical, which in turn moves the rider’s weight forward. Combine this with the additional weight of the aero bars and you have a bike that is sluggish to turn and incapable of generating high lateral g-forces. The situation is often made worse by the addition of front-mounted hydration systems.

When the rider is in a proper aero position they cannot monitor the road constantly, not as well as they can on a road bike. With their head in a comfortable position they can only see clearly a short distance ahead. This is totally adequate in a race, but increases the risk of training on open roads.

Ideally you live someplace where there is an abundance of quiet back roads with a variety of straight sections and gentle turns. Someplace where you can take your TT bike out as often as you like without concern for its limitations. More than likely this is not the case and you will need to blend in time on the turbo trainer and on the road bike, and be willing to drive out of town to do your long TT bike workouts.

Cycling abilities

Road racing requires a considerable range of skills. Riding in a peloton, riding in a pace line. The burst of speed required to get into the break. Drafting. Sprinting. Handing out water bottles fetched from the team car. Bunny hopping over curbs and traffic barriers. Doing a wheelie to celebrate a win. None of these things are important in triathlon.

The most important cycling skill you must master is the ability to ride at a smooth, consistent effort level for the entire bike segment. This is vastly different from road racing, where the pace is determined by the group and you must keep up to have any chance of doing well. Road racing is usually a case of alternating between going hard and a little easier. The best result in a time trial is accomplished by smooth, consistent effort. The key to success is getting the effort right.

Notice that I am using the term effort and not pacing. It is quite common to hear coaches and athletes talk about pacing. The importance of pacing the ride correctly. Pace is another term for speed. Some people differentiate the two in terms of units -- 12 m.p.h. Is a measure of speed while 5:00 min/mile is pace. They mean the same thing even though one is in units of distance over time and the other is in units of time over distance.

If your chosen race course is flat and there is no wind on race day, pace is fine. But most courses have hills, and wind is not uncommon. Trying to maintain a steady pace on such a course will not work nearly as well as maintaining a steady effort, which means riding slower uphill or into the wind, and faster downhill or with a tailwind. The best way to achieve this is to use a power meter. The cost of a power meter has gone down significantly, but they remain expensive. If money is tight you can get by with a combination of heart rate and feel. Be cautious about buying a cheap power meter, as data quality may be so low as to be useless.

Base period abilities

The roughly first half of your training mega cycle will be devoted to base training. The second half becomes increasingly race specific. It is during the early base period that you will lay down the aerobic foundation on which the remainder of your training will be built. This period is all about endurance.

Senior athletes should benefit from the regular incorporation of high intensity interval sessions. As we age our ability to process oxygen is diminished. This process is natural, but there are some things we can do to slow the process and minimize the loss. Our fountain of youth turns out to be high intensity workouts. Joe Friel divides these into two types, aerobic capacity and lactate threshold. If you want more details -- and there are plenty -- dig into his book, Fast After 50. My point here is that traditional long course training plans place greater emphasis on long and slow workouts, which are excellent for building endurance and training the body to burn fat over sugar, but senior athletes need to give up some of that time in order to do the high intensity work they require.