Triathlon training - how to improve bike time?

Duffman'05

Hi all,

I'm a beginner Olympic distance triathlete and have recently completed my first race. I was personally a bit disappointed with my performance on the bike time wise. I ended up with 1:50ish for the bike alone. I've been focusing more on the cycling in training but haven't really been seeing any results.

Basically what I would like to know is how to improve speed over the whole bike leg. Are there special exercises or drills that anyone knows of that can improve speed in the long term?

I'll be racing in the Dublin City Triathlon in August and perhaps I'm aiming too high but I would really like to see myself finishing the bike leg closer to 1 hour and 10-20minutes.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

tunney

Hello,

Firstly realistic expectations - 1:10 for the bike in DCT is not going to happen. Look at the results for '07 Brian Campbell only did 1:09. You're looking at closer to 1:30 I'd say - however knowing what race you did 1:50 in would help however I'd venture a guess its a BOP split.

How to get faster on the bike? Assuming that your bike fits and you are using both legs to pedal then there are no "quick win" tips that can be given.

Resist the temptation to go out and knock your nuts out doing intervals or the like. Yes the big boys (and girls) will be doing this over the summer - but they will be backing it up with multiple long rides a week and the intention will be to sharpen up after a good 8-9 months of base work.

What is your cycling training at the moment? Details help. As a rough rough guide you should be riding (for training purposes not commuting) at least three times a week. Assuming you're new to cycling just getting out and doing focused quality sessions at an easy to steady pace for 60-100km will bring you on loads.

An important thing to remember is that people often think "Hey I'm doing all this bike training and I'm not getting any gains, but my running is fantastic, at least my running training is going well" - but the bike training has allowed them to finish the bike leg in a better state than they used to so they can go harder on the run.

Post your race, your training and someone will get back with advice. I'd better go to bed or will never get up to swim in the morning!

Andrewf20

Have you got skinny, fast rolling tyres + 100psi tyre pressure + an aerodymanic stance on the bike + cycling shoes. These made a huge difference for me when I did my 1st triathalon last month. Also try and cycle in the smoothest parts of the road. The rougher the surface, the more it will slow you. In other events I have done, I found that cycle on the yellow lines as much at possible helped to give me an extra 1-3mph approx advantage.

hunnymonster

Andrewf20 wrote: »

.... I found that cycle on the yellow lines as much at possible helped to give me an extra 1-3mph approx... advantage.

dangerous in the wet!

bananamansgay

im also a triathlon first timer (albeit a sprint triathlon!) i found that i wasnt getting enough time to train on my bike during the week. i train saturday and sunday on the bike but didnt think was enough. but i started doing 2 - 3 spinning classes in the gym between mon & fri.

they are fairly high intensity, 40 min classes that focus on leg power and cardio.

its really helped me and iv managed to knock off almost 10 mins on the 20K that im training for. iv moved up to the advanced class now (50 mins and alot harder).

may help you

tunney

Yeah - wouldn't recommend spinning classes.

Sprot specific sessions - either on the road or the turbo are far superior.