Just introducing myself... - Triathlon Week

cdmorten · 08-13-2006, 03:00 PM

I just got into Tri's this year. I'm an avid mountain biker and road racer and I can hold my own on the run, but swimming has been an eye opener.

Anyway, I did 3 sprints this summer. I took 2nd and 3rd in a couple of local sprints and 14th at Quad Cities (in my age group). Not bad for a guy who was in the slowest 10% coming out of the water. In the meantime, I've joined a masters swim team to fix my swim issues.

Here's the question for the fast bikers...I race Expert Masters in MTB and usually find myself in the top 5 and usually the top 3. And on the road I race either Masters which includes Cat 3 guys or Cat 4 because I haven't done enough road races to get the mandatory bump to Cat 3. I'm usually top 10 in those. Anyway, I figured that I would be one of the fastest bikers in the sprint tri's but I've only been averaging about 22 mph on the bike (a regular race bike...no aerobars on a 10-15 mile course) and I see that the fastest guys are in the 24-26 mph range. Can I buy that much speed with a tri bike, aero wheels and aero helmet or am I just slow?

How are the fast bikers training to hold those kinds of speeds?

Thanks.

Corbett

hmullett · 08-13-2006, 05:53 PM

Corbett,
Patience! For you to average 22 mph on the bike first year (I don't care what other events you been racing in, tri's are different) is great. Speed comes in time, unless your a freak like Lance or Ferris. There's a difference between racing cycles and racing tri's. But, yes, the bike aerodynamics can make a huge difference. Aerobars are a great help in our sport, and anything one can do to get weight off their bike helps. Also, look at the way triathletes have their bikes set up. Different than competitive cyclists. Seats are pushed forward tilted, therefore giving more torque. Also, many triathletes will race on bikes the next size down. Taking all of that into account, I think that you're off to a great start!

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