Why you should put your biggest training efforts into cycling

Since cycling is responsible for about half the time you spend on a competition it should also be the part where you set an according training accent. So the efforts you put into your cycling training can sum up to or even exceed the dedication of time for swimming and running combined! Take this into consideration when you start laying out your triathlon training plan. In Triathlon you compete against the clock. Techniques such as drafting, a tactic in which several riders cluster closely to reduce the air resistance of the group, are not allowed. This had an effect on the particular design of triathlon bicycles especially regarding the size of triathlon bicycle wheels. The only exceptions for drafting are the Olympic Games and professional short distance competitions.

When I started with Triathlon at the age of 15 I had the big advantage that I already went to school by bike nearly every day for almost seven years. That was about five miles (8 kilometers) one way. Without any further training that alone made up 50 miles per week yet! And because I had a mountain bike it didn't matter to me too much if it was summer or winter.

I lost this great opportunity however when I started out with the mandatory military service here in Germany and later with my first job. But if you have got to drive some miles to get to work and can take a shower there you could use this simple method to save you lots of extra training time for this discipline. You can collect those essential miles (or kilometers) that are necessary for your basic endurance.

Once you have got the basic endurance "in your legs" (remember the "training soup"?) it will become very easy for you to increase your speed by just shifting your training schedule a bit, interspersing tempo units and doing some workouts at higher intensities. See the Cycling High Intensity Training article for more information on this interesting topic.

If you can sustain average cycling speeds of 22-25 miles per hour (35-40 kilometers per hour) aerodynamics become an important factor for you to consider. Just reducing the air resistance by some percent adds up massively after 25 miles (40 km) or even 112 miles (180 km) of cycling.

Return from Cycling to Triathlon Adventures

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