- Since we launched the Global Triathlon Network
with Mark and Heather we've been thinking at the office
maybe we should stop making fun of triathletes
and actually learn something from them.
After all I've been out riding with them
and they are incredibly fast on their bikes.
So I've been picking their brains
and we've also teamed up with our longterm partners
at Profile Design to kit me out like a triathlete
and see what we, as cyclists, can learn from triathletes.
First up, tri bars, which as the name suggests,
actually originated in triathlons.
I know what you're thinking wasn't it Greg LeMond
who first used these to win the Tour de France
in the very final days time trial.
Well no it wasn't, some very forward thinking triathletes
were already using these way back in the early 80s.
Are they faster? Yes absolutely they are.
Aero bars they do exactly what they say on the tin.
They put you in a more aero position
and you will go significantly faster for exactly the
same power on all terrain barring the steepest of climbs.
Should we use them then, well, possibly yes.
If you want to go faster on your own
maybe claim a few Strava KOMS these are probably
the way to go and they're also quite comfortable.
Mark Beaumont for example used them on his
recent epic trip around the world.
Which he completed in just 78 days.
Over which time he literally spent 52 days
of his life riding or 1250 hours.
So if they are faster and they're quite comfortable
why don't we see professional road racers use them?
Well the answers quite simple they are
not allowed to under UCI regulations.
Otherwise I'm sure they would.
Cause it's got to be a lot more comfortable
putting your elbows onto a pad rather than on top
of the bars with nothing to hold onto.
Which is what we see them do quite often.
One word of warning though, if you do decide
to use Aero bars never, ever put your arms
in this position when you're in a group ride
or in heavy traffic.
So what about the clothing aspect?
I mean triathletes don't appear to like
to wear too much do they?
For example they will often bare their shoulders.
Now they do some swimming, they've got a decent
upper body and they probably like to show some of that off.
But I don't do swimming, I really have no upper body
to speak of so I think I'm going to look rather
better sticking to my nice traditional cycling jersey.
Something else they like to bare are their ankles.
Now of course it's quite hard to put socks on
when you've just done a swim.
It could be a better look for me
I've got quite thin fairly lean ankles.
But at the same time it does make my rather long,
thin, very pasty legs look even longer
and thinner and more pasty.
So I think I'm gonna put my socks back on.
Oh it's good to be back in socks.
Next then let's talk about hydration.
Now triathletes are not necessarily any
better than us cyclists at keeping hydrated.
They just choose to do it in a
very slightly different way.
So they don't really like to have their bottle
located on the frame, less aerodynamic like that.
So what better then to keep them out
of the wind back here behind the saddle.
And you could also have an aero bottle
located between your Aero bars so that you can keep yourself
hydrated without even coming out of your aero tuck.
Is it faster, yes, it probably is.
Should we adopt it as road cyclists?
Well that's entirely up to you.
And then there is bike storage.
They don't seem to like to carry
their nutrition in their pockets.
So where do they keep their bars and gels?
Well clearly not in a saddle bag because
well because those bottles are in the way.
Instead they use a top tube bag.
Wait, do not click away from this video
until you've heard me out.
Now I know that top tube bags are coming under their
fair share of flack not least from us here at GCN.
But I am coming around to some of their merits
cause it is so much easier to dip your hand down here
and see exactly what you're getting
as opposed to reaching around to a pocket you can't see.
There's also the benefit if you get a narrow,
slim line one like this it's quite aerodynamic as well.
Finally then let's talk about triathletes training.
They train hard, really hard.
In fact talking to Mark he regularly
used to do in excess of 30 hours per week
when he was a pro triathlete.
Should we try to do the same things in our training?
Well probably not because you see the fact
that they do three different sports
and the fact that swimming is non weight bearing means
that they can cope with slightly more
than if you're just riding a bike.
I mean you could go out and do 30 hours weeks
but my bet is that you are going
to perform worse rather than better.
What you could definitely could try to
emulate though is their commitment.
Nobody can accuse a triathlete of being lazy.
So yes we can most definitely learn from triathletes
just as they can sometimes learn from us.
And we'd love to hear your own tips
or any triathletes out there who think we can learn
something different than we made on this video
please let us know in the comment section just down below.
Subscribe to GCN if you haven't already done so
by clicking on the globe then if you'd like to learn
how to pace a time trial you've got to click just down here.
Or if you'd like to see Mark Threlfall look at
the difference between what's better on
a road bike and a time trial bike for triathlon
that is just down here.