Heather Fell: Thanks to social media, it has never been easier to have a fly-on-the-wall insight
into the life of the pros. Whether it's their training habits, their equipment choices,
their racing tactics, it isn't a green flag for us just to copy and follow everything they do. Some
things are just best left to the pros. [music]
Let's start by remembering the fact the pros are full-time. That means they have plenty
more time in which to train so it might seem like they go out for endless long bike rides,
long runs, building those easy steady aerobic miles, and getting that great base. They could be
doing recovery runs day after day or going out for a bike ride that would take the rest of us all of
our weekend. We don't have that luxury of time so we need to make sure that we get bang for our buck
when it comes to the training miles. [music]
Talking of all that extra time the pros have, it gives them the ability to really hone in
some of those skills that maybe we don't need to prioritize. For example, you might see pictures
of pros getting into the aero tuck position on their TT bikes going down steep hills,
and hitting ridiculously fast times. Now, this is fun for us to watch but realistically, we're not
going to be doing many races where we'd benefit from that and it comes with a pretty high risk,
especially, if you don't yet have that skill. Then there's the ITU athletes who you'll see
racing in a bunch. Obviously, it's draft legal so they'll be doing training that's going very fast,
practicing their cornering, practicing riding together, drafting from each other, and as a
result, going a lot faster. Even if you are doing a draft-legal triathlon, you're not likely to be
riding in such a big group as that that's going to be so fast. Yes, having certain amount of bike
skills is very much a good idea but it's not going to directly benefit your performance in say a 70.3
or a full Ironman distance bike race. [music]
Professional triathletes can appear to have a jet-set lifestyle, dashing off all around
the world to some rather exotic places and this doesn't come cheap but they will be doing that
for a reason. It'll be to qualify for big races or to meet sponsor's requirements or go to a race
that they're being paid to appear at. As an age group, it's very different. Yes, you can go to
some incredible places but you can make it as part of your holiday or a bucket list race but
don't forget to look at the races that are closer to home that maybe the pros won't be attending.
These pro athletes are obviously incredibly fit and able to withstand a lot of training
as well as racing and you will sometimes see pros racing back to back week after week but again,
they'll be doing this for a reason. Whether it's for training or whether it's to accumulate points
or qualify, there'll be a certain reason to it. It's something that we probably shouldn't copy
because it's amazing how much racing can actually take out of you and you'll just find yourself
getting rather exhausted. [music]
There's always a lot of interest around the equipment that the pros are using and rightly so,
that's why they're sponsored. Their sponsors want to see that kit out there. For us as age
groups is to aspire to but you will see a lot of them using brand new race kit. Here on the
channel we quite often talk about, "Don't try anything new on race day." That does include
things like trainers, for example, when you want to make sure they're worn in.
The pros however will be having the exact same model, probably several of so they can
quickly get into something new. Goggles are an example. Pros will quite often
have a brand new pair of goggles for every race. You'll even read
about some pros having brand new tires on their wheels for every single race.
Obviously, if you're buying these pieces of kit it can become rather costly. However,
it doesn't mean you need to have a really old pair of scratch goggles, why not try to keep
a pair for racing that you really look after and they last you the whole season and then
maybe they get demoted to being your training goggles. The same goes for tires. You can keep
a pair for race day and then you swap back your training ones on in between racing.
[music] Finally what about the kit that has to
make you faster? Those amazing pieces of equipment that the pros have to get those marginal gains,
but they don't necessarily always transfer to us. Partly because we're going slower
or we're not able to hold the same incredible position. Take aero helmets, for example.
Yes, they're more aerodynamic, but only in a certain position so if you've got a nice aero
helmet with a long pointy tail but you've got your head stuck up or you're moving it around
or you're not able to maintain that position then those benefits are going to be negated and
you might just find your head's getting really hot inside this rather nice looking helmet.
Then disc wheels as well don't actually give you that much of an advantage unless you're riding at
more than 25 miles an hour. You've also got to be confident enough to be able to handle your
bike in strong winds with a disc wheel. Just think about these investments before you go
making them. For example, you could take a look at Chrissie Wellington, one of the world's best
long-distance racers who currently still has the iron distance world
record. She completed that without an aero helmet or a disc wheel.
[music] Sometimes it can become a little
addictive to live vicariously through the pros as you follow their every training and racing move. I
would love to know if there's anything that you've maybe copied from a pro that just hasn't quite
worked out for you. Do leave those in the comments section below. If you've enjoyed the video,
give us a thumbs up, like, and remember we're on social media. You can follow us there and you can
subscribe to us here on youtube. [00:05:44] [END OF AUDIO]