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Tips to Sharpen Your Bike Leg Ahead of Race Day

The bike is the longest part of race day, so investing time and energy into improving it can deliver a significant return.

In most triathlons, the bike accounts for more than half of your total race time. Arguably, that makes it the discipline most worth investing in.

Tip 1: Practice Hills

Even if your goal race is flat, there is a lot to be gained from including hills in your training.

Cycling has a significant strength component. After all, there are only two ways to produce more power on the bike: pedal at a faster cadence or push a bigger gear.

The ability to push bigger gears for longer periods comes down largely to muscular strength and endurance, both of which can be developed effectively through climbing. As an added bonus, hill workouts often provide a welcome break from the indoor trainer and some of the most scenic riding of the year.

Tip 2: Practice the Terrain

While hill training is valuable regardless of your goal race, terrain still matters. That means studying the course ahead of time and understanding the specific demands you’ll face on race day.

If your race involves long periods in the aero position, make sure your training reflects that. Incorporate extended intervals in your TT position and become comfortable producing power while staying aero. If traffic, road conditions, or safety concerns make that difficult outdoors, dedicated trainer sessions can be an excellent alternative. One of the most important principles of training is specificity: the more closely training mirrors race demands, the better prepared you’ll be on race day.

Tip 3: Learn to Ride the Terrain

Building on Tip 2, as much as FTP, average power, and normalized power dominate cycling discussions, they are not the sole determinants of a fast bike split.

At the end of the day, the goal is simple: get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Sometimes that means producing more power. Sometimes it means riding smarter.

For example, on a fast descent, tucking into a more aerodynamic position may gain you more sp*ed than continuing to pedal. Likewise, strategically applying extra power at key moments – such as cresting a hill, accelerating out of a corner, or responding to a change in terrain – can help maintain momentum and increase overall sp*ed.

Tip 4: Run Off the Bike
We opened this article by noting that investing in your bike fitness can not only improve your bike split, but also set you up for a dramatically better run.

To fully capitalize on that advantage, however, it’s important to practice running off the bike. Triathletes commonly refer to these sessions as “brick workouts.”

Running well after cycling is a highly specific skill. The transition places unique demands on your neuromuscular system, and the sensation of running on tired legs is something that improves with practice.

The good news is that these sessions do not need to be long to be effective. Even a 10-minute run after a key bike workout can help prepare your legs for race day and familiarize you with the transition. While it is beneficial to occasionally include longer brick runs, most can be relatively short and focused simply on adapting to the feeling of running after a hard ride.

For many triathletes, race day is approaching, and if swimming isn’t your strongest discipline, anxiety about that first leg of the race may be starting to creep in.

Tip 1: Body Position – Keep the Boat Flat

The easiest way to think about body position is to imagine yourself as a boat in the water. A boat moves fastest when it sits evenly on the surface, not when one end is dragging down.

Swimming is no different. Much of your sp*ed comes down to reducing drag. On the bike, we reduce drag by becoming more aerodynamic and presenting less of ourselves to the wind. In the water, the same principle applies, except water is far denser than air (so the effect is amplified). Every part of your body that is out of alignment, or worse yet sinking, creates resistance.

Tip 2: Propulsion – Row the Boat With Force

If we strip swimming down to its basics, the second way to improve your sp*ed in the water is to row your metaphorical boat with force and purpose.

The flatter and more streamlined you are, the less drag you create, which sets you up for forward movement. But that forward movement ultimately comes from pulling as much water as possible, leveraging the full length of your stroke, and making the most of every pull through the water.

Tip 3: Fitness – And Having More Than One Gear

While swimming is a technique-heavy discipline, fitness still matters. Yes, that means logging time in the pool, but it also means something more: developing more than one gear.

It is very important to practice swimming fast. Specifically, practice swimming faster than your current race pace.

Because swimming is such a low-impact sport, you can typically handle more high-intensity work in the water than you can on the bike or run. This creates an opportunity many triathletes fail to take advantage of.

There are two major benefits to swimming fast. The first is physiological. Just as with biking and running, spending time above race pace creates positive adaptations that, over time, make your race pace feel easier and more sustainable.

The second benefit is technical. Swimming fast teaches your body how to move through the water quickly and efficiently.

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It’s Time to Swim: Open Water 101

Open-water swimming can feel intimidating, but with the right approach, it becomes a skill you can learn and master.

While many athletes complain about the “black line fever” associated with pool swimming, the “no-bottom fever” of open water can feel even worse.

Surveys consistently show that one of the biggest barriers to participation in triathlon is the swim. For many athletes, the idea of swimming in open water, especially in a crowded race start, can feel intimidating.

The good news? Like any skill in triathlon, open-water confidence can be developed with practice. Here are a few tips to help you make your first sessions of the season more comfortable and productive.

Cold Water Hacks
It’s still only May, but if you have early-season races and want to get some open-water prep in, there are a number of things you can do to stay comfortable.

A thermos of warm water poured down your wetsuit just before getting in can help ease the initial shock. Or you can drink lots of warm tea beforehand and create your own warm water (yes – p*e in your wetsuit) once you enter the water.

There are also neoprene booties, gloves, and caps available to help retain heat. You can double up silicone swim caps and apply Vaseline on exposed areas such as the cheeks, hands, or feet. It’s messy, but it helps.
Another one of my favourite tips is the use of ear plugs. A simple pair can make cold water considerably more comfortable. The colder the water, the more likely swimmers are to experience vertigo when they first enter. Ear plugs can eliminate that effect almost entirely. Foam plugs used for noise reduction work well, but silicone plugs are even better.

Another strategy is to have a “training” wetsuit and a “racing” suit. Racing suits use thinner neoprene where flexibility is needed and thicker panels where it’s not. A simple single-thickness suit is generally cheaper, more durable, and warmer – though slightly slower. I like this solution because it fits the philosophy I believe in: train heavy, race light.

Read the entire article here :
https://triathlonmagazine.ca/training/swim/its-time-to-swim-open-water-101-2/

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As the season begins, success on race day depends on how well you translate training into ex*****on.

Tip 1: Start Calmer Than Feels Necessary
Race day distorts effort perception, especially when the gun goes off. Adrenaline is high, and your body feels fresh in a way it rarely does in training. All of this creates a powerful illusion: that your goal pace or power suddenly feels easier than expected.

Historically, race-day strategy often meant starting hard in the water to avoid getting “trapped” in large mass starts. But with most age-group racing now using rolling starts, this is no longer a necessary tactic.

Instead, aim to start at a pace that feels easy and controlled for at least the first five minutes, then gradually build into your effort. The goal isn’t to go slow, but to avoid an early spike in lactate driven by adrenaline rather than sustainable output.

It may feel unnatural not to push right away, but going out too hard early can do far more damage than starting controlled and building as the race settles. Remember, the day is long – it’s not decided in the first five minutes.

Tip 2: Fuel Early and Consistently
Fuelling is one of the easiest things to delay on race day. Between the excitement and dynamics of racing, it’s common to feel “fine” and push fuelling to later.

But race-day stress often blunts hunger and thirst cues, especially early on. And fuelling works best as prevention, not reaction.

Stick to the fuelling strategy you practiced in training. Many athletes find it helpful to set reminders or alarms at key intervals, particularly on the bike, to stay consistent.

Even if it doesn’t feel necessary in the moment, fuelling early is what allows you to maintain energy and perform strongly in the back half of the race – especially on the run.

Tip 3: Break the Race Into Sections
Triathlon is a long day, particularly over the 100km, 70.3, and Ironman distances. One of the biggest mental challenges is viewing the race as a single, continuous effort.

Instead, break the race into smaller, manageable sections. Focus on the next buoy, the next aid station, or the next segment of the course.

The best athletes stay present. While pacing is guided by what’s sustainable over the full distance, ex*****on happens in the moment – section by section.

Even pro athletes will tell you they don’t process they entirety of an Ironman. They move forward stroke by stroke, pedal by pedal, step by step, making decisions in real time that add up to a strong overall performance.

Tip 4: Adjust to the Conditions – and to How You Feel
Triathlon has become increasingly data-driven, and for good reason – metrics like power, pace, and heart rate are invaluable in training and can help anchor your race plan. But race day is not a controlled environment, and numbers alone can’t account for everything.

Conditions on the day (e.g., heat, wind, terrain) can all shift what is sustainable. At the same time, your body may not respond exactly as it did in training. Sometimes better, sometimes worse.

This is where ex*****on moves beyond data and into awareness.

The goal isn’t to ignore your numbers, but to use them strategically. For example, setting power caps on key sections like climbs can prevent overexertion, while allowing the rest of your effort to be guided by feel rather than chasing a specific number.

If you are too rigidly tied to pre-set numbers, you limit your ability to respond to both the conditions and your body in real time.

The best races aren’t dictated by numbers alone, but by your ability to read your body, respect what’s possible on the day, and still push to your limit by the finish.

Bonus tip: Occasionally training with your data hidden, and comparing perceived effort to actual numbers afterward, can help develop this skill.

Tip 5: Stay Patient
Many triathletes are A-type by nature – competitive, driven, and wired to respond. That mindset is an asset in training, but on race day, it can make patience one of the hardest (and most important) skills to execute.