ANALYSE YOUR EVERY MOVE

If a product holds such potential that Alistair Brownlee invests, it makes the marketing team sing and the potential consumers listen. So it is with the Incus Nova (Incus Nova Trisport bundle £499.99; Incus Nova Swim Run bundle £299.99), a teardrop-shaped device akin to a miniature aero helmet that slips into an Incus tee, vest or chest strap to deliver a host of metrics that distance it from its competitors.

Key to this product separation is swim feedback, which is next level and unsurprisingly so, as the Incus was researched and developed out of that hotbed of British swimming, Loughborough University. One of the key developments is analysing body rotation and pitch angles on both the left- and right-hand sides.

As all of us who’ve waded through the swim know, a proficient front-crawl stems from your torso, shoulders and hips rotating around the long axis of your body. Keeping this roll evenly balanced and symmetrical helps you to cut a scythe through the dense resistance of water for a smoother, faster stroke. On the flipside, an unbalanced stroke morphs you into a brick and is common, especially for triathletes who breathe to one side only.

Another nifty feature’s the velocity enjoyed with each stroke, helping you to identify where in the swim cycle you’re slowing down and losing efficiency. You’re also given more standard but useful metrics like distance, split times and stroke rate. It’s all impressive stuff and the fact that it’s out of sight collecting data for post-swim analysis means you can focus on your swim, not your watch screen.

That’s not all, as Incus recently launched a run element to further edge toward its remit of becoming the only device a triathlete needs. This isn’t as ground-breaking as the swim side but, again, is useful and includes power and elevation data, cadence and impact accelerations split between the left and right legs, helping you to isolate any muscle imbalances that could lead to injury. Or, more accurately, help your coach or physio as, while this is one effective training tool, there’s still work required on guiding you from insight to action. But that’ll come, says Incus. As will a bike extension that’s pencilled in for next year and, rumours say, will feature CdA feedback to measure your aero profile. incusperformance.com