BIKE LONGER

You’ll be in the saddle for the longest part of the race. Pro rider Matthew Bottrill helps you make it easier

Prepare for the challenge

Having a pacing strategy is key to ensure you don’t burn all your energy on the bike. It’s not just about putting out X power for Y hours, but making sure you avoid pushing too hard on the ascents or needlessly chasing speed and power on the descents.

Mix it up in training

Practise your pacing in training when doing your endurance and tempo sessions. These should be the foundation of your training schedule, you should do both steady state rides and interval-based sessions to make sure your endurance engine is bullet-proof. Use a range of cadences to build muscular strength in addition to your cardiovascular fitness too. You can then lay top-end interval sessions on to this foundation to help bring your power up.

Get a bike set-up

Having your saddle height and position optimised to help with your pedalling dynamics will help conserve energy for the run. It will also help you find the balance between comfort and aerodynamics. There’s no point being aero if you can’t sustain the position and there’s no point being so comfy you’re as aerodynamic as a brick!

Take on some fuel

The bike is ideal to take on fuel to set you up for the rest of the race. You want to be taking on sufficient amounts not only to keep your endurance engine running for the remainder of the bike leg but also to prepare for the run.

Keep aero tucked

Stay aero as much as possible. If you need to sit up or stretch your back out periodically then build this to tie into your pacing and fuelling strategy. I.e. every 15 mins take on fuel, then get out of the saddle/sit up for 20-30 seconds. With this approach you’re doing everything in sync, minimising any aero losses.