You can't just go run a 1/2 marathon or full marathon every single week and maybe twice a week at full on planned flat out pace.

So no.

Cycling is low impact enough that the racing in-season pretty much becomes your training.

I don't have time to travel all year with kids to race, so do local hammer rides. To me a race that isn't your #1 A race isn't any harder than the local hammer ride......if you choose wisely.

So, yeah.........lots of amateurs already do that. I follow some Cat 4's and Cat 3's on my Strava that probably race once or twice a week every week from spring to fall. Crit series, road race, and cross.

Shame they don't mention the Lux women's side who are also dominant in the junior ranks.

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

Not quite following you on 1/2 or full marathon??? Junior cyclists are limited in distance raced and even gear ratio (they're not allowed to use for example a 53 -11 combination). Don't know of anyone suggesting that juniors would be doing an IM or half. There are sprints and Olys that they could do weekly or monthly. That's what the national class junior triathletes that I know of do.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

I misunderstood the analogy.

Junior triathlon is sprint and Olympic distance. IM is for old people. Kids can absolutely hammer out a sprint every weekend. That's how triathlon used to be....guys like Mark Allen et al, would go beat each other up in local races constantly. Only more recently has racing becomes almost exclusively major "destination" A races.

But I think you're missing the point. People have tried junior triathlon teams, but they charged a lot of money. This LUX team provides bikes and travel expenses. Good bikes. (Specialized, etc.) Then sends kids around to race a lot.



Few parents do. That's why an organized team is great. Your kid can go race in France with the team, major expenses paid. You don't have to go.

Jimmy Riccitello, former stud triathlete and current IM draft buster, has his son on this team.

Good to know that. On another thread - Aging of the IM, it seems like young people are not coming to triathlon. Triathlon doesn't seem to be attempting to bring the young people on board.

Timing might be an issue as I'm not really in favor of pressuring youth to commit to a sport. The route for the young might be to let them be swimmers or cyclists or runners. Later in life, recruit them to triathlon. Maybe it's happening in ITU and we just aren't seeing the results come to IM yet. If I were in the Ironman brand, I'd give this situation a look.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

People have tried junior triathlon teams,


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Insert Z3 junior tri team instead of Lux and junior triathlon instead of junior cycling and you would have it's equal. I dont know if you are saying Lux is "free" for juniors or a very very small fee, because I know Z3 you have to pay a fee to be a part of.


But they have produced on a national as well as international level (itu world junior champions from same team) and they also hear the same "criticism" from other coaches when talking about their dominance.



I think the big difference is that triathlon has no real media to cover it. Triathlete magazine is pure garbage, it has zero substance, unlike a velonews magazine that actually is more of a real media for cycling. Seriously what triathlon media coverages are there? I can't think of any.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Aging of the IM, it seems like young people are not coming to triathlon. Triathlon doesn't seem to be attempting to bring the young people on board.

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Youth (under 18) are coming to the sport and is likely the biggest age group increase in the last 10 years. One of the reasons for that is because mom and dad can pay for the kiddos to do the sport and there are far more appropriate youth races in the U.S. than ever before. It's when those kids then move on to college age and young adulthood and dont have mom and dad financially supporting that triathlon hobby; that's why you lose them.

Under 18 athletes is growing. It's keeping them post high school that is the issue. It's that next 12 years of college + starting career where we are really losing people. Of course cost and frankly this sport imo isn't very "appealing" to young people. I also say that without any answer to appealing to those people who would rather seemingly scroll through IG all day than to be bothered to "train" for something.

ETA: "Burnout" is a HUGE concern currently in junior triathlon at a high level. I cringe every time I go to a junior elite cup in the U.S. (ages 16-19) and we have youth athletes (13-15) racing at the same intensity (but half the distance). I just really feel it's way too much pressure and expectations at too young of a age. I wish they would abolish the youth division races, but it's the parents who pushed for this to be added 10ish years or so ago because well if they gotta lug 1 kid to a race, why not have another race division so the younger sibling can race too....and that's why the youth elite division was formed (also helps the RD offset costs by bringing in more revenue at not a huge extra cost).

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I've never heard of LUX in the media either, before this article. I only know them because they're at all the same races I am.

Agree with you here. A junior triathlon team would be great to get kids racing more every week every other week at sprint and Olympic distance races. Might even help to grow the sport more. They are developing and do not need to be doing races longer than those. Same reasoning behind the junior gearing in cycling, protecting a growing body. Although in cycling the distances are only limited if it is an actual junior category race. These guys were racing with the pros at Cascade a couple weeks back and getting top twenty results, even with junior gearing. They are crazy gifted, and good too.

The kid on Lux that I ride with, his parents only go to a handful of his races. Since we are in Louisiana that is Joe Martin, Nationals, and smaller TXBRA and LAMBRA races. Everything else is him hoping on a plane and going b himself. He is actually on his way to Canada this week. Then after that's its off to Belgium, France, and then South Korea.