The biggest thing you could probably learn is that it’s NOT about the bike. You may be better off emulating World Champions or the guys that are successful at WINNING TRIATHLONS seeing as that is what you are training for.
Contrary to what people tell you, triathlon actually is all about the bike. You just have to realize that statement means a lot of things.
So then I must ask. Are big bike miles necessary for sprint / olympic triathlon? It seems many here are focused on long course. Though that may be my focus down the road I’m more focused on the short stuff for now.
I come from a background similar to yours, high 16 5ker, and have been focusing on olympic distance triathlons the last year and I probably ride 150 miles a week. In my last race I had the second fastest bike split 58:xx. You don’t need huge mileage to compete in OLYs but it should all be hard. 90-120 minutes twice during the week with one being an interval ride and the other a threshold. 3-4 hours on the weekend with some longer intervals at HIM pace is all you really need. Just make sure the rides during the week are hard and hurt. One of the big differences between running and cycling is you can push yourself super hard on the bike because the recovery time is shorter. So ride hard.
That is DEEP.
That is DEEP.
The only place I go.
#6 is also well-known to those who’ve been in the sport long enough. AFAIK, no brit has gone faster
??? they’re all brits, or almost all.
I don’t see CW beating Julia Shaw’s 3:45 100 mile time anytime soon.
Sorry I was unclear. #6 is a triathlete, and AFAIK, still has the fastest Ironman time every by a brit (8.15 I believe).
I checked and it’s not correct actually. Stephen Bayliss improved on the 8.15.21 (European Champs 1995, which were in Germany if I recall) with an 8.13.53
in Austria 2008, and then Tom Lowe went 8.11.44 at IMAZ 2010, and then 8.11.31 at IM Austria 2011.
Well, check the results in Roth a couple of years ago. The bike leg of one of the teams was a 3.57…
Eddy Merckx said it best: “Ride lots”.
Simply put, the more the ride… the better you will be. But, how you ride brings different types of improvement. I could ride tons, which could bring positive gains and I would have little fatigue on shorter rides… and still be no faster in a sprint. You should expect to train like you want to race…
I do only short stuff (work, kids, life are priorities) and find that I can be successful on the bike with relatively few miles. I firmly believe in intensity over volume. The longest ride I ever do is about 2.5 hours on my tt bike (1:45 of it climbing). The other weekend day I get in about an hour, either intervals on the tt bike or climbing on the mtb. During the week I usually get in two trainer sessions, each 40 minutes, one of which will be intervals (three minutes on, two minutes off). Normally puts me in the top few overall on the bike in the sprint tris I do here in SoCal.
So then I must ask. Are big bike miles necessary for sprint / olympic triathlon? It seems many here are focused on long course. Though that may be my focus down the road I’m more focused on the short stuff for now.
I would say no, big bike volume is not necessary.
I’m not in Lieto’s universe, but I hold my own on the bike (regularly well under 1hr in Olys, 3rd fastest split this year at AG Nationals, just split 2:10 at Soma Half). I’ve ridden a grand total of 4,049 miles in 2011. Over half of my total volume is done 11.5mi at a time commuting to/from work. The most I’ve ever ridden in a single calendar year is ~6,000mi.
It works because I go hard on almost every ride. I always chuckle when people talk about intervals at HIM effort as if that’s some sort of accomplishment. I do 30 mintues at HIM effort or better twice each day I ride to work.
420 watts at threshold. 15+ hours per week on the bike. A good to great position. A certain je ne sais quoi related to dedication, drive, desire, commitement and all that happy horseshit.
You got it?
Keep riding.
If you want to ride like Lieto, forget the fact that there is a run after the bike 
So true!
100% agree with you!
It takes forgetting there is a run after the bike…