Is the Bike Segment of Modern Olympic Triathlon More a Transition towards Running in Males than It Is in Females?

Abstract

In 2009, the International Triathlon Union created a new triathlon race format: The World Triathlon Series (WTS), for which only athletes with a top 100 world ranking are eligible. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the three disciplines on performance within all the WTS Olympic distance races within two Olympic cycles, and to determine whether their relative contribution changed over the years. Methods: For each of a total of 44 races, final race time and position as well as split times (and positions), and summed time (and position) at each point of the race were collected and included in the analysis. Athletes were divided into 4 groups according to their final race placing (G1: 1st–3rd place; G2: 4–8th place; G3: 8–16th place and G4: ≥17th place). Two-way multivariate ANOVAs were conducted to compare the main effects of years and rank groups. For females, there were significant differences in the swim and bike segment only between G4 and the other groups (p range from 0.001–0.029), whilst for the run segment each group differed significantly from each other (p < 0.001). For males, there were significant differences in swim only between G4 and the other groups (p range from 0.001–0.039), whilst for the running segment each group differed significantly from the others (p < 0.001). Although we found running to be the segment where there were significant differences between performance groups, it is apparently important for overall success that a good runner be positioned with the first cycling pack. However, bike splits were not different between either of the four male groups or between the first 3 groups of the females. At this very high level of performance, at least in the males, the bike leg seems to be a smooth transition towards running.

Cut-Off Values in the Prediction of Success in Olympic Distance Triathlon

“…Linear regressions showed that cycling was the split discipline with the lowest influence on overall performance in an Olympic distance triathlon for both men and women, and that this pattern was similar in the three decades of the WTS circuit. This result corroborates previous studies investigating Olympic distance triathlons [ 2 , 4 ], but was contrary to similar analyses performed for Ironman distance triathlons [ 8 , 10 ]. Race regulations regarding drafting in cycling lead to this outcome, even though cycling comprises a significant percentage of overall race time in every triathlon race distance.…”

“…Olympic distance triathlon (1.5 km/0.93 mile swim; 40 km/24.9 mile cycle; 10 km/6.2 mile run) has become very popular since it debuted at Sydney’s Olympic Games in 2000 [ 1 ]. Its roots date back to 1989 when the International Triathlon Union (ITU) changed the single race Triathlon World Cup to a World Triathlon Series (WTS) annual circuit in 2009 [ 2 , 3 ]. Briefly, from 1989 to 2008, the world championship was a set by a single race.…”

“…Despite the importance of good performance in all three disciplines (i.e., swimming, cycling, and running, separately) for success in a triathlon race, it has been reported that the cycling split is the discipline that has the most significant influence on overall race time in an Ironman triathlon (3.8 km/2.4 mile swim; 180 km/111.9 mile cycle; 42 km/26.1 mile run) [ 2 , 4 ], however, this may not be the case in an Olympic distance triathlon—previous reports have shown that cycling is the discipline which possibly has the lowest influence on overall race time [ 2 , 4 ]. Thus, for both training schedules and competitions, the strategies for each triathlon distance should be vastly different from each other [ 5 ].…”

Pacing and Performance Analysis of the World’s Fastest Female Ultra-Triathlete in 5x and 10x Ironman

“…But despite their low participation numbers in comparison to men, the participation increases in a higher rate than men in all endurance events throughout the years. Moreover, women's endurance performance is also increasing, closing the 2 of 9 performance gap to men in many endurance events, such as open-water swimming [4], Olympic distance triathlon [5], Ironman triathlon [6], and also ultra-triathlons [1].…”

The Rise of Elite Short-Course Triathlon Re-Emphasises the Necessity to Transition Efficiently from Cycling to Running

“…Indeed, successful performance in triathlon is considered to be largely dependent on the ability of an athlete to overcome the specific physiological [5], neuromuscular [6] and biomechanical [7] complications associated with transitioning from cycling to running. Furthermore, recent evidence also suggests that specific effects of the C–R exist between elite male and female triathletes [8]. As a result of the recent increase in the number of short-course events held throughout the 2018/19 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Series (WTS), as well as the advent of the Super League Triathlon series (variable short-course distances), and the inclusion of the mixed relay event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the relative importance of efficiently transitioning from C–R during triathlon, particularly during short-course formats, is re-emphasised and with it, any potential limitations to running performance.…”