Physiological requirements of triathlon.

Physiology of triathlon

Table of contents

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01 Introduction

02 Physiological characteristics of elite triathletes

03 Energy systems.

04 Application to triathlon

05 Swim

06 Bike

07 Run

08 Take home message

• Triathlon is a multi-sport event

• Swim > T1 > Bike > T2 > Run

• Endurance event

• Mixed Team Relay (MTR), Sprint distance, Standard distance events are “draft legal” at elite level.

Introduction

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This webinar address the physiological requirements and responses associated with the different distances of triathlon, from supersprint or MTR to standard distance.

Physiological characteristics of elite triathletes

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Male Female Value

Vo2max 75 85 65 75 mL/min/kg

vVo2max 20 24 18 21 Kph

Fractional utilisation VO2max

(LT2, VT2)

65 85 65 85 % Vo2max

vLT2 18 22 16 20 Kph

Exercise economy

Low 168/199 Low 168/199 mL/min/kg

MAP 350 400 300 350 Absolute Power (w)

Swim speed 1.29 1.44 1.15 1.30 m/s

• The overall duration of the events varies from 20 up to 2h (see table 1.)

• The main source of energy production comes from aerobic sources of metabolism.

• The anaerobic sources supplies energy where there is a demand of intense exercise and can support extremely high muscle force application and power outputs.

Energy systems

5Figure 1: Energy system contribution and interaction during exercise of increasing duration.

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Table 1:Fastest time split (hh:mm:ss) during each of the triathlon disciplines and overall in elite males and females from 2018 Hamburg World Triathlon Series and 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne

Discipline Year Swim Bike Run Total

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Supersprint (Mixed Team relay - MTR)

20182019

03:4203:10

03:5303:24

09:4906:45

10:3707:22

04:3203:42

04:5804:26

18:5414:59

20:4416:42

Sprint 20182019

08:5408:59

09:2510:00

29:1028:37

31:2131:36

13:5915:37

15:4817:32

53:2455:05

58:061:00:41

Standard 20182019

18:3218:03

19:2718:58

54:0301:00:31

57:161:06:35

29:4430:46

33:4435:45

01:44:3401:50:47

1:52:002:02:45

Energy systems

• A combination of all the energy systems at varying proportions will be utilised in triathlon.

• The event characteristics may influence the physiological demands imposed on athletes.

Applications to triathlon

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Swim

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Speed m/s Pace (time/100m)

Male Females Male Females

MTR2014 MTR World Championships in

Hamburg, Germany

1.44 ± 0.05 1.30 ± 0.04 1:09 1:16

Sprint DistanceTop 10 best swims of 2019 ITU World

Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne

1.37 - 1.39 1.23 - 1.25 1:11 - 1:12 1:20 - 1:21

Standard distanceTop 10 best swims of 2019 ITU World

Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne

1.37 - 1.38 1.29 - 1.31 1:12 1:16 - 1:17

Table 2: Average swim speed of 2014 MTR World Championships Hamburg and 10 fastest swim splits of 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne in Sprint and Standard distance

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2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne

Swimming

Figure 2: Swim course 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne

Start - first 6’’ - SR 62.2

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Stroke rate (cycles/min)

62

46 46

3841

44 42

0

17.5

35

52.5

70

6'' 30'' 1' Before buoys After buoys 550m Exit L1

Table 3: Stroke rate (cycles/min) of 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne Standard distance female category

Less power …is more power!

Cycling

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Rio Olympics 2016 - Bike course13Source: Jim Vance. Training Peaks blog. How Hard Was the Men’s Olympic Triathlon in Rio? Dissecting Ben Kanute’s Olympic Power File

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Source: Jim Vance. Training Peaks blog. How Hard Was the Men’s Olympic Triathlon in Rio? Dissecting Ben Kanute’s Olympic Power file

Source: Jim Vance. Training Peaks blog. How Hard Was the Men’s Olympic Triathlon in Rio? Dissecting Ben Kanute’s Olympic Power File15

Power output and its distribution

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Mean power output

Male Female

MTR 325w 210w

Standard distance 250-270w 180w

51%

17%

15%

17%

Z1 Z2 z3 >Z4

Table 4: Mean power output 2014 World Championships (MTR and Standard distance

Table 5: The distribution of power output during cycling in elite SD triathlon, Beijing World Cup test event 2008.

Success factors

• MTR - fast run - capacity to tolerate physiological cost

• Positive vs negative splits

• Turns (all types)

• Pace changes

• Sprint finishes (long and short)

• Economy of movement

Running

2018 Women’s WTS Grand Final

• Some key points from the race:

• Holland gained a 6 second advantage in transition because of better transition skills, which meant she could stick closer to average pace in 1st 1km, where as Zaferes had to run faster.

• Zaferes closed the 6 second gap in 500m, Gentle took nearly 1km.

• All 3 slowed to average race pace for km 2.

• Km 3-5 Zaferes and Gentle increases pace slightly, Holland less so, and Zaferes and Gentle build-up 5 second lead.

• Km 6, Holland increases pace and catches up and forces Gentle and Zaferes to increase pace again.

• All 3 slowed significantly after km 7, but Zaferes slowed more significantly allowing a gap to build.

• Gentle had the stronger sprint finish and as a result won the race.

2018 Women’s WTS Grand Final

Ashleigh Gentle Vicki Holland Katie Zaferes

km: 1 3:16 3:21 3:14

km: 2 3:23 3:23 3:24

km: 3 3:14 3:16 3:14

km: 4 3:15 3:17 3:15

km: 5 3:19 3:20 3:19

km: 6 3:15 3:12 3:14

km: 7 3:12 3:10 3:18

km: 8 3:41 3:41 3:47

km: 9 3:32 3:32 3:33

km: 10 3:37 3:39 3:58

Total Run split 33:44 33:51 34:16

Average pace \ km 3:22 3:23 3:26

Faster than averageAverage paceSlower than average

Table 6: Time splits of top 3 2028 women’s WTS Grand final

The physiology demands of the competition play a crucial role in the overall result of a race.

It is key to assess athlete’s strengths and weakness to proper chose the competition calendar.

It is also important to prescribe the right training aimed to minimise these weaknesses.

There is enough information available to proper prepare the athletes for a given competition

Take home message

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Q & A

FRIDAY, 30th October, 2020

Upcoming webinar

Thank you