5 Ways to Improve Your Triathlon Bike Speed

I enjoy riding my bike. Been like this since the days of training wheels. Back in the day I didn't grow up in an area where the bike community was a thing, so riding became more of a transportation or general fitness thing, not my sport. Back then I enjoyed lifting heavy things - barbells, dumbbells - at a place called Ottmer's Ironden ... which looked exactly like you think a place called an Ironden would look like.

I began riding again in my 30s as a way to cross train for marathons. Nothing real serious or long, just some aerobic work that didn't beat up the legs. Eventually that joy of riding led to more bike miles, which eventually led me from marathons to triathlon.

Over the years I have improved my bike split at all distances from the Sprint through Ironman, with the bike being my strongest of the three disciplines. I have become a good swimmer, and my run is for the most part adequate. It is my bike which I think I have made the most progress.

These are the five things I have done to develop the best ride splits I can:

Work Hard on the Bike

One thing I have noticed over the years is there are a whole lot of people who will put an amazing amount of effort into their run training. This breed of athlete will dig deep when on foot, often when they maybe should be taking it easy. There is something compelling, for sure, about running fast. It's fun. It feels badass. And there is nothing wrong with big efforts on the run. Take that same athlete and put them on a bike and it is different. Get this athlete on two wheels and they just kinda cruise along.

Unlike swimming, which is very much about technique, and running, where genetic abilities play a big part in how good you can be, there is a much more direct correlation between the effort you put into bike training and how fast you can ride.  I know, you need to have some natural talent to become an Olympic gold medalist. But anyone who puts in the work can become a very good cyclists.

Ride with Roadies

Every triathlete should own a road bike and every triathlete should spend some time riding their road bike with the roadies. Out on a group ride you can learn a lot about how to handle your bike. You can learn a lot by just sitting in and observing, then mimicking how others approach a long climb, how they corner, and how they push themselves to their limits in a final group sprint.

Riding with a group will also take you out of the steady paced ride mentality we triathletes get into. Head out on a group ride and you will quickly notice the difference, from the slow, steady warm up to the inter-ride surges the stimulus will be different. Different in a good way. Different in a way that will help your triathlon bike split.

Intervals, Intervals, Intervals

When you race a triathlon of any distance you want to have the ability to find your groove and basically sit in that zone for whatever distance it is that you are racing. Obviously the effort will be much greater for a sprint distance (10-15 miles) that it will be for an 112 mile Iron-distance effort. But how do you know what that effort is, or feels like? Interval work.

Other than my self-mandated 1-2 months of off-season recovery I have at least 1 quality interval session per week. Early in the season when the work is less race specific I tend to do more intervals (especially in the deep winter months when most training is on the trainer), which becomes more focused closer to my A-race. As a race approaches the intervals are all about dialing in a race day effort. For an Ironman it will be something like 4-5 x 30 min @ IM effort while prep for an Olympic distance event will be more like 3-4 x (10 min @ OLY effort + 3 min recovery).

I will post specifically about intervals in the near future. In the meantime, you can find one of my favorite sets (T-max intervals) here.

Ride More Miles

While intensity is important, getting in miles is important as well. You cannot expect to race 56 or 112 miles then run without putting in some saddle time. Even racing an Olympic distance race takes a lot of endurance.

What is great about getting in more miles is you have so many ways to do it. If you are an early bird you can just get outside before work. Not into doing it alone, no problem. Just about every place you can think of has a local cycling club or bike shop that hosts group rides of all levels.

A great place to start your search if you are unsure of what is available in your area is meetup.com. You can also just do a Google.

Here in the Lehigh Valley we have almost too many options available. You can start with the Lehigh Wheelmen and I am pretty sure all of the local shops have at least a few rides every week. If you have any questions you can just hit me up via email or in the comments section.

Don't Hate Your Trainer

Living in the Northeastern Pennsylvania during the winter months can be a challenge for a triathlete. During a good (read: "warm") winter it is possible to get outside and ride safely most weekends. This, of course, is dependent upon the temperature and road conditions (ice, snow). Riding a trainer for these months is a must, like it or not.

A trend that might be gaining some steam in the triathlon world has more of us staying inside even when the weather outside is ideal. Pro triathlete Andy Potts does most of his training inside while uber-cyclist Lionel Sanders does all of his riding on his computrainer, with the exception of an easy ride the day before a race. I know of others who have opted for more trainer workouts because they don't want to deal with traffic.

I am not suggesting giving up the roads for the confines of your basement ... not for all your rides anyway. What I am suggesting is embracing the trainer for what it is - a tool for better bike fitness.

Interval work, for example, works extremely well inside for a number of reasons. From a time perspective it is awesome. There is little prep time necessary, including the warm up which can be shortened. The actual intervals are much more effective (with the exception of hill repeats) inside as well. There are no stop signs, no stop lights, and zero traffic to contend with. Interval work on the bike is just you and the pedals. Finally, you can hold your wattage (effort) consistent, which is impossible outside. Even the slightest rise or decline in the road has an effect on your effort.


If you want to improve your bike split you have your simple, but not easy game plan -  ride more, do some harder intervals, and learn how to really ride your bike. With some focus and a plan you can be riding faster than ever.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon