Triathlon hot takes: which side are you on?

Whether you’re new to triathlon or a seasoned veteran, you’re going to have some firmly held beliefs and opinions about the sport. Some of these opinions might be common, while others could be thoughts that only you and a small group of other triathletes might believe. We’re not trying to start any fights here, but here are some triathlon hot takes that you may or may not agree with.

Duathlon is harder than triathlon

Odds are you’ve heard someone utter the phrase, “Oh, I’m only doing the duathlon.” For some reason, people seem to think that racing a duathlon is less of an accomplishment than completing a triathlon, but the fact of the matter is that  no one has ever “just” or “only” done a duathlon. In fact, duathlon is harder than its three-sport sibling.

If you have never done a duathlon before, you need to try one out. They are tough. Triathletes have it easy opening their races with a swim. Swimming is hard, sure, but it doesn’t take that much of a toll on your body. You might be tired after you exit the water and get on your bike, but your legs can truly be beaten up by the time you reach T1 in a duathlon. Then, when the triathletes leave T2 for their first run of the day, the duathletes have to go for a second. We’re not saying triathlon is easy, but duathlon is much harder.

Comfort over aerodynamics

As a triathlete, you are hyper-focused on being as aero as possible. You want the most streamlined bike with the best setup and aero profile. This is great if it works for you, but our hot take is that it’s more important for you to be comfortable than it is to be aero, and you should sacrifice aerodynamics for comfortability.

Why do we think this? It’s simple. If you have the most aero setup, you’ll save a lot of time and ride more efficiently, but if you’re not comfortable in that position, you’ll hinder your performance. Depending on how uncomfortable you are, you might be forced to sit up and get out of that aero position, eliminating any benefit you had before with that extreme setup. You also could become sore from the position, which might lead to you being tight on the run and running at a lower level than you’re usually capable of doing. Aerodynamics are important in triathlon, but we think comfort wins out here.

You don’t need expensive gear

There is of course a baseline level of gear that you’ll need if you want to be competitive at races. Your Canadian Tire bike will do the job getting you from T1 to T2, but it could be tough to keep up with the other cyclists. You have gym shoes that you might want to wear in training, but if you want to avoid injury, you’ll need running-specific shoes. However, just because there are some pieces of gear that you need to check off your list, it doesn’t mean that you need to get the most expensive stuff.

A $10,000 bike, a top-of-the-line wetsuit, or carbon-plated running shoes might give you some advantage, but for most age groupers, they’re not necessary. As long as you satisfy your base needs for gear, you’ll see the benefits and be able to perform well. You can always upgrade, but you shouldn’t ever feel pressured to splurge on any one item.