220 Triathlon January 2020

Well it’s official – winter is here. And that, for us multisporters, signals a time to head indoors, load up Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime… with a gripping series (we can thoroughly recommend The Capture on iPlayer), and hunker down for the ensuing chilly months. While this might appeal to some, for many the thought of endless vitamin-D deficient days is enough to send us into a mindless tailspin, concluding that it’s just easier to have some much-needed rest time before the clocks spring forward in March. But it needn’t be so! For we have THE ultimate indoor training guide (p84), and the only 24 tips you’ll ever need to develop excellent technique this off-season (p24). And for those in need of some fresh air – I hear ya! –…

We take gear testing seriously – you need to know that the kit you buy will help you reach your goals in all three disciplines and work as hard as you on race day. Our test team is made up of experienced triathletes, cyclists and runners who test each product that appears in 220 to the max during training and racing, rating it honestly for performance and value. JACK SEXTY A triathlete since blowing his student loan on a bike, sub-2hr Olympic athlete Jack moved to Ironman at Lanzarote in 2016. Winter training destinations “You can’t beat Cannock Chase in Staffordshire for a run in the woods.” HELEN WEBSTER 220’s editor made the move from marathons to tri six years ago. Happiest when in the open water, she also competes…

The original Tacx Neo and Neo 2 were proclaimed as the quietest turbo trainers in history upon their releases, and the Dutch brand state that the Neo 2T sequel makes even less noise than its predecessors due to a redesign of the internal magnets and air channels. Key updates of the Neo 2T Smart include the ride feel of the direct drive unit, especially during climbs and sprints say Tacx, with more power (up to 2,200 watts) and resistance levels available via the new motor. The addition of Ant+ cycling dynamics means you can analyse your left- and right-pedal strokes via third-party software (i.e. a Garmin Edge bike computer) and set about improving your power distribution. It’s directly compatible with the vast majority of rear axles (except 135 x 12…

UNDER £50 VEL 300 LUMENS £30 The new lights range from VEL consists of a choice of three front lights of 500, 300 or 100 lumens. The lightweight (53g) 300 has dayflash and memory modes, is USB rechargeable and also water resistant. sigmasports.com UNDER £125 KNOG PWR £109.99 The beam of the Knog PWR Trail (a road option is available for £84) pumps out 1,000 lumens at its max strength, with a huge feature list for the price. The USBrechargeable battery pack also doubles as a power bank to charge devices, while battery life can extend to 300hrs. silverfish-uk.com UNDER £150 SEE.SENSE ICON2 £149.99 See.Sense’s smart light innovations continue in the Icon2, with this front/rear set becoming brighter and flashing faster at risky road moments. The front offers 400 lumens,…

Sergio Parisse had a point. The forward’s final bow in an Italian rugby jersey had been cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis in Japan, with the contingency simply being that the World Cup group game with New Zealand was called off and the points shared. Italy needed victory to progress and so tumbled out of the competition, with the retiring Parisse questioning whether a better solution would have been found had those mighty All Blacks needed to win. While World Rugby defends its position, it was an unsatisfactory conclusion. Weather in Japan is unpredictable, that’s a known variable, and the hosting bid was won in 2009. It needed more forethought. “Weymouth wasn’t close to London, but it didn’t do Ben Ainslie’s support any harm” Japan hosts an even larger spectacle next…

In 1983, Dave Scott and Sylviane Puntous won the men’s and women’s Ironman Hawaii titles in 9:05:57 and 10:43:36, respectively. In 2018, Patrick Lange and Daniela Ryf won in 7:52:39 and 8:26:18. The difference in Kona-winning times is huge but, as investigated by a group of researchers, which discipline has enjoyed the greatest performance improvements in this period? The team, led by Lucas Barbosa, analysed the top-three men and women each year between 1983 and 2018 and discovered that, perhaps not surprisingly, it was the 180km bike leg that witnessed the greatest evolution. Men enjoyed a 16.9% boost; women, a staggering 26.4%. Swimming saw the slowest rate of performance growth – men just 3%, women 12.1%. The reasons why the bike trumps the swim or run? Gear, of course, with…