Effects of cycling alone or in a sheltered position on subsequent running performance during a triathlon

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the responses during a triathlon in which cycling was performed alone, as well as in a drafting position. Methods: Eight male triathletes of international level performed a sprint-distance triathlon (0.75-km swim, 20-km bike, 5-km run) on two different occasions, one completely alone (TA), the other as a drafter during the bike leg of the event (TD). The speed during drafted cycling remained at all times identical to the no-draft situation. Results: The results revealed that expiratory flow ((V)over dotE), oxygen uptake ((V)over dot O-2), heart rate (HR), and blood lactate concentrations ([La-]) were significantly lower when drafting on the bike as opposed to biking alone (112.1 vs 162.2 L.min(-1), 55.2 vs 64.2 mL.min(-1).kg(-1), 155 vs 166.8 beats.min(-1), and 4.0 vs 8.4 mmol.L-1, respectively). The results also showed that running after biking in a drafting situation (for similar bike speeds) significantly improved the running speed compared with that of the no-draft modality (17.8 vs 17.1 km.h(-1)). Furthermore, (V)over dotE, (V)over dotO(2), HR. and [La-] were significantly higher during TD run compared with TA run (161.6 vs 141.4 L.min(-1), 70.9 vs 67.1 mL.min(-1).kg(-1), 175.3 vs 167.9 8 beats.min(-1), and 8.1 vs 7.6 mmol.L-1, respectively). Conclusions: These results showed that drafting allows triathletes to save significantly on energy during the bike leg of a triathlon and creates the conditions for an improved running performance, with higher benefits for the strong runners.