Sprint Tri Bike leg strategy: What do you do? (Page 3)

American College of Sports Medicine has a couple decent scientific reviews (each with >100 ref's).   You can download the full published reviews by clicking on pdf links at these sites-

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2007/02000/Exercise_and_Fluid_Replacement.22.aspx

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2009/03000/Nutrition_and_Athletic_Performance.27.aspx

From the individual scientific papers cited in these reviews, most data on supplemental hydration/carb intake begins to reach statistical significance at ~30-45min of exercise (depending on specific scientific protocol).  Data support fluid intake generally at a bit shorter exercise time than carb intake.  By ~1hr of sustained hard exercise the data on both fluids/carbs are strong enough to be included in ACSM's "Position Stands" (always difficult to reach ANY consensus among academics ).

Tidbit re- elite athletes & intake in 1+hr event: In today's TT stage 19 of TdF (63-71min efforts riding 53+k), every rider on TV coverage drank sports drink (various types according to teams) during their ride.  I DVR'ed the Stage (to check out equipment/position variations), and every rider started with a fluid bottle-which interestingly most either did not discard or discarded only after final (30+k) checkpoint (or

Summaries (didn't read the whole thing) indicate simply that you should stay hydrated during exercise.  Some of the researchers were sponsored by gatorade, which makes me skeptical.  Regardless, there is certainly some point at which taking water becomes beneficial, probably depends mostly on the length of exercise, how much you sweat, and the heat during the event.  My sprints are short enough that I feel it would take more time than I gain to have water on the bike and try to take during an "all out" effort.  YMMV.

I agree. i think a more accurate representation of "all out" means, doing each leg as hard and as consistently paced as possible.  So, for a 12-16 mile bike, that means doing it as hard as you can without fading at the end.  I would also remove the "final sprint" like you would in a standalone race from the swim/bike legs.  Then run the 5k as hard as you can and hope you don't blow up.

I dont know if this is the optimal strategy, but I dont have enough experience to say otherwise.  My last sprint I intentionally held a little back on the swim (didn't want to go hypoxic or anything) since that is my strength and there wasn't much to gain by going all out and causing more harm than gained.  On the bike I went very hard, but I did hold back from having a deep burn in my legs.  As a result, I ran the 5k of my life and felt strong all the way to the end but still feeling like I left it all out there.  My final result turned out better than I expected as well so who knows.

I will remember this. Last one I was conservative till the last mile. Cranked it up to the end, then I couldn't feel my legs for 1/2 the run.

My sprint last summer I think had my avg HR like at 182. I still had a little gas left at the end of the race as well. Guessing I should of started my sprint at the end a little bit sooner. So if you have the aerobic capacity, you should be fine to go hard almost all the way. 

But I like what others said to ease up a few minutes before getting on the bike. I guess you could say I did that myself as the last portion of the bike was downhill so I could ease up just a touch and actually had to because the course was pretty busy with a lot of inexperienced riders.

Remember it.  And then ignore it.  Because it is not a good race strategy (asssuming your goal is to finish in as little time as possible).

I'm not debating, rather asking a question.  A few years ago I started to lighten up my gear and dramatically increase my cadence near T2 to get the legs ready to run....It seemed to work as I was able to get into the run quite quickly vs. the feeling of dead legs I was accustomed to.  I'd estimate I did this for maybe 100-125 yards from T2..

IF I no longer do this, won't I still lose some valuable time "waking up" my legs early in the run?  I.E., the time saved NOT slowing down in the very last stages of the bike to wake up the legs will be given back at the beginning of the run?

I'd prefer to hammer it all the way to bike dismount but as I mentioned, I've struggled with the dead legs until I came across the tip for upping the cadence near transition which for me worked..

I do something like that at times, but power drops by less than 5% (less than that, really) and it's only for the last minute. I'm not exactly going "easy" or even moderate. And I'm only one gear short of where I'd be, so it's still something I can use quite well.

This is what I do. But then again, I always explode in the run and fall apart, no matter how fast or slow I take the bike. If you do a brick or two or more, you should be fine to go all out in the bike. It's only 12 to 15 miles. 

x2 on this strategy but if during the last mile the dude in front of you is in your AG, pass him, move your a$$ through T2 such that he thinks you're gone......

This ^^^^^ is great advise IMO.   Also I'd eat a gel on the run out before mounting the bike and another gel coming out of T2. Ideally, I'd do a sprint pace and distance bike-to-run brick NOW to learn just how fast you can go at the sprint distance pace. "In a sprint tri EVERY second counts".

I don't eat anything in a sprint race, trying to jam 2 gels in just sounds like a good way to get GI issues.

Another huge difference maker in a sprint is the importance of fast transitions!

I gain a lot of spots by getting the He:: out of transition. Seconds matter in a sprint.

100-125 yds may be OK.  You're going to have to slow down at the dismount line anyway so a few seconds of 'spinning out' should be fine.  2-5min is certainly excessive and you are much better off spreading out your effort more evenly over the ride.  If it helps your running to raise your cadence, you can do that towards the end of the ride but without backing off your power output (as others suggested above).

But, to answer your question, you should not lose any time even if your legs feel dead.  Odds are you will actually be able to run just as fast and your legs will feel 'awake' a minute or two into the run.  My biggest problem is usually starting out too fast while my legs have that dead feeling--they 'seem' to be moving slowly to me even though I am actually running much quicker than I think.  That's partly why practicing transitions is useful for short course (and relatively less important for long course).