Key result
Top triathletes exhibit faster cycling and running splits, with men demonstrating more negative cycling pacing.
Why the study?
Pacing during cycling and running had been examined in only one study of elite triathletes, leaving unknown how professional triathletes pace during an IRONMAN World Championship.
Observational (n=60)
No
p-value: p=<0.01
Top-performing professional IRONMAN triathletes demonstrate distinct pacing strategies, with men showing more negative pacing in cycling and women exhibiting more consistent pacing across disciplines.
May guide pacing advice for competitive triathletes; leaves open causal effects on outcomes.
Pacing during cycling and running in an IRONMAN triathlon has been investigated in only one study with elite IRONMAN triathletes. We have, however, no knowledge of how professional triathletes pace during an IRONMAN World Championship. To investigate the split-by-split speed, pacing strategies and pacing variability in professional female and male IRONMAN World Championship participants in the fastest IRONMAN World Championship ever in IRONMAN Hawaii 2022. For both cycling and running, 25 specific split times were recorded in each discipline. The best 30 men and 30 women overall were chosen from the official IRONMAN website database for further analysis. They were divided into three performance groups: Top 10, 11-20th place, and 21st-30th place. Mean speed, individual linear regressions with the corresponding correlation coefficients, and coefficient of variation were calculated to assess split-by-split speed, pacing strategies, and pacing variability, respectively. In both men's and women's cycling and running segments, the top ten participants exhibited faster split times compared to the slower performance groups. Notably, no discernible differences existed between the 11-20th and 21st-30th place in men's cycling and women's running times. Conversely, in men's running and women's cycling segments, those in the 11-20th place displayed quicker times than those in the 21st-30th place. In the cycling segment across all groups, men demonstrated a more negative pacing pattern (indicating an increase in speed), whereas women exhibited more consistent pacing. In the running segment, the top 10 men and all women's groups showcased relatively similar slightly positive pacing profiles. However, men ranking 11-20th and 21st-30th displayed more pronounced positive pacing strategies, implying a more significant decline in speed over time. In terms of cycling, the variability in pacing remained relatively consistent across the three performance groups. Conversely, during the running segment, the top ten male triathletes and those in the 11-20th place displayed lower pacing variability than their counterparts in the 21st-30th position place and all women's groups. In summary, performance and pacing were examined in professional male and female IRONMAN World Championship participants during IRONMAN Hawaii 2022. Top performers showed faster cycling and running split times, with differences in pacing strategies between sexes. The pacing was more consistent in cycling, while running pacing varied more, particularly among male triathletes in different performance groups.
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Knechtle et al. (2023) conducted an observational in Professional IRONMAN triathletes (n=60). Performance ranking and sex vs. Lower ranked groups was evaluated on Split-by-split speed and pacing strategies during cycling and running (p=<0.01). Top 10 male and female triathletes exhibited significantly faster cycling and running split times than slower performance groups, with men demonstrating a more negative pacing pattern in cycling.
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