Hi, Mel. First of all: Beutifull bikes yours BMCs!!!
Everything is pretty arranged in my training, but i have two questions about racing gear.
First: Why every pro ( except Candy Angle that i can remember ) chose to take out the swim suit for the bike course ?
Second: Again, why almost every pro ( Brent McMahon is an exception ) chose not to use a camelback ? I find it is easier to drink with that because i can keep spinning faster and stronger than if i have to use the hands to hang the bottle and ride at the same time, and i can drink in technical parts of the course.
Please let me know your opinion.
Thanks, Bye. Luiz.

Hi Luiz,

For some of us, our sponsorship is with companies that require certain colors/clothing brands. Last year I was required to wear the Saucony clothing so I would swim with a Speedo suit over my kit and remove it after the swim. Conrad did the same. Candy is sponsored by Speedo so she would wear the same suit for the entire race. Although Speedo is the fastest in the water, the Xterra race is quite long. I appreciate a bit more padding in the shorts on the bike... but in the past I have done the whole race in a swimsuit. This year I am planning to race in Descente trisuits. I like having a proper trishort for riding rather than just a swim bottom. This will end up being whatever you become accustomed to and comfortable with. Keep in mind, cycling shorts will not dry fast enough and you could have chafing if you swim in them and Xterra is kind of a short race with no changerooms for a complete change of clothing .

As for a camelback, again, this is what you are used to. I come from mountainbiking so I am used to exchanging bottles in a feedzone. I usually carry two on my bike and exchange at every feed. If you are used to a camelback you will be guaranteed to get the drink you want throughout the race. I find camelbacks awkward because I never train with them. There is no right or wrong... it is entirely preference.

Thanks for the answer Mel...i'd never guess about the sponsors. Hey, do you know the max amount of carbs that we can absorb in a hour ? I've heard since 60g/h until 130g/h. The only thing i know is that i race much, much, much better with lots of carbs. Thanks again, Luiz.

Sorry, I lost my last two attempts at this post!

I dunno if there is an absolute number for carb absorption. What I do know is it works better for me to focus on hydration with my bottles and focus on energy with Gu. I try to eat Gu just before a feed zone where I ensure I take a water and drink the bottles on my bike with the optimum % concentration Gu2O for absorption (8%).

This works for me and others may use a different strategy.

With a camelback, this would work really well for you as well.

M

Thanks, Mel. I work better with gels for carbs and gatorade for hidratation too.