Published on July 23, 2026 at 07:06 AM
to watch Tour of France As a triathlete it is a complex experience. On the one hand, you are Watch the best cyclists in the world Pushing the limits of human performance. But on the other hand, a lot of what they do has nothing to do with triathlon at all. If you try to imitate a Tour de France racer’s routine, half of it will make you faster, while the other half will make you exhausted and sick. The trick is to know which half it is.
Here are five things Tour de France riders do that can make their athletes faster, and five things that seem fast in the Tour, but don’t belong anywhere near your next triathlon.
5 things athletes can learn from Tour de France cyclists
1. High-carb fueling is key
Tour de France riders consume at least 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour in each stage for three consecutive weeks. In some phases, they may consume 100-150 grams of carbohydrates per hour, such as a mountain breakaway phase or a high mountain GC phase. With most stages lasting 4-5 hours, this means that each rider is consuming a significant amount of carbohydrates day after day.
Carb fuel performance, the same can be seen in triathlon. It doesn’t matter that one race is three weeks long and the other is one day. Triathletes consume at least 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour during their race, and some are said to have consumed much more than that. We’ve heard about numbers Over 200 grams of carbohydrates per hourAlthough the exact amount varies between athletes, the same principle holds true: high-carb fueling is key to achieving peak performance in cycling and triathlon.
2. Aerobic mode training pays off
In the age of power meters, lactate monitors, and an endless amount of high-tech wearables, it’s easy to forget that ultimately, the only thing that matters is speed. The quickest way to get from point A to point B (whether it’s the Tour de France or the Ironman World Championships) is to go as fast as you can. Energy, heart rate, blood sugar level, and lactate are certainly part of this equation, but perhaps the biggest factor is… Aerodynamic drag.
Adjusting your cycling mode to be 20W faster is often easier aerodynamically than getting 20W of training power in pure time. Professionals participate in wind tunnel testing, but you can improve your antenna placement at home for free. Focus on narrowing your shoulders, lowering your head, and closing the gap between your face, hands, and arms. Although everyone’s aero position will look a little different, these are the adjustments you can make to improve your aerodynamics. The Tour de France is faster than ever thanks in large part to improved aero modes. Some positions, such as the puppy’s feet and forearms on the hoods, were already in place Banned by UCI. At the end of the day, being as fast as possible is about much more than just pushing hard on the pedals. Improve your aerodynamicsAnd you can improve your bike speed by 0.5-1 km/h with the same power output.
3. Don’t skip the warm-up
Before the main stages of the Tour de France such as the time trial or the uphill start, you will see riders warming up on turbo trainers next to their team buses. They will spend 20 to 40 minutes rotating their legs, doing some effort, and preparing their bodies for the effort ahead. While some stages start with an easy neutral zone, others start with a full gas effort from the gun.
A triathlon starts with a bang, as each athlete runs into the water, dives in, and fights to get into position. The pace settles down at some point, but the beginning is very intense. If you are not prepared for this kind of effort, you may lose a lot of time or start suffering from cramps. Starting cold is one of the worst ways to start a triathlon, and like Tour de France riders on the mountain stage, you don’t want to fall behind because you neglected to warm up. (here Warm-up routine for each race distancein case you need it.)
4. Use heat training intentionally and effectively
Heat training is one of the trending topics that has stuck around for much longer than many of us expected. We’ve heard a lot of training fads over the years. Hundreds of cyclists and professional athletes still use heat training to prepare for the world’s biggest races. Tour de France riders use heat training to prepare for the French heat in July, while the athletes have plenty of hot weather races where heat acclimatization is crucial to performance.
Not only does heat training improve performance in hot and humid conditions, it also reduces stroke riskOther physiological changes that can improve performance. Changes in plasma volume, VO2 max, and sweat response are notable adaptations from thermal training, both passive and active. Passive heat training, such as using a sauna, has been shown to improve performance, but many experts suggest that active heat training (for example, cycling or running indoors in a sauna suit) is more effective. Either way, performance gains are important for both cyclists and triathletes, especially in hot weather races.
5. Establish a race-day routine (and stick to it)
Tour riders follow the same pre-race routine every day for three weeks. They focus on high-quality sleep, a well-timed, nutritious breakfast, and pre-race gear checks before each stage. The protocol may need to be modified to accommodate slightly different start times, location and weather, but this makes the routine even more valuable because there is always a plan to fall back on.
In the Tour de France, your pre-race routine is crucial to maximize performance and recovery day after day. But in triathlon, there is only one day to focus on. This means that your pre-race routine should be practiced well before the event and tested in training or race simulator training. This routine reduces the chances of something going wrong, a forgotten piece of equipment, or last-minute stress right before a race. When you need your energy to perform on your race day, don’t waste it creating a packing list the night before because you never did any of that in training.
5 Tour de France Lessons Athletes Can Ignore
1. Achieving your best performance means being as agile as possible
It’s no secret that power-to-weight ratio dominates the Tour de France, especially among the contenders for the yellow jersey. Some riders even said that they would deliberately lose 3-5 kg between winter and summer in order to prepare for the Tour de France. Long, steep climbs reward more watts per kilogram (w/kg) than raw power output, but the same can’t be said in triathlon.
Most triathlon races are flat or mountainous. Very few of them are mountainous, which means raw production results in higher speed and better performance. You will do it Rarely do you see a professional triathlete like the Tour de France climber. They are simply different body types in different sports and have different goals. Someone is supposed to ride a 30-minute climb as quickly as possible. The other aims for strength by swimming, cycling and running as fast as possible. You need pure strength and durability to handle the demands of triathlon, and that’s something Tour de France riders sacrifice in order to be agile.
2. Aggression is the best tactic
Every stage of the Tour de France is aggressive. Whether it’s sprinting to the win, fighting for position, or throwing the bike at the KOM/QOM flag, aggression leads to success more often than not on Tour. Especially in the modern era of professional cycling, riders race hard from kilometer zero. They are sprinting out of corners, sprinting for green jersey points, and sprinting to their positions with 5km to go. This kind of aggression burns many matches, but it’s often worth it in the Tour de France.
Burning matches is not the best way to race a triathlon. Some aggression can help with positioning, but it’s a completely different level from the “elbows up” approach in the round. You can also blow up your speed strategy by racing hard. Although getting to the main climb is important on the Tour, you may not want to fight your way to the front of a triathlon when there are two hours of racing left. Speed usually trumps aggression in triathlon, which is why you don’t often see triathletes diving into an angle on a bike leg.
3. Work on improving your ability to produce a race-winning sprint
Whether you’re a sprinter, climber, cyclist or GC competitor, improving your sprint directly improves your chances of winning the Tour de France. Some stages amount to a huge field race where riders push 1,900 watts and travel at 70 km/h. The other stages are decided by a two-man sprint in the breakaway, with each rider getting a chance at Tour de France glory.
But in triathlon, improving your sprint speed probably won’t improve your overall performance. Most triathlons are based on speedAnd speed and fitness in general. There may be the occasional sprint to the finish line, but even that has more to do with your ability to run on tired legs than your ability to produce peak power. Some sprint work may be helpful in training, especially if it’s a weakness of yours. But if you can only produce 1100 watts on the bike instead of 1200 watts, it won’t make a difference in a triathlon. If you’re running fast to win a stage of the Tour de France, it could mean the difference between winning and losing.
4. Peak for a three-week race instead of one day
Tour de France riders do not peak on the first stage. In fact, they do not reach climax in one phase. Instead, they time their peak so that they reach their highest level during phases that suit them. For runners, this could mean peaking in the first week of the Tour de France. For climbers and GC contenders, this may mean peaking in weeks two and three.
Triathletes aim to peak in one day: race day. There’s not a wide range to aim for, so it takes some practice Nail down your taper And peak protocol. The last thing you want is to feel terrible five days after your goal race. This might work well on tour, but you only have one day to shoot at a triathlon.
5. Copy the bike settings
At some point, you’ve probably watched a professional cyclist spin a double-disc wheel in a time trial. Don’t do that In triathlon. The dual-disc setup is designed for short, flat trials with minimal crosswind. Even in the shortest triathlons, a double-disc wheel is considered impractical and dangerous. This isn’t the only piece of equipment it’s best to keep on hand while road cycling.
Some professional cyclists wear leather suits without pockets, especially in time trials. That’s because bike TTs are very short compared to triathlons (most TTs last less than 40 minutes), but what about road stages? Both road cycling and triathlon have feed areas or aid stations, but in pro cycling, your staff will have someone standing there waiting to hand your bottle and gels to you. If you have to miss the hand-raising opportunity, you can return to the team car, which holds hundreds of bottles as well as any fuel you may need during the race. This level of support doesn’t exist in triathlon, so you’ll have to rely on carrying more fuel Your three-piece suit and On your bike.
