squeezing you despite all your reflective strips. In fact, off-road riding offers a chance for you to improve your fitness, bike-handling skills and balance - all relevant skills for the forthcoming road triathlon race season - in a safe environment
ultra-endurance and 24-hour mountain bike champion Chris Eatough (chriseatough.com), who trains riders to tackle long off-road rides. Eatough recommends doing three sets each of the following moves two or three times a week. Use the first set of 10
triathlete. He has been involved in sport since school. He began with track running but moved on to bikes and now races on the XTERRA off-road triathlon circuit in Europe. In 2008 he qualified for the XTERRA World Championships. He did his first triathlon
says. Then it's time for advanced hydrocolloid bandages - precious items for road-rash victims. "Put them on, and just leave them for a week until they fall off," she says. "They keep bacteria out, but let water come through and evaporate." Iams's other
eyes off the road. Open energy bars before you set off, for easy access when you're on the move, and keep snacks in the most reachable, outside part of your jersey pocket. Practise reaching into your pockets as well as grabbing your water bottle while
bike-handling skills off-road. "Triathletes who train on their mountain bikes in winter gain a huge advantage over those who simply stick to the roads," says Rich Martin, director of Cyclewise Training. One trick Martin uses to develop triathletes' bike
from £200-£5000 on a road bike, although something in the £400-£800 range will give you a good entry point into lightweight road-racing bikes. You don't necessarily have to buy a road bike (although if you are planning to race in a triathlon
commute on my cyclo-cross bike," says Lumley. "It's more robust and safer in urban environments, and I can also go off-road when possible - along canal towpaths, for example."Suit your own needsYou may be lucky enough to have a quiet route to work
If you're an experienced cyclist, the bike section of a triathlon holds no fears. But if you haven't cycled since you were a child, a bike can seem a complicated and dangerous machine. Most triathletes start off in the sport with one weakness
combination of hand signals and voice to indicate hazards."Going the distanceIf you're planning a long run or bike ride, David Tilbury-Davis, a Level III triathlon coach, recommends that you carry a mobile phone in a waterpoof bag - it won't be much use
