Regardless of whether you are a short-course or long-course triathlete, it is important to be properly fueled and hydrated during training sessions and a race. The bike portion of a race is where the decisions you make with nutrition and hydration can allow you to excel on the bike portion and set you up for a good run off the bike as well. There are endless options and combinations for hydration systems on bikes out there and it can be overwhelming.

Before diving into all the different types, it is important to ask yourself:

1. How long do I plan to be on the bike/ How many bottles will I need?
   • The average requirement is ~1 bottle (24-26oz) per hour but it is best to know your personal sweat rate to know exactly how much is needed.
2. Does my nutrition match the provided nutrition on the course?
   • If so, do I feel comfortable retrieving nutrition from the aid station?
   • If not, I will need to keep my specific nutrition on my own bike
3. Where do I feel most comfortable retrieving my fluids from?

Here are the 3 types of hydration systems/ locations where you can store fluids on the bike:

1. An aero bar-mounted system is a bottle or cage between the aero bars. Typically most 70.3 and Ironman athletes have a refillable bottle between their aero bars. It is conveniently accessible right under your head and you do not have to break the aero position to hydrate. This is the bar-mount system we recommend to our athletes.

2. A frame-mounted system is common for all bicycle types and is relatively easy to retrieve bottles from and to store bottles retrieved from an aid station. Also, a frame cage is sufficient for shorter races. This is the one we recommend to our athletes.

3. The rear-mounted system is aerodynamically favorable but has the ability to lose a bottle on a rough road. It also requires some practice to learn to take a bottle out and put it back while maintaining balance. This is a good place to store your additional bottles to refill the aero bar hydration system as well. This is the rear-mount system we recommend to our athletes.

Ask yourself the questions above, check some of the options at your local bike shop to see what is compatible with your bike, discuss your thoughts with your coach, and practice using your hydration system set-ups in training so race day goes smoothly.

-Coach Val

READ MORE: WHY USE A POWER METER FOR BIKE TRAINING