One of the more common questions we get from beginner triathletes is if they can use their mountain bike, commuter bike, or hybrid bike in the triathlon. The answer is yes, absolutely – especially if you are doing a sprint or perhaps even an Olympic distance. There is no judgment based on having the “right” cycle.

My typical recommendation is to add the total distances of your duathlon run legs together and then assume you’re racing a standard running distance one step longer, i.e. if the duathlon totals 10k of running, then pace the runs off the idea that you’re racing 10 miles open.

You should place your foot on the pedal so that the axle of the pedal sits just behind the ball of your foot. This differs to how you would place your foot with clipless pedals and will help to prevent you from springing up and off of the pedals if you extend your foot downwards.

If it’s really cold clothing that covers your knees is the way forward. Cycling shorts and a technical tee are fine for a duathlon if you don’t have a Tri Suit. Probably best not to tackle a duathlon longer than sprint distance if you’re just wearing running shorts as they can get uncomfortable on the bike.

The short answer is yes, you can put road wheels on a mountain bike, but due to the very different design of a mountain bike when compared to a road bike, you also need to make some other adjustments and take the design of the bike into consideration to make this transition work out.

You should position your foot over your bicycle pedal so that the ball of your foot, also called the metatarsal, is directly over the pivot arm of the pedal. Positioning your metatarsal over this part of the pedal maximizes stability when bicycling.

A standard distance is double those distances. The winning time in a sprint distance duathlon is likely to be around an hour with other finishers taking up to two hours. Duathlons start with a run to spread people out. If they started with a bike race there would just be a big, potentially dangerous bunch of riders.

Put your bike in transition early enough not to have the worst spot. Go hang out for an hour or so, off your feet. About 20 minutes out, start an easy warm-up run for about 10-15 minutes. Pick up the pace to race pace for a minute or two at the end and then run up to the line.

To jump with flat pedals, first “preload” the front end of the bike by lowering your chest closer to the handlebars. Next, use your arms and shift your body back to lift up the front wheel. Then using a scooping motion on the pedals, shift your weight forward and push forward on the bars.

The Racing Underground has welcomed over 2,000 first-time duathletes in its 22 year history!!! Is a mountain Bike OK? Absolutely. Many athletes who are not going for a big win ride their mountain bikes, and your body position is a little more comfortable on a mountain bike anyway.

A duathlon race is based around the standard distance event of a 10km run, 40km bike, and a 5km run. This provides a challenging multisport event for athletes of all abilities. Although the most common distance in a duathlon is the standard distance. Distances can vary depending on the race organizer, but the format is similar.

Brick workouts include both the running and bike training combined. Run-to-bike and bike-to-run are important to training for running off the bike. Make sure you include these into your training. This can be shorter brick sessions such as 2x 10k Bike/ 2k Run or 3 x 1.5k Run/8k Bike.

Going for a short, sharp run straight after a bike ride is a common add-on session for many duathletes and it should be a regular part of your training. However, most athletes don’t think of going for a short run just before a ride so that you get used to riding having run already.