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u/AnnualBase8581

r/triathlon r/IronmanTriathlon r/u_AnnualBase8581
Image 1 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 2 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 3 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 4 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 5 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 6 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 7 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 8 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 9 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 10 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 11 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 12 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 13 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 14 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
Image 15 — I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down
▲ 128 r/IronmanTriathlon+1 crossposts

I measured 14 pro bike positions from Kona race photos. The trend is hands up, not backs down

I'm a triathlete and I build a technique-analysis app (disclosure below). The day after Kona I ran fourteen pro bike positions from race photos through a pose model and measured four upper-body angles. The median:


| Angle | Median | Middle half | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torso, from horizontal | 20° | 17–24° | 12–32° |
| Shoulder (torso to upper arm) | 85° | 77–88° | 71–97° |
| Elbow | 80° | 76–89° | 62–107° |
| Forearm tilt above horizontal | 25° | 21–26° | 10–31° |


What stood out:


- **Hands up.** 7/14 tilted forearms more than 25°, 2/14 under 15°. UCI raised the armrest tilt limit from 15° to 30° in 2023. Maddocks & Walker (2025, Sports Engineering — CFD validated in a tunnel, one pro): high hands alone ~3% less drag area, with narrow elbows 7.7–11.2%.
- **The elbow pays for it.** Elbow and forearm tilt moved together more than any other pair (r = −0.76). Four riders were under a 75° elbow floor that was written for flat forearms.
- **The torso isn't that low.** Median 20°. Fintelman (2015, n=19): 24°→16° saves ~5% frontal area but max power drops as the torso goes down; a flat back was significantly worse than every other position. Six of fourteen were under 20° — pros, 4+ hours, years of conditioning.
- **Closed shoulders are fine.** 5/14 under 80°. Fitters aim for 90° but don't call less than 90° a fault.


Caveats, because they matter:
- One race, one day, one roadside viewpoint, 2D angles, roughly ±2–3°.
- Some athletes may be in more than one photo; each photo counts as one position. No names — I can't verify who's in every frame.
- **No knee/saddle numbers.** A race photo freezes the crank anywhere, and every photo was drive side. On my own bikes I measured that the chainring behind the ankle makes the knee at the bottom of the stroke read 8–10° low. So I left legs out.
- One shoulder point was misplaced by the model (on the top of the back) and I moved it by hand; it's marked on that figure.
u/AnnualBase8581 — 4 days ago
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T-7 to 70.3 Victoria — chasing sub-4:30. Here’s where the numbers actually landed

One week out from Ironman 70.3 Victoria. 255-week training streak deep, and this is the first block where I’m walking into race week with actual evidence instead of vibes.

•	Half marathon PR dropped by \~5 mins  
•	FTP up 30 watts to 280W  
•	CTL peaked at 98, TSB now climbing back into race-ready territory  
•	ACWR held in the sweet spot the whole block — no junk fatigue, no panic taper

What changed this season honestly wasn’t the volume — it was finally training to the data instead of around it. I built a tool called Motus AI (https://getmotus.fit) for exactly this problem: polarized plan that adapts to your phase, Goal Probability that tells you flat-out whether your target is realistic, and post-workout feedback that catches drift before it becomes a hole. Full disclosure since this is Reddit — yes, it’s mine

Anyone else racing Victoria next weekend? Would love to grab a coffee at the expo. 🌊🚴‍♂️🏃‍♂️

u/AnnualBase8581 — 5 months ago