There is a dirty little secret that some really good triathletes know. Sprinting skills pay off big time. The two reasons to have great sprinting speed are to confidently pass a competitor and to make the best time through rolling hills.
From my bike racing career, surges and periods where the peloton went anaerobic were common. I hear triathletes complain of the difficulty with surges when on group rides. The pros recognize how important power is which is one of the biggest reasons their times are so fast. Surging is really important
Current bicycles are very efficient but the greater speeds require a broader range of mechanical advantage to overcome than running. What this means is bigger improvements occur with smaller changes in cycling over the other sports because of the leverage effect.
Think about this. It is easier to hold speed than to accelerate. Learn to keep from losing speed going uphill by going harder, then recover in the downhill sections of rolling terrain. Lance even stood to accelerate while holding a flat back this year in the Tour which was interesting as he was trying to use every bit of efficiency to overcome his age difference with the other riders.
Many triathletes take it easy going up hill and hammer the downhills which is not as fast as the opposite. The key is practice. You can go a little anaerobic on the bike because you will recover. Try it. You’ll like the results.
