Exercise intensity during repeated days of racing in professional triathletes

The purpose of this study was to estimate the exercise intensity from the competition heart rate (HR) of professional triathletes during a multi-triathlon race. Five internationally ranked professional triathletes completed incremental cycling and running tests to assess the first and second ventilatory thresholds (i.e., VT and RCT) and the HR at VT and RCT. HR was then monitored during a 5 d multi-triathlon race: a prologue time trial (PTT, 0.2 km swim -- 5 km cycle -- 1.2 km run) that opened the race; short-distance triathlons (SHD; 1.3 km swim -- 36 km cycle -- 8.4 km run) performed on the 2nd and 5th days; and sprint-distance triathlons (SPD; 0.75 km swim -- 20 km cycle -- 5 km run) performed on the 3rd and 4th days. All trials except the last (i.e., the second SHD) were performed above HR corresponding to RCT. PTT elicited significantly higher mean HR than the other trials (except for the first SPD trial). In contrast, the last SHD elicited significantly lower HR than the other trials. These responses were globally similar in the 3 segments (i.e., swim, cycle, and run). This study demonstrates that the triathletes performed at very high intensity during a drafting-permitted multi-triathlon race. However, as shown for multi-day cycling distances, the HR responses depended on (i) the distance covered and (ii) group behavior.