IMCDA - Full sleeve vs tri top for bike

Mark Hickman

Not sure how tested this is amongst racers, but is there any benefit to wearing a very tight cycling jersey vs the EN tri top (both with cooling sleeves) on a day that is expected to be what IMCDA is looking to be?  Is it just a sun burn/exposure thing?  My shoulders/back seems to get burned often when sunscreen isn't applied to area that is exposed when moving to aero position from a standing position (where they apply it).  I'm back and forth with making this decision and would appreciate any insight/previous experiences.  Day is currently projected to be partly cloudy, so hopefully that will have a very small but positive effect when you hit the cloud shadows.

Mark

rlh2000

Mark, I'm going with jersey mostly because I want to be able to carry an extra bottle in the back pocket. The added sun protection was also a big reason, and I feel like with all the time goals out the window, any time from changing or lost due to an aero penalty of a cycling jersey won't really matter. I'd say for this race if there is anything you think could make you even a teensy bit more comfortable/cool, do it.

John Withrow

I raced all 3 of my IM's last year in a bike jersey and will do the same this yr. Kona and Cozumel were both hot (albeit not as bad as CdA will be...) and I really liked having the sun protection and the extra pockets to carry some bars. Took me an extra ~15-20 seconds to put it on in T1 and an extra ~15 seconds in T2 to switch to a tri top for the run. Time very well spent in my opinion.

Douglas Sutherland

I bought a stock IMCDA bike jersey, not especially tight, and cooling sleaves from Wattie. Will see how that rolls!

Rich Stanbaugh

Mark - I have worn a bike jersey for 3 full's just to protect my shoulders. I wear arm coolers for the same reason. At IM Los Cabos last year, I saw some of the most spectacular sun burns I've ever seen... but not on me. The shirt / sleeves helped tremendously.