Quote Originally Posted by salsabike View Post

What's ALSO interesting is that you are the second coach/PT in less than 24 hours to say---not sure that a tri bike is better than a road bike for races. Especially around here, where some of the courses are pretty hilly.
The first coach who told me that was also talking about her own experiences. She is quite fast and very comfortable in the aero position. She has done four IMs--Canada three times, CDA once. She said her fastest bike time was on her old road bike (taking into account different conditions on different race days as best she could), and that she--a fast hill climber on a road bike--noticed that she loses significant climbing time on her tri bike. So even if all the things you mention are working for the athlete, a tri bike may not necessarily give an advantage.