![\"E-bikes](\"https:\/\/www.triathlete.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ebikes-PC-Susan-Lacke.jpg\")
<\/p>\nVan Rysel has a new concept TT e-bike that might scare you. I say embrace it.<\/p>\n
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E-bikes can play a role in getting athletes comfortable on a bike or recovering from injury. Susan Lacke explains. (Photo: Susan Lacke\/Triathlete)<\/p>\n
Published January 20, 2026 06:40AM<\/p>\n
Last week, Belgian cycling brand Van Rysel announced a new concept TT bike<\/a>. They touted it as a \u201cbold statement of innovation\u201d that is \u201cshowcasing what\u2019s possible and inspiring the future of cycling.\u201d It claims to \u201cdouble riders\u2019 functional threshold power (FTP)<\/a> and deliver the thrill of pro-level speed.\u201d<\/p>\n The big innovation? A motor.<\/p>\n You\u2019re probably throwing your hands up in exasperation and muttering something about how no one wants to do hard work anymore (bonus points if you preface that statement with \u201ckids these days\u201d).<\/p>\n Maybe you\u2019re angered about the idea of people using e-bikes to cheat at your next race, or concerned that triathlon will turn into some kind of motor-doped En*anced G*mes spin-off (we self-censor here to prevent any accidental coverage). Or maybe you\u2019re just wondering why anyone would bother with e-bikes.<\/p>\n As someone who bothers with e-bikes fairly regularly, I can tell you they\u2019re pretty freaking great, actually.<\/p>\n The accidental e-biker<\/p>\n Years ago, my husband bought me an e-bike for my birthday. At our house, we subscribe to the \u201cn+1\u201d philosophy when it comes to bikes, yet I was still offended when I first saw the battery pack and pedal assist features on the mountain bike frame. I believe my exact words were \u201cWhere the hell do you expect me to ride this thing?\u201d<\/p>\n As it turns out, the answer was \u201cwith him.\u201d Though I loved riding my road and tri bikes, I had largely avoided gravel and mountain biking with my husband because I simply couldn\u2019t keep up on the more challenging terrain. Sure, I could have trained harder and built the strength to do those kinds of rides, but I didn\u2019t see the point. Like many triathletes, I looked at off-road racing<\/a> like XTERRA as some kind of extreme branch of the sport that wasn\u2019t for me.<\/p>\n That changed the first time I rode on an e-bike-friendly trail at a local mountain preserve. I came home sweaty, dirty, and grinning from ear to ear. My husband was stoked that I had a great time, because the first and last time I rode mountain bikes with him, I cried and swore to never-ever-ever ride with him again.<\/p>\n Yet after that first e-bike ride, I wasn\u2019t just planning on going again (and again), I was looking up strategies to build up my skills for mountain biking<\/a>. My Class 1 e-bike (which has no throttle) required me to do a lot of the work, but offered a little pedal-assisted boost on steep climbs. I still had to get my heart rate up to stay within view of my husband, but I wasn\u2019t frustrated by the chase \u2013 I was giggly.<\/p>\n Why e-bikes are rad Having pedal assist on an e-bike felt like the training wheels I had on my pink Huffy as a kid: I was glad they were there while learning to ride, but also wanted to practice and get good enough to ditch them. My e-bike gave me a glimpse of what could be possible with some bike-specific strength training<\/a>. Suddenly, I had a new goal: to buy a so-called \u201creal\u201d mountain bike and train for an off-road triathlon.<\/p>\n A few years later, when recovering from a health scare and surgery, an e-bike allowed me to continue joining in on light social rides with my core group of training buddies<\/a>, whose fitness at that time was far greater than mine. I am not exaggerating when I say that an e-bike is what saved me from isolation, depression, and self-loathing during a very difficult time in my life. If I couldn\u2019t have gotten on a bike, I\u2019m not sure I would have gotten out of the house. I\u2019m not sure I would have reclaimed my fitness, either \u2013 the thought of rebuilding from the ground up felt too overwhelming at that time.<\/p>\n My pro-e-bike stance strengthened when I started using it as a mode of transportation. Now, instead of fighting traffic, I get from Point A to Point B fairly efficiently. (This is the case for a lot of e-bike users; a 2022 study<\/a> found that when people ride an e-bike, their car mileage goes down by half).<\/p>\n Even more benefits of e-bikes<\/p>\n There are other ways triathletes might benefit from e-bikes. Upon reading the Van Rysel press release, my editor-in-chief, Chris Foster, astutely pointed out that pro triathletes have been motor pacing for years. This could be a tool for that.<\/p>\n It could also be used for real-time road aero testing, where the rider sets a specific wattage, then adjusts position to find the optimal setup at a higher average speed. This seems to be the premise of the Van Rysel concept bike, which they say will be used to \u201cinvestigate extreme speed scenarios in a controlled environment.\u201d An e-bike could make it easier to unlock new speed secrets for conventional, non-motorized bikes, and that\u2019s an exciting thing to think about.<\/p>\n But I believe the greatest benefit of embracing e-bikes is inclusivity. An e-bike makes the impossible feel possible. Whether you\u2019re a brand-new rider scared of how you\u2019ll make it 20 miles, an injured triathlete wondering how to start all over again post-recovery, or someone who cries while mountain biking with her husband because \u201cit\u2019s just not fair\u201d (ahem), that little bit of pedal assist could be just the momentum you need to discover (or rediscover) the things your body can do.<\/p>\n And yes, a workout on an e-bike still counts as a workout: Research shows<\/a> riding a pedal-assist bike still gets a rider\u2019s heart rate and VO2 max<\/a> up to \u201cmoderate intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"Getting](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-role-of-e-bikes-in-triathlon-scaled.jpg\"\/)
Getting a mountain e-bike was the perfect entry into the sport for Susan Lacke. (Photo: Susan Lacke\/Triathlete)<\/p>\n