Originally Posted by hhnngg1

I won my age group at a local sprint triathlon a few weeks ago.

My margin of victory was 45 seconds. About 20 of those seconds separating me from #2 was due to a faster transition time since I get out of my shoes while I'm still on the bike (routine for competitive triathletes) which gave me a 20 second transition advantage on the #2 guy, and the other 20 seconds were due to actual speed differences spread amongst swim/bike/running. I'm not a studly racer by any stretch but it's pretty common for me to be within 1 minute (or seconds) of an age group podium in every sprint-oly race I do. I often lose by a lot more than just a few minutes, but I never get into spots #1-3 by more than 1-2 minutes, max.

Aero gear (and fast transitions) are definitely worth it for me. Sure, I can train harder and more and gain even more time, but I feel like I'm already stretching myself thin with training, life, and family, so the aero gains are all good for me. I run a rear disc cover and an aero helmet for my races.