Physically, if there’s a 2 mile neutral zone and the race is 42 miles long you probably could get by without a warm-up. But there are several benefits to doing a warm-up besides physical. Often warming up will let you see some of the course. It will Give you an opportunity to do a final shake down of your bike make sure everything is working right. It’s an awesome time to scope out your competitors and chat with your teammates. It gives you something to do. Don’t underestimate this. Tooling around in your bike for 20 minutes at low-watts is going to be way more calming than sitting in the parking lot looking at your watch. Even if it’s only going to have minimal physical benefits. if nothing else, planning for a 30 minute warm-up gives you 30 minutes of leeway if something goes wrong and you end up having to skip it. So my advice is always leave time for a decent warm-up and always ride your bike for a while before you go to the start line
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