All the action from Maui: XTERRA World Championship 2017
The team at XTERRA (www.XterraPlanet.com) have put together a cracking video package from their 2017 World Championship event held in Maui on 29th October. Enjoy the action and all the thrills and spills of off-road triathlon racing.
A great debut for the Long Course Weekend Mallorca
Held from 3rd-5th November 2017, the debut of the Long Course Weekend Mallorca (www.lcwmallorca.com) proved to be a great success, with over 1,000 athletes taking part over the three days in one or more of the swim, cycle and run event – with the overall ‘Long Course Weekend’ titles going to the British pairing of Lucy Gossage and Tom Vickery (read more HERE).
We’ve already heard lots of great feedback from athletes with plenty planning to return in 2018. Check out this video to get flavour of the action from Alcudia, Mallorca.
In August (HERE) we featured the announcement of a new ‘Xtreme’ triathlon coming to Spain in 2018 – Hispaman Xtreme Triathlon.
Now confirmed for September 29th 2018, entries for the event open tomorrow – Wednesday 25th October – with a saving of 79 € on the first 30 entries. A total of only 330 places are available.
Hispaman Xtreme Triathlon registration opening on October 25
30 premium slots at a standard price (a discount of 79 €)
The first edition of Hispaman Xtreme Triathlon will be on Octber 29, 2018. It promises to be an exciting adventure. Inspired by the essence of triathlon, Hispaman goes back to the roots of the sport with an extreme long distance triathlon (3.8 km/ 180 km / 42 km).
Designed for 330 participants, the race is inspired by the mythical Norseman. This challenge offers a unique experience to the triathletes, who will compete against themselves with their supporters.
From the sea to the top of the mountain
Located in the province of Castellón, one of the most mountainous in Spain, Hispaman arrives in 2018. From the calm waters surrounding the iconic Papa Luna Castle in Peñíscola, triathletes will face a demanding cycling route on the way to Els Ports and Alt Maestrat, in the interior of Castellón. After an elevation gain of 3,400 meters, the race runs along paths and forest tracks. With 2,000 meters of cumulative elevation, the goal is the finish line, located in Vistabella.
Opening of registrations: 25 October
Hispaman Xtreme Triathlon opens registrations this Wednesday, October 25, at 12:00. The opening offers the first 30 slots with a discount of 79 € on the standard price.
On Saturday 10th March 2018, Glasgow is set to welcome the return of the world’s toughest open-water adventure race.
The icy waters of the Forth & Clyde canal will see up to 600 open-water swimmers once again take on the adventure race like no other, swimming through 420 metres of cold water and climbing 18 metres over eight canal lock gates. Entries open on Tuesday 24 October at 10am.
In March this year, Glasgow played host to more than 300 brave competitors, traveling from as far afield as Canada, Switzerland and Lebanon to swim, climb and conquer Red Bull Neptune Steps. Now the 2018 event is aiming to double participation, as the world’s only uphill swimming race continues to grow taking to the canal waters for this it’s fourth edition.
Local swimmer Mark Deans has fought off some serious competition in recent years including Olympic swimmers and triathletes, accomplished Commonwealth Games competitors, and experienced adventure racers to string together 5 successive Red Bull Neptune Steps victories with wins in Glasgow and in Sweden. The Scottish champion swimmer recently smashed the world record for swimming 28.5 miles around Manhattan in what is considered to be one of the greatest challenges in endurance swimming, setting a new time of 6 and a half hours as part of the 20 Bridges marathon swimming event on July 23. Now, the 22 year old is relishing the prospect of defending his Red Bull Neptune Steps title following a nail-biting finale earlier this year. Looking ahead to the event Mark said:
“I’m aiming to continue my unbeaten record, and keep on winning this event for as long as I possibly can. Each year, the competition gets tougher and tougher, but I’m up for the challenge of defending my title for sure. In this sport, there’s no other event quite like it”
Red Bull Neptune Steps will take place on Saturday March 10 . Entries open Tuesday 24 Oct, 10am at redbull.co.uk/neptunesteps
Two days before the raceLionel Sanders told me he was looking forward to a war – he got one, and he wouldn’t change it for anything; “I loved the battle”.
Great Britain’s Lucy Charles topped an already incredible 2017 season by taking second place – in a Sub-9 hour time – at the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship on Saturday in Kona. I spoke to the still only 24 year-old shortly after her brilliant day.
Interviews with Great Britain’s fastest at Kona 2017:
As the start of the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship is almost here, Simon Ward looks forward to his debut racing in Hawaii – and how Dave Scott helped him lose a few more pounds to get to race weight!
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe I could win the race”
A confident Lionel Sanders is very happy with his preparation – and I grabbed some time with him on Thursday in Hawaii. “I’ve done a lot more work, I’m a lot better prepared and I want it more too”.
Great Britain Pro triathlete, Will Clarke, was all set to start his second IRONMAN World Championship on Saturday – until a bike crash eight weeks ago ruled him out.
I sat down with Will on Wednesday to find out more about his recovery, his coaching – and to get his predictions for the podium on Saturday.
Having last raced at the IRONMAN World Championship seven years ago, when she raced in the Pro category, Joanna Carritt will once again start in Kona on Saturday.
Despite years of experience and having raced in Hawaii multiple times, Joanna admits that she’s feeling more nervous than ever!
#GBKona 2017 Age-Groupers: Meet John, Paul and Huw
Based in South Wales, Wuusss Tri (www.wuussstri.co.uk) has only been in existence for a few years – and yet have three athletes qualified for the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship.
At Tuesday’s Parade of Nations I spoke to John Littlewood, Paul Thomas and Huw Jones about how they got to Hawaii, hopes for Saturday’s race – and whether there is any competition between the trio.
Great Britain’s Boo Smith joined Hillingdon Triathletes around nine years ago – and at the time, could swim around 25 metres of front crawl. Slowly.
Nine years (and a LOT of training) later – and with several English, British and European Championship medals collected along the way – Boo is racing at the IRONMAN World Championship for the first time.
“It’s a dream come true” she says. Meet Boo… who also happens to be this Editor’s sister-in-law.
The British Age-Group athlete who is not letting injury disappointment spoil his Kona experience
Sometimes in life, not everything follows the script you would like. Earlier this year, after more than 20 IRONMAN races, James McDiarmid secured a first start at the IRONMAN World Championship via the IRONMAN Legacy Program.
After “never having broken a bone in my life”, all of that changed at IRONMAN Copenhagen barely two months ago. In Kona, in a sling after recent surgery, James will not be able to start the race on Saturday, but the IRONMAN World Championship 2017 will still provide wonderful memories, as he and fiancée Francesca have a busy (wedding!) day ahead.
She’s long since proven that’s she’s no one trick pony – and now Lucy Charles is being talked about by everyone in Kona. When you’ve won Ironman Lanzarote, The Championship and finished second at the IRONMAN European Championship, that’s to be expected.
Still just 24, Lucy is taking any pressure there is in her stride and simply focussing on producing her own best performance on the day. I spoke to Lucy on Monday to see how her preparations have gone – watch the full video above for more.
“It’s going to be a battle – but I’m ready for it”
Reece Barclay is one of Great Britain’s fastest Age-Group athletes. Winner this year of The Championship in Slovakia among a series of top Age-Group results, Reece is one of several British Age-Group athletes in contention for podium honours on Saturday.
Can he add another Umeke to that he won two years ago, when finishing fifth in the 18-24 category? I spoke to him on Monday to get his thoughts on this years race. Watch the full video above for his thoughts.
On Monday morning in Hawaii I spoke to Laura Siddall just before she hit the pool for another pre-race session. The winner of IRONMAN Australia, after several years as a Pro this coming Saturday will be her first race in Kona – and she is excited about it. Watch the full video above for more.
#GBKona 2017 – Pre-race with British Pro, Harry Wiltshire
2017 has been an eventful year for last years Kona swim leader, Harry Wiltshire. I sat down with him on Friday at the Lava Java in Kona to reflect on a year that didn’t exactly go to plan – but one that he feels has left him in great shape, one week out from the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship.
Super League Triathlon Jersey title goes to Norway
Blummenfelt secures back-to-back victories ahead of Brownlee and Murray
The rain lashed down, the race format changed… but the top three finishers remained the same. While The Eliminator saw Jonathan Brownlee move ahead of Richard Murray, the weekend at Super League Triathlon Jersey would be dominated by the aggressive racing of Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt.
Here is the full roundup from SuperLeagueTriathlon.com.
Blummenfelt arises as Super League Jersey Champion
A new champion has arisen at Super League Jersey. Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway backed up his win in yesterday’s Triple Mix with the win in today’s Eliminator to score the maximum of 50 points and take the Super League Jersey overall win.
Blummenfelt took out the top spot in five out of six stages this weekend, a product of a year in which he has come into his own. In the previous Super League Triathlon event on Hamilton Island, he made a mark by winning two out of the three Eliminator stages, then went on to capitalize on this aggressive racing by taking three silvers and one bronze on the world circuit, finishing third in the world.
The podium for Eliminator mirrored the overall podium as Great Britain’s pride Jonathan Brownlee took second place over the three-stage race and in overall points, knocking erstwhile runner-up and defending Super League Hamilton Island champion Richard Murray of South Africa down to third overall.
The Eliminator format has three stages of swim-bike-run whittling the field down to the fastest 15 and then 10 to race for victory. The conditions were even wetter than the women’s race held an hour earlier as rain continued to pour down on Jersey. Not only would the fastest survive, but also the ones with the least mishaps.
Stage 1
Jake Birtwhistle and Brownlee were among the first few to exit the 300-meter swim and head out onto the five-kilometer bike leg composed of five laps around a one-kilometer circuit. The wet roads made what was already a highly technical course even more threatening. The optimal spot seemed to be up in front among the athletes with good bike handling skills. Those hanging off the back were more inclined to take risks to bridge back up, with crashes taking athletes like Dmitri Polyanskiy of Russia and Ben Dijkstra of Great Britain out of the running.
Blummenfelt found himself in the front bunch on the two-lap run on the one-kilometer circuit and could not resist taking the Stage 1 top finish ahead of Brownlee and ascendant Aussie Aaron Royle, who finished ahead of compatriots Birtwhistle and Matt Hauser, who got the last pontoon spot into Stage 2.
Stage 2
Hauser’s 15th place finish from the previous stage became a distant memory as he pushed out to the front of the swim with Brownlee on his feet. He was determined to make the final stage unlike on Hamilton Island, when he was eliminated as the 11th finisher in the second stage.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
Strong swim-bikers Ben Kanute of the USA and Australia’s Ryan Fisher pushed the bike pace to ensure they could finish the run in the top 10 even with fast runners coming up behind them. While Blummenfelt fell back to as far as 11th on the bike, this was more of an energy-conserving move as he found the front on the run again, this time with Royle in second and Brownlee in third. But finish order within the top 10 would hardly matter, as it was the Stage 3 finish that counted for the win.
Stage 3
Athletes poured out every last ounce of their speed on this final stage of the Eliminator. Aggressive racing would either be rewarded with a win, or a crash out as the rain grew even more insistent. Once again, Hauser led from the swim out onto the bike with Kanute chasing. Brownlee, showing his mastery of these trademark British conditions, sat in third. Murray was on the back foot from the swim and cycled in the back of the bunch. However, with most of the men getting off the bike together, an excellent transition put Murray right back in the race — for second.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
Blummenfelt had gone off the front in the final lap of the bike. Once his running shoes were on, he shot off in what looked like a controlled sprint and never let up. It was all Brownlee could do to keep him in sight, and Murray ran out of road to fight for the runner-up position. Hauser in fourth led the final Aussie contingent, followed by Birtwhistle and Royle.
Brownlee said, “I had a massive advantage there with British weather and British crowds so thank you to everyone for coming out even in this weather. I enjoyed today; I actually think I got fitter from yesterday, but Kristian was far better than us all the whole weekend and I was absolutely nowhere near him today. Well done, and well done to Richard as well. It’s great fun, it’s great racing and hopefully everyone’s enjoyed it.”
Murray responded, “I think Kristian was definitely ahead of both Jonny and myself today as well as yesterday but I gave it everything and the crowd was amazing. The weather didn’t play ball but the guys were safe out there most of the time and we had a great time.”
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
Blummenfelt said he could not help his gutsy approach to the day’s racing, which has ultimately won for him $18,000 in prize money. “I tried to play a little bit safe in the beginning and just make it inside the top 15 and top 10 but it’s just so hard to hold back when I like racing,” he admitted. “Hopefully I get winter off training now and I’ll be fit for next year.”
With both pro races completed, the Corporate Mix final leaderboard has also been computed. The Corporate Mix overall win relies on the total of a team’s points garnered from their relay finish position and the points from their pro male and female athletes’ finish positions. Team Comprop wins the Corporate Mix with 98 points, boosted by Blummenfelt’s 50 points. First Names Group Team 2 benefited from Katie Zaferes’ 50 points from the twin wins in the Triple Mix and Eliminator, ending up in second with 81 points. The Ravenscroft Titans found themselves in third with 61 points, propped up by their relay team’s great finishes.
Katie Zaferes is the queen of Super League Triathlon in Jersey
Wet conditions added an extra challenge to the racing today in Jersey – with plenty of crashes along the way during the three rounds of ‘The Eliminator’.
When it comes to the business end, as she was on day one, Katie Zaferes proved to be the class act of the weekend – taking the overall win after winning on both day one and day two.
Here is the full roundup from SuperLeagueTriathlon.com.
Zaferes crowned first Super League Triathlon female champion
Super League Triathlon crowned its first queen with Katie Zaferes taking out today’s Eliminator race and the overall win at Super League Jersey. The Eliminator podium also mirrored the final overall podium, with Summer Cook besting Nicola Spirig to the runner-up spot both in the race itself as well as in total points earned.
The Eliminator format involved three stages of swim-bike-run, with the field progressively growing smaller. Only the top 15 finishers of Stage 1 would go on to Stage 2, and only the ten fastest finishers of Stage 3 could compete for the Eliminator win.
Wet conditions today stood in stark contrast to yesterday’s sunshine. As the technical bike course shimmered with leftovers puddles from a midday storm, athletes needed to play a tactical game to ensure they stayed rubber-side up.
Stage 1
Great Britain’s Sophie Coldwell led through the 300-meter swim with Kirsten Kasper of the USA and Carolina Routier from Spain in second and third, but a logjam at the bike mount allowed Coldwell to break clear. Compatriot Jodie Stimpson found her way up onto Coldwell’s wheel, with the two athletes working together to control their race over the five-kilometer bike course where slick cobblestones and tight corners posed many dangers to success.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
A wise decision it seemed, for further back in the pack small mistakes on slick patches of road cost athletes some skin and more as they crashed into each other. Two pairs of athletes crashed in the same location one lap apart, taking them out of contention for Stage 2: Desirae Ridenour of Canada and Emma Pallant of Great Britain, and Barbara Riveros of Chile and Emma Jeffcoat of Australia.
Meanwhile, the leading Brits proved well capable of handling the wet, riding into transition with a clear lead for the run. Yesterday’s leading athletes Zaferes and Spirig seemed content to let Coldwell and Stimpson surge ahead; after all, one only needed to rank 15th and higher to move on to the next round.
Coldwell and Stimpson high-fived each other and crossed the finish line together after the two-kilometer run, while Spirig was unable to resist her competitive nature and surged to third place.
A race-within-a-race unfolded for 15th place, with Claire Michel of Belgium clinching the final spot into Stage 2 ahead of Russia’s Anastasia Abrosimova.
Stage 2
The big names were still among the 15 to toe the Stage 2 start line. Coldwell and Stimpson emerged from the water in front, with a few athletes in the back caught in some accidental fisticuffs on the swim.
Zaferes, Spirig, and Kasper stuck close to the two Brits to hit the run in the lead group. Coldwell faded, allowing Spirig, Zaferes, and Kasper to finish second, third, and fourth to Stimpson.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
It became a heated race for the last five spots on the Stage 3 pontoon. After a while on her own, Cook finally bridged up to the leaders. Rachel Klamer, Charlotte McShane, Emmie Charayron, and Melanie Santos beat Non Stanford for the chance to race once more.
Stage 3
While the athletes had been largely tactical through the first two stages keeping their chips close, Stage 3 of the Eliminator was where they would spend them. It was time to see who could go fastest over the now-familiar course.
The pace was up as athletes stretched out single-file over the swim. Coldwell once again was first out of the water, followed by two Americans Kasper and Cook. The three pushed to make a break on the bike, but a hard-charging Spirig pulled Stimpson and Zaferes right back up onto them.
It seemed a battle between Spirig of Switzerland and Zaferes of the USA as they got onto the run, but it was here where the American’s fleet feet took her to the front, never to look back.
Meanwhile, Cook’s track-and-field background came good as she put on a surge of her own to pip Spirig for second. While Kasper attempted to make it an all-American podium sweep, Spirig held strong to clinch third.
“On the run I knew when I made the pass I had to gap them or else it was game over. So I really just went for it and I tried not to look back. I was running pretty scared at the end but it worked out,” said Cook post-race. “I was really nervous yesterday morning and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was a little bit scared but I ended up thinking last night that yesterday’s format was one of the most fun races I’ve ever done. Today was pretty fun too but I’m still in a little bit too much pain to appreciate it yet.”
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
While Spirig slipped to third overall after coming in second yesterday, finishing at the pointy end in a top-caliber field was a testament to her strength and quality as an athlete. She said, “It’s good fun, I think it was tough for everyone today with the weather and with the format but well done to the girls and I think I did my best. I’m very happy.”
Zaferes takes home the top prize of $18,000 and the first women’s trophy for Super League Triathlon after a consistent season on the world triathlon circuit. “It’s just so cool, it’s a different style of racing. It’s a fun style but it is so painful and you cannot hide anywhere,” she said. “I would love to do more of these.”
An action-packed Triple Mix as the women debut at Super League Triathlon
Spectacular crashes, close racing, eliminations and a hugely impressive two-time Olympic medallist were just a few of the highlights from the women’s event today at Super League Triathlon Jersey. When the dust settled, it was the USA’s Katie Zaferes who took maximum points ahead of Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig.
Here is the full roundup from SuperLeagueTriathlon.com.
Katie Zaferes of the USA stunned dual Olympic medalist Nicola Spirig at the inaugural Super League Triathlon women’s race in Jersey, Channel Islands. The ascendant American was never too far off the front throughout, and took the overall win with a 19-second lead over the speedy Swiss. Compatriot Summer Cook rounded out the first women’s podium for the revolutionary race series.
Triple Mix is a three-stage race with a 10-minute break between stages and a pursuit-style start in Stages 2 and 3.
Stage 1: Swim-Bike-Run
Carolina Routier, Sophie Coldwell, and Emma Jeffcoat found clear water off the pontoon start and came out of the 300-meter swim together, but most of the athletes emerged together to form a huge chase pack which swallowed the lead swimmers once on the bike leg.
Coldwell and British compatriot Jodie Stimpson worked to put pressure through the first few laps of the five-kilometer bike ride. With the field splintering between a large front group and solo athletes trying to bridge the gap, those off the back fell victim to the 90-second elimination rule. Sameera Al Bitar found herself more than 90 seconds behind the lead athlete and was forced to retire partway through the bike.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
Stimpson, Coldwell, and Claire Michel of Belgium came off the bike together, but with the athletes so close together, Spirig emerged out front with Zaferes right on her shoulders. Summer Cook managed to stay in contention despite struggling with the technical bike course, while Lucy Hall and Mariya Shorets were eliminated after the bike leg.
Within the two-kilometer run, Michel, Spirig, and Zaferes took turns out front, but it was Michel who took the tape ahead of Spirig and Zaferes. Cook ran herself into fourth.
Stage 2: Run-Bike-Swim
With only 10 minutes to recover before starting another two-kilometer run and only seconds separating the lead three women, it didn’t take long for Zaferes to move up front. However, Spirig, Cook, and Michel came with her surge to create a 20-second gap to chasers Stimpson, Coldwell, and Rachel Klamer.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
Spirig put pressure on and gapped the leaders with her trademark bike power and great handling, but after a while Zaferes answered the surge. Apparently, Zaferes had thought one of her tires had gone flat, but once confirmed that was not the case, she confidently rode back onto Spirig’s back wheel before taking the front into transition.
Zaferes made sure to hit the water ahead of Spirig, and her stellar technique ensured she crossed the Stage 2 finish line first.
With the gap the two had created to the rest of the field, an additional seven women were eliminated, while Laura Lindemann took a nasty bike spill.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZZPZdYFWqo/
Stage 3: Bike-Swim-Run
The Swiss-American tandem played tag team throughout the opening bike leg, maintaining their lead while a race for third happened behind them. Coldwell teamed up with Kirsten Kasper to leave the rest of the field, but once the race entered the water the athletes bunched up again while Zaferes and Spirig stayed clear.
Out onto the run, Zaferes began stretching her legs and her lead to Spirig, who was never able to reclaim the front. The former collegiate track star made the final few hundred meters of the run look easy, celebrating into the finish chute.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
“When I first got on the bike I was a little off technically with the corners, but I got more comfortable and moved up and was happy with how the race progressed as it got on,” Zaferes said. “The swim feels as horrible as all the boys told us it did, so at least I was prepared for that and didn’t panic. I felt nervous especially after having raced last weekend, but I felt good. I really hope to approach tomorrow just like I did today and hope the same result comes away from it, but Day 2 gets significantly harder. I’ll go for it for sure though.”
It has been only a few months since Spirig gave birth to her second child, but today’s race showed she is still one of the most fearsome athletes to contend with on any starting line. She said, “Thank you very much for all the support from all of you. It has been great being here. I was just, it was amazing, I had good fun and I hope I’m a bit of an inspiration for all moms.”
Meanwhile, Cook used her stellar run to take herself into third place overall, the youngest on the Triple Mix podium. She said, “I’m feeling really good about today, I wasn’t sure about what to expect coming in; I felt like it could go either way. I was really proud of myself to just go out there and compete, not be afraid to put myself close to the front and just race my hardest. I haven’t really thought about tactics going into tomorrow yet. I’m kind of just trying to stay in the moment today and focus on what I needed to do. I guess I’ll have some thinking about strategy to do tonight.”
With one more day of racing to go to claim the first Super League Triathlon women’s trophy, these athletes will have to give it their all to stay on top. The Eliminator awaits, and only the fastest will survive.
Norway on top after Day One at Super League Triathlon Jersey
Great tactical racing in the Triple Mix Stage 1 at Super League Triathlon Jersey saw Kristian Blummenfelt, Richard Murray and Jonathan Brownlee set themselves up for the rest of the day.
Here is the full roundup from SuperLeagueTriathlon.com.
Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway blasted away in the final half-kilometre to finish the overall winner for today’s Triple Mix at Super League Jersey after staying out in front all day with South Africa’s Richard Murray and British crowd favorite and dual Olympic medalist Jonathan Brownlee.
Triple Mix is a three-stage race with a 10-minute break between stages and a pursuit-style start in Stages 2 and 3.
Stage 1: Swim-Bike-Run
While Jake Birtwhistle received pole position on the pontoon at yesterday’s slot draw and led out of the 300-meter swim that kicked off Stage 1, Brownlee was right on his shoulder and got the jump out of transition onto the 5-kilometer bike leg. After five laps over the flat yet technical YESSS Power bike course going over cobblestones and through tight dead turns, the Australian contingent of Birtwhistle, Matt Hauser, and Aaron Royle took the lead. It was on the run where Brownlee, Blummenfelt, and Murray asserted the dominance that would mark the rest of the race regardless of what order swimming, biking, and running would take.
Blummenfelt finished the two-kilometer run in first, with Murray and Brownlee in close pursuit. Olympic Bronze medalist Henri Schoeman came in a distant fourth as the rest of the field splintered into smaller chase groups.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
Stage 2: Run-Bike-Swim
After a 10-minute break, the pursuit-based start for Stage 2 sent the top three off on the run with an 11-second lead. In the hands of these fleet-footed athletes those 10 seconds quickly ballooned to call into play the 90-second elimination rule. With a time gap of greater than 90 seconds to the leader, Ben Shaw was eliminated unceremoniously, as were Dan Halksworth, Crisanto Grajales Valencia, and Joao Pereira.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
Once on their bikes, Blummenfelt, Murray, and Brownlee worked together to grow a monstrous lead with clear road behind them. Still joined at the hip by the time they jumped back into the water, Brownlee surged ahead by a few strokes leaving Murray to chase him through the finish chute. Schoeman kept fourth place with a great swim after slipping backwards in the bike pack, while reigning world champion Mario Mola crept up into sixth.
Stage 3: Bike-Swim-Run
The final stage of Triple Mix started with the bike leg. With the big three once again out in front, the stage saw a few more eliminated by the 90-second rule including pre-race swim favorite Richard Varga and world number five Fernando Alarza. Ben Dijkstra crashed out on the bike leg, leaving British hopes entirely in the capable hands of Brownlee.
Once into the swim, the three men played tactical, holding positions with Brownlee out in front, Murray sitting on his feet, and Blummenfelt just a little further back. The race would be decided on the run.
It was Blummenfelt who had a bit more gas in the tank as he and Murray dueled through the run leg; ultimately, the Norwegian sprinted ahead for the day’s win. Their race-within-a-race relegated Brownlee to third place, while Schoeman held strong in fourth.
Photo – Googsi Creative / The Studio M
“It feels so good. Especially Murray he’s really strong on the run so I wasn’t really sure of a way to get him but super pleased. I think the fact that we started the next stage with a gap played a huge role. We went hard in the beginning and kept going and worked well together,” said Blummenfelt, who is third in the year-end world rankings. “My plan was actually to stay a little bit more calm in the first stage but it’s too hard with this many people around cheering you on. I didn’t plan to go that hard in the beginning but seems the day played out well.”
Brownlee, a first-time racer in the Super League Triathlon formats, had a bit of adjusting to do. He said, “I took out the start in the first swim and it was full on and we had to keep going. And then I made a mistake there towards the end and it cost me the race… I’m really tired but I’ve got to do it all again tomorrow. I had the advantage of a home crowd, and it’s great to see lots of Jersey people around supporting me, so thank you.”
Defending champion Murray did not lack in taking his chances on the day. “I realized it was a four-kilometer run on the trot and I decided that was the moment to try and go for it today. Luckily I had these two men next to me to come with and it was definitely a really hard day. It was my first breakaway ever and the crowd was amazing and it’s very hard to be in a breakaway so kudos to the guys who do it every race,” he said. “Blummenfelt managed to get the better of me today but it was great from these two guys.”
Blummenfelt now sits atop the point standings with 25 points. Murray is four points behind at 21, while Brownlee has gained 18. This gives them plenty of wiggle room to take out the overall win tomorrow after the Eliminator, but as today’s race has showed, you need to race every stage like you want to win it.
Female athletes debut this weekend at Super League Triathlon Jersey
Announced in July, this coming weekend it is race time for Super League Triathlon Jersey. The first event in Hamilton Island, Australia, gained lots of plaudits – with the one exception of the ‘missing’ women. As promised (from before the first event), it is the same format and prize money for both genders this weekend.
“Our race on Hamilton Island earlier this year was an exhibition of what was to come. Super League Jersey is formally the first event of the Super League Triathlon season and we are proud to have the world’s best athletes male and female on our starting line,” says executive chairman and co-founder Chris McCormack.
Who is racing this weekend?
Five British female athletes will race this weekend – Jodie Stimpson, Non Stanford, Emma Pallant, Lucy Hall and Sophie Coldwell.
Olympic Silver medallist, Nicola Spirig (SUI), ITU Grand Final Silver medallist Katie Zaferes (USA), Charlotte McShane (AUS) and Rachel Klamer (NED) are among the favourites they will be racing against of the multiple editions of the 300m swim / 5.5km bike / 2km run course.
Alas, no Flora Duffy (BER) or Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), the top two ranked athletes of the 2017 World Triathlon Series.
The course?
The formats?
Day one of racing will comprise the Triple Mix – three triathlon events, in different formats, with a short break in between: swim-bike-run / run-bike-swim / bike-swim-run.
With both the second and third legs involving swimming after cycling, there should be a few new sensations for the athletes on Saturday… and not always pleasant ones!
Day two (Sunday) will comprise the Eliminator.
Three triathlons, starting exactly ten minutes after the winner crosses the line in the previous race – but if you don’t make the top-15 in the first one, you are eliminated. Miss the top-10 in the second, you are eliminated. The winner of the final race is the Eliminator Champion.
“The question posed to these athletes is: will they want to expend effort to get to the front and take advantage of a longer rest, or will they just avoid elimination in Stage 1 and 2, conserving the energy to power through to the Stage 3 win?” says McCormack.
Timings and Viewing
Saturday – Women race at 4 p.m
Sunday – Women race at 1 p.m.
To be fair, how you select the ‘best’ in Age-Group triathlon is highly debatable. Sure, the clock gives you one (objective) measure, but how do you then factor in gender, age, race distance and more?
Analogous to Boxing’s mythical pound-for-pound champion, it’s an interesting discussion rather than a mathematically solved solution. Thus, consider this a “significant performance of note” rather than a precision definition of “best”!
Ahead of the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Rotterdam, the ITU Hall of Fame inducted six new members – one of whom was the seemingly ever-young Rob Barel.
Rob has been a true pioneer of the sport in Europe, winning the first three European Championship in 1985/6/7, winning the first ever ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship in 1994, and he finished third (to Great Britain’s Simon Lessing) at the ITU World Championships in 1992 (Muskoka). Thinking that the introduction of Triathlon to the programme of the Olympic Games in 2000 had probably come too late in his career, he proved that wrong by qualifying for and racing in Sydney aged 42. Eight years later, he was the European ELITE Cross Triathlon Champion.
Retiring gracefully and letting go is athletic life after a long career would have been the norm… but at approaching 60 years of age, Rob Barel is still racing incredibly fast!
We noted last year (HERE), Rob’s fantastic performance at IRONMAN 70.3 Budapest when he won the 55-59 AG with a stunning 4:06:51 clocking, to win by 30 minutes. At IRONMAN France, Nice, earlier this year Rob – now in 60-64 – finished in 9:56:01 to win that category by well over two hours.
Kona-bound this year (which will be an added challenge for anyone racing in his category), Rob also raced over the Standard Distance in Rotterdam and (no surprise), took the Gold (2:05:03) by almost eight minutes, setting the fastest swim, bike, run and T1 times in the process. ‘Only’ (!) second fastest in T2, he might have completed the ‘grand slam’ had he not gone down the wrong aisle in transition. As I joked with him on Facebook, always room for improvement….!
I look forward to watching Rob race again in Hawaii next month.
Australian Hauser wins World Junior Championship in fine style
Bronze for Dijkstra who heads three top-six Brit men in Rotterdam
Three busy days of racing at the 2017 Rotterdam ITU World Triathlon Grand Final saw the Men’s World Junior Triathlon Championship take place in wet conditions on Saturday morning.
The race saw a small group of athletes reach T2 together, one of which was Australian Matt Hauser who would prove to be a dominating winner of the race, running away from the field to a clear 28 seconds victory margin. He adds that Gold to the Mixed Relay World Championship title he won in Hamburg.
Great Britain’s James Chantler-Mayne produced a fine performance to be part of that leading group at T2, an effort that was almost rewarded with a podium finish. While the Silver would go to Vasco Vilaco (POR), the 2016 Bronze medallist and current British Junior Champion,
Ben Dijkstra, was able to run through from the chase group and match his performance from Cozumel, with the fastest run split of the day (15:16). The second best run of the day was from another Brit, Barclay Izzard (15:23), which earned him sixth place.
Great Britain’s Sophie Coldwell earns first World Championship medal in Rotterdam
In downpour conditions in Rotterdam on Saturday, Great Britain’s Sophie Coldwell continued her progression as an athlete to add Under-23 World Championship Bronze to the European Senior Championship Silver she won earlier this the season in Kitzbuhel.
The British trio of Coldwell plus Georgia Taylor-Brown and Sian Rainsley (the current European U23 Gold and Bronze medallists), were all part of the leading group at T2 after dealing with the challenging conditions in The Netherlands.
The USA’s Tamara Gordon – who won the World Junior Championship in London four years ago ahead of Taylor-Brown – ran away from the group to take Gold by a clear margin, while Melanie Santos (POR) pulled clear of Coldwell in the later stages to take the Silver. Despite running faster than Coldwell over the 10km, a slow T2 (serving a penalty for a swim cap infringement), for Taylor-Brown cost her a chance of the podium, and she finished fourth with Rainsley also securing a top-10 finish in ninth.
Rotterdam, you were wet, very cold but a great place to race! So pleased to pick up my first individual world medal! Next up @SuperLeagueTripic.twitter.com/Ob58qdVIH0
The Men’s U23 race took place on Friday, and it was a French one-two at the top of the podium with Raphael Montoya taking Gold ahead of another World Championship podium for Dorian Coninx.
Rotterdam ITU U23 Triathlon World Championships – Saturday 16th September 2017 1.5km / 40km / 10km
Back-to-back World Junior Championship titles to Taylor Knibb
Great Britain’s Kate Waugh takes a surprise Silver in Rotterdam
After a truly fantastic performance from the Paratriathlon team this morning, the British medal success continued in the Women’s Junior Championship at the Rotterdam ITU World Triathlon Grand Final.
The defending World Junior Champion from Cozumel 12 months ago, the USA’s Taylor Knibb was the hot favourite to defend that title today in Rotterdam, given that she has already collected a Senior World Triathlon Series podium this season when finishing second to the dominant Flora Duffy in Edmonton. There will be no surprises today when the Gold medal is presented.
The 750m Sprint distance swim saw a long line of athletes heading in to T1, headed by Fuka Sega (JPN), who raced so well two weeks ago at the Accenture British Triathlon Mixed Relay Cup. Knibb was inside the top-10, and just 12 seconds back with the ace in her pack – the bike – up next. Sophie Alden (10:11), Olivia Matthias (10:15) and Kate Waugh (10:16) were all in perfect position and inside the top-10 at this stage from a British perspective.
Knibb won her title in Cozumel off of the back of a solo bike breakaway, and would do the same again in Rotterdam. Her 31:11 split was more than 20 seconds faster than anyone else, and she would start the closing 5km run with a 45 second lead over a group of seven athletes, which included both Waugh and Alden.
Knibb showed no weakness on the run, her 17:39 clocking was faster than everyone, except Kate Waugh, who with a 17:19 clocking ran through to take the Silver medal. That adds to her European Junior Championship title earlier this year along with Silver in 2016 at the World Junior Duathlon Championships. A consistent championship medal winning athlete, that is a good sign for her future career through the U23 and Senior ranks.
The Conquer the Chilterns triathlon events are set to return to the beautiful grounds of the Culden Estate in Oxfordshire this Sunday 17th September 2017.
Located just outside of Henley-On-Thames, the event takes in some of the best of beautiful rolling Oxfordshire countryside and is the perfect venue for a late season triathlon. There are three race distances on offer – the ‘Sprint Plus’, which consists of a 750m swim, 30km cycle and 5km run, the ‘Olympic Plus’ race which is made up of a 1.5km swim, 50km cycle and 10km run and the ‘Middle Distance’ which takes in a 1.9km swim, 86km bike and 20km run. All swims take place in a quiet, safe and spectator friendly stretch of the River Thames, in which it is possible for supporters to follow the swimmers progress along the riverbank. The bike course then follows an undulating circuit with a good selection of rolling hills. The run course is undulating and takes in the most breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside.
Martyn Edwards, Event Director for F3 Events says, “We are really looking forward to hosting the Conquer the Chilterns events this year. We have a limited number of spots available for ‘on the day’ entrants, so if you fancy a last minute triathlon challenge, make sure you arrive nice and early and our team will be there to help you get set up. All the very best of luck to everyone that is competing, we look forward to seeing you all at the start!’
All events will be chip timed and there will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each gender category. There are a number of facilities on site including showers, toilets and refreshments, offering a perfect opportunity to go on and spend the rest of the day enjoying the sights and sounds of Henley and the surrounding area.
We’ve already published his discussion with six-time IRONMAN World Champion, Dave Scott (HERE), and in this feature Simon chats to Professor Paul Laursen (www.plewsandprof.com). The subject of the discussion is the interaction between Performance, Health and Longevity.
Shortly after collecting her winners trophy – to add to the one she collected four years ago in Tenby – I spoke to Lucy Gossage about her thoughts on the race, including the love that the town of Tenby has for IRONMAN Wales.
For the the second consecutive year, Great Britain’s Philip Graves returned to Tenby and finished second at IRONMAN Wales on Sunday.
Despite the worst weather in the seven year history of the event, a bike crash, a mid-course detour and taking himself to a ‘dark place’ to close to within 90 seconds of race winner, Cameron Wurf (AUS), Phil was able to smile and talk me through his race at the prize presentation.
FIVE British women to feature at the second edition of Super League Triathlon
With the second Super League Triathlon (www.superleaguetriathlon.com) event taking place in Jersey over the weekend of 23rd/24th September (more details HERE), the announcement of the 25 female athletes that would be racing was revealed this past weekend.
British athletes are well represented with five names on the list, and they will be joined by Olympic Games Gold (2012) and Silver (2016) medallist, Nicola Spirig (SUI), Katie Zaferes (USA), Charlotte McShane (AUS) and Rachel Klamer (NED), amongst other high profile names.
Athletes not on the roster include reigning ITU World Champion Flora Duffy (BER), Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) and Andrea Hewitt (NZL), currently the top three ranked athletes within the World Triathlon Series.
Here are the five British female athletes that will be racing:
Set for Saturday 14th October, the 2017 IRONMAN World Championships in Kona is fast approaching. A frequent visitor to the island over the years through work, Simon will be racing for the first time this year.
His preparations for the event have involved more than just a pure focus on absolute performance. Life – in particular the recent death of his best friend – put lots of things into perspective, and lead to a recent ‘road trip’ in the USA.
The best preparation for an Ironman? Almost certainly not – but Simon explains why he is content with his decision
After a couple of weeks of social media teasing, Wattbike have today revelaed the Atom, their new product – and if it delivers as well as it looks, it will be another impressive piece of kit.
Perhaps surprisingly – given the current Wattbike Pro/Trainer costs £2,250 – the new Atom costs ‘just’ £1,499 [UPDATE – £1,599 as at November 2019]. That, in my eyes, makes it a very interesting product release. Here are the first details. We’ll have more on this very soon…
Wattbike unveils the new Atom – the smartest indoor bike on the planet
Marking a new era in indoor training, the new Wattbike Atom is Wattbike’s first fully connected, smart bike. More accurate and more realistic than any other smart bike available, the Atom replicates the resistance and sensation of riding on the road, to give the most authentic ride feel in the world, allowing cyclists to fine-tune their training and goals and gain invaluable insight into their performance.
Two years in development, the Atom is a light and compact, premium, smart bike born out of a desire to create the most accurate, precise and interactive indoor cycle trainer available to cyclists. Wattbike engineers, working with bicycle manufacturer Giant and British industrial designers Curventa, created nine prototypes and conducted over 500 hours of testing to produce and fine-tune the Atom.
“The Atom represents a radical step forward for Wattbike. Our first true home trainer, aimed specifically at cyclists, it serves the needs of the connected rider yet retains at its core our commitment to creating the most technically and scientifically advanced products in the world for improving performance.” Richard Baker, Managing Director, Wattbike
With a power range of 0-2,000 watts and +/-2% accuracy across the full power range, the Atom is more accurate than any other smart trainer. Designed to be used with any tablet, or smartphone device, the Atom features interactive shifters offering 22 gears. Resistance and power output can be controlled manually to simulate on-the-move gear changes and gradients of between 0-25%. Target power can be pre-programmed to auto adjust using the Wattbike Hub app, or by syncing with virtual riding platforms, such as Zwift, or TrainerRoad. Bluetooth and ANT+ enabled, the Atom wirelessly interacts with third party apps and devices, such as Strava, TrainingPeaks and Garmin.
A key feature of the Atom is the patented tools available via the Wattbike Hub. Climb mode offers six pre-loaded climbs, including Mont Ventoux and Le Tourmalet. Using Strava GPS and simulations from VeloViewer, the Atom’s resistance changes automatically to map precisely to the gradient on your virtual ride. Polar View is an analysis tool designed to improve your pedalling efficiency and power output, and the new Pedalling Effectiveness Score helps you assess the impact of changes in pedalling technique in real-time.
The Atom is fully adjustable to closely replicate real bike positioning. A tablet holder, positioned in front of the handlebars, accommodates devices up to and including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and two bottle cage holders are fixed inside the Atom’s zinc shield primed steel frame. The Atom is powered by mains electricity, or from October 2017 by a Wattbike battery pack with a battery life of 36 hours.
A radical step forward set to transform the indoor cycle experience, the Atom costs £1,499 inc. VAT and expands the Wattbike range. The Atom sits alongside the existing Pro and Trainer indoor cycle trainers.
Triathlete Lucy Gossage is a Wattbike ambassador, and of the new Atom she said:
“Everything I like about the original Wattbike still features in the Atom. Replicating data. Just jumping on and riding. No excuses if it’s bad outside. Everything that is good, but now with the added bonus of getting into my exact race time trial position.”
“I’ve always loved the Wattbike because it is quick and convenient to jump on and train with accurate data. You know exactly what you are putting out. But, with my winter training I have sometimes felt I’m missing out a bit with the fun stuff. So, using a Wattbike Atom, in my aero position, playing around with friends on Zwift, that is a complete game changer.”
“With the Atom’s shifters located on the hood you can change gear on the go which replicates exactly what you do on the road. It’s like combining my time trial bike with a Wattbike. You get the same data in your position without having to mess about with your race bike all the time.”
The 5th anniversary of the award winning Equinox24 event, held at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, is shaping up to be the best edition to date. Numbers have swelled from just 280 runners in year one to around 2,000 for the 2017 event and there is still time to get involved if you want to get a team together for this festival of running with entries closing on 1st September.
The solo field taking part at Equinox24 is the biggest out of any of the 24 hour events in the UK with nearly 450 individuals taking to the start line. A big reason for this is the huge amount of support received around the course and from the marshals cheering on all the runners, many of whom are raising money for great charities wearing fancy dress, carrying tumble dryers and pushing themselves to the limit.
There is more on offer over the weekend with the “beer run” which is getting bigger every year on Friday night, kids fun run at 11am on the Saturday and a 10k event starting with the main 24hr runners at midday on Saturday for those wishing to get involved and enjoy the atmosphere.
Long standing headline sponsor Skechers Performance have been involved since the first edition and are back once again and will be joined by CEP, Silva, Sos Hydrate, Virtual Runner, Big Bobble Hats, Run Bling, Swimzi and Greepers Laces. There is then individually chosen food stalls offering a variety of high quality foods alongside Stewarts Coffee and Route 14, a double decker licensed bar, making the event village a great place to hang out, enjoy some food and soak up the atmosphere of the event.
The event raises lots of money for many charities from individual runners all running for great causes. Money is also raised for this years charity partner Wings For Life, we have already had a Virtual Equinox24 in the spring and will raise money over the weekend from the kids fun run and massage donations.
Last gasp qualification Kona from Rachel Joyce in Canada
SEVEN British Pro women will now start in Kona this year
“Sometimes you have to let you heart rule your head”, said Rachel Joyce before her race at IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant on Sunday.
After winning at IRONMAN Boulder and a disappointing fourth at IRONMAN Canada, Great Britain’s Rachel Joyce was just short of the qualification requirement to secure a start at the IRONMAN World Championships in October. After the birth of Archie, she had only really considered trying to qualify for Kona in June, which, “makes things challenging”. Trying to race three full-distance IRONMAN races in such a short time frame is not easy, but it was required in this case, summed up by this pre-race post:
Turns out the wait and see game is not for me. I want to be back racing in Kona this year and if I can do something to increase that probability I want to do that thing! So I’ll be back on an Ironman start line on 20 August in Mont Tremblant, racing to try and secure my place in Kona 2017.
Well, fortune sometimes favours the brave – and in winning her fifth career IRONMAN, Rachel has now secured her spot on the Big Island and another chance to add to her incredibly impressive and consistent record in Kona. Check that out below.
Jersey local Dan Halksworth to race Super League Triathlon
Taking place from on 23rd/24th September in Jersey, the full start-lists for the men’s race of the second edition of Super League Triathlon have been announced.
The top three athletes from Super League Hamilton Island – Richard Murray (#07), Mario Mola (#03) and Jake Birtwhistle (#44) will all be present – and there will three British male athletes racing.
The wild card is perhaps Dan Halksworth (#31). Twice a winner of IRONMAN UK, Dan has been quiet on the mainstream triathlon scene for a couple of years, though he has been racing well in cycling time trials and also representing Jersey in events including the Island Games. With his exceptional swim background plus bike fitness, he should be able to compete well over the short distances within the Super League events – though may well have been putting in some recent running intervals to rediscover the foot speed he might need on the run!
Watch the short video above for the complete start list.
Today, we take the “a picture tells a thousand words” approach (well, and a couple of videos tell a story!), with a selection of images from to give a flavour of the race
Should these inspire you to want to race in the sixth edition of the race, which takes place on Sunday 10th September, entries are still available HERE.
The Swim…
Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for Ironman
Full TV Coverage for IRONMAN Wales 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxR4MqRkPA4
The Bike…
Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for IronmanNick Baldwin of Seychelles – Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for Ironman
The Run…
Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for IronmanNikki Bartlett – Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for Ironman
The Supporters…
Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IronmanPhoto by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for Ironman
Having profiled the IRONMAN 70.3 Dublin event (HERE), next up we move to Tenby and take an in-depth look at IRONMAN Wales. The sixth edition of the event takes place on 10th September 2017 – and if you are tempted, entries are still available HERE.
So highly regarded is the IRONMAN Wales venue and course that it was voted in the 2016 IRONMAN Athletes Choice Awards in the Swim, Bike, Run, Best Venue, Best Host City and Best Post-Race Celebration categories. Make no mistake, Tenby truly opens its arms and its heart to the arrival of IRONMAN.
RACE BASICS
IRONMAN Wales begins on Tenby’s North Beach, which provides one of the most spectacular swim locations on the race circuit. Despite challenging bike and run courses, athletes are treated to consistent and motivating inspiration from some of the most vocal and enthusiastic spectators in endurance sports.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION
IRONMAN Wales offers 65 qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, HI. As a ‘late season’ race, IRONMAN Wales offers athletes the opportunity to qualify for Kona more than 12 months in advance, which is gives lots of opportunity for planning and preparation of your trip to the Big Island.
Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for Ironman
IRONMAN WALES PREVIOUS WINNERS
2016: Marc Duelsen (GER) and Darbi Leigh Roberts (USA)
2015: Jesse Thomas (USA) and Anja Beranek (GER)
2014: Matt Trautman (RSA) and Amy Forshaw (GBR)
2013: Scott Neyedli (GBR) and Lucy Gossage (GBR)
2012: Sylvain Rota (FRA) and Regula Rohrbach (SUI)
2011: Jeremy Jurkiewicz (GER) and Kristin Möller (GER)
It’s been a week of some good – and some very bad, and sad – news for Simon Ward, as he counts down to his participation in the 2017 IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday 14th October 2017.
Watch the video above to see what he has been up to and why it has been an especially challenging week.
