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Hi everyone,

 

Right now I should be in the centre of Paris eating croissants, pain au chocolat and enjoying my last day in Paris. Instead I’m stuck in my hotel fuming at a faulty train line keeping me from Paris! It’s probably a good excuse to get a long overdue report out anyway, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to get into town this afternoon before my flight back home.

 

The last four weeks have been pretty hectic really, starting with my first race in France for the year with race 2 of the Grand Prix series up in the north of the country near the Belgium border and the famous cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix classic- fortunately we didn’t have to tackle any of these!

 

I’d been happy with how my training had progressed since the last race in Ireland and was finally starting to feel comfortable again in sessions. Come race day though I found myself struggling at the 3km point of the first 5km run, and lost touch with the lead group. A quick transition though and a strong start to the bike and my group of 4 was back with the lead bunch. However, the last run saw me trailing off the back of the group again and I could only manage 17^th. Our team didn’t fair much better either, with no outstanding results and only 6^th for the day.

 

Returning to Gernika following the race, my wife Emily was arriving from Australia, and after 30+hrs of travel she had to wait a further 3hrs in Bilbao airport for me to arrive from Paris-sorry! It didn’t take Emily long to slip into the Basque life, morning and afternoon coffees in the centre of town with the locals, midday siesta’s, beautifully long days- the sun is still out after 9pm!

 

The next race on the agenda was the 17^th edition of the Bilbao duathlon, this is a race I’ve really enjoyed in the past, and being the last duathlon on the Basque calendar, and quite possibly my last in the Basque country full stop, I was really looking forward to bettering my 4^th place from last year. Straight from the gun I knew my legs were better than the week before in Paris, and by the halfway point (as we ran past the famous Guggenheim museum) there was only myself and Frenchman Laurent Galinier in the lead. Unfortunately my good legs didn’t transfer to the bike and even though it’s only a short 20km bike, it’s bloody tough, basically climbing for 10km before the downhill run back to transition. Galinier, hailing from the Pyrenees, was in his element and made light work of me up the climb.

 

From here I had to try to relax and compose myself before the chasing bunch of 4 Spaniards caught up. We worked really well together but were unable to bridge the gap back to Galinier. About 3km from transition there was one short climb to contend before the last downhill stretch to transition, and even though I knew it was coming I couldn’t respond to the attack halfway up the hill. From here I just had to put my head down, put the gas on and not let them extend the gap too much. I left transition for the last 2.5km run in 4^th place, but with Emily and friends from Gernika cheering loudly from the sidelines I managed to cross the line in second. Although the win would have been nice, I’d done the best I could on the day and was happy to be on the podium.

 

The last race of the European trip came after two weeks of holidays in Portugal, and only about 3-4kg heavier! The race was a team time trial, and my French team was unable to field our best team on the day, so I managed to get through it ok. After a 5km run/30km bike/ 5km run we finished up 7^th, 19 sec down on 4^th place.

 

Well I’m hoping the trains are back up and running now, I’ve got some pastries to eat and some sunshine to soak up before getting home to a Ballarat winter!!!!

 

I've attached (or at least attempted to!) a photo from the Bilbao Duathlon, not a great shot but you can make out part of the Guggenheim museum in the background.

　

Ciao for now,

 

Jimmy  

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Brownlee captured his third consecutive Dextro EnergyTriathlon ITU World Championship Madrid race title and created some family history at the same time, when younger brother Jonathan Brownlee joined him on the podium in Spain.

 

With Alistair collecting gold and Jonathan silver, it's the first time that both Brownlee brothers have medalled at a Dextro Energy Triathlon Series race and it came on the back of an lightning quick 10km run, where they worked together to hold off home favourite Javier Gomez. 

 

Alistair Brownlee said while he hadn't quite been expecting it, he was happy they had been able to podium together in Spain - the race where he made his international breakthrough back in 2009.

 

"Yeah absolutely, I suppose it's not been a while coming, but it had to happen sometime and why not have it happen in Madrid, a race where I have done really well in and such a fantastic course," he said.

 

Alistair had opened up a break on his brother in the last kilometre, but stopped and waited and the pair put an arm around each other before Jonathan made sure Alistair crossed first. Jonathan said it had been a nice way to top-off their first shared podium.

 

"It was really good we train hard together and it's a bit strange because we've done it in small races but never in a world series, so it's a bit of a strange feeling but really nice that he waited for me - it was really a special moment." 

 

Gomez came in third and is still yet to win his home event (since the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series was launched), as Alistair Brownlee has beaten him to it in 2009, 2010 and now 2011, but the two-time World Champion said he just couldn't keep up.

 

"The Brownlees were just on a different level on the run, so I couldn't do too much," Gomez said. "I tried on the first lap, I tried to follow them but I know that was not my pace, I was waiting to see if they would slow down, but they didn't, they went faster and they smashed me.

 

"We were the guys who worked the most on the bike through the whole race, and they still ran the fastest. So they are just impressive, congratulations to them and I will just keep on working and try to beat them in the next one."

 

The three eventual medallists started well right from the swim in Madrid, they exited the swim with the leaders and were then part of an initial 11-man break on the bike, that quickly put on a 20second lead in the first lap.

 

That group, that included Gomez, the Brownlees, James Elvery, Frederic Belaubre, Dmitry Polyansky, Alexander Brukhankov and Aurélien Raphael, then steadily increased their lead with each lap on the tough Madrid course, that included a 400m hill with a 12 per cent grade climb. A small chase group with Ivan Rana, Hirokatsu Tayama and Jan Frodeno were just behind and just before halfway, reigning Olympic champion Frodeno caught the lead group to make it 12. Together, they continued to push out the laps quickly and entered T2 with an almost two-minute lead on the main bunch of athletes.

 

It was always going to be almost impossible to catch that top group then, and even more so when the Brownlees and Gomez started to break away. Then at around the two kilometre mark, even Gomez couldn't catch up as the brothers turned on the burners and ran away with the race. Alistair Brownlee's run split, even after he waited for his brother before crossing the line, was still a blistering 30-minutes, 8-seconds.

It was an all European top-10, and Germany had three in it with Frodeno finishing sixth, Maik Petzold ninth and Steffen Justus 10th.

 

Overall, Gomez's third place was enough to keep him in the lead of the Dextro Energy Triathlon Series rankings with 1485 points compared to Jonathan Brownlee's 1480 points. Polyanksy moves into third place in the overall rankings, with 983 points. Alistair Brownlee is in fifth, a jump of more than 20places after his 29th place finish in the first race of the year in Sydney.

 

Madrid Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series - June 4, 2011       Final Results - Elite Men - Official                                                                                   1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run                                                                                 Gold - Alistair Brownlee (GBR) - 1:51:06                                                                            Silver - Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) - 1:51:09                                                                     Bronze - Javier Gomez (ESP) - 1:51:51                                                                                 4th - Alexander Bryukhankov (RUS) - 1:52:02                                                                          5th - Dmitry Polyanksy (RUS) - 1:52:30                                                                                 6th - Jan Frodeno (GER) - 1:52:43                                                                                        7th - Frederic Belaubre (FRA) - 1:52:45                                                                                 8th - Aurélein Raphael  (FRA) - 1:52:49                                                                                9th - Maik Petzold (GER) - 1:53:01                                                                                     10th - Steffen Justus (GER) - 1:53:04

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Hi guys,

 

I hope that you have all been well and keeping busy.

 

May has been a tough month for me. After struggling with my left Achilles for the early part of the US season I decided to head back to Los Angeles to get on top of it and back running properly.

 

After consulting with my doctors and therapists back home and seeing a few doctors here in LA we decided that the best treatment was to get a PRP (plasma rich platelet) injection. This creates a healing respons in the body which is helpful in a low blood flow area like the Achilles tendon.

 

After 5 weeks of no running, well no running on the road, I have been jogging in a Alter G treadmill. This is a reasonably new technology that allows you to alter the amount of gravity you run with so you can control the impact on your body… after running in Alter G I am beginning to feel what it would be like to be a Kenyan! I have been back running properly on the road for a week and things are looking good. 

Over my off period I managed to get in some good biking and swimming and it is good to have James Bowstead, a young triathlete from back home over here with me to train and race with. Not to mention it is great to have Kelly up here with me!

 

We have decided to go ahead with the racing season and next stop is this weekend over the other side of the country in Connecticut for the Revolution 3 Half Ironman followed by the Eagleman 70.3 in Cambridge, Maryland where I can hopefully defend my title.

 

Regards

Terenzo

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Madrid, Spain (30 May 2011) - This weekend is second round of the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series and as expected in a pre-Olympic year both men's and women's start lines are stacked with ITU stars. 

In the men's field, the battle between Javier Gomez (ESP) and Alistair Brownlee (GBR) that almost materialised in Sydney is surely set to happen here, as series leader Gomez aims for his first Dextro Energy Triathlon Series win in Spain while Brownlee targets his third consecutive Madrid title.

In the women's field, series leader Paula Findlay (CAN) will wear the number one for the first time, and deservedly so after winning three of her last four Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series races she's contested. But there are a number of contenders who could knock either Gomez or Findlay off the top of the podium in Madrid.  Click here for full race preview

About the race: Madrid has an impressive triathlon history, hosting regular World Cups from 2003 to 2009 - when it then became one of the host cities for the first Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series. The course winds its way through the Casa De Campo park in central Madrid, offering a quick sightseeing tour around one of Europe's most dynamic cities. The challenging bike course, with a 12 per cent climb on each lap, always offers opportunities for breakaways. Madrid, with a population of over 3.2-million is the largest city in Spain and the third largest city in Europe. 

Javier Gomez vs Alistair Brownlee - The 2011 season could very well come down to a Javier Gomezand Alistair Brownlee affair and perhaps it would have been exactly that in Sydney if the Brit hadn't slipped in the run on a rain-slicked Sydney course. Instead, it was younger brother Jonathan Brownleethat ran into second behind the Spanish champ. But Gomez and Alistair Brownlee both have history in Madrid. Gomez hasn't won a Dextro Energy Triathlon Series round here yet and Brownlee has won the last two years. Gomez's form in Sydney was incredible though, after a crash on the bike he rode 10km by himself and then put in a blistering run split to catch, then overtake the pack to win by 20 seconds. Don't forget about the younger Brownlee though, the silver in Sydney was his second Dextro Energy Triathlon Series medal and he could be on track for an even better senior year that his break through one in 2010.

 

The chance to make amends - It's not often the Aussie Emmas enter a Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series race and don't make the podium but Beijing 2008 gold medallist Emma Snowsill and reigning ITU World Champion Emma Moffatt failed to reach it at home in Sydney. Snowsill had a rough swim leg and was out of contention from the start, while Moffatt faded to finish 13th. It's the first time both are contesting the Madrid leg of the Dextro Energy Triathlon Series race, but if they are at their best, will be hard to beat. In the men's, it will be men's 2008 Olympic champion Jan Frodeno (GER) and last year's series bronze medallist Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) looking for a new start to 2011. In Sydney, Frodeno turned with the leaders into T2 but ended-up finishing 45th, while Kahlefeldt did not finish.

 

The new contenders - It's seems like it's been a long day since that rainy day in Sydney for the season opener, but since then a group of triathletes have cut themselves a slice of history in World Cup races in Japan and Mexico. Rising Australian star Brendan Sexton claimed his first World Cup win in Monterrey, following on from silver in Mooloolaba and fourth in Sydney already this year.  In the women's field, Sarah Haskins (USA) claimed her first career World Cup gold in Monterrey. And while they aren't new, Hunter Kemper (USA) and Frederic Belaubre

 (FRA) have hit some form. Kemper claimed his first World Cup win since 2005 in Ishigaki and backed it up with bronze in Monterrey, while Belaubre's silver in Monterrey was his first World Cup medal since 2007.

 

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Firstly I must apologise for my laziness in updating my blog.  I am in the middle of an 8 hour stop-over in Singapore ‘Changi’ Airport, and have finally run out of excuses not to start writing again.

 

Well the Australian 2010/11 triathlon season has come to an end for me…and what a season!  This was definitely a season full of transitions, including a transition from age group to elite, a new bike, a new coach, a new hometown, and a spattering of pleasing race results.

 

The season kicked off with the Noosa festival which I had perhaps my best result to date chasing down a strong lead swim/bike pack to post the fastest age group run of the day and snag a spot on the podium in the open men’s division.  The next few months were focussed on local races.  I recorded my first state series title at the Bunberri Classic, and missed out on an open state title by the smallest of margins to triathlon stalwart Sean O’Neill at the Rockingham state sprint champs.

 

Once I’d received confirmation of my pro license, I began planning a semi-permanent move to the eastern states to be closer to the action.  My coach at this time (Paul “What a Guy” Mackay) had done the same thing as a young triathlete and strongly encouraged me to not hesitate in the move.  Warwick Dalziel, coach at the Carina Leagues Triathlon Club in suburbs of Brisbane, had been very helpful to me in the past when I needed a place to train in lead up to races of the east coast, so I decided to move to Brisbane to train under his guidance.  After one last swing (and miss) at an open state title at the end of January, I flew to Brisbane where I had my first 3 elite races lined up (National sprint champs in Geelong, Oceania champs in Wellington, and Oceania Cup in Mooloolaba).

 

Geelong taught me a few great lessons about racing against the elites, and sent me walking away with my tail between my legs.  Wellington looked a bit better on paper, but still wasn’t a great race.  Mooloolaba was the best of the 3, but my run split still let me down and I could only manage 27^th place, a whole 4 minutes behind the winner.  As disappointing as these results may have been, I needed to take a step back and remember that I had taken a massive step in the last 12months from struggling age grouper, to struggling elite!  Lance Armstrong was lapped out of his first elite race, so I couldn’t let these results get to me.

 

Another transition that I made this year was from a part time athlete/full time student, to full time athlete/graduate (BSc).  When I was given the opportunity to race for a Division 2 German club over the winter months, I jumped at the chance…not having to worry about study.  I would spend May, June, and July training in a small town in southern Germany, Crailsheim, with a few very established long course athletes, and racing for ‘Magic Sport-food Team TSV Crailsheim’. 

 

My next race was an Asian cup race in Subic Bay, Philippines on May 1.  I saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of a relatively small starting list and score my first ITU points by making placing top 20.  I pumped out some impressive running k’s in the 3 weeks leading up to the race, but a minor flu in the last week left my confidence a bit shot.  By the time the race came around the start list was of a much better calibre.  After a good first 750m in the swim, I really struggled over the second half and lost contact of the front group.  With very few strong cyclists around me into the first half of the 40km bike I wasn’t able to bridge the gap back to the front group, and lost a lot of time, eventually being caught by a pack with 5km to go.  As I jumped off the bike, I had a quick count of the number of runners in the front pack…21.  This meant that unless I was able to make up 4 minutes to the slower runners, AND stay within 5 minutes of the winner (which would require a 32min 10km split) then I wasn’t going to score any points.  I made the decision to pull the pin early and save my legs for what is going to be a very long and intense European season.

 

So now, my Aussie season is over, and in two weeks my European season kicks off. Can’t wait!

 

Cheers,

 

James

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Port Macquarie was my third and final race for the 2010 – 2011 season, after having raced Kona and then not much else since! It was therefore difficult to gauge where I was, in relation to some of my peers/competitors, but I had felt things were going well enough to improve on the IM of the previous year.   

 

On arrival in Port Macquarie, we were greeted by less than ideal conditions. Whilst the rain hung around for all of Thursday and Friday, the sun reared its head on Saturday, making both athletes and supporters a little less apprehensive about the long Sunday ahead! On Sunday, we woke to a few clouds, and an increasing strong breeze, but it was dry, and Weather Zone said it would stay that way!

 

I managed to find myself a little spot on the inside, right at the front for the swim start, and was instructed by my coach, Julie Tedde to be aggressive to begin with, to get some fast feet. The water was beautiful, and with a smaller field, it was quite a pleasant swim! The times seemed to be slower than last year, but I was happy enough when I was told by spectators that I was the 9^th female out of the water!

 

The wind had really started to pick up, and was going to make it a tough ride out to the turn around. I was having a bit of trouble keeping my HR low, and within about 30 minutes of the bike, I had watched 3 girls go past me like I was standing still, and had gone from 2^nd to 5^th in 30-34 in the blink of an eye. I was battling the wind, and a few demons, thinking my race is done, but I’m never going to give up mid race just because things are not quite as I planned… especially in an Ironman where early mistakes can pay, and I was hanging on that hope!

At about 130km into the bike, I found some rhythm and managed to maintain the distance behind my competitors, rather than allowing them to put more time into the gap. I felt much stronger, and now I was the one who was passing people! I came off the bike feeling good, and without too much fatigue, surprisingly! If I tried to race this, would I be able to reel a few of the girls in, or was I just going to make it a longer day for myself?? I decided to go with the flow, run to feel, and hope my patience in the bike leg paid off.

 

Julie was out on the run course giving me times to the person in front, and gradually I was creeping up on them. One by one, I managed to overtake 4^th and 3^rd, but I thought second was out of reach, when on lap 3, I saw I was still 6 minutes down. It was the final run up the hill at Town Beach that I finally managed to catch her, and hanging in there was so hard. The wind was still strong, and it was a horrible headwind coming back from the turn around. I had set out to run a 3:45 marathon, and on a day when times had been significantly slower, arriving in the finish chute, with a run PB, 2^nd place in 30-34 and 12^th female over the line was such a relief, and a great reward! It was the toughest IM I have done!

 

Thank you to Anthony from CDB Cycles who always puts my mind at ease, Danny O’Brien from PowerBar and all at Mizuno for providing me with their continued support. I’m looking forward to a season full of racing in 2011-2012!!! 

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Monterrey, Mexico (8 May 2011) - Sarah Haskins of the U.S. used a breakaway on the bike to score her first career ITU Triathlon World Cup title in Monterrey on Sunday.  Japan's Ai Ueda claimed silver for the second straight year.  Anne Haug of Germany came in third, the best World Cup result of her career.

2011 Monterrey ITU Triathlon World Cup
Monterrey, Mexico - 8 May 2011
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run

Elite Women Results:

1. Sarah Haskins (USA) 1:57:15
2. Ai Ueda (JPN) 1:57:21
3. Anne Haug (GER) 1:57:27
4. Helle Frederiksen (DEN) 1:57:29
5. Gwen Jorgensen (USA) 1:57:33
6. Rachel Klamer (NED) 1:57:46
7. Kathy Tremblay (CAN) 1:57:51
8. Katrien Verstuyft (BEL) 1:57:56
9. Rebecca Robisch (GER) 1:57:58
10. Emmie Charayron (FRA) 1:58:00

Full results will be available here

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Hey team. Hope everyone is well. I haven’t been in touch for a while, it has
been head down bum up training getting ready for the first block of the
international season which got underway today at the Bussleton 70.3 Ironman
(half ironman), Western Australia.


The course is dead flat and is known for being extremely fast. This sort of
course suits the fast runners and there was a good bunch of top Australians
racing who are renowned for their running ability amougst the field of 20
pro men. However some of them raced last weekend at Port MacQuarie, so
despite the course suiting them, there was an opportunity to catch them out
on tired legs.


We all exited the water together. It was a massive group with just two guys
up the road. The big bunch was moving pretty slowly, so after 10km it was
timed to test their legs out. I pinned it on the front several times to try
and break the pack up, but with the bike course being fast and flat it was
very hard to create any gaps. Finally with about 15km to go I hit it hard on
the front through an aid station and finally got away with familiar company
in Australian Josh Rix, who I rode with off the front for most of Challenge
Wanaka.

Entering T2 with the second fastest bike split I had moved up to 3rd (a good
start for racing on the new Cervelo P4!) But the breakaway was too late in
the ride to really distance ourselves from the chasing pack of runners. A
the first lap of three, I was over taken by a fast moving group of
Australian including Tim Berkal (eventual winner), Matty White, Tim Reed,
David Dellow and Leon Griffen, which meant I was back in 8th and off the
podium. I stuck at it and overhauled the initial leader off the bike, Guy
Crawford, and then caught Leon Griffen back. When David Dellow blew up and
pulled out I was back in 5th and held that place through to the finish.



It was also a new personal best time for me over the Half Ironman distance
in 3:57:10. Of my last 6 starts in Ironman 70.3 events I have top 5 podium
finishes in every one.


Huge congratulations to our Kiwi Ironman legend Jo Lawn for winning the
womens race only 6 days after also winning the Port MacQuarie 70.3. Two
great results for her and is in some seriously good form!


I fly out for Cairns tomorrow where I will train for the next 4 weeks
leading into Challenge Cairns (Ironman distance race). I am looking forward
to getting stuck into some quality training there and ramping the form up
for the big race.


Thanks to everyone for taking a moment to read my race update.


Hope everyone is well and I will be in touch with soon with how the
preparation goes for Challenge Cairns.




Best regards,
*Jamie Whyte