Tweet

Thirty-four year-old Rebecca Eveleigh has had some exceptional results recently, including a win in the Challenge Cairns Half Ironman event a few weeks ago and a fifth place finish at Ironman Australia in May.

By day, Rebecca works as a town planner for local council and in her “spare time” she is busy training for the Hawaii Ironman in October and planning a November wedding. She takes a few minutes out of her busy schedule to chat with Triathlon Tribe.

First of all congratulations on your first place at the inaugural Challenge Cairns Half Ironman triathlon a few weeks ago J Tell us about your race and how it felt to win your first major triathlon?

Thanks Michelle J  I’m passionate about supporting the Challenge Family.  I raced Challenge Roth in 2010 which was an amazing experience. So with the announcement of Challenge Cairns, I was super excited that the Family had landed an event in my own home country and I wanted to be a part of it!

I raced Ironman Australia 5 weeks prior to Cairns.  My recovery and fitness leading into the event felt good.  My goals for the day were to see how much I could get out of myself.  I really wanted to hurt, push myself mentally and physically and see what I could achieve, plus of course soak up the atmosphere of the race!  I’ve also recently re-assessed my nutrition plan with my sponsor John Hill and High 5 and was looking forward to testing out the changes made.

After coming seventh out of the water, I was happy to be on my bike and it was flat stick from the start!  I absolutely loved the bike course and the coastal scenery was unbelievable!  As I kept riding and moving my way through the field of athletes, I started to pass the girls in front and by around the 45km mark (just before the turn around) I realized that I had actually caught everyone and was now leading the race.  This was a new experience for me as I haven’t been in the lead of a race before.  My power felt great and nutrition was working well.  By the time I returned to T2, I had actually created a nice gap (which I wasn’t aware of at the time).

Running out of T2 was a special moment seeing friends, the crowd and the commentators cheering me on.  My goal was as originally planned, to see how deep I could go and push myself in the run leg.  The weather had warmed up to @27 degrees and within the first few kms my legs started cramping with the heat.  I took my SaltStick tablets, then it was a matter of getting my High5 Isogels down and taking in as much water as I could to hydrate.

The last few kms I was definitely hurting, my legs had well and truly had enough!  I also felt dehydrated with the heat of the day and my run form started to suffer.   It was a matter of holding it together and soaking up the atmosphere to the finish line. Making the final turn to the finish chute was amazing and hearing my name called in. Wow!  What a special experience.  It was incredibly rewarding to win this race, especially being a Challenge event.  

How did you find the course at Cairns? Any highlights and what was the general feedback about the event? Would you recommend it to others to put on their schedule for 2012 (for either the half or the full Ironman)? 

Cairns is a perfect venue to hold a triathlon at this time of year.  The swim was held at Yorkeys Knob and involved an “M” shape course (1 lap for Half Ironman, 2 laps for Ironman).   There was a bit of chop in the water and essentially it was a matter of moving through the Ironman athletes as best I could.

The bike course was a highlight featuring coastal views towards Port Douglas, then returning to T2 at Yorkeys Knob.  The terrain included a mix of flat sections, undulation and a couple of climbs which suited my strengths well.  The road surface is relatively good for Australian standards.

The run involved a one way flat course from Yorkeys Knob heading south pass the airport into Cairns City.  The stretch along the highway is exposed and hot which I really liked because it tests you mentally (that’s what Ironman is all about!).  Then heading into the heart of Cairns, the spectator atmosphere including friends, family, local residents and volunteers, lifts your motivation to give it your best.  The finish chute was a world class stage!

Challenge in partnership with USM did a fantastic job in making the event a very special day for the athletes with a variety of distances available for all abilities.  It was great to see so many ‘first timers’ choose Cairns as their first long course experience.  The festival was a huge success and can only get bigger and better in the future.

Your great result in Cairns came off the back of an Ironman age-group win at Port Macquarie in May. Obviously you have had some fantastic results of late! Talk us through your year so far and your recent results.

Ironman New Zealand, Taupo, March 2011: My first race for the year wasn’t very flash with a stomach bug I’d picked up on my travel over.  The weather conditions on race day were not great with high rain fall and drop in temperature.  So on top of not being able to keep any nutrition down (I will spare everyone the details) I also suffered symptoms of hypothermia.  My body went into lock down and after the first 90km bike loop I pulled the pin.  I just wasn’t 100% to cope with racing an Ironman in these circumstances.

Triman Half Ironman Triathlon, Torquay Victoria, April 2011:  I desperately needed a hit out and timing of this new event was perfect being 4 weeks before Ironman Australia.  Torquay is a fantastic venue for a race as well as a great place to holiday (just around the corner from the Great Ocean Road).  Attributes of the race course featured an ocean swim, a flat to undulating coastal bike course and off road run tracks.  I had a solid day with a great run which brought me home in 3^rd place.

Ironman Australia, Port Macquarie, May 2011: Being a local NSW race only a few hours from Sydney, this race was about enjoying the day with the support of friends and family watching and racing Ironman for all the reasons why I love the sport.  I had no expectations, remained focused on my day and getting to that finish line.  I had a solid swim, followed by a strong bike leg where I moved considerably up the field finishing at T2 with some of the pro girls.  The run wasn’t where it should have been as a result of some hydration issues on the bike which cost me later in the marathon.  But I was able to hold it together, finishing 10hrs.07minutes, 5^th overall in the women’s, 1^st amateur female, 1^st F30-34 and a ticket to the big dance in Hawaii.  I’ve dreamed of racing Hawaii since starting the sport so it was a huge sense of achievement to have finally put a solid race together and earned my spot. 

 

Despite your recent great results, you have had several lows in the sport due to illness, injury or racing mishaps. Tell us about some of these experiences and the lessons you have learnt. Do you think this has made you stronger as an athlete?

I was experiencing all sorts of nutritional/dietary problems in the beginning (both training and racing) and it was difficult to train consistently.  My immune system wasn’t coping very well either and I would often get run down, unable to even start in some instances.  Pretty much every Ironman event my gut would shut down and the marathon became a painful slow and awful experience.  Then there was an experience of hyponatremia.  Probably one of my lowest points was picking up swine flu on the plane over to Germany to race Challenge Roth in 2009 and not being able to start.  That was a huge wake up call that I seriously needed to do something about my lifestyle and the nutrition problems I was experiencing if I was to continue with the sport. 

I was put in contact with Dr Helen O’Connor Sports Dietitian from NSWIS. Helen and with the help of Sharon Trueman from RPA Allergy Clinic, found I had a food intolerance.  Once I adjusted my general diet and sports nutrition, I had a huge break through at Ironman Western Australia 2009 finishing 6^th Place Professional with a huge PB.  I then returned to Roth in 2010 to finish what I started in 2009 and had a great day J

Sorting out my food intolerance was definitely a turning point with training and racing.  However, I have also learned that with the nature of this sport, you have to ‘roll with the punches’.  Some days are great (I had a blinder in Cairns) and other days are terrible (IMNZ an example).  I recently heard the saying ‘turn lemons into lemonade’ which I thought was a good one to apply whether its injury, illness or a race mishap.  Learn from your experiences and move forward.  That’s the beauty and challenge of the sport which keeps the passion alive.

Tell us a bit about your background as an athlete. How long have you been competing in triathlons for and what initially attracted you to the sport? Did you have a history of swim, ride or running?

Growing up on a farm (Northern NSW) I loved the outdoors, horse riding and running.  I was strong at athletics in high school.  I made the career move to Sydney in 1998.  In 2003/04 I backpacked around South America for 3 months and upon my return I made the decision to get back into the things in life I felt I was good at and loved – so it was back to passion of running with a goal of competing in the Sydney Marathon 2004.  I figured training for a marathon was a bit more serious than a casual weekend jog, so I found myself a running coach and met a whole new bunch of likeminded people…and I met triathletes!  After ticking off the marathon, it was only a matter of time before I bought my first proper road bike.  The start of my triathlon journey began in 2005 after watching the last Forster Ironman event.  I was hooked and dived straight into the deep end racing long course which I still love racing today.

So what’s next for you? Obviously Hawaii is a major goal for the year, but do you have any other races on the schedule?

 

I’m currently doing base training over winter.  I’ll have a hit out at Yeppoon 70.3 in August to see where my fitness is at.  Then its head down and build towards the Hawaii World Ironman Championships in October.  After Hawaii, I plan to regain my professional licence as I feel I get more out of myself racing at this level.  I haven’t planned any other races at this stage but will no doubt involve racing in Australia, possibly New Zealand or Asia and maybe another visit to Roth J

 

October will be your first trip to the Big Island of Hawaii for the Ironman. Are you excited? What are you most looking forward to about competing in this iconic event?

 

I have dreamed of racing the Hawaii World Ironman Championships since starting the sport in 2006 so I am super excited to now have the opportunity to race amongst the worlds best athletes. I have no expectations having not raced in the heat and humidity before and I love the challenge of the unknown.  It will be a huge learning curve for sure and I’m looking forward to testing myself in this racing environment. 

I’m also looking forward to a holiday in Hawaii with my fiancé. 

You have been racing for a few years now and travelled extensively, competing both domestically and overseas. Do you have any favourite races?

Roth is definitely a favourite.  The crowds, the course, the atmosphere, the hype – it’s an amazing event to be a part of.  I loved Challenge Cairns and I’ll be back next year for sure! Busselton is another favorite race location.  I also enjoyed the Triman Half Ironman in Torquay for its race course attributes.

As well as racing at a high level you also work full time and are planning a wedding for later on in the year. How do you balance it all? Any tips for our readers? 

 

Balancing the demands of a full time job (town planning) on top of a sport your passionate about has definitely been a challenging aspect of my life which I’ve struggled with, mostly because my personality type wants to give 110% in everything I do.  Down time with my fiancé is also important to me and we are currently planning for our wedding day in November.   

I’ve recently decided to work part time with a focus on improving work/lifestyle balance and to give myself a better chance to train and race my potential as well as improve recovery.  Whilst there is an element of financial sacrifice (which was a difficult decision living in Sydney and the cost of the sport), I feel this is a positive change which will give me a much better balance between work, sport and personal life. 

Three  basic work/lifestyle tips for readers:

1.    Time management and a simple routine

2.    Consistency and patience in training

3.    Get a good night sleep!   

Books I’ve also found useful include The Power of Now’ by Eckart Tolle.  ‘Fit Soul, Fit Body’ by Mark Allen (6 time Ironman Triathlon Champion) is another great read providing practical tools you can adapt to your lifestyle.

Tell us about your support crew. Do you work with a coach or join in with a training squad? Do you have any sponsors or medical professionals who you work with regularly?

I’ve been working with Grant Giles, Head Coach of Aeromaxteam since 2006 (www.aeromaxteam.com).  Gilesy’s coaching philosophy and guidance has been invaluable towards my growth and development as an athlete and I’m excited to see what more I can give to the sport. 

I’ve been a member of the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 NSW Endurance Development Squad which has been a highly valuable opportunity including access to coaching and training resources supported by Triathlon NSW.

My nutrition support includes sponsors High 5 and more recently a partnership with SaltStick.  I’ve continued to work with Dr Helen O’Connor, Sports Dietitian at the Sydney Sports Medicine Centre, NSWIS.

I also wanted to mention sports practitioners Daryl Phillips at Performance Health Newport for Chiropractic and ART treatment and Sarah Fletcher Remedial Massage Therapy who I work with regularly. 

Special mention to family and friends – you guys are awesome with your support, I’m so fortunate to have such a fantastic network of people behind me on this journey.

Thanks Bec, good luck for the rest of the year and we look forward to catching up with you again during our Hawaii Ironman coverage.

No worries Michelle.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity for an interview with you!

Cheers

Tweet

Hi Crew

After 6 weeks of light training to get on top of work, spend more time with family and then plan my preparation for the World Duathlon Championships in September, I am now back in full training.

I always find that the emotional and physical strain of racing stints require a period of recipricol rest and recharge on my return. As athletes, I think the struggle for balance is a constant one and for sustainability and ongoing improvement these periods of “refocussing” are critical. In that time away, thinking can change and planning can be formulated more logically for the next phase or goal.

Moving towards World’s, I will spend all of September in Gernika preparing with my training partner Thomas “The Apprentice” Bruins. Third place at the European Championships tells me that with more threshold work through July/August and a final sharpen up in Spain, I should have my best chance to challenge for the world title this September.

I have mapped out my prep races and decided to add the King of the Mountain as a form builder this weekend. It is only the second time I have done the event and the first time was as a young 16 year old when I won my first WAMC event there. I look forward to going back and seeing how much stronger I have got after 16 years of running and an estimated 32,500km of training!

Thanks for checking in and no doubt I will see many of you out at this iconic event this weekend

Running Regards,

Raf

Raf Baugh is a professional duathlete and coach and is proudly supported by: Broad Construction; The Running Centre; Front Runner Sports; Asics; Ryders Eyewear; Shotz Nutrition & Compressport Australia. For more info, please visit www.rafaelbaugh.com

Tweet

Pontevedra, Spain, 26 June 2011 - Germany returned to the top of the stadium for a final win at the 2011 ETU European Championships in Pontevedra, claiming gold in the dynamic elite mix relay event. The win, coming from Rebecca Robisch, Franz Losche, Sarah Fladung and Gregory Bucholz, gave Germany its third gold medal of the championships.

 

For the majority of the relay, Germany, Hungary and Italy battled for the win, jockeying back and forth in the No. 1 spot in each leg. However, as is the unpredictable nature of team triathlon, Ukraine made a tremendous last ditch effort to podium, claiming second place, while Italy grabbed third Hungary fell to fifth. Russia nabbed the fourth spot with a valiant final leg.

 

"It is a great team result for us (at all of European Championships)," Robisch said. "We are very happy. Relay is very important for us. We are looking forward to Lausanne. We are European champs and we want to be world champs."

 

Lead athlete Robisch quickly positioned her teammates at the front of the pack with solid swim and bike splits. As the second fastest runner on the course at the time, Robisch and Hungarian lead Zsofia Kovacs switched off to their team members at the same time.

 

Franz Losche took over for Germany, fighting off Hungary's AkosVanek with a speedy 2km run. However, Germany gained a new threat in Italy's Allesandro Fabian, who sliced through the water to go shoulder-to-shoulder with the men. Losched owned a slight lead in the hand-off to partner Fladung, but Fladung confused the way to the water, allowing Hungary and Italy to pass her.

 

Charlotte Bonin gave hope to the Italian team momentarily with a smoking bike segment, but Bonin had nothing left in the thank to match Ukraine's Yuliya Yelistratova run time. Ukraine, who was hovering in fourth place, took over the lead heading into the anchor, followed by Italy and Germany.

 

The deciding factor didn't come down until the final run when Bucholz unleashed fury on the final lap of the run to leave Italy behind. Yegor Marynenko of Ukraine strained to maintain Bucholz's speed, but couldn't keep up in the final 200 meters, giving the win to Germany, while Ukraine took the silver and Italy settled for bronze.

 

In the Junior Team Relay, the first German team led the race until 2011 Junior European Champion Justus Nieschlag forgot to remove his helmet in T2, causing him to run back to his bike and return all equipment. The mistake allowed several teams to run ahead of him.

 

While Nieschlag recovered to second place by the end of his leg to trail behind Hungary, it was Great Britain's Lucy Hall who proved to be the game changer in the event. A strong swimmer in a pivotal relay position, she exited the 300km swim with an insurmountable lead. Hall continued to increase her lead on the bike and run, giving her final teammate a healthy lead.

 

Great Britain held their top spot heading into the final 2km run, but with less distance. In the end, Marc Austin managed to hold off Germany's second team and Belgium for the win. Germany's second team claimed silver, while Belgium took third.

 

"I didn't want to let anyone down. The guys gave me such a big lead. I just smashed it all the way. I just thought about crossing the line."

 

 

2011 Pontevedra ETU Triathlon European Championships - 26 June 2011

Final Results - Elite Team (4 x Mixed Relay) - Official

Format: (Swim 300m, Bike 8km, Run 2km) x 4 Athletes

Gold - Germany Team I  1:38:10   

Silver - Ukraine Team I  1:38:11

Bronze - Italy Team I  1:38:20

Tweet


Pontevedra, Spain, 25 June 2011 - Emmie Charayron (FRA) once again reigned supreme as a European champion, this time in the women's elite division at the 2011 ETU European Triathlon Championships. While Charayron won the 2009 Junior European Championships, she failed to medal last year as a competitor in the elite division.

 

However, she changed that this year with a beastly run to win the elite title with more than a minute run to spare. The French woman even had time to slow down to pick up her country's flag and give a few high five's along the way.

 

"I'm very, very, very happy," Charyron said. "It was very good to race here. It was a very hard race because it was hot, I am very pleased to win. I remember my first junior title and I wanted to do the same here."

 

Early on in the race, top swimmers Sarissa De Vries (NED), Margit Vanek (HUN), Jodie Stimpson (GBR), Hollie Avil (GBR) and Aileen Morrison (IRL) looked to make a break on the bike, but were shortly caught by the chase groups. Although Charayron was nearly a minute down after the swim portion of the race, she pushed the pace of the second chase group to catch the lead pack after three laps on the bike.

 

The two chase groups fused into a large pack of more than 30 athletes to make up a heavy lead pack. Throughout the bike, it was anybody's game, as the women played a giant game of cat and mouse, each jostling for positions in the front of the pack. The bike portion saw no less than fiver different leaders in it's eight-lap course.

 

Mateja Simic (SLO) looked to be a strong contender for a podium position, as one of the most consistent athletes in the swim and bike segments. Despite coming out first in T2, it didn't take long for her to be overtaken. Charyron wasted no time in unleashing her speed on the run, quickly demolishing the competition.

 

After the first lap, Charyron owned a 20-second lead, a pace which she maintained throughout the run. By the halfway-mark, she owned a 40-second advantage. She managed to increase her distance even more, running smoothly to a comfortable minute and a half win.

 

"I was in the second group out of the water, but we rode so hard to catch up," Charyron said. "On the run, I felt very good and it was amazing"

 

Midway through the run, with Charayron out of sight, it became clear the race was for a podium position between Ainhoa Murua (ESP), Vendula Frintova (CZE), Annamaria Mazzetti (ITA). While Mazzetti rode strong in the lead pack, she battled back from a six-second deficit after the first lap to join the chase run group.

 

The three ran together through the final turn, when Fritova and Mazzetti switched into high gear and sprinted towards the finish, leaving Murua behind. Going stride for stride, Frintova found some extra strength in the final 100 meters to sail past Mazzetti for the silver.    

"I didn't want to finish fourth," Mazzetti said. "I wanted a medal. To finish third is a great result.

I am very happy. In the winter, when I was training, I was dreaming of this race - the European Championships. I am very happy."

Tweet

Vancouver, 23 June 2011 - The top four ranked triathletes in the ITU's premiere series will go head-to-head in the 2011 ETU Triathlon European Championships in Pontevedra, Spain this weekend.

Pontevedra, a western coastal city of Spain, which first appeared in the ITU race calendar in 2008 as host of the ITU Triathlon Premium European Cup. It has hosted that event for the past three years. Last year in Athlone, Ireland, the European titles went to Alistair Brownlee, who edged out his rival Gomez by 40 seconds, and Nicola Sprig (SUI).

The Team Triathlon event will be held the following Sunday afternoon. The European Championships have a long history with the 4 x mixed, super-sprint relay triathlon, and the International Triathlon Union is bidding to have the format included at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Tweet

Kitzbühel, Austria (19 June 2011) - If there were any doubts about Paula Findlay's status as triathlon's leading lady, the Canadian star officially smashed them in Kitzbühel when she became the most successful woman in the history of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series. In yet another thrilling finish Findlay beat Helen Jenkins (GBR) for the gold, a repeat of Madrid just two weeks ago, while Sarah Groff (USA) claimed a breakthrough bronze medal - the first for an American woman in the Dextro Energy Triathlon Series.

But the day belonged to Findlay who now has five series wins to put her ahead of Emma Moffatt's (AUS) four - and incredibly, those five wins have come from her last six series races, and she is three from three in 2011.

Findlay's record breaking win in Kitzbühel was also her toughest so far in 2011. As well as cold temperatures, rain and even hail, Findlay had to make up ground from the start. She was a full minute down on the leaders after the swim and was then part of a chase group that caught the breakaway leaders, Jenkins and Sarah Haskins (USA), at the end of the fourth bike lap. 

A total of 21 athletes then hit T2 together and at stages, it looked like Groff, Moffatt and Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI) would all test the Canadian but then just like in Madrid, it came down to a head-to-head with Jenkins. The 2008 World Champion, who led at almost all stages through the race just couldn't hold on, but Findlay revealed she had pushed her.

"I'm just thrilled again, that was a really hard race, I have so much respect for Helen, I really didn't think I could stay with her, I was running at maximum the whole way," Findlay said.

Jenkins said it had been a tactic to try and push Findlay earlier than she did in Madrid and it had almost paid off.

"After Madrid, I knew I wasn't going to beat her over the last 400m and over the last 2.5km I was just really trying to push on and break her, and I could see she was working, but in the last few hundred metres I just couldn't catch her," Jenkins said. 

"I'm happy with second, I wish I hadn't waited now, but it's racing you had to give it a go. Sarah (Haskins) is so strong and I thought we could get there. I'm just happy with the run, I felt awful on the first lap, but came good."

Early in the race Haskins, who won her first career ITU World Cup title last month in Monterrey, started aggressively with the swim and built a 20-second lead out of the water. Jenkins was next out and worked hard to catch the American on the first lap. Together, they evoked memories of the 2008 Vancouver ITU World Championships, when they made a break on the bike and Jenkins (nee Tucker) out-sprinted Haskins to win a world title.  It wasn't to be in Kitzbühel though as a chase pack of 19, led by Andrea Hewitt (NZL), Svenja Bazlen (GER) and Annabel Luxford (AUS), consistently cut the gap. After it started at 40 seconds in the first, they cut the time each lap and caught Haskins and Jenkins at the end of the fourth.

That group of 21 then hit T2 together, with Findlay, Haskins, Groff, Riveros Diaz, Laura Bennett, Melanie Annaheim (SUI) and Erin Densham (AUS) moving to the front quickly in the run. Moffatt then caught that group and as others dropped - it came down to Moffatt, Groff, Findlay and Jenkins in the final lap. Groff held off the others to win bronze, her first ever Dextro Energy Triathlon Series podium, and was thrilled.

"I think it was just a matter of having fun today," Groff said. "Last year I had a really rough year with injury, I'm just having fun with the sport, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to do it...I'm not a youngster like Paula (Findlay), so I'm just trying to have fun. It's not going to work every day, but it's fantastic just to be in there with some really, really strong runners."

In other notable results, Japan's Ai Ueda ran through a large portion of the field to finish seveth, while Moffatt had her best Dextro Energy Triathlon Series result so far in 2011 with fourth.

Moffatt's grip on the ITU World Championship looks to be slipping though as Findlay's win gives her a perfect 2400 series rankings points from the opening three races. Riveros Diaz is closest in the second with 1912 points, then Hewitt with 1685. Bennett is in fourth, and Jenkins close behind in sixth.

The next round in the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship series is in Hamburg, on July 16 and 17. The series then moves on to London and Lausanne before the Grand Final in Beijing.

Tweet


After taking a few weeks break at the end of the season May was a month where i was just starting back into training.  I also competed in a few different cycling events and school cross country races for fitness.

Training

During May my training has been consisting of a couple of swim, ride and run sessions per week. Swimming has involved one session concentrating on technique the second on fitness. My riding has involved a midweek morning pack ride for about 25k and a weekend ride which usually includes a club race. My running has included a track session and a jog. The jogs are pretty slow but I have been working on running for an hour. The first two track sessions in May were basically 10 – 15 minute warm up with various technique and sprint drills and a short warm down. The later weeks of May included similar warm-up and drills with a main set of approximately 8 – 10 200’s with a similar float rest. The 200’s are at my cross country race pace and the floats approx 10 seconds slower.

Racing

Being the off season my racing has involved some cycling and school cross country races

I did two major cycling events during May. The first was the 60klm race at the ‘all spokes festival ‘in the Hunter Valley Vineyards on the 22 May. I raced fairly well given I hadn’t spent much time on the bike over the previous month. I ended up being the second open women home in approximately 1 hour 40minutes and about 7 minutes quicker than I did last year.

 On the 28^th to 29^th  of May I went to Goulburn for a junior cycling tour where I tested myself up against some of NSW’s best under 17’s riders, the tour consisted of 4 stages held over 2 days.  The first stage was a 6km time trial; I rode pretty well placing 7^th only 21 seconds slower than 1^st place. In the road race i stayed with the bunch for almost the whole 45km only getting dropped 3km from the finish placing 8^th. On the second day we started off with a 10km time trial, I was very tired for this and didn’t ride to well and lost almost 2 minutes on the leader placing 11^th. The last stage consisted of a 47km road race, it was a tough race but I managed to stay with the front bunch until the sprint finishing 6^th.  Overall I placed 8^th in the tour, (2min 49seconds down on the winner) which I was pretty pleased with and found a few things which I should work on to improve my ride leg, this includes being able to sprint out of the saddle up hill and having a faster reaction when other riders try to break away.

Earlier in the month I competed in the HRIS schools cross country finishing a close third which qualified me to compete in Sydney at the Aices Championships in Sydney on the second of June. The Aicies race was a 4km run over a very muddy course. I had a really pleasing solid run finishing second in a field of about 50 athletes and improving on my 3^rd in the previous round.  

By Mikhele rundle

Kitzbühel, Austria (14 June 2011) - The battle for the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series is back this weekend in Kitzbühel after one of the shortest rests in the 2011 - with just one weekend between Madrid and the Austrian round.

This year, all eyes are set to be on Canadian Paula Findlay as she defends a title for the first time.  She will be gunning for her third straight victory of 2011 as she is in reach of capturing five Dextro Energy Triathlon Series race titles to become the most successful woman in the series. Among the men, Alistair Brownlee will be looking for his second win in a row in 2011 - particularly with the two series leaders, Javier Gomez and Jonathan Brownlee sitting this round out. Click here for full race preview 

 

About the race:  Kitzbühel is one of the smallest host cities on the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series circuit, but it's quickly become one of the most popular as athletes and fans alike take in the charming town set at the foot of the Austrian Alps. It has a steep and hilly bike course that always factors in the final podium. The town of just 8,400 residents is known as an year-round destination for sports and outdoor lovers but was first known for its skiing, with the surrounding mountains having some of the toughest runs in Europe.     SCHEDULE:      
Elite men start - Saturday 18 June - 14.30 (UTC/GMT + 2) Click here for time in your area   
Elite women start - Sunday 19 June - 12:30 (UTC/GMT + 2) Click here for time in your area 

 

WEBSITES:

http://www.triathlon.org 

http://kitzbuehel.triathlon.org

  

START LISTS:

Click here for women's start list 

Click here for men's start list 

  

LIVE COVERAGE:

Live video coverage from Kitzbühel will be available on race day at triathlonlive.tv 

Or follow @triathlonlive on Twitter for text updates on race day.

  

TOTAL PRIZE MONEY:

$150,000 USD (equal for men & women)

  

COURSE PROFILE:

Swim - Two-lap, 1.5kilometre swim with a pontoon start for athletes to dive into the Schwarzsee Lake. Water temperature averages around 22 degrees and wetsuits are not expected.

Bike - Six-lap, 40-kilometre that includes sharp bends, a challenging climb and fast narrow descents and through beautiful centre of Kitzbühel. Each lap is 6.68km.

Run - Four-lap, 10-kilometre run on a flat, fast loop that comes back through transition each time.

 

STORIES TO WATCH FOR:  

Paula Findlay eyes record-breaking win streak - She's the star that just keeps rising and if Paula Findlay defends her Kitzbühel title, she will become the most successful woman in the history of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series. The 22 year-old Canadian currently has four wins, which came from her last five races, the same number of wins as two-time ITU World Champion Emma Moffatt. If Findlay can take her third consecutive win in this year's series this weekend, she will also take a commanding lead in the 2011 ITU World Championship rankings.   

 

Men's podium a little more open:The podium is set to look a little different than the first two rounds with the two leading men in the Dextro Energy Triathlon Series, Javier Gomez and Jonathan Brownlee, and the reigning Olympic champion, Jan Frodeno, sitting it out to prepare for the European championships. Expect the likes of Bevan Docherty, Simon Whitfield, Alexander Brukhankov, Steffen Justus, Sven Riederer, Dmitry Polyansky and last year's winner Stuart Hayes to contend. The top of that podium might not change much from the last round, as Alistair Brownlee is on the start list.  He has won in Kitzbühel before and looked unbeatable in his impressive Madrid win.

 

Chris McCormack's comeback: Australian Chris McCormack claimed the ITU World Championship and overall World Cup series win in 1997 and since then has gone on to have an equally impressive long distance career, capturing Kona twice. But he announced earlier this year he would target a return to the ITU circuit with an aim to qualify for the London Olympics. This will be his first ITU race McCormack has competed in since 2004. No matter where he finishes, his comeback race will be interesting to watch. Also, keep an eye on the rest of the Australian contingent. Apart from rising star Brendan Sexton, who pulled out early in Madrid due to a stomach bug and won't be racing in Austria, it has not been a great start to the season for Courtney Atkinson, Brad Kahlefeldt, Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt.

 

Olympic qualification: With London a little more than 12 months away, the qualification battle is really starting to heat up, but it isn't just about the top athletes at the moment - there is an important battle for countries to secure the number of spots in London and points from every race counts. There are also a host of athletes aiming to make their fourth Olympics, and five out of 10 men will race in Kitzbuhel,Simon Whitfield (CAN), Reto Hug (SUI), Ivan Rana (ESP), Juraci Moreira (BRA) and Tim Don (GBR). In the women's field, only two women have been to every Olympics so far, Anja Dittmer (GER) and Kiyomi Niwata (JPN) and both are still active - Niwata raced in Madrid and Dittmer will race in Kitzbühel.

 

PREVIOUS KITZBÜHEL WINNERS
2010 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Kitzbühel 

1. Paula Findlay (CAN)                            1. Stuart Hayes (GBR)     
2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Kitzbühel     
1. Emma Moffatt (AUS)                           1. Alistair Brownlee (GBR)     
2008 Kitzbühel BG Triathlon World Cup   
1. Nicola Spirig (SUI)                              1. Ivan Rana (ESP)  
2007 Kitzbühel BG Triathlon World Cup     
1. Andrea Hewitt (NZL)                           1. Simon Whitfield (CAN)

 

                                                                   -30-

Tweet

Hey Everyone,

 

On Sunday I raced the Revolution 3 Half distance triathlon race here in Quassy, Connecticut. While the rest of you had the day off, I was out busting my guts!! As you all know I have been struggling with an Achilles problem so this race was going to be a good test to see where my recovery was at and how it was going to hold out. WOW, I was pleasantly surprised but paying for it now!!!

 

Race morning was beautiful but air temperature was on the colder side of things, which made it hard to get going. The water was only just non-wetsuit legal at 69 degrees Fahrenheit so getting in was very nipply. The start gun went off at 6.50 and the pace was on from the start by Matt Reed (USA), thankfully I was able to jump on his feet and stay with him. Kenny (USA) then came through at a ‘Phelps’ crazy fast speed but we could not match it and he took off out the front. We then formed a small chase group for the remaining part of the 1.2 mile swim in Lake Quassapaug.

 

We then exited the water in a time of 24.04 minutes, into T1 we headed, this was a little crazy but made sure I had a lightning fast transition so I could stay with this bunch. So, out on to the bike with Reed, Cunningham, Starykowicz and Matthews. Far out it was cold, It took me about 20 miles to warm up on this crazy tough undulating bike course. At mile 40 I started to feel better and managed to form a breakaway with Joe Gambles, James Cunnama and Dan Hugo and we were in hot pursuit of Andrew Starykowicz who was 4 minutes ahead of us.

Arrived into T2 with Joe Gambles and Paul Matthews ready to chase down Cunnama and Starykowicz. Started the run at a safe pace as I didn’t know how my Achilles were going to hold out on this tough 13.1 mile run course. Felt really good half way through the run so I decided to push the pace and Gambles came with me. Around Mile 11, we caught Starykowicz but still no sign of Cunnama….bugger!! At mile 12 Gambles and I were still racing side by side so I decided that I needed to make my move now if I wanted any chance at grabbing 2nd. Finally made the break and now I was in the hunt for Cunnama who was 70 seconds in front. As I broke away from Gambles I was gaining on Cunnama and he was hurting. In the last mile and half I put 1 minute into him. All of a sudden a started to realise I may have a chance at the title but unfortunately it wasn’t my day, coming in 2nd by 8 seconds. Really happy with this result as things have been a little rocky with the Achilles but I think I’m back on track.

 

Congratulations to James Cunnama for taking out the win and Joe Gambles coming in 3rd and rounding out the podium.

 

Also on other Triathlon news: Congratulations to fellow Kiwi Nicky Samuels for taking out the Escape from Alcatraz title and Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack for winning Challenge Cairns.

 

Next race will be Eagleman 70.3 this weekend, where I’m hoping to defend my title.

 

Check out my video Race recap at www.terenzo..com

 

You can also see some of the footage from this weekend at the below links.

Pre race show-  http://vimeo.com/24649421 (skip to the second half to the video to go to the mens stuff if you like)

Transition - http://vimeo.com/24679171

Bike update - http://vimeo.com/24681287

Finish line - http://vimeo.com/24686043

Race recap - http://vimeo.com/24723325

 

Regards

Terenzo

Tweet



Forty hours later and my travels from Australia to Europe are complete. The trip is always draining and takes a toll on you especially with a missed connection flight to add some more time at airports … but that’s travelling! When I arrived in Spain at the hotel at which we will base ourselves, it actually had a sense of 'home' to it.

I think that this helps me to train to my full potential without worrying about the little things when you are on the road and living out of a suitcase for long periods.

 

With the weather currently more like Wollongong’s winter, I am currently in Vitoria, Spain preparing for my first race this weekend in the ITU Sprint European Cup in Cremona, Italy. It will be my first ITU race in ten months and I am really excited about the race and to see how my training and the improvements that I have been working on over the last few weeks/months are progressing. A big thank you to everyone that has been involved in getting me back to racing again. Your support has been tremendous and greatly appreciated.

 

Also, in other news ... I am currently in the process of setting up a website for all my news, updates, photos etc in relation to triathlon.

 

More details later!