April 30, 2008

Race Preview: Richards Bay - BG Triathlon World Cup race #5

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from Triathlon.org…

After back-to-back world cups in Asia, the series shifts to Richards Bay, South Africa this weekend for the third consecutive year. The Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup on May 4 marks the 199th world cup event in ITU’s history.

Last year a historic milestone took place as Hendrik DeVilliers became the first African triathlete to ever win a world cup and he did it in his home country, thrilling the locals. He’s back this year to defend his title while teammate Erhard Wolfaardt, the runner-up to DeVilliers at this year’s African Championships looks for his best world cup performance on home soil. Fellow South Africans Kate Roberts and Mari Rabie, this year’s African champion, look for similar success in the women’s field.

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April 28, 2008

Race Results: 2008 St. Anthony’s Triathlon

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from InsideTriathlon…

American stars Matt Reed and Sarah Haskins defeated top international fields to take home $10,000 apiece today at the 25th anniversary St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg.

The men

Emphasizing that his upset win in the Olympic Trials last week at Tuscaloosa was no fluke, Reed outdueled top U.S. rival Andy Potts on the run for third St. Anthony’s victory Sunday in St. Petersburg.

“I’m on a roll,” said Reed, the 33-year-old, 6-foot 5-inch New Zealand native who celebrated his recent American citizenship with a chance to represent the red white and blue in the Olympics. “I’m really happy with how I’m going, but it’s even better that I still see room to improve.”

Reed and Potts, who finished second to Reed at Tuscaloosa, broke out to a minute lead out of the water, added another 50 seconds on chief rival Greg Bennett on the bike.

“I tried hard to drop Andy at the start of the bike,” said Reed. “But all credit to him, he stuck with me and made a great race of it.”

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April 28, 2008

Race Results: 2008 Women’s Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup

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from Triathlon.org…

New Zealand’s Beijing-bound Samantha Warriner claimed her sixth world cup title today in the 2008 Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup, the 198th world cup ever staged in ITU’s history. A strong swim put the top Kiwi at the front of the group and enabled her to utilize her running speed to cruise to gold medal in a time of 1 hour 49 minutes and 49 seconds. In second place was young Hollie Avil of Great Britain, 9 seconds back. This is the second podium in as many races for the 2007 Junior champion Avil. In third, following a strong finish to 2007, was Vendula Frintova of the Czech Republic, a further 22 seconds down.

“I’m pretty stoked,” said the 36-year old Warriner. “I was feeling good. In New Plymouth I made lots of mistakes. I made sure not to make the same mistakes here and it worked.”

“It’s just great to run with other athletes – like Sam [Warriner],” said the 18-year old Avil, with Tongyeong being only her second Olympic distance race ever. “I’ve never got to run with her before…it was a quick run today, it was ever more experience, more learning in the bag and I’m just loving it out there.”

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April 28, 2008

Race Results: 2008 Men’s Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup

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from Triathlon.org…

2006 Triathlon World Champion, Tim Don of Great Britain, won the Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup today in South Korea, the 198th world cup in ITU’s history. The fleet-footed Don ran away from the competition over the final stages of the race to claim the fifth world cup win of his career in a time of 1 hour 38 minutes and 14 seconds. In second position, only six seconds behind, Athens Olympic silver medalist Bevan Docherty of New Zealand out-sprinted Germany’s Jan Frodeno in a photo finish result. Don continues his push to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games as he shows great form heading into next month’s final selection race at the Madrid BG Triathlon World Cup, moving to first in the BG Triathlon World Cup rankings.

“I always give 100% and I was so pleased to get on the top of the podium,” commented the 30-year old Brit known to his friends as ‘The Don’.

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April 24, 2008

Race Preview: Tongyeong - BG Triathlon World Cup race #4

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from Triathlon.org…

The BG Triathlon World Cup series heads to South Korea this Saturday for the first time since 2004. As one of just six world cup events before the end of ITU Olympic qualifying, Tongyeong welcomes a world class field that is expected to include a number of contenders including Beijing bound Jan Frodeno of Germany, four-time world cup winner Rasmus Henning of Denmark, Olympic silver medalist Bevan Docherty and 2006 world champion Tim Don of Great Britain. Click here for men’s start list

Headlining the women’s field are Olympic bound athletes prepping for Beijing including five-time World Cup winner Samantha Warriner of New Zealand, and German Ricarda Lisk. The 2006 junior world champion Kirsten Sweetland from Canada opens her 2008 world cup season in Tongyeong as will teammate Lauren Groves who’s coming off a silver medal performance at the PATCO Pan American Championships in Mazatlan, Mexico. Also in the field will be Great Britain’s promising youngster Hollie Avil who will compete in just her elite world cup. Last year’s junior world and European champion was impressive in her debut, taking bronze at the Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup. Click here for women’s start list

Also at stake for the athletes is a US$100,000 prize purse. After diving off a pontoon, athletes will complete a 2-lap 1.5-kilometer ocean swim. At the end of the first lap, athletes will have to come out on the pontoon and dive back in. Wetsuits are expected as water temperature will be between 15 and 17 degrees Celsius. Out of the water athletes will cycle 5 laps around an 8-kilometer loop that includes a pair of hills. Off the bike, it’s onto a flat 10-kilometer run course.

April 23, 2008

Wheaties Honors Triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker

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Jarrod Shoemaker is being honored by Wheaties, “The Breakfast of Champions,” with a new, limited-edition package featuring the 25-year old triathlete from Sudbury, Mass. The Breakfast of Champions(R) continues its tradition of honoring elite athletes and celebrates Shoemaker’s outstanding triathlon achievements, adding yet another honor to his impressive list of accomplishments.

Shoemaker is a fierce competitor and credits his amazing success in triathlon to a combination of raw talent and personal drive. He turned professional after competing in just four triathlons in 2003. Within two years Jarrod had won the Under 23 Nationals and World Championship. He qualified for the USA Triathlon’s National Elite Team in 2006 and has racked up nine top 10 finishes in the past two years. In the fall of 2007 Shoemaker completed an even more amazing feat by becoming the first member of the USA Triathlon Men’s Team competing in the games in Beijing this summer. Now his sights are set on the Hy-Vee ITU World Cup in Des Moines, Iowa this June - the largest prize purse in professional triathlon competition.

Shoemaker was a runner while attending Dartmouth College and credits his time on the track team for teaching him what it takes to be a top athlete. During his last two seasons of college, Jarrod added riding and swimming to his work-out regimen and when he graduated in 2004, he left his running career and began to focus on the triathlon. Excellence in all three triathlon events - swimming, cycling, and running - has made Shoemaker one of the most well-rounded athletes in the sport.

“It’s a great honor for me to be on the cover of the Wheaties box and to join the remarkable list of great athletes who have appeared on the package,” Shoemaker said. “Every athlete dreams about one day seeing themselves on the cover of the ‘Breakfast of Champions’ package.”

“He is truly one of the brightest stars in the triathlon today, and the sky is the limit for how good he can become,” said Dan Stangler, Wheaties marketing. “His addition to the Wheaties family continues our rich tradition of honoring great athletes.”

The new 15.6-ounce Wheaties package is now available regionally in Iowa and Boston. This marks the first time Shoemaker has appeared on a Wheaties box, and the second time a triathlete has appeared. Hunter Kemper was featured on the box in 2007.

April 22, 2008

Final 2008 Triathlon Olympic team slot determination

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With the wins this weekend of Matt Reed and Julie Ertel, the 1st and 2nd slots on both the men’s and women’s Olympic teams have been filled (Shoemaker and Bennett took the first slots late last year). The third and final slots will be determined at the Hy-Vee Triathlon on June 22 in Des Moines based on the best record overall in the three race selection series..

For the women, it’s pretty straightforward…if Sarah Groff is the top American at Hy-Vee, she earns the slot. If she isn’t the top American, Sarah Haskins takes the 3rd spot on the team.

The slot for the men’s team is a bit more dicey… Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper each have second and third-place results in the first two races - so in theory whoever comes out ahead in race three is in. However, if Hunter or Andy finish third or lower, it could open the door for Brian Fleischmann or Doug Friman, provided they win in Des Moines.

April 22, 2008

Registration opens for 2009 Ironman 70.3 California

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from NASports…

Boulder, CO - North America Sports is pleased to announce that the entry process is open for the 2009 Ironman 70.3 California. Athletes may enter this event on-line, through the www.ironmancalifornia.com website.

In a new feature for 2009, N A Sports is pleased to partner with Multisports to provide athletes with a specially designed training program. The Ironman 70.3 California Training Program is an extremely detailed training program setup specifically for the final 8-weeks leading up to the Ironman 70.3 California event. This event is early in the race year, and has a course that lends itself to athletes preparing for a challenging ride, followed by a flatter terrain run course. The program assumes a level of fitness coming into these weeks which are focused on key workouts that will prepare you for the event, and a complete taper right up to race day. The Ironman 70.3 California Training Program has been created by Paula Newby-Fraser on the Active Trainer platform. Athlete may sign-up online at active.com

The 2009 Ironman 70.3 California will take place in Oceanside, CA for the eighth time on April 4, 2009. Athletes will compete for a $30,000 pro prize purse as well as 20 entry spots for the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and 50 entry spots for the 2009 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater. FL. For more information, please log onto www.ironmancalifornia.com

April 21, 2008

Race Results: 2008 Ironman China

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from InsideTriathlon…

Keeping with the recent Ironman trend, the inaugural Ironman China proved to be one of the hottest on record, with temperatures soaring into the 90’s and athletes dropping like flies. As with last weekend’s Ford Ironman Arizona, the race in China was transformed into a war of attrition and the two left standing at day’s end were Germany’s Olaf Sabatschus and Aussie Belinda Granger.

Sabatschus, known as one of triathlon’s elite “super-bikers”, actually won the race on the run, a rare feat for the German. At the start of the day Sabatschus had some serious time to make up after the swim, exiting the water over five minutes behind swim-leaders Mathieu O’Halloran of Canada and Matthew Clark of Australia.

As the top men began rolling through the hills of Hainan Island, huge gaps were forming among the top ten, with Clark leading the charge. McDonald, the pre-race favorite, suffered his first of two flat tires just before the turnaround and was relegated to almost 20 minutes behind Clark. McDonald fell victim to a second flat tire with over ten miles left on the bike and actually rode to transition with a flat. Instead of surging to the front on the bike, Sabatschus chose to be conservative on the bike and entered transition two minutes behind American Timothy Marr, who overtook the lead on the second half of the bike leg.

As the men made their way onto the sun-baked run course, it became clear that Sabatschus was the most prepared for the heat. Halfway through the marathon the German had already amassed a seven-minute lead and behind him the leaderboard was changing rapidly. By the time he hit the finish line in 8:52:14, Sabatschus had a 21-minute cushion on would-be runner-up Byung Hoon Park of South Korea. Marr, who was clearly suffering toward the end of the run, hung on for third, one minute back of Park.

Like Sabatschus, Granger had some serious work to do after the 2.4-mile swim. The Aussie exited the water in just under an hour, six minutes behind race leader Ute Mueckel of Germany. Granger began stalking the German from the moment she got on the bike and reeled her in by the halfway point. Granger, who prefers racing from the front, began pulling away from Mueckel and the rest of the field the moment she took the lead.

Granger hit T2 with a comfortable gap on Mueckel, which quickly grew on the early miles of the run. As with the men’s race, the leaderboard on the women’s side was turned upside down once the athletes began the run. Canadian Donna Phelan, who trains with Granger under Brett Sutton in the Philippines, proved that the Team TBB girls can really handle the heat, as she moved into second in the later stages of the run. Granger continued her stroll to the finish, crossing the line in 10:08:37, over 28 minutes ahead of Phelan. Britain’s Abigail Bayley also made up huge chunks of time on the run, finishing third in 10:43:11. It was the seventh Ironman win of Granger’s career and her second already this season (she won Ironman Malaysia as well).

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April 21, 2008

New road goodies from SRAM

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from Bikeradar…

SRAM has taken some of the features introduced on its range-topping Red road component group and trickled it down to the less-expensive Rival and Force groups, the company announced at the Sea Otter Classic this weekend.

Nearly all of the upgrades have been applied to DoubleTap levers across the board. Force and Rival now get the same shift paddle and brake lever blade shaping as Red , plus independently adjustable reach for both. Both lever bodies will also offer dual-position cable routing for the derailleur housing. The front shifter has been enhanced with new Zero Loss internals and a big ring trim position which supersedes the original inner ring trim. Rival also gets a carbon fiber brake lever blade.

Rival receives the most attention from SRAM this year as the rest of the group has been freshened, too. As well as the lever changes, the crankarms get an upgrade to the the lighter and stiffer OCT hollow-forged technology and all components will be covered in a gloss black finish.

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