With the evenings getting darker and the lakes getting chiller, this is the time most of us start thinking about heading out to train somewhere a little warmer.
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With the evenings getting darker and the lakes getting chiller, this is the time most of us start thinking about heading out to train somewhere a little warmer.
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With this in mind, we snapped up the opportunity earlier in the year to check out the newly-built 50m competition pool and fitness facilities at the Occidental Lanzarote Mar hotel.
Situated just outside the holiday resort Costa Teguise, on the east coast, the hotel has long been a favourite for Brits looking for all-inclusive holidays in the sun. But with the growth of fitness tourism in recent years, the hotel are investing in new facilities designed to appeal to triathletes and tri clubs.
Island life
So why Lanza? Well, as the island is only 77km long, it’s perfect for triathletes to explore by bike. Roads are smooth and pothole-free (and largely traffic-free, as well!), while the Lanzarote climate is good for training all year round. January is the coldest month at 17 degrees C, while the sea temperature only drops to around 18 degrees C, making it perfect for open water training. It’s also popular with both pro and age-group triathletes because of the volcanic landscape, which gives a great pre-Kona training ground.
What does the Occidental Lanzarote Mar have to offer triathletes? Well, first up there’s that new heated Olympic pool, which offers 10 lanes overlooking the sea (above). For guests it costs from €2.50 to hire a shared lane (depending on time of day), or from €17 for a whole lane booking (maximum of 8 swimmers), making it perfect for clubs looking to hold training sessions.
When we visited, Alberto Lorrio, the resort’s Sports Manager, showed us round the purpose-built space next to the pool that is now home to Technogym aerobic and strength-training machines, as well as an indoor cycling room and a complete Cross training box. There’s also a cycling centre with bike hire, storage and mechanic services.
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Sleep at altitude
If you’re looking for something a bit special during your stay, the Occidental has some impressive athlete-focused bedrooms as well. When we visited there was one altitude room available (from €144pp/pn) which includes a unit that can be set so that you choose the altitude you sleep at and they plan to open two more. There are also six Sports Suites (from €168pp/pn and there will soon be nine) which include bike storage and your own hot tub for post-training relaxation. All sports rooms even include a special Ironman-branded mattress!
Thanks to the size of the resort, there is plenty available for bigger clubs or athletes on a budget as well, with rooms available to sleep up to six athletes (ideal for youth training camps). Prices vary depending the time of the year, for example a week for training in a double room, half board from the 10 to the 17th of December costs around €345 per person per week.
Healthy options
The size of the resort also means that they can accommodate the needs of athletes as well as holidaymakers. Ok, so you’ll probably want to dodge the all-you-can-eat burgers (and beers) at the poolside bar and the old-school evening entertainment aimed at the older package holiday market, but head to the main restaurant for lunch or dinner and there’s a wide selection of healthy options available and special diets can be catered for. There’s also a private dining room that can be booked by clubs if you want to avoid the holidaymakers, plus the hotel offer an athlete package that takes into consideration that fact that most athletes won’t be wanting any alcohol. The spa also offers sports massage.
With a chilly few months of training ahead of us now in the UK, we’ll certainly be heading back to Lanzarote to check out how the resort is developing as a fitness destination. If only for the chance to dive into that amazing pool again!
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EXCLUSIVE 220 TRIATHLON OFFER. Save 10% by using the code ‘BATHLETE’ when booking directly through the website www.barcelo.com This code is not valid for group reservations. Training camps should contact the Sports Department directly.
Entries are now open for The open water endurance swimming race Red Bull Neptune Steps at Maryhill Locks in Glasgow.
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This adventurous race combines a 420 metre sprint swim in icy-cold water with eight canal gates to clamber over (a total climb of 18 metres). Each canal gate features a different obstacle to climb up – including cargo net, ropes, wood ladder, rope ladders and a climbing wall.
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.
The competitors will compete in heats throughout the day. The highest placed swimmers from each round will then move onto the semi-finals and eventually the final.
The event launched in 2015 as the first ever fully supervised swimming event to take place in a Scottish canal.
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”
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Red Bull Neptune Steps will take place on Saturday March 10 at Maryhill Locks in Glasgow. Entries open Tuesday 24 Oct, 10am at redbull.co.uk/neptunesteps
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For more information on watching the event or taking part please visit www.redbull.co.uk/neptunesteps
38km of swimming. 1,800km of biking. 422km of running. Over 10 days. No matter how many times we read them, the numbers of Deca UK continue to astound.
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Launched by Brutal Events’ Claire Smith last year (whose Brutal is one of the toughest irons in the world) and making its debut in October 2017, the inaugural race took over Eton’s Dorney Lake – usually a beginner-triathlon honeypot – and attracted some of the most hardcore triathletes from around the globe, with the UK’s 100+ iron finisher, Anthony Gerundini, naturally on the start line.
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But after 158:09:04 hours of racing, it would be Ireland’s Gerard Predergast who took the honours, and in the process becoming only the second-ever Irish person to complete a deca tri in 10 days.
The winner of the first DecaUK is @jrbootcamp Gerard Prendergast in 158:09:04
An incredible performance
Taking place 9-11 August, the European Championships features the Elite Standard Distance, Elite Mixed Relay and age-group ETU Sprint Distance Triathlon European Championships, and qualified athletes are encouraged to fully understand the process and implications of random drug testing. It is advised they access free Clean Sport training webinars in the lead up to the championships.
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Age-group drug testing has already been taking place at international events, but this will be the first time that it will operate at an international event in Britain. A successful pilot testing scheme, run by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), took place at the British Triathlon Age-Group Team qualification event at Thorpe Park in September with the aim of familiarising more athletes with the testing process.
Fifty-seven athletes were randomly selected to attend a mock test and education session at the event last month. Additional athletes voluntarily engaged with clean sport trainers, and the process was met with excellent feedback from those who took part.
Ian Howard, British Triathlon President, said: “There have been a number of age-group anti-doping rule violations in other countries, some of which may have been inadvertent, so we have a duty of care to ensure that our athletes are educated about clean sport. This has been in our plans for some time in line with our objective of ensuring a level playing field for all competitors.”
British Triathlon is supporting the ETU’s decision to increase the amount of in-competition drug testing for age-group athletes at international events and will look to roll out their anti-doping education programme across the wider triathlon community in forthcoming months.
There will be an educational workshop at the upcoming British Triathlon and Triathlon England AGM and Workshop day on 11 November in Loughborough for those interested to learn more. Spaces on the free course are limited, so book early to secure a spot
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With this win, Duffy joins Xterra Hall of Famer Conrad Stoltz as the only other elite to win four titles, and is the only elite to win four straight.
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More than 800 endurance athletes – including six physically challenged athletes – from 52 countries competed in the event, which started with a one-mile rough water swim at D.T. Fleming Beach, followed by a 20-mile mountain bike ride that traversed the West Maui Mountains, and finished with a tough 6.5-mile trail run in the hot sun. In total there was more than 4,000-feet of combined climbing on the technical bike and run courses.
However the women’s race was all about Flora Duffy. She led the swim, the bike, and the run for the women by a remarkable lead. By mile 15 on the bike, Duffy had an almost six-minute lead on runner up Barbara Riveros from Chile.
“I did my first XTERRA World Championship in 2013, and I can vividly remember almost falling over running on that beach down there,” said Duffy.
“So, to be here today after winning four in a row is pretty unbelievable and pretty crazy to think about where I started. It’s a very special day for me, and what made it even cooler was that Bradley Weiss – Bad Brad I like to call him – won his first world title [men’s elite race]. We’ve done a lot of training together over the years. He helped me in my final prep to Rotterdam and I would like to think I helped him today.”
The 2017 Xterra Chile Champion, Barbara Riveros was in second place for most of the race after a solid swim. She finished in 2:56:11, about eight minutes behind Duffy. Laura Philipp was third in 2:57:24.
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“On the bike, Flora was on another level, we all know that,” said Riveros, a three-time Olympian, who missed the last two years at Maui because of injury. “I’m very happy to be at the finish in one piece and I’m happy to be back. I definitely need to spend more time on the mountain bike to get to the next level.”
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To celebrate the launch of her new book To The Finish Line, four time Ironman World Champ Chrissie Wellington is giving a talk in Bristol on Monday 27 November.
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Written in conjunction with 220, the book offers advice on everything, from planning your race season and fitting triathlon training into everyday life, to race nutrition strategies and coping with pre-race nerves, to exercising during pregnancy and how to budget for a triathlon.
Drawing on Chrissie’s own training and race experiences – both good and bad – and packed full of extras, such as recipes, a typical weekly training programme and pearls of wisdom from some of Chrissie’s own advisors, including her former coach and fellow Ironman legend, 220 Triathlon columnist Dave Scott
Chrissie told 220: “The book is something I have wanted to do for a long time and has been a labour of love. I wanted to give something back to the sport I love, which has given me so much, and inspire others to push that bar a little bit higher to see what they could achieve.
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Tickets to the event are free and you can register for the event here
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After disastrous weather cancelled the thirteenth edition of the event in 2017, the future of the Elbaman triathlon in Italy looked in doubt.
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But the organisers of the independent Italian race have today confirmed that the race will return in 2018, with both the full iron-distance Elbaman and Elbaman73 – plus relay options – being hosted in the Italian island of Elba on 30 September 2018.
Here’s why we named Elbaman one of the best triathlons in the world
“It cannot end like this,” said race organiser Marco Scotti. “I owe it to all the participants and I’m indebted to my staff, who have been following me for years and make our event an unforgettable experience for everyone who participated. We must admit that what happened is an open wound, but starting over is a bet that we can win together. We’re very happy that our sponsors have decided to continue to support us, with Tyr and Enervit already confirming their participation.”
From 15-25 November, registration will be open for all participating athletes of the 2017 edition (present at the Race Start), who’ll not only enjoy a discount rate but also the possibility to change the type of race (Relay, Elbaman73 or Elbaman).
From November 29, there’ll be the official opening of the registration for all other athletes of tiered tariffs.
ELBAMAN DISTANCES
With a swim in the warm and turquoise Tyrrhenian Sea, a rolling bike in the Tuscan Archipelago (totaling 2,500m of elevation gain) and a marathon run through the resort of Marina di Campo, the Elbaman has long been a jewel in the Italian triathlon crown.
The setting for the Elbaman is Elba, Italy’s third-largest Island after Sicily and Sardinia, and located 20km west from the mainland port of Piombino, 100km from Pisa.
Elbaman: 3.8km swim/180km bike/42.2km run
Elbaman73: 1.9km swim/94km bike/21.1km run
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Further information is available at www.elbaman.it
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2016 Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen has announced on Twitter that she is retiring from triathlon to concentrate on marathon running, with the aim of representing the USA in the next Olympics and winning gold.
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☑️ World Champion in Triathlon
☑️ Olympic gold in Triathlon
☑️ Become a mom
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Heavy rain. Blazing sunshine. Single digit temperatures. Plenty of mud and hills. And more hills. The debut Odlo Coed y Brenin Trail Duathlon from Always Aim High kicked-off in North Wales today in true Snowdonian style, with over 250 duathletes attempting either the full or sprint-distance run/bike/run races.
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Consisting of a 28km mountain bike course along the famous ‘Tarw Du’ section, and sandwiched by a 9km and 5km trail/fell run with some tough technical sections, the full-distance race was a stern test of stamina and mental fortitude for duathletes.
In the men’s full-distance race, Doug Hall emerged victorious ahead of Dylan Lewis and Dafydd Hollis, with less than five minutes separated the top three. The women’s race was similarly closely fought, but Sarah Willhoit took first place ahead of the hugely experienced Rhian Roxburgh and Rosemary Byde.
Coed y Brenin Trail Duathlon.
Wedi gorffen – Finished! Fel hyn fydd @Alnodllawn erbyn dydd Gwener!! #triathlon #running #cycling @aahevents @JonesoGymru @SIMONrun @WendJames @WelshTriathlon @WildTrailsnacks @_TriathlonNews @Triathlon_tweet @GogTriathlon https://t.co/lRLJ0G5mKP pic.twitter.com/rAqZcqcInZ— SportpicturesCymru (@gwynforjames) November 12, 2017
Following an hour later, the sprint course was made up of a shortened 15km lap of the same ‘Tarw Du’ course, with a 5km and 1.8km run on either side. 220’s Matt competed in this race and it boasted a hugely enjoyable yet testing mix of technical trails, lightning descents and hundreds of metres of lung-busting elevation gain, all flanked by panoramic views of Snowdonia and plenty of camaraderie.
Tom Nesham added the men’s sprint race win to the his Slateman sprint victory in May. Tom crossed the line a full 10mins ahead of second placed Rob Kerr in an astounding time of 01.08.48. Gwynedd Jones rounded off the top three.
The women’s sprint race was a much closer affair with Nicole Walters of T3 Triathlon claiming first place ahead of Kim Baptista. Always Aim High stalwart Suzie Richards was third on her return from injury.
The race organisers believe that the race – the first duathlon to be held at the Mountain Bike park in Coed y Brenin – drew a record number of duathletes for an off-road duathlon in the UK. And, with Human Race’s Wildman and Iceman no longer on the UK calendar, there’s certainly room for further growth, with the 2018 event already confirmed as a Welsh Triathlon National Championship race.
Full race timings for the Odlo Coed y Brenin Duathlon can be found at tdleventservices.co.uk, with more information on 2018’s race at alwaysaimhighevents.com.
Top 3 2017 Odlo Coed y Brenin Duathlon results
Men’s Sprint Duathlon:
1. Tomos Nesham 01.08.48
2. Rob Kerr 01.20.13
3. Gwynedd Jones 01.22.45
Women’s Sprint Duathlon:
1. Nicole Walters 01.20.59
2. Kim Baptista 01.21.48
3. Suzie Richards 01.27.49
Men’s Full Duathlon:
1. Doug Hall 02.20.45
2. Dylan Lewis 02.23.55
3. Dafydd Hollis 02.24.03
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Women’s Full Duathlon:
1. Sarah Willhoit 02.42.32
2. Rhian Roxburgh 02.44.25
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3. Rosemary Byde 02.50.15
Reigning Olympic and Commonwealth champion Ali Brownlee, and his brother Jonny are part of Team England’s 10 strong tri squad that will be competing at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, in April 2018.
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Alistair Brownlee said: “It’s a great honour to be representing Team England. I have had the chance to compete at the Commonwealth Games once before and it’s a big deal for a niche sport like triathlon to compete in a global sporting competition like this. I am looking forward to getting out there on the start line.
“At the moment I am focusing on my training for the next few months to get myself in the best possible shape I can be in for the Games. I have been lucky enough to race there before actually, at the same venue, and I have some good and bad memories of that. But I am just looking forward to being there on one of the biggest stages that you can in triathlon.”
The 10 strong tri squad will include, for the first time, paratriathletes after the news came that paratriathlon was going to make its debut at the games.
There will just be one class for men and women, the PT1, which is for wheelchair users. Athletes use a recumbent handcycle on the bike course and a racing wheelchair on the run segment.
Commonwealth Games to host Paratriathlon for first time
The 8 other athletes joining the brothers as part of Team England are; Tom Bishop, Mark Conway (paratri), Sophie Coldwell, Jess Learmonth, Vicky Holland, Lizzie Tench (paratri), Jade Jones-Hall (paratri) and Joe Townsend (paratri). The squad will be hoping forTeam England’s first medals of the Games on 5th April.
European Paratriathlon champion Jade Jones-Hall competed for Team England in Glasgow 2014 on the track, winning a bronze medal in the T54 1500m event. She will make her triathlon debut for Team England, along with 2017 Paratriathlon World Cup silver medallist, Lizzie Tench.
Lizzie Tench said: “Being part of the first Commonwealth Games Paratriathlon is going to be really special, and this is my first major games. I’m hugely motivated by the challenge ahead, and excited to be part of Team England.”
Rio 2016 bronze medallist and two-time World Mixed Team champion, Vicky Holland, will be putting on her Team England shirt for the second time after competing in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Team England Triathlon Team Leader, Ian Pyper, said “Competition for places was extremely competitive. This is a reflection of the strength and depth of triathletes and paratriathletes in this country, and their desire to challenge for individual and mixed relay medals on the Gold Coast next April. We’re obviously delighted to have three Olympic medal winners within our team as well as some big performers from 2017.”
Team England will send a team of around 600 athletes and staff in what will be England’s largest ever team to represent the nation in an overseas sporting event. The team will compete in 18 sports, including 38 para medal events.
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