Despite the promise of “rivers of mud” at the official course recce, this year’s Xterra Worlds in Hawaii delivered blue skies and slightly cooler temperatures for a stellar end to the 2014 off-road season.
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Despite the promise of “rivers of mud” at the official course recce, this year’s Xterra Worlds in Hawaii delivered blue skies and slightly cooler temperatures for a stellar end to the 2014 off-road season.
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Bermuda’s Flora Duffy won her first Worlds title despite a hard crash on the bike, while Spain’s Ruben Ruzafa claimed his third title in assertive style – full race report here.
(Images: Xterra)
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Did you race in Maui last weekend? How did you get on? Let us know in the comments!
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The world of optical heart rate monitors for athletes is growing fast – Fitbit has just taken the wraps off its new Surge, a ‘Fitness Super Watch’ which combines eight (count ‘em) sensors including GPS and optical HRM.
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Unveiled alongside the more affordable Charge (£99) and Charge HR (£119) models – which combine activity tracking, Caller ID and in the latter’s case an optical heart rate monitor – the Surge will cost £199 when it lands early next year.
Coming in three different colours (black, blue and our pick, tangerine), the Surge features built-in GPS to track pace, distance, elevation and more, and its smartwatch features include Caller ID, text alerts and mobile music control.
Claimed battery life is an impressive seven days, and other features include automatic sleep detection, multisport metrics, a backlit LCD touchscreen and food intake tracking.
But it’s the optical heart rate monitor which is likely to garner most interest, based on PurePulse technology for automatic, continuous heart rate tracking.
We’ll be getting our hands on one shortly to see how it stacks up against similar tech from Mio and TomTom…
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More info from Fitbit.com/UK.
The dates are confirmed – triathlon’s test events for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held on 1-2 August next year, with qualification points up for grabs and huge crowds expected.
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The routes will take athletes along Copacabana beach on the restaurant-lined Avenida Atlantica, with the Olympic course also climbing through local neighbourhoods – along the same route as the real thing in 2016.
The 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Olympic Qualification Event will feature a start list of 75 men and women, and will offer the maximum level of Olympic qualification points available, putting it on par with the World Triathlon Series Grand Final. Neither prize money nor ITU World Cup or World Triathlon Series points will be available at the test event however.
Speaking to 220 this morning, top British athlete Jodie Stimpson said: “I had heard a few people talking about the possibility of a world cup test event being held in August and am really excited to be able to go over and race on the course that will be the next Olympic course. Next year for me is all about trying to get on the Olympic team so going to race the test event obviously will play a big part in that plan.”
2013 WTS champ Non Stanford added: “It’ll be great to finally race on the proposed 2016 Olympic course. It will more than likely stand as a selection race for TeamGB athletes too, so it will be a key event in our calendar. The course also looks really exciting; the bike is technical and hilly which is great news for us.”
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The 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Paratriathlon Event will mimic the Paralympic Games course, with a minimum of 60 athletes set to participate. Qualification criteria for the test event will match that of a World Paratriathlon Event, and points earned at the race will go towards both Paralympic Qualification and ITU World Paratriathon Rankings.
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Following this morning’s news that triathlon’s test events for the Rio 2016 Olympics will take place on 1-2 August next year, 220 columnist Tim Heming offers his thoughts…
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It’s clearly not been easy to secure a date and fix the course for the necessary test event for Rio and the ITU are cutting it fine.
They have ensured it will be a strong field by making it a Level 1 Olympic qualifier, but ideally this race would have been confirmed at the end of the summer so it could take its rightful place in the World Series.
Instead, it will now not be part of the Series, and has been crowbarred in alongside the 10 existing events, up from eight in 2013 and seven from 2012.
It really throws a spanner in for preplanned World Series schedules, splitting up the three European races and adding to the extensive and expensive travel from Abu Dhabi to Australasia, Japan, Europe and North America.
On the plus side, we really are now witnessing a global series and athletes do not have to compete in every ITU event and can still gain maximum World Series or Olympic qualification points.
What it will do is whet the appetite for 2016. The Copacabana backdrop will offer some stunning vistas and let’s hope the course throws in enough challenging hills on the bike to make it a real test.
It’s an equally exciting time for Paratriathlon, a debut test event, ahead of a debut games, whose crusading competitors will relish the opportunity.
It doesn’t seem many months since thousands crammed into Hyde Park for one of the spectacles of 2012. With this announcement, Rio has been brought fully into focus. It’s set to be a busy and intriguing year of racing. Let the fun and Games begin.
(Main image: Mteixeira62)
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Do you think they got the dates right for next year? Let us know in the comments below!
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Eton Dorney – known as one of the flattest and fastest triathlon tracks in the UK – has been chosen to host a qualifying event for the 2015 ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon World Championships.
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The Eton Sprints will take place on 23 May next year, sending athletes on a 750m swim in the famous rowing lake, followed by a 21.2km bike and a 5km run. This year, the three top finishers all posted sub-1hr times.
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To secure your spot at the Eton Sprints, head to www.humanrace.co.uk/triathlon.
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After back-to-back wins on triathlon’s toughest stage, Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae can rightfully claim to be the world’s best long-course triathlete.
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She’s kindly agreed to join us for a live Q&A at 7.30pm tonight (Wednesday 29 October) to field your questions!
Whether it’s training issues, what went through her mind on the Queen K highway or something else entirely, send them in to talkback@220triathlon.com
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(Main image: Paul Phillips)
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Sitting comfortably? This new performance cycling collection from Paul Smith looks superb for the growing ‘cycling chic’ niche, but the prices may give you palpitations.
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The Paul Smith 531 collection uses high-performance Swiss-made Schoeller 3xDRY fabric to fend off water while wicking moisture away from the body, and insulation and breathability is provided by 100% New Zealand Merino wool layers. Windproof front panels on items such as the gilet offer a shield against the driving wind.
Bright orange is a recurrent theme for many outer pieces like the gilets and jackets, along with subtle reflective stripes and reflective branding, whilst elsewhere there’s different shades of stealth black, dark purple and petrol blue.
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To mark the launch, British cyclist and previous Paul Smith collaborator David Millar has been recruited to star in a launch film in which a group of riders puts the new clothing range through its paces.
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For more info on the new collection head to the Paul Smith 531 website.
Australia’s all-conquering Kona queen Mirinda ‘Rinny’ Carfrae believes that she ‘still hasn’t reached her ceiling’ in terms of performance, and plans to keep returning to the Big Island.
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Replying to a 220 reader’s question in our live Q&A last night on what her next goals will be in triathlon, she said: “My goal has always been to try and find my potential in this sport and particularly in Kona. I still don’t feel that I have reached my ceiling and while I feel that way will continue to return to Kona and see how fast I can go! You can never have too many world titles.”
She also admitted that she feels the pressure improve her swim and bike to the point where they match her stellar run (Rinny reached T2 more than 14mins behind the leader in Kona this year), saying: “Definitely don’t want to find myself that far back off the bike again anytime soon.”
Mental toughness
Reader Stephen Collins asked what many of us were wondering – just how does she push through the pain barrier? What are her mental strategies?
“Honestly it’s become second nature to push through the struggles in training and in racing. We as endurance athletes are masters at pain management. I don’t have any super secrets here, just the fact that I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I gave into the pain.
“It does help to focus on the little things when the going get’s really tough.. breathing, pacing, hydrating & fueling properly.. Fill your mind with productive thoughts and there will be little room to focus on the pain.”
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Favourite run workouts and nutrition
Another 220 reader wanted to know – what’s her favourite run workout to get ready for Kona?
“Don’t tell my coach I told you this and it’s just between you and me right… I love a set of 20 x 3mins on the treadmill or 20 x 800m on the track. When I can nail this session and still feel fine at the end of the session I know I am getting close to Kona shape.”
On the subject of nutrition, ultrarunner Ruth Goddard in Kent wanted to know if Rinny has days off in terms of nutrition, and what her favourite treats are. “Us IM athletes love our treats and like you ultra-marathoners have earned them,” Rinny replied. “I eat ice cream most days and at least one glass of wine per day..
“Actually there isn’t much that’s off limits during the season. Half the battle is keeping the weight on when you are racking up the training hours. The only time I do have a restriction is about 6-8 weeks out form Kona. I cut all wine and ice cream from my diet. It’s more a mental shift that helps get me into race mode.”
And finally, one bike kit question came in from a fellow Felt IA owner – why didn’t she use electronic Di2 shifting in Hawaii? “Well you don’t really need electronic groupo for Kona since there isn’t much out of the saddle climbing – plus I am a proud Zipp/SRAM athlete and am patiently waiting for them to release their electronic TT sets. Great choice on bike by the way – the IA is by far the best bike I have ever ridden.”
(Images: Paul Phillips)
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Thanks to everyone who sent in questions, and to Mirinda for kindly agreeing to take part!
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Like him or loathe him, you can’t query Gordon Ramsay’s appetite for triathlon. He may have been forced to pull out of Kona this year, but is now looking for 100 athletes to join his GR100 fundraising team at Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire next June.
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Successful applicants will receive a guaranteed race spot, branded kit including a Huub wetsuit, as well as training days with top experts, meetings with triathlon legends and of course the opportunity to join Gordon on what is expected to be one of the flattest, fastest 70.3 triathlons in 2015.
Chef Ramsay says that he’s not looking for seasoned athletes, but rather “dedicated, passionate, driven people who want to take on a life changing challenge.” There is a catch though – successful applicants will have to stump up £1.5k to join the team, and raise another £2.5k for the Gordon Ramsay Foundation.
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For more info on how to join Gordon’s gang, head to the GR100 website.
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Are you racing Ironman 70.3 Staffs? Let us know in the comments below!
Resolve was needed in spades for the 25th edition of the Winter BallBuster, with chilly wind and hammering rain battering duathletes on Box Hill in Surrey last Saturday.
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Athletes struck up a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ on the start line to mark the occasion, with 220’s Matt Baird arriving just in time after meeting heavy traffic on his way there. Other athletes lining up included Mark Kleanthous, who took part in the first ever edition. Racers set off at a steady clip in calm but cold conditions for the first run – a 12km loop of Box Hill.
Andy Greenleaf led the way into transition after finishing the first run in 43mins, giving himself a lead of almost 2mins over nearest rivals Andrius Jaksevicius and Dan Gaffney. The heavens then opened for the 38km bike, a three-lap loop of the run course.
Greenleaf was overtaken on the bike by Chris Witcombe as they headed into transition again, but managed to wrest back the lead after posting a faster time for the second 12km run, finishing in 2:37:38. Jaksevicius came second with Anthony Webb claiming third place.
The women’s race proved to be equally dramatic with Lucie Custance giving herself a 5min gap over nearest chaser Frankie Snare going into T1. She increased the gap to nearly 10mins during the bike, and returned to transition still in the lead with Anna Sykes-Brown of Optima Racing Team chasing for second.
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Custance was around 2mins slower for her second run leg – still fast enough to claim the win in 3:03:49, with Sykes-Brown and Nici Cahusac coming second and third respectively. For the full results head here.
Next up for Human Race is WildMan on 22nd November, the first of the 2014/15 Off-Road Series events. Following this is IceMan on 7th February and MudMan on 7th March.
(All images – Matt Alexander)
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Did you race the BallBuster last Saturday? Let us know in the comments below!