Vegas Redux II: Celebrity Sightings

I’m purging Vegas from my system since I’m getting on a plane tomorrow morning for Kona. While much of what was seen is out there, I have to say there were a lot more athletes there than I’ve seen in the past. There were several I didn’t run into (multiple-time Ironman champ Mark Allen and coach Luis Vargas of markallenonline.com) and some I saw but was too on-the-go to see (like Simon Whitfield).

So after four days in LV, who did I see? Conrad Stoltz, showing off the new AviStoltz trail shoe that he helped design with Avia. Low heel, aggressive tread, a sealed tongue and mesh upper that helps keep sand out.













Slowtwitch.com founder Dan Empfield (left), with Gerard Vroomen of Cervelo. This was minutes before the debut of the P4. The tension was palpable.








This trio includes three Ironman winners, two from this year: Ironman Canada winner Bryan Rhodes of New Zealand is on left. In center is former Ironman Malaysia winner Marilyn McDonald of Canada and TeamTBB, and on right is Marilyn's husband, Chris McDonald, recent winner of Ironman Wisconsin and fellow TeamTBB team member. While Rhodsey will be in Kona this week, Chris is passing on Hawaii this year to focus on the fall race at Ironman Arizona.



Cervelo's Gerard Vroomen, with Swede bike powerhouse Bjorn Andersson, and the new P4.











Ironman 70.3 specialist Chris Legh of Australia, chatting up Dave Ripley, one of the designers and product managers on aerobars at Zipp Speed Weaponry.








2006 Hawaii Ironman World Champ Michellie Jones and Holly Bennett, the head marketeer at Gu Sports. Holly was a champ to be on her feet at the show in Vegas given that she had just come from racing Ironman 70.3 Cancun and was bruised up from a bad bike crash. Michellie had gone down with her and essentially played the sherpa for Holly. A cool reversal of role from one of the classiest athletes in our sport.










Dan Empfield and VeloNews technical editor Lennard Zinn, discussing the finer points of fine linen that drapes the P4. Lennard will be in Hawaii for the first time to watch the race, and when he heard about SRAM marketing guy Michael Zellman's affinity for open-water swimming in brightly-colored Speedos (see my below post), he said he, too felt repressed for his desire to wander city streets in minimalist attire.

With all the pale Germans and leathery Brazilians that will be traipsing around town eating mahi mahi sandwiches in cafes wearing nothing but Speedos and Crocs, those two will finally feel liberated and fit right in.

Scott Forrestall (left) and Vinu Malik, the brainchild owner of FuelBelt. Vinu and Scott are both fast cats, kicking one anothers' asses in training over in their home base of Rhode Island. Vinu qualified for and is racing this weekend in Kona. I wish I could run business and be as
fast as this guy. Both are great cats, too.





Felt Racing-sponsored pro Tim DeBoom, and namesake Jim Felt. Felt is one of the nicest guys in the sport, and Tim, as historically one of the quietest, most secluded pros, has opened up to the point where he's doing a column in Triathlete about his experiences... which are really, really enlightening. Dealt some bad hands in races, Tim has been a warrior and while he was often dissed for being fleeting with the press, he was always genuine with me and has been one of my favorite pros to deal with.

Rhodesey with Tim Moxey of Nuun Nutrition and Blue Seventy Wetsuits. Tim is often on the other side of the camera, as one of the finest multisport shooters in the game. He's also all-around fun guy to be around with a wit you cannot touch. Rhodesy is the couch-surfingest pro on the Ironman circuit. He's spent time crashing on the air mattress at my old condo before, and has probably spent time rifling through your cereal cupboards, too. Arrrgh, mate! Good guy.



That was just a collection of the peeps I ran into. I also saw a few cool things, three of which I wanted to mention before I sign off of Vegas and onto Hawaii: First was the Pearl Izumi Tri Fly shoe that P.I. made up for Jan Frodeno before he won his Olympic gold, and had on display. It was a very nice one-off, especially for a guy who no one expected to figure into the top five, let alone the win. A nice way for a company to look after its athletes.






Another was the low-key setup by newcomer Feather Brakes. A moto-cross brand, they come into the superlight road aftermarket brake market with not only a pretty product, but one they aim to improve on performance-wise. The CNC'd bodies, with ti bolts and springs weigh 199 grams complete. They have upgrade kits to add anodized color accents (blue, pink, gold, black and red) to your bike. But they have a barrel that attaches to your brake cable and hooks onto the cam lever, making it easy to open the caliper to remove the wheel. We cannot wait to try this one.

Finally, I present MotorTabs. Nothing new save for a new six-pack offering (which is nice for the cash-strapped that wants to buy in small lots). However, this effervescent, drop-in-the-bottle-and-add-water) is THE most underrated nutritional tab on the market. Michellie Jones uses it, but whateverl nutrition is not sold on who's using it; it has to work for the user. I have used a lot of stuff, and when it came to my training for my ultra this spring, this was my go-to hydration. Greg Sellers, owner of the company, told me there have been several big-name riders on major road cycling teams that buy his stuff and use it instead of the sponsor-supplied goods, because it works. Good hydration, good salt, easy on the belly and easy to re-up on the go. They have fruit punch, orange, lemon-lime and a new grape flavor, but for me, lemon-lime is the go. I have heaps of drinks at my disposal, but when I go to the cabinet to do my bottles up for ride morning, I always go for these tabs as a default. This stuff is so good, I gotta recommend it.

I'm out. Next stop: Kona.

Breaking News: SRAM to make big bar-end shifter debut in Kona Wednesday

Well, it seems Interbike wasn’t good enough to do a launch. And triathletes get the benefit of it.

I’ve just gotten word that SRAM is making a major presentation Wednesday in Kona, revolving around its time trial/triathlon shifting system for triathlon. The rumors that have abounded for over a year will be answered at a press conference Wednesday.

The press release says:
“This new SRAM shifter has been in development for over three years, it’s like no other gear changer on the market, and will redefine aerodynamic efficiency and comfort – so please join us to be the first to see it.”

Man, I love being in the media. There’s nothing cooler than getting the first look.

There had been rumor, as far off as a year ago, that a new shifting system was in the works. The new Red group came and went without an update to the carbon shifter that came with the debut of the brand’s first road group, Force. Many, myself included, were beginning to think it was wishful thinking, vaporware.

But this is SRAM, which has been exceptionally progressive. Progressive in not only in presenting three tiers of road groups (top-end Red, mid-tier Force and so-called entry level Rival) but re-designing the two latter groups inside a year’s time. Hell, major Shimano lifer (well, at least until a week or so ago) Lance Armstrong will be rolling his debut on SRAM.
I became a fan of SRAM when they debuted Force the first time. The above shot was from their press launch at Sea Otter a couple years ago…. I’m in the center, with SRAM’s Alex Wassman on my left and respected VeloNews scribe Lennard Zinn to my right. From there, they’ve stepped up the product, functionally and ergonomically. We have a Rival group in our office to test, and while most cases would see me not too jazzed about stripping a bike to put on an entry-level groupset that costs just $919 complete (compared to the $2,099 Red gruppo)

At Sea Otter this spring, SRAM did debut the 500 level alloy shifter and alloy brake levers, in alignment with the Rival group. They were very nice and represented a great value, but there was nothing truly innovative, despite my optimism.

Now, SRAM turns its attention to triathlon, and is making the debut on the world stage in Kona. I’m thinking they won’t trot out a revamp this time.

Now, consider that the bar end shifter was never meant for use on tri bikes. They were created well before Boone Lennon created the first aerobar—Campagnolo had ones with rubber covers in 1953. In the 70s and mid-80s, SunTour created barcon shifters that mounted on the bottom end of drop bars, where bar plugs typically go today.
So basically, while advances in tube shaping, frame materials, water bottle shapes, training, nutrition have evolved over the years, the lowly bar end shifter remained untouched, unevolved and neglected for decades. The most radical thing that happened came three years ago, when SRAM made the lever out of carbon. Sexy, yes. But functionally, it was the same thing.

Then along comes SRAM, which has been one of the most excitable brands in the market today. When you’re pushing the envelope, I guess it’s hard to not get jazzed. SRAM road PR manager Michael Zellmann is a big guy. If you’re in Kona and see a 6’3 dude traipsing around town, that’s your guy. He’s also a time trial powerhouse—think Torbjorn, just without the ability to swim. (Sorry Michael—but you’re welcome to throw on your tangerine Speedo and prove me wrong at Dig Me Beach next week).

Seriously though, being a SRAM marketer aside, as a TT guy I think MZ’s presence in Kona means he has a truly vested interest in delivering this debut. He was here to do the first count of groupsets last year at the pier. I think this year, he'll see a bigger presence in the race.

“We are excited to be launching our third bar-end shifter into the triathlon market in three years at this years Ford Ironman World Championships,” Zellmann told me this past week after sending the press release. “Triathletes have been underserved on drivetrain and shifting options for years.”

If they're on par with what they’ve delivered across the rest of their road range the last three years, I don't think I'm off base in saying we can expect to be wowed.

So what does that mean? Zellmann was mum. The rumor, as far as I have heard, involved something different than a traditional lever that moves up and down, pulling on the cable. Some of the Triathlete mag staff were in Chicago for the Chicago Triathlon this spring and visited the SRAM offices, taking a tour. Ad sales rep Sean Watkins said he was accidentally send into a room where something was on a table that he couldn’t sort out, and he was quickly whisked out.

Further, sponsored pro Michellie Jones has been spotted training in San Diego testing the prototypes. I’ve not seen ‘em. The term “trigger” has been bandied about, but for the last year, and despite my incessant badgering, SRAM has confirmed nor denied any of it.

So after the “how rad and revolutionary is this gonna be” question comes the “will anyone be running it in the race” question. Considering the tech-o-philes that SRAM sponsors, including Chris Lieto, and Normann Stadler, perhaps there’s a chance.

We’ll find out all Wednesday. Michellie is slated to be there to talk about her experience with it, and SRAM and Zipp will have several of their other goods on display, including the new SRAM S40, S60 and S80 wheelsets, and the new Zipp SLSpeed Stem… one of the newest objects d’art from Interbike.

I must say, I’m glad SRAM opted to make Hawaii the debut instead of Vegas. Further proof that SRAM is recognizing the tri market as an entity unto itself.

Oakley: Who's wearing what in Kona?

I'm not in Kona until Tuesday, but am already learning what's going on in the way of product there.

Greg Welch, the 1994 Hawaii Ironman World Champ and current Oakley triathlon marketing man-of-the-world came by the Triathlete offices yesterday. I'm working on a cool-as-hell feature about the history of Oakley in triathlon for Slowtwitch, and Welchy took me on a tour of Oakley HQ in Foothill Ranch, Calif. several weeks ago. I have to say, I was enlightened and bewildered by the sheer magnitude of the place and staff. There is so much creative brainpower there, it's no wonder they are so dominant in sport, and come out with some of the best-looking designs in sunnies. Even the building itself has a raw industrial vibe. The seating in the lobby: a row of pilot ejection seats, straight from some fighters. With all the snowboards, dragsters, bikes, motos and other accoutrements around, It's Disneyland for active adults.

And that's before you get to see the skunkworks. I even managed to go up some back stairs, down a grey hall, through some air conditioning hardware outside, then back in to an alcove of exposed piping, to get into a room that serves as a mental decompression chamber, complete with beer taps and nice, coooold beer. I'll be revealing shots of this amazing room soon (those that enter must sign the wall). It was fun to go around and search the sigs.... saw Conrad Stoltz's autograph up there.

The fact that my visit was also Welchy's first visit? When he does spend a lot of time roaming the halls in the aero position in the original Eyeshades. But that does tell you how underground this secret room is, even to those employees. We had to get clearance from the top Oakley brass to even get in there. I was honored to enjoy a beer with Blick, while Welchy—and I kid you not on this—threw two dead-center bullseyes in about three tosses at the dartboard.

Note the brass placard on the door. I had to leave my Glock 9mm 19 and Beretta .22 snub with the tip-up nose with the doorman. They don't play.

There was a lot I was not permitted to photograph... in fact, Welchy asked to hold my camera a few times, to assuage fears that I might see something and go rogue. And there's stuff that wont see the light of day, at least not next weekend. Like the custom helmet paintjob they had lined up for Samantha McGlone. It was cool, in pure Oakley style, and that's all I can say. I'm sure we'll all see it next year. Sam will be champing at the bit.

After seeing what Welchy's colleague Steve Blick did for the Oakley athletes at the Tour de France, I have wondered what Greg had up his sleeve for his athletes for next Saturday's race. Many Oakley athletes have a national motif in their eyewear, some just go for the basics. But a few of the high-profile athletes have something special we can all look out for.

Welchy said Aussie Craig Alexander will be wearing a green and yellow Radar, representing his Aussie colors. Reigning womens world champ Chrissie Wellington? She'll be wearing the new Enduring (which Welchy helped design) in pink, which follows a breast cancer initiative Oakley is promoting with that limited-edition version.

And Danish bike power Torbjorn Sindballe? He will be just the third pro Oakley athlete to be wearing the new Racing Jacket (Thor Hushovd and George Hincape were the others at the Tour this July). This one hasn't hit the market yet, but Torbjorn will be wearing the black and yellow Livestrong version of the Racing Jacket as he tears down the Queen K. I got to check out Thor and Hincapie's race prototypes, and they were waaaay raw prototypes they raced in. While the lens is fully encased, it has an ingenous method of releasing (through the nosepiece) to open a hinge, allowing the lens free for swap. Thunderbear clearly won't be easy to miss.

On the left is Steve Blick, the road marketing manager with George Hincapie's Racing Jacket, with Andy McSorley with , the eyewear brand manager in center holding Cadel Evans' purple Radar. And of course there's Welchy, holding his baby, the Enduring women's optic.

Many other Oakley athletes will have color combos that Welchy put custom assembled for the athletes. But in fact, the custom element isn't that unique to just the pros; Oakley just launched a full custom program online, where you can design your own glasses, from frame to earsock to "O" icon color to frame etching message, all to your taste. I understand Oakley will have it's rolling optics lab in Kona around the race as well.

I'l have more as I get on the ground next week, but for now, the news is filtering in, little by little. Stay tuned...

Interbike Redux, Part I

Now that I'm out of Vegas, I can look back on it with a bit more clarity. My quick impression? Lots of new, different ideas. Bike and parts manufacturers can no longer just show up with an aero bike. They have to come strong, with data. When we're spending $7,000 on a bike, there better be some science behind the design. Everyone, from Ridley to Fuji to Ceepo were bringing something different to combat the wind. Even Kestrel had a new redesign of the Airfoil Pro that I was impressed with.

Which is where Cervelo has built it's empire. Phil White and Gerard Vroomen did the best to build a bit of hype—and deliver on it—with the debut of the P4, backed with a healthy dose of science, and $1 million of development.

And the hype behind the debut was a unique scene, one reminiscent of an Apple keynote, with Phil and Gerard presenting the bike with head mikes on, and a group of media and other onlookers on-hand for the unveiling. I Saw Simon Whitfield looking on, colleagues like Dan Empfield and Lennard Zinn, as well as a few other engineers from rival brands, all awaiting the unveiling. It was amazing the amount of people from competing brands that made time to visit the Cervelo booth. When I saw the below, I just had to get a shot.
Maybe Fausto Pinarello, caught by my camera, was irritated by my candidly catching him languising in the Cervelo booth. Or maybe he was longingly looking at that P4 in the case. To his credit, Pinarello's top-end TT bike is pretty solid aerodynamically. If they ever paid attention to triathlon beyond putting Cam Brown and Leanda Cave on their bikes, they'd make waves.

I take off Tuesday for Kona and will update here again before I head to the island... then will be updating here from the island as I cruise around town as a journalist, at the same time looking after my wife Donna, who is racing with her TeamTBB teammates. I have assignment to cover the women's race, so I'm excited to see what ought to be an incredible race, even in the absence of Sam McGlone and Michellie Jones.

The men's race will be excellent as always. If the weather is shit, expect Normann to do his thing and make life hell on everyone. If it's calmer, Macca is still my pick. His confidence is worth a lot to that guy, and he has all the confidence.

Of course, you have Torbjorn, Chris Lieto and my biggest x-factor, Steve Larsen, who will also look to inflict damage. It will be a fun race.

From Moto in North Carolina in to Velo in Vegas: a month redux

Been a while, eh? I'm in Vegas for Interbike, which officially kicked off today with the first day of Dirt Demo. It's gonna be full-go for the next few days to see all the hottest new stuff.

I happen to be staying in the hotel with the guys who has been at the maelstrom of the "hottest" anticipation. Indeed, I ran into Phil White, half of the Cervelo brainchild with fellow engineer Gerard Vroomen. We walked and talked about a mile down the strip—he to do some shopping, me to get my credentials at the Venetian. There has been buzz about whether the new P4 Carbon would be coming. And like Gerard told me at the Tour de France earlier this year, he and his media team said they'll let me know when they have something ready. He told me that they've invested—get this—over $1 million in the development of the P4 Carbon. So when they want to let the world know, they said I would be on the short list of those who would get an inside track.

So... stand down, Cervelo-ites...at least for now.

Last we spoke, it was Olympics time. Jan Frodeno surprised us, and Emma Snowsill didn't. Great fun was had by all.

Around that time, I was the guest of Specialized to a unique test. I have a piece that will be going into Road Bike Action magazine as well as in Triathlete magazine. It was exceptionally informative, and unique: Specialized brought out the brains (engineer Mark Cote) and the brawn (six-time Australian National Time Trial ChampNathan O'Neill... that's Mark getting on Nathan's nerves, giving him a hard time about his helmet straps) to do some interesting tests, to draw some quantifiable numbers as to what the true benefits of a tri bike are over a road bike, in terms of rider position benefit, wattage output benefit, even bike-only aero profile benefit. It was quite interesting, and will make for good reading... at least for those who like to look at numbers and what they mean.

There was actually protocol for three separate tests that we were : a wind tunnel test at the new A2 Wind Tunnel, located in NASCAR's hometown of Mooresville. That was interesting enough. Then there was a 1k trial at an area loop for some outdoor comparison.

Then the finale was a series of 10-mile road trials at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The test was held on the actual NASCAR track, which, for me, was a thrill. It was also held in conjunction with the Carolina TT Cycling Association series,which hosts a monthly time trial on the track. One of the coolest things I'd ever seen, cyclists of ever level out laying down the watts, in individual and TTT format.And then.... there was a unique prototype setup. Not a proto bike, but proto measurement device. You'll have to read the mags to see what that's all about.

The heat of the day gave way to the cool of the night as athletes raced under the lights. I'd wish I brought my bike! But it was Nathan, after a day of 10-mile time trials under the hot sun, who put on a blazing display in his last lap—just to see how fast he could go. He nearly fell over after the hot lap, but it was fun for us to watch from the infield grass. He passed on the customary infield tire burnout donuts.

One of the coolest dynamics I'd ever seen took place there as well: athletes warmed up in the garage alongside spare cars belonging to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon. How unique. I had to get a shot of it, which you see to the left... that's Carl Edwards' Office Depot No. 99 behind the bikes.

With that trip finished, I headed home, excited about the coming Pepsi 500 NASCAR race in Fontana, Calif., up the road.

Enter Specialized marketing magician. Nic Sims. He's British and has the voice of the Geico gecko. And he's a great guy. Because he picked up my NASCAR fetish (I was flipping out as we drove past DEI headquarters), and made something cool happen.

MyDad retired a couple weeks ago. Dude can sleep in as long as he wants now. But I wanted to send him out with a bang, and Specialized helped me to that end.

All the boys in my family (that being my dad, brother and I) are big NASCAR fans. We went to PIR in Phoenix over a decade ago to see Dale Earnhardt race, several years before he passed. I like Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards. Dad and bro like Tony Stewart. But we all agree on one favorite: Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 88 car.

It seems Specialized sponsors one of the Sprint Cup drivers, and as such has access to the races. When I said “hey, if the ones in Cali never get used, gimme a ring,” I didn’t think anything of it.

But Nic rang, and got myself, and dad and brother, not only in, but in with garage and pit passes. For four hours, we got to wander up and down pit row. It’s the equivalent of courtside seats for the Lakers—at 78 thousand decibels. And you had Drew Carey shouting for the gents to start their engines, as well as some celebs I’d never heard of (whos’s heard of The Hills? Apparently, two actors were there and causing a stir). I guess I’m losing touch with what the kids are watching these days.

But we all knew who was passing from the garage to their cars. So we got to basically hang out behind Junior’s pit and watch Tony Eury Jr. do his thing directing the frenzy. The pit crew are surprisingly athletic, going through stretches, some running up and down pit lane to get their lungs blown open a bit.

That done, I went to Malibu to cover the Malibu Triathlon weekend. I did the Olympic-distance race with my brother Jon (finished 8th in my age group in 2:20, was pleased with that) But the next day I got to watch the paparazzi descend on Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey like flies on carrion. It was disturbing. John Segesta, Rich Cruse and I stood back and watched the rudest guys trample, bump and otherwise ignore anyone else around to get that money shot. Whatever. One tried to warn me he was coming thru. I promptly stopped, squared up, looked him in the eye and made him go around me. I have a greater understanding why once in a while, celebs snap and haul off on these clowns. I totally get it now.

That stated, it was chaos to even try to talk to any of the celebs as a journalist. But I got lucky. After the vultures left McConaughey to stalk J-Lo, who was still on the course, I cruised over and asked for 2 minutes. He gave me about seven, talking about his race in great detail. It sounds to me like he'll maybe be doing more triathlons. The fact that he was getting training advice from respected L.A. area coach Ian Murray of Triathletix meant he was taking it serious. The "coach" J-Lo was working with was no tri coach, that's for sure. Anyway, it was all good for the sport to get names like McConaughey and Lopez to lend exposure to triathlon.

And since I was shooting the race, I managed some shots of Matthew, and one I think my massive legion of women reading this blog (or at least the two who are reading it) will appreciate:

See? Milk (and training) do a body good!

Until next time... which should be not long after Interbike, and before the Hawaii Ironman in three weeks (three weeks!!!)

Beijing Bikes: Juraci Moriera’s Suplicy CS-0.7, and the Cervelo R3

If you race locally in San Diego, you know there’s a sprint race about every other weekend. And if you go to these races, you’ll always see the same guy at the top of the pro results: Brazilian Caue Suplicy.

Caue has been a friend of mine for several years, when we were both coached by San Diego Xtraining coach Sergio Borges. Like many local-level pros, Suplicy languished in pro triathlon limbo-fast enough to win local sprints, but with the payout of a box of PowerBars. (If you read Triathlete magazine, you might recall seeing Caue in a story I wrote about the unglamourous life of a pro triathlete).

Well, Caue could see the writing on the wall. Sure, he wanted to continue racing, because going fast is kinda fun. But he wanted to take his experience as an athlete, and apply it to bike design. So came the birth of Suplicy Bikes.

I didn’t think much would come of the brand, but he’s surprised me. For one, he has been scooping up wins on his own bike. and has a collection of nice gear, road and tri and his order-online website and a few local shops here. At the Encinitas Sprint Triathlon that he won a couple weeks ago, Caue told me he managed to get his bike under an athlete racing in the men’s Beijing Olympic Games Triathlon: Brazilian Juraci Moriera. And he pulled out the stops.

It was thought that Brazil would have just one spot for the Beijing Games, and Reinaldo Colucci had the points on Juraci. But a late surge put Juraci on a plane and on the start for this weekend. He needed a bike, and Suplicy, ready to help a friend, supplied his lightweight road bike, the CS-0.7.

The frame has a slightly sloping compact design a fork with a 1 1/8” carbon steerer with an integrated cut-to-fit seat mast, and, as sold, features some of Suplicy’s house gear, including wheelset, bar and stem. The bike comes in eight sizes, ranging 50cm to 60cm. The stock offering is completed with SRAM’s Force groupset. Complete with this kit, the CS-0.7 retails at $5,000.

For Moriera, Suplicy was able to secure a set of the 2009 version of the Lew Composites Pro VT-1 carbon wheelset. which feature ceramic bearings in a Tune freehub body, and weight a guaranteed 850 grams or less. Yes, it’s that $5,495 wheelset. Moriera’s race bike is fitted with a SRAM Red groupset, a Vision by FSA Mini Clip-on, and Speedplay Zero pedals.

Frame weight for his 58cm frame: Suplicy pegs it at 6 kilograms, or 14 pounds, complete. One nice little details, Moriera's bike has the plug on the top tube's underside, for a tidy race number placement on race day.

Here's what Juraci emailed me today: "I really like the bike otherwise I don't think I would be using it at the Olympics! I'm very impressed with how light it is especially for such a big frame," he said. "I definitely feel that this bike accelerates better and is more responsive than any other bike I've ever ridden. This bike will be my weapon to defeat the hilly bike course. I was able to ride on the Olympic course yesterday and felt very good — the hill didn't seem as bad as it was last year so I'm very excited to use this bike at the race. I'll be racing the lucky number "8" on the Suplicy on Monday!"

It’s not news for those that have been watching the Games to see that Cervelo has sent its road athletes to Beijing on the new S3 road bike, complete with a floating Olympic ring motif, and will make these bikes available in a limited run. Differing from the Soloist, the S3 has cable routing that ports in at the front of the top tube (avoiding the extra weight and shift slop of a full housing run) and new, more aero stays. While Fabian Cancellara used the S3 to bridge to the break, then take bronze in the road race, the triathlon will see a few athletes: Canadian Simon Whitfield and TeamTBB pros Reto Hug and Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, and Mariana Ohata and Reinaldo Colucci of Brazil.
So in a race with what will certainly be some of the finest bikes, a little Brazilian designer has the newest (and certainly one of the most expensive at $12,000 as Suplicy puts it) bikes in T2 this weekend. And Cervelo will certainly have one of the cleanest-looking (and aerodynamically-fastest) new models on the racks.

Best of mechanical luck to all the athletes racing this weekend.

First Look: Blue Cycles new full-carbon tri bike, the Triad

Man, I love getting the inside track. Of course, they say, as in this case, "don't say anything just yet," but fail to realize they're releasing info to a person who's reason for existence it is to shout from the rooftops. I'm working on some goods for Slowtwitch, but wanted to get what little I do know out asap.

The guys at Blue Competition Cycles showed me some something I'd been told was coming: the first full carbon fiber bike from the growing brand. They've made a concerted push in ITU racing, and will have a bike under American medal hopeful Sarah Haskins in Bejiing this coming weekend. Pretty impressive for a company that has been around for less than, what five years?

But they realize who butters their bread—age groupers. Not the ones doing ITU racing, but doing 70.3s and Ironman and non-drafting Olympic-distance racing. So to keep up with the torrid technological spike in the last few years, they got busy. The result: the new Triad.

So, I was told to keep a relative lid on this. I like to push my chances when people say relative. I'll just bank on people not seeing my blog. Understand my quandry as a journalist? Who gets into the business of not telling people news?

Here's what I know—sorta. But I didn't say nuthin....

The new Triad is full-carbon offering which, upon first glance, it has rear chainstays similar to that of the new Scott Plasma, but takes on it's own looks thereafter. The seatstays are ultra low, and the bike has a 1" headtube. Blue's plan is sell this bike complete in a couple of build kits (SRAM Red and Shimano Dura-Ace), wiht Zipp 808 rear/404 front tubulars. They'll also have an Ultegra SL and SRAM Force version , with a more price-point wheelset.

Other details: the rear brake is located under the bottom bracket shell. It will have a BB30 bottom bracket shell with an internal cable run, and a geometry similar to their existing T-16 tri bikes with a 76-degree seat angle (with wide fore/aft variance with the three clamp positions on the post). And my sources say the rear end is super, super narrow—so narrow that a Mavic R-Sys wheel won't go in. Not that you would want to desecrate a bike like that with a R-Sys...

The bike will also come with something unique: regardless the build, once the bike is registered for warranty, Blue will send the buyer a certificate for one free hour of wind tunnel adjustment at the A2 Wind Tunnel, in Mooresville, North Carolina. For those that don't know, The A2 Wind Tunnel is a growing tunnel, which is a spinoff tunnel next to its big brother, the famed Aerodyne tunnel, which is rented out for the next year and a half and running 24/7 testing NASCAR cars and trucks.

So the consumer gets a very, very valuable benefit beyond the bike itself—much better than the ol' water bottle and cage that some shops try to "throw in." When you're buying a bike like this, the fit should be your next purchase... so why not make it happen in the wind tunnel? Just get yourself to Charlotte, hop over to A2 and get a fit that will rival anything you can get in the shop. It's one thing for a bike company to do the aero thing to optimize the bike, which they say they have done in creating the Triad. Few will kick in the extra to look after the rider's own drag.

The Georgia-based company currently has their newest charges, Ironman Coeur d'Alene Winner Heather Wurtele and husband Trevor Wurtele at the N.C. tunnel doing some fine tuning with their bikes for Ironman Canada and Kona.

And the bike will show up under one other person: Haskins. My Blue contacts tell me she was so taken with the new bike that she wanted it for Beijing. So on go drop bars and the bike makes it's race debut in the Olympic Games.

Pricing? Availablity? Don't know yet. I've probably said too much at this point... better sign it off.