I’ve made it to Leysin and after a few sick days, I’m getting my wheels under me. I guess doing Alcatraz then flying SF/SD/Phi/Zurich and riding trains with three transfers including a missed one) and a trolley will knock you a little sideways.
The town is tiny, built on a hillside, and is very quiet. There has been some grey, cold and sometimes rainy weather these first few days here to remind me of Seattle. I’m bunking in a little room of a chateau in Leysin with my wife and getting accquainated with the place, replacing my “howdys” with “bonjours.” I knew most of Donna’s teammates and were glad to see them after having seen them in the Philippines, but got a chance to meet Andrew Johns and Chrissie Wellington for the first time, both of them are very nice. They’ve now gotten used to seeing me reclined in a beach chair, pulling down a wireless signal from my laptop at the pool as they churn out 5,000 meters for their their morning workout. Or in the case of yesterday, 10,000 meters. That’s right, six miles of swimming. The guys were given 4,000 or so meters of swimming, and a long ride, and shook their heads after they got out, looking on as Chrissie, Erika, Donna, Belinda, Rebecca, and Hillary cranked their arms over to the tune of 100 100s. And Hillary did half the workout with band on, no paddles.
The boys would come up and chat as they headed home after their swim. Justin and I quipped that he could get home, grab a bite, kit up and do his long ride, and still have time to come back to pick up Belinda. Brett came up and gave me a bit of insight and analysis of each of the women as they swam, their strengths and weakness and how he organized their training to their morphologies, genetics, strengths, limitations and desires. While every one of the women in that lane are long-course pros, each has a different regime. All are built and trained for endurance, but some have speed that would be counterproductive to the others. And those with speed would have issues with the higher volume of the ones absent the top-end speed. And watching his charges, Brett can discern the difference, and can thus structure the program to the athlete. There’s no one-size-fits-all program in a binder that Brett goes by. He knows his athletes so well, he knows how to best set them up for races, and what races to focus on. I'm so glad Donna's under his watch. I can't name another coach with this much day-to-day interaction. No emailed programs here.
And Brett made another point: it’s all quite simple. He has a limited amount of age groupers he coaches for a fee, and they can’t believe they’re not doing 5 x whatever intervals at VO2max, or doing wattage intervals on the bike. Training is as simple as getting the right workout—for you—and doing the miles. There’s a lot of quantity here, but there’s a lot of quality too.
And the focus here is second to none. I thought the Philippines was isolated. This trumps it. There is nothing here to distract, so the team simply trains, eats and sleeps. The food at the grocery is pretty simple and wholesome, lots of fruits, veggies. The only downside is all the smoking by the locals in the cafes and restaurants.
Back in the water, all I heard was the drone of water splashed all through the workout, but was startled when I heard a “woo-hoo” at the end of the pool—it was Belinda and some of the rest of the girls cheering their finish of their marathon swim. Brett’s attempt at quieting Belinda by wearing her out failed miserably. You can read about their intrasquad escapades and chatter (and even chime in with the athletes) this www.teamtbb.com link.
Today I rode with Donna down the mountain to Aigle as she did her run for the day, and I kicked around town. Glad I’m feeling better, as I am excited to do some rides on my own and explore. Friday I’m riding down the mountain and south along the valley for a few hours to a town called Verbier to catch the finish of the sixth stage at the Tour de Suisse. Sunday I’ve been invited to a press camp at Von Rutte Gut by Schwalbe tires and DT Swiss. I hope to perhaps visit with Morgan Nicol with Oval Concepts while here as well. It’s amazing how much bike business originates out of this country—Schwalbe, Oval Concepts, DT Swiss, Cervelo, BMC and Canyon all have bases here.
As I wind down for the evening, all Donna can think about is tomorrow hitting the bakery for the fresh, hot bread tomorrow, her one vice while here. I’m waiting to have my first crepe, but there’s lots of time to get into the cuisine.
Showing posts with label Team TBB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Team TBB. Show all posts
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Limited Editon Cervelos: Black, white and... SRAM Red
Some months ago I got to build up my dream bike, which was a magazine test: a Cervelo SLC-SL. That bike sits in a case, surrounded by Pringles, spare tires, boxes of Kashi GoLean and bubble wrap. That's right, I'm talkin' road trip.
I'm doing Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco this weekend, and while that course, with its hills, technical corners at the bottom of said hills makes it heaven-sent for Alcatraz, I'm not riding that bike there. No, I've road-ified the PK Racing Guru Crono (which you'll see in the July issue of Triathlete and you'll see on this blog in a few days in way more glorious detail than Triathlete delivered. If you're at the race, look for the blaze vermillion and silver rocket, strapped with Zipp 808s. Hard to miss.
No, that bike will sit in its box while I race Alcatraz. Because two days after the race, I'm on my way to Switzerland. Thanks to this MacBook, I can do my work from anywhere. So I'm gonna spend a month being my wife's soignieur, cook and grocery-getter while she's doing the Team TBB thing with her team in Switzerland.
So I'll be damned if I'm not bringing the baddest road bike to ride the Swiss Alps for a month. The Tour de Suisse passes nearby for a stage finish and start too, so I gotta check that out for sure.
So this test Cervelo SLC-SL delivers pretty much all I, as a triathlete, look for in a road bike. Light weight, great steering, tight compact design, and the thing few other road bikes offer: aerodynamics.
Sent as a frameset, I got to put what I wanted on it. I've been a big fan of what SRAM has accomplished in short time with its road offerings, and the new Red group was gonna make this thing... perfect. A Zipp Vuma Quad Crankset, Fizik Arione saddle and Flashpoint Racing 60 carbon wheels with alloy rims (in my opinion one of the most underrated wheelsets in the sport), and I'll be damned if I don't have one of the baddest bike around. I wish I was racing it in The City, but with a day turnaround, It would be impossible to pack it with all the other stuff Donna and her teammates are asking me to schlep from Encinitas to Leysin.
When I told the Cervelo folks that I built what I considered the perfect bike some months ago, they nodded, then said they had something up their sleeve. Those that know Cervelo know they only deal in Shimano. This year, as a bit of a test, Cervelo is doing a limited run of three models kitted with SRAM. Here's a traveler sheet with the info on the SLC-SL, outfitted with Red:
Love it, love it, love it. I wonder how many have swapped their Shimano spec for SRAM to complete their masterpiece on their own. Now, in an "act now!" kinda way, Cervelo plays liek Burger King and says you can have it your way, offering SRAM.
There's gonna be only 300 Cervelo RS bikes available kitted with SRAM Force, as well as 215 R3-SL kitted with SRAM Red. And my "dream bike," the SLC-SL, outfitted with SRAM Red? Just 180 of 'em.
Like I said, "act now," and save yourself from having to build it up. I sure hope Cervelo finds this to be a good litmus test as to whether they ought to be spec'ing SRAM. Not that they're having any trouble selling their bikes as it is.
Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to having fun in San Francisco. My younger brother Jon is doing the race for the first time, and I'm gonna try to steward him through the swim for a bit. While he knows pressure (in '95 he kicked a game-winning field goal with 22 seconds left to help our alma mater, the University of Arizona Wildcats, knock out a Jake Plummer-led Arizona State Sundevil team—in Tempe no less), he's making himself a ball of nerves. Just like I tell anyone else, just enjoy the experience...the boat, the bay, the sand ladder, Crissy Field, all of it. Because I've been to races around the world and there's just one race—Monaco 70.3—that rivals Escape from Alcatraz for sheer beauty. I'll be taking this one in, while tracking the race leaders on the course. You'd be surprised how much of the race you can follow on the bike and run while racing.. so look for a stellar race report at slowtwitch.com after the race.
Then the SLC-SL and I have a plane to catch...
I'm doing Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco this weekend, and while that course, with its hills, technical corners at the bottom of said hills makes it heaven-sent for Alcatraz, I'm not riding that bike there. No, I've road-ified the PK Racing Guru Crono (which you'll see in the July issue of Triathlete and you'll see on this blog in a few days in way more glorious detail than Triathlete delivered. If you're at the race, look for the blaze vermillion and silver rocket, strapped with Zipp 808s. Hard to miss.
No, that bike will sit in its box while I race Alcatraz. Because two days after the race, I'm on my way to Switzerland. Thanks to this MacBook, I can do my work from anywhere. So I'm gonna spend a month being my wife's soignieur, cook and grocery-getter while she's doing the Team TBB thing with her team in Switzerland.
So I'll be damned if I'm not bringing the baddest road bike to ride the Swiss Alps for a month. The Tour de Suisse passes nearby for a stage finish and start too, so I gotta check that out for sure.
So this test Cervelo SLC-SL delivers pretty much all I, as a triathlete, look for in a road bike. Light weight, great steering, tight compact design, and the thing few other road bikes offer: aerodynamics.
Sent as a frameset, I got to put what I wanted on it. I've been a big fan of what SRAM has accomplished in short time with its road offerings, and the new Red group was gonna make this thing... perfect. A Zipp Vuma Quad Crankset, Fizik Arione saddle and Flashpoint Racing 60 carbon wheels with alloy rims (in my opinion one of the most underrated wheelsets in the sport), and I'll be damned if I don't have one of the baddest bike around. I wish I was racing it in The City, but with a day turnaround, It would be impossible to pack it with all the other stuff Donna and her teammates are asking me to schlep from Encinitas to Leysin.
When I told the Cervelo folks that I built what I considered the perfect bike some months ago, they nodded, then said they had something up their sleeve. Those that know Cervelo know they only deal in Shimano. This year, as a bit of a test, Cervelo is doing a limited run of three models kitted with SRAM. Here's a traveler sheet with the info on the SLC-SL, outfitted with Red:
Love it, love it, love it. I wonder how many have swapped their Shimano spec for SRAM to complete their masterpiece on their own. Now, in an "act now!" kinda way, Cervelo plays liek Burger King and says you can have it your way, offering SRAM.
There's gonna be only 300 Cervelo RS bikes available kitted with SRAM Force, as well as 215 R3-SL kitted with SRAM Red. And my "dream bike," the SLC-SL, outfitted with SRAM Red? Just 180 of 'em.
Like I said, "act now," and save yourself from having to build it up. I sure hope Cervelo finds this to be a good litmus test as to whether they ought to be spec'ing SRAM. Not that they're having any trouble selling their bikes as it is.
Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to having fun in San Francisco. My younger brother Jon is doing the race for the first time, and I'm gonna try to steward him through the swim for a bit. While he knows pressure (in '95 he kicked a game-winning field goal with 22 seconds left to help our alma mater, the University of Arizona Wildcats, knock out a Jake Plummer-led Arizona State Sundevil team—in Tempe no less), he's making himself a ball of nerves. Just like I tell anyone else, just enjoy the experience...the boat, the bay, the sand ladder, Crissy Field, all of it. Because I've been to races around the world and there's just one race—Monaco 70.3—that rivals Escape from Alcatraz for sheer beauty. I'll be taking this one in, while tracking the race leaders on the course. You'd be surprised how much of the race you can follow on the bike and run while racing.. so look for a stellar race report at slowtwitch.com after the race.
Then the SLC-SL and I have a plane to catch...
Sunday, April 20, 2008
CONGRATS DONNA!!!
You earned it!
2008 Ironman China
4/20/2008, Haikou, Hainan Island, China
1. Belinda Jane Granger 10:08:37
2. Donna Phelan 10:37:11
3. Abigail Bayley 10:43:11
4. Belinda Jane Harrison 10:48:24
5. Brigitte Niederberger 11:07:41
6. Nicole Toepfer 11:08:22
7. Irene Kinnegim 11:12:43
8. Jo King 11:16:58
9. Ute Mueckel 11:20:33
10. Lidia Rekas 11:51:07
Interview: Belinda Granger
There's just a few hours left at Ironman China, so given that it looks like Belinda Granger may take the win (and hopefully my wife and Belinda's TeamTBB teammate Donna Phelan will continue the good TeamTBB juju given that she's in third at the moment), I thought I'd post a video that you'll see in the video clips at right.
The video was taken a couple weeks ago when I spent a week visiting Donna and the rest of the team in Subic Bay, Philippines. I'll be updating the blog in a bit with the story of how this team has been simply kicking ass this year. I've been to triathlon camps like I'm sure you have, but there is NOTHING like this.
Belinda's race has not been a surprise, after seeing her training that week. On the weekend, TeamTBB's stud swimmer, Mathieu O'Halloran, Granger, Phelan and Nicola Spirig took part in the Terry Larrazabal sprint Triathlon just outside Subic. It was Belinda first, and granted, it was a sprint, I'd never seen her turn her legs over like that. So her race in China is no surprise to me. Come Kona, she's a threat to move a few steps up the Top 10 podium closer to Chrissie.
Then again, so are quite a few other team members like Erika Csomor. Like Bella Comerford. I think the dinosaurs of the sport, the classic thinking of taper, of being a slave to your heart rate monitor, is being supplanted. There's a new way of thinking, being delivered by Brett Sutton and served up by this team of supposed misfits.
And that's not counting the athletes recently qualified for Athens after strong performances at World Cup Ishigaki: Reto Hug and Nicola Spirig of Switzerland and Brazilian Mariana Ohata. What can't this team do?
What I really wonder is, when is someone is going to take this team and put a title sponsor on it? Because right now, considering the exposure they'll garner in Kona, this is the most valuable commodity in the sport, and they don't even have an apparel sponsor!
Good job to Belinda and the rest of the squad keeping it rolling...
The video was taken a couple weeks ago when I spent a week visiting Donna and the rest of the team in Subic Bay, Philippines. I'll be updating the blog in a bit with the story of how this team has been simply kicking ass this year. I've been to triathlon camps like I'm sure you have, but there is NOTHING like this.
Belinda's race has not been a surprise, after seeing her training that week. On the weekend, TeamTBB's stud swimmer, Mathieu O'Halloran, Granger, Phelan and Nicola Spirig took part in the Terry Larrazabal sprint Triathlon just outside Subic. It was Belinda first, and granted, it was a sprint, I'd never seen her turn her legs over like that. So her race in China is no surprise to me. Come Kona, she's a threat to move a few steps up the Top 10 podium closer to Chrissie.
Then again, so are quite a few other team members like Erika Csomor. Like Bella Comerford. I think the dinosaurs of the sport, the classic thinking of taper, of being a slave to your heart rate monitor, is being supplanted. There's a new way of thinking, being delivered by Brett Sutton and served up by this team of supposed misfits.
And that's not counting the athletes recently qualified for Athens after strong performances at World Cup Ishigaki: Reto Hug and Nicola Spirig of Switzerland and Brazilian Mariana Ohata. What can't this team do?
What I really wonder is, when is someone is going to take this team and put a title sponsor on it? Because right now, considering the exposure they'll garner in Kona, this is the most valuable commodity in the sport, and they don't even have an apparel sponsor!
Good job to Belinda and the rest of the squad keeping it rolling...
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Zoot Team Ultra Camp, the Ultra Raffle and Where's Waldo, solved!
Last week following 70.3 Oceanside I had a chance to attend the Zoot Team Ultra camp. For the new season, Zoot title sponsors a collection of top age-group talent. The summit gathered the collection of athletes that made it to SoCal together to talk about the team, the sponsors, and what the team can do to help spread the gospel of triathlon to the masses. After an intro by Zoot president Brian Enge (my lane partner at Encinitas YMCA masters, shown at left), Zoot, FuelBelt, Gu and Scott Bicycles explained their product and its use to the team. They even brought in Bob Babbitt (below right), who explained to the athletes the great things that they can do to help grow the sport to local media. As a former writer in newspapers that only understand ball sports, it's a challenge. Bob helped foster the growth of "fringe" sports like triathlon, running, swimming and biking to the local San Diego paper, the Union Tribune increase coverage, and wants to see that same kind of recognition in papers across the country.
Regarding the presentations, you could see the team was taking it all in like a sponge, and it was enlightening for me as well. Zoot product manager Brandt Furgeson took the team through the Zoot shoe line. I wish I'd had a chance to check out the exploded, piece-by-piece version of the Ultra shoe Brandt passed around long ago, in order to really best appreciate what's going on in the shoe, and why. Like the carbon fiber under the arch. While I thought it was merely cosmetic, the carbon extends down the big toe, helping stiffen it through toe-off. While the porous sole and super-fast entry system get the attention, it was great seeing the little stuff inside.
Speaking of the Ultra shoe....
The press is out now about the limited edition Ultra Ali'i edition. In commemoration of their 25th anniversary, Zoot is releasing 1,800 pairs (symbolic in the amount of estimated Kona starters) of the shoe, which has a totally different, absolutely colorful look apart from the stock shoe. Each shoe has the stitched serial number on back.
If that's not enough, Serial No. 1 is up for grabs. Zoot teamed with Trisports.com to raffle off the numero uno shoe, with proceeds going to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. A great idea. But I wonder if that shoe will see the pave or end up in a case? Either way, I love what the industry is doing with limited run stuff, recently with Guru's new run of 25 PK Edition Cronos and now this from Zoot. I dig.
The auction starts April 27 and closes April 30.
Check out my interview with Brian Enge at right as well as one with Zoot product manager Ben Harper (yes, that Ben Harper! No, I kid...), who will give you a video tour of the new Zoot Ultra Ali'i shoe.
And for my Where's Waldo? My friend Kurt nailed it... I've been in Subic Bay, Philippines for the last week, hanging with my wife, Canadian pro Donna Phelan, as well as all the TeamTBB members (save for Ironman World Champ Chrissie Wellington, who was off in Port Macquarie winning Ironman Australia this past weekend.
It's been a wonderful week, not only hanging with the team, but also catching up with my wife, eating fried bananas and checking out monkey on their long ride course in the mountains. Now I get to head back stateside tomorrow to cover Ironman Arizona this weekend, but I will update the blog in a bit about my time in Subic. There's a lot of cool stuff going on, a lot of great people, a stealth training base, a wonderful social program and a masterful, dedicated coach in Brett Sutton that I had massive respect for now, and have even more now. Lots of cool stuff to talk about in the coming days.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
TeamTBB's For Real
It's the eve of Oceanside 70.3 getting set to go to the Triathlete magazine/Zoot Sports/Timex party tonite, and I see all the action about Andy Potts and Craig Alexander. It was an epic battle. To see Crowie dig in and catch Potts in the last mile was amazing. Andy said it best: "those that think they can't seen an awesome race in a 70.3, they're wrong."
One thing nobody's talking about, maybe they didn't ask (I did) : is Andy considering doing Kona? Not only is he con
sidering, he's doing it. I'll say it again: Andy Potts is racing Kona this October. There was a brouhaha about WTC taking away the pro slot to Hawaii for winning the 70.3 World Championships. Andy tells me they didn't take it away when he won. They offered it to him. If he didn't take it, it didn't roll down. So Andy's taking it (no word on Mirinda Carfrae, tho). Given his stacked Olympic qualifying plate this year, I'm surprised he's going for it, but he doesn't want to pass up an opportunity to race in Kona. I wouldn't either. What a great guy to get to see in the mix come October.
Posting a pic of Andy from today's race. Note his Floyd "Praying Landis" position. I'm due to chat to Andy in a few days, so will really want to know about comfort there.
So that was a good race, we all agree? So what of the women's race? You had a former Hawaii Ironman champ (Michellie Jones), a former 70.3 World Champ (Sam McGlone), the current reigning 70.3 champ (Mirinda Carfrae). You had Catriona Morrison, 2007 ITU Long Course duathlon bronze medalist. Who else...oh, how about former ITU World Champions? (Leanda Cave and Jones).
I had a little U-pick-em for the race, and one person picked Erika. In the interest of full disclosure, I had it on good source (my wife, as one of Erika's Team TBB training partners) that she'd probably raise some eyebrows.
Hello, eyebrows of Slowtwitchers? You just saw a phenomenal perform
ance today in one of the strongest womens fields you'll see all year, and all you can come up with is "Crowie's better than Andy/No, Andy's better because he races ITU?" Please. Brett Sutton is a guy who has not gotten the credit in his career that he's due. This guy can take average talent and make it good, and good talent and make it great. He's a champion-building machine, simply put. Who else puts together camps that run all year on the only true team in this sport... in an era where TriDubai and NYPPE.com came in like a lion and out like a lamb?
Victor Plata's Team Kinesys did it this way, and it got one of their own, Vic, to the Athens Games (though I think most everyone was hoping for Doug Friman to get on there too) before the ITU killed the trade team concept in ITU racing.
But long-course racing isn't held to such ridiculous standards fortunately, and athletes are permitted to make a living. I give credit to TBB for changing the paradigm of what a tri team is, and making waves along the way. Like Chrissie Wellington. Like Reinaldo Colluci (another underappreciated talent). Like Andrew Johns. Erika's just one of those waves today. It's a 12-foot peeling A-frame, and the chatrooms are letting it pass... for two-foot, mushy stuff like "Crowie's better than Andy." How funny.
Granted, it's the first race of the year. And yes, some like Jones were training through the race. (In fact, MJ looked really good and steady today despite a fourth-place finish, and I'd put good money on her at Ironman Arizona in two weeks time_she's where she needs to be, I think).
But consider that a.) Csomor finished third here in Oceanside two years ago, before working with TeamTBB and b.) she's been working with Brett Sutton honing her game and really developing her swim. I'm just sayin, I'm surprised there's not the chatter there ought to be with this girl, or this team. She didn't just win some race. She smacked a heap of stars in a race that wasn't just a pushover race—you think Sam McGlone, one of the most bloodthirsty girls on the circuit, wanted to be shown up?
Based on the solid swim, the amazingly powerful bike and the masterful, steady 1:20 run.. Erika's arrived on the scene. She's no longer a great duathlete—she's a great triathlete. Plus she's just really friendly and fun (see the shot of her above, being really "serious" as she chased down Sam and Mirinda) which goes miles in my book. And a total antithesis to her nickname, "Morcos" (a play on letters in her last name) spraypainted on her Red Bull aero helmet... a word that means "grumpy" in Hungarian. No, she's super cool.
Csomor was also training through for Ironman Arizona. Based on her display of fitness today, I look forward to seeing what she can do in two weeks. Maybe she won't be such an unknown quantity.
Talk about a bailout, though: my friend Andrew Block of Beaker Concepts product sponsors Erika with his HydroTail. Due to a miscommunication, Erika took away a Hed Stinger rear race wheel with a Shimano freehub body for the race, not noticing until she tried to load up her... Campy cassette. Andrew, a hotshot wrench around here, swung in with a Wheels Manufacturing cassette. Matt Hoffmann, another local hotshot wrench, loaded it and dialed Erika's bike at the RaceDayWheels.com booth at the expo. Otherwise, she'd have been racing with her training wheel. Talk about "whew"—I'm sure she was glad to have her race wheel on as opposed to a beaten trainer.
On the race course, I took great pleasure in watching Steve Larsen make his return to the pro racing circuit (I even told him as much—it's just fun to watch him turn the cranks... his position is so dialed, power so naturally raw, it's unlike anything that anyone, from Normann to Torbjorn, turns out on a bike. It's just... right) He told me he hopes to find the time to do some more pro races, and hopes to get back to Kona. But it all depends on workload back home in Bend, which is his priority. He's thinking about Half Vineman. Watching him slice through the packs of riders so seemingly effortlessly was a treat to watch, and I was glad I got to see it again. I remember listening to a Competitors.com podcast with Steve after his retirement from triathlon during one of my ultramarathon long runs two months ago and thinking "triathlon had a legend in its midst and we didn't appreciate it enough." I should have videotaped it for you guys, he's that much a joy to watch ride. Next time. Well, I hope there's a next time.
Steve was rolling a tried-and-true Cervelo P3, as well as a brand-new set of Edge Composites wheels. One of the founding engineers at Lew Composites (Jason Schiers) and some of the other brainpower from Reynolds Composites (Jim Pfeil) merged to create this new brand with more experience and real engineering than most brands out there. Don't be surprised to see more pros strapping these on. They're strong and aero from first glance, and we're looking forward to checking them out. Larsen said he love them, that they were strong as he wanted. If they're strong enough for his watts... Check 'em at www.edgecomposites.com
OK, off to our party....
One thing nobody's talking about, maybe they didn't ask (I did) : is Andy considering doing Kona? Not only is he con
sidering, he's doing it. I'll say it again: Andy Potts is racing Kona this October. There was a brouhaha about WTC taking away the pro slot to Hawaii for winning the 70.3 World Championships. Andy tells me they didn't take it away when he won. They offered it to him. If he didn't take it, it didn't roll down. So Andy's taking it (no word on Mirinda Carfrae, tho). Given his stacked Olympic qualifying plate this year, I'm surprised he's going for it, but he doesn't want to pass up an opportunity to race in Kona. I wouldn't either. What a great guy to get to see in the mix come October.Posting a pic of Andy from today's race. Note his Floyd "Praying Landis" position. I'm due to chat to Andy in a few days, so will really want to know about comfort there.
So that was a good race, we all agree? So what of the women's race? You had a former Hawaii Ironman champ (Michellie Jones), a former 70.3 World Champ (Sam McGlone), the current reigning 70.3 champ (Mirinda Carfrae). You had Catriona Morrison, 2007 ITU Long Course duathlon bronze medalist. Who else...oh, how about former ITU World Champions? (Leanda Cave and Jones).
I had a little U-pick-em for the race, and one person picked Erika. In the interest of full disclosure, I had it on good source (my wife, as one of Erika's Team TBB training partners) that she'd probably raise some eyebrows.
Hello, eyebrows of Slowtwitchers? You just saw a phenomenal perform
ance today in one of the strongest womens fields you'll see all year, and all you can come up with is "Crowie's better than Andy/No, Andy's better because he races ITU?" Please. Brett Sutton is a guy who has not gotten the credit in his career that he's due. This guy can take average talent and make it good, and good talent and make it great. He's a champion-building machine, simply put. Who else puts together camps that run all year on the only true team in this sport... in an era where TriDubai and NYPPE.com came in like a lion and out like a lamb?Victor Plata's Team Kinesys did it this way, and it got one of their own, Vic, to the Athens Games (though I think most everyone was hoping for Doug Friman to get on there too) before the ITU killed the trade team concept in ITU racing.
But long-course racing isn't held to such ridiculous standards fortunately, and athletes are permitted to make a living. I give credit to TBB for changing the paradigm of what a tri team is, and making waves along the way. Like Chrissie Wellington. Like Reinaldo Colluci (another underappreciated talent). Like Andrew Johns. Erika's just one of those waves today. It's a 12-foot peeling A-frame, and the chatrooms are letting it pass... for two-foot, mushy stuff like "Crowie's better than Andy." How funny.
Granted, it's the first race of the year. And yes, some like Jones were training through the race. (In fact, MJ looked really good and steady today despite a fourth-place finish, and I'd put good money on her at Ironman Arizona in two weeks time_she's where she needs to be, I think).
But consider that a.) Csomor finished third here in Oceanside two years ago, before working with TeamTBB and b.) she's been working with Brett Sutton honing her game and really developing her swim. I'm just sayin, I'm surprised there's not the chatter there ought to be with this girl, or this team. She didn't just win some race. She smacked a heap of stars in a race that wasn't just a pushover race—you think Sam McGlone, one of the most bloodthirsty girls on the circuit, wanted to be shown up?
Based on the solid swim, the amazingly powerful bike and the masterful, steady 1:20 run.. Erika's arrived on the scene. She's no longer a great duathlete—she's a great triathlete. Plus she's just really friendly and fun (see the shot of her above, being really "serious" as she chased down Sam and Mirinda) which goes miles in my book. And a total antithesis to her nickname, "Morcos" (a play on letters in her last name) spraypainted on her Red Bull aero helmet... a word that means "grumpy" in Hungarian. No, she's super cool.
Csomor was also training through for Ironman Arizona. Based on her display of fitness today, I look forward to seeing what she can do in two weeks. Maybe she won't be such an unknown quantity.
Talk about a bailout, though: my friend Andrew Block of Beaker Concepts product sponsors Erika with his HydroTail. Due to a miscommunication, Erika took away a Hed Stinger rear race wheel with a Shimano freehub body for the race, not noticing until she tried to load up her... Campy cassette. Andrew, a hotshot wrench around here, swung in with a Wheels Manufacturing cassette. Matt Hoffmann, another local hotshot wrench, loaded it and dialed Erika's bike at the RaceDayWheels.com booth at the expo. Otherwise, she'd have been racing with her training wheel. Talk about "whew"—I'm sure she was glad to have her race wheel on as opposed to a beaten trainer.
On the race course, I took great pleasure in watching Steve Larsen make his return to the pro racing circuit (I even told him as much—it's just fun to watch him turn the cranks... his position is so dialed, power so naturally raw, it's unlike anything that anyone, from Normann to Torbjorn, turns out on a bike. It's just... right) He told me he hopes to find the time to do some more pro races, and hopes to get back to Kona. But it all depends on workload back home in Bend, which is his priority. He's thinking about Half Vineman. Watching him slice through the packs of riders so seemingly effortlessly was a treat to watch, and I was glad I got to see it again. I remember listening to a Competitors.com podcast with Steve after his retirement from triathlon during one of my ultramarathon long runs two months ago and thinking "triathlon had a legend in its midst and we didn't appreciate it enough." I should have videotaped it for you guys, he's that much a joy to watch ride. Next time. Well, I hope there's a next time.
Steve was rolling a tried-and-true Cervelo P3, as well as a brand-new set of Edge Composites wheels. One of the founding engineers at Lew Composites (Jason Schiers) and some of the other brainpower from Reynolds Composites (Jim Pfeil) merged to create this new brand with more experience and real engineering than most brands out there. Don't be surprised to see more pros strapping these on. They're strong and aero from first glance, and we're looking forward to checking them out. Larsen said he love them, that they were strong as he wanted. If they're strong enough for his watts... Check 'em at www.edgecomposites.com
OK, off to our party....
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