ITU Long Distance World Championships – 8th

Having raced the ITU Long Distance World Championships over the last 2 years finishing 9th in 2015 & 8th in 2014 I felt like I was in better shape in 2016 to improve on these performances. I chose to spend the final few weeks in St George, Utah in order to get used to the heat and the long travel from Australia to the USA. On paper the course looked quite ‘easy’ in regards to the 4KM lake swim, 120KM flat bike course with a few rolling hills and 30KM pancake flat run course. However, come race day the weather conditions proved to be a major factor making the race a tough battle.

Race Day:
It was good to see that the strong winds across the lake had resulted in a very choppy swim which I knew would play to my advantage. The swim course was like a washing machine with no rhythm to the choppy waves and was unlike any other swim leg that I have done. I sat in around 4th place for the majority of the swim leg and emerged from the water just a few seconds back from the lead.

I was excited to get onto the bike leg and push the pace early on. In the opening 20KMs the tempo was quite solid and two athletes dropped off leaving myself and 3 others leading the race. At this point the speed slowed up a little and I chose to go to the front for the next 20KMs and just ride to my own power numbers.

I went through the first hour with an average speed of 46KPH and was hoping that this would be the status quo for the remainder of the bike course. However the winds really started to increase along with the heat. I really focussed on making sure that I was getting in enough gels, water and electrolytes as well as staying consistent with my power output.

I came into transition in 5th pretty spent from battling the wind and heat out on the bike course but right next to the defending World Champion Cyril Viennot.

Exiting transition next to Cyril I knew that I needed to run with him to have a shot at the win. The 3 loop out and back run course meant that we faced a decent headwind on the outward journey. I managed to run with Cyril for 5km before dropping off. I was really cramping badly and just tried to run with a good turnover. After the first 10KM loop I was holding my own in 5th place and motivated to try and stay inside the top 5. Just before the 20KM turn around point Craig Alexander made the pass on me and soon after that I lost 2 more spots. In the last 10KMs I managed to hold my position and came across the line in 8th place.

In all honesty I was somewhat disappointed with the result as I had higher expectations of myself in regards to the overall result. In saying that, I couldn’t fault my preparation or race execution and know that I gave everything I could on race day. This result was my 3rd ITU Long Distance World Championship top 10 in as many years, which at least shows that I have been a consistent performer at the World Championships. Add the result to a top 3 at the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships a few months ago and it has been a very positive year for my performances at major championship races.

Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships Cebu – 3rd

This year marked my third time in Cebu racing the Ironman 70.3. For me this race is undoubtedly the best Ironman 70.3 event in the world and a perfect location to hold Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships. The stunning location, impeccable organization and insane local crowd support are just a few reasons why this event is so special. Having finished 2nd in 2014 & 6th in 2015, I knew what to expect from race day and just how brutal the heat and humidity can be. Being that this year Ironman 70.3 Cebu played host to the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships, the professional field was deep with talent. Following my win at Regent 5150, Subic Bay in June, I had spent the last two months training specifically for this event.

Race Day:
I felt pretty relaxed on race morning and during my swim warm up. The gun went off at 6:20am and I managed to get a good start and take up the lead before Jake Montgomery hit the gas and swam away from the front group. My plan for the swim was to be smart and expend the least energy possible by keeping my heart rate low in the 27 degree water temperature so I wasn’t too worried about pushing the pace myself. After the first 500 meters I slotted into the group in around fifth position which is where I stayed until the second last turning buoy where I managed to take the inside line and slip into second behind Canadian Brent McMahon. Just before the swim exit I lifted the pace ever so slightly to lead out of the water. Behind me was a select group of 10 pro men who all hit the big leg together.

The pace was on from the start and a few athletes were dropped from the group in the opening few kilometers. At around 15 kilometers a gap started to open up in the group and I had to put in a big effort to ride past Brad Kahlefeldt & Braden Currie to rejoin the front group.

I tried to ride smart and ensure that I kept focused on those just in front of me throughout the entire bike leg. The pace was on during the bike leg with some big surges up front which saw an average speed of 43.7kph.

At about the 75 kilometer mark a gap opened up in front of Leon Griffin which forced me to overtake him and spend the next 4 kilometers chasing back up to the lead group of 5.

Our group of 6 entered transition together and I headed out onto the run in 5th place. My plan was to run the opening kilometers conservatively and stick to a 4min per kilometer pace to ensure that I didn’t blow up out on the run course in the heat and humidity. At the 5 kilometer point I passed Brent McMahon and took up 4th position.

I could see that I was  slowly gaining on Frenchman Antony Costes but kept focused on my own pacing trying not to rush making my move. Just before the 10km turn around point I passed Costes putting me into 3rd place.

For the final 3 kilometers to the finish line I had to dig very deep and was really struggling in the heat. Coming down the finish line in third at the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships behind fellow Australians Tim Reed and Craig Alexander was an unbelievable feeling and I crossed the line completely spent.

A podium performance at the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships in Cebu was a career best performance for me and a result that is honestly still sinking in. A huge thank you to those who support me and it is an amazing feeling to be able to share a big performance like this with so many people who help make it happen behind the scenes. A special thank you to those people in Philippines - Sir Fred Uytengsu, Sunrise Events & Alaska Milk for another amazing Ironman 70.3 event in Cebu

Regent 5150 Subic Bay – 1st

Having won the Regent 5150 Triathlon in Subic Bay, Philippines in 2015 I went into the race with a little more pressure having the title of ‘defending champion’. The race is one of the hardest Olympic distance triathlons that I have done due to the hilly 40km bike leg and of course when racing in the Philippines the heat and humidity. Having missed my connecting flight in Singapore I arrived in Subic Bay late on Friday night which meant that I was still able to support the Alaska IronKids event early on Saturday morning. This is something that I really enjoy attending as well as doing whatever I can to help to support the next generation of triathletes in the Philippines as part of my partnership with the Alaska Milk. 

Race Day:
Race morning was a little more stressful than usual as I had to deal with a rear wheel puncture repair before setting up in transition. With this little issue under control I managed a short swim warm up before lining up on the beach ready for the start. I had a great start and took up the lead early on. 

The out and back swim course made navigation easy. This allowed me to settle into a good rhythm only needing to lift my head to sight the swim turn buoys every 20 strokes or so. The water temperature was very warm so I was wary of pushing myself too hard. When the water temperature is particularly warm it so easy to cook yourself by swimming too hard and so I focused on keeping my heart rate as low as possible through technique and stroke efficiency. I hit the beach with a very healthy solo lead of around 1 minute and set about maximizing this advantage during the early portion of the bike leg. 

 With the first section of the bike course being on the Subic Bay airport runway it provided a good opportunity for me to get some time checks on the rest of the pro men on each u-turn at the end of the airport runway.

The bike course then headed uphill, into the jungle where the humidity levels rose significantly. Over this very hilly part of the bike course I tried to keep an even tempo before turning and then descending back down towards transition.

I had built up a good lead during the 40km ride and hit the run knowing that I just had to hold a reasonable tempo and keep cool in the heat. At every aid station I took the opportunity to pour water over my head and cool off as much as possible. The entire 10km run was a battle against the heat with temperatures close enough to 40 degrees Celsius and high humidity. I kept focused by just thinking about ticking off one kilometre at a time. 

I was able to relax a little on the final stretch to the finish line and was very happy to cross the line having earned back-to-back wins at the Regent 5150 Subic Bay Triathlon. For me personally it feels extra special being able to win an international race like this as the defending champion for the second year. A big thanks to the team at Alaska Milk & SunRise Events for their support and putting on another amazing event.

Ironman 70.3 Vietnam - DNF

I was in two minds whether to even write a race report following what was a very disappointing result but I think it is still important to share the bad races along with the good ones. 

Vietnam 70.3 is one of the most amazing race locations that I have been to. The race hotel is stunning and the entire team at Sunrise Events does an amazing job in making the race something special. The days before the race were spent doing some light training as well as doing some photo and video shoots with one of my sponsors Alaska Milk as well as getting the opportunity to learn more about their products and all that Alaska Milk does to help give back and support the community though events.

Race Day:

The beach start is something that usually favors me. However I got off to a rough start and had to swim hard to make my way back up to front. Truth be told I never really felt comfortable swimming even though I was leading the group. Normally I swim a lot quicker and can break away from the main group however I just couldn’t seem to lift my pace. I exited the water first however with just a small 7 second gap back to a pack behind.

Image: Korupt Vision / Australian Triathlete 

Image: Vinicius Santana / AsiaTri.com

Heading onto the bike Luke McKenzie and Tim Reed put the hammer down early on which left me in a group of three with fellow Australian Tim Berkel and  New Zealander Matt Franklin. At around the 20km mark Frenchman Cyril Viennot came charging past and this is where I dropped from the group. 

Image: Korupt Vision / Australian Triathlete 

Image: Vinicius Santana / AsiaTri.com

My power numbers were 30% down on what I would usually ride and I was unable to ride any harder. After another 30 kilometers of riding solo my hamstrings and glute muscles tightened up to the point where I couldn’t stay in the aero position and found it hard to even turn the pedals.

I made the very hard decision to withdraw from the race at the 80KM mark knowing that with the cramps I would not be able to make it through the rest of the bike leg or be able to run.

I was really disappointed to have had to withdraw from the race in what was my first Ironman 70.3 DNF and what I hope will be the last.

Noumea International Olympic Distance Triathlon – 1st

This year marked the 31st 'Noumea International Triathlon'. If you look back through the history books at the past winners over the last 30 years some of the biggest names in triathlon have won this event including Chris McCormack, Hamish Carter, Miles Stewart & Simon Lessing. Add this international prestige to the obviously stunning race location of Noumea in New Caledonia and you have the recipe for an amazing race. After finishing with a 3^rd place result at last year's event I felt like I knew the formula and strategy required for a good result. However knowing and being able to execute are two entirely different things.

During the two lap swim in the calm ocean waters I was keen to push hard from the get go. Fellow Australian Peter Kerr took up the pace up front during the first 750-meter swim lap with myself slotted in just behind. 

I managed to get past Peter and take the lead just after diving back into the water to begin the second 750-meter swim lap. I held my position up front and I hit land in first with a small group of 6 others just behind me. I really put the hammer down on the run into transition in an attempt to get a small gap heading out onto the 40km bike course. This tactic worked exactly to plan and I put the hammer down as soon as I jumped onto my Specialized S-Works Shiv to establish a solo lead. 

I pushed really hard over the entire bike course to keep building up a good lead over the rest of the field who were attempting to close the gap to me. Being that the bike course was a 3 lap out and back course I was able to get time checks of the time gap at each U-turn. I completed the 40km bike leg in 56 minutes and 34 seconds and started the 4 X 2.5km run course with a healthy 3 minute and 15 second lead over the chasing group of athletes.

Like the bike course the run course was a multi lap out and back course which gave me a lot of opportunities to see just how much of a lead I had.  The plan for the run was just to maintain my lead and not go too overboard with running harder than required. 

The temperatures out on the exposed run course were rising to the mid 30 degrees which made each run lap feel hotter and harder. Fellow Australians Cameron Good and Peter Kerr along with New Zealander Graham O’Grady all looked to be running well. However I could see that the time gaps during each lap of the run seemed to stay roughly the same.

I was able to really enjoy the final run to the finish line and was ecstatic to be able to win the 31^st Noumea International Olympic Distance Triathlon.

Mooloolaba Olympic Distance Triathlon - 2nd

I was fairly disappointed with the result from Ironman 70.3 Philippines the week prior and really wanted to prove to myself more than anything that the result in IM70.3 Subic Bay was not a reflection of where I am at with my training and performance. My plan at Mooloolaba was pretty simple, race as hard as possible and see what kind of result I could produce. The legs were far from fresh but mentally I was prepared to push hard on race morning as well as excited to do so. Since racing Ironman 70.3 Philippines I had spent roughly 5 hours at home in Brisbane before spending the next 4 days in Townsville visiting schools as part of my role as an ambassador for the Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon trying to get kids more involved in triathlon. So as you might imagine the preparation the week leading up to the race was far from ideal.

Race Day:

The ocean swim leg at Mooloolaba is probably one of my favorite swim legs of any race I have done. The choppy ocean makes for a fun swim leg where your open water swimming skills are tested. I positioned myself on the left hand side of the beach start and once the gun went off found myself leading the group towards the first turn. American, Tommy Zaferas had started on the right hand side and as I rounded the first turn buoy I noticed that he had put a small gap between himself and me. At the half way point of the swim Japanese triathlete Ryosulce Maeda passed me and I was able to sit just behind him right until we exited the water. Heading out onto the bike course I passed both the Japanese and American athletes early on and really pushed hard to build up a solo lead. Rounding the half way turn around point I checked the time gap which I had extended out to around 1 minute and 30 seconds. 

Photo: Anthony Radford 

The head wind on the return journey was testing on the legs and I just tried to put my head down and push hard. I came into transition still with around a minute and a half lead and proceeded in trying to maintain my lead at the front of the race. My running legs were not their usual self after having done the IM70.3 race in the Philippines the week before and I was not able to hold the pace that I would have liked. Australian Ben Cook was really strong on the run and made the pass on me at the 4.5km mark. I tried to go with Ben but the legs were unresponsive and so I had to settle with holding onto 2^nd place. Although it wasn’t a win, I was still pretty happy to have what I thought was a good performance with everything considered.

Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay - 6th

I was really looking forward to returning to Subic Bay in the Philippines for Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay following some good memories when I won the 5150 Olympic distance race in the same location the previous year. The other great thing that I enjoy about racing in the Philippines is that I know that their events really are the benchmark of triathlon racing in terms of the professionalism and organisation.

Race Day.

The beach start was something I know really favors me as I can usually get a few extra running steps done over my shorter competitors due to my height. This really gave me a good advantage and after the run into the water I took up the lead. After rounding the first turn buoy I made a small navigational mistake and had some trouble with sighting the next turn buoy. The result of this was actually a positive move as it spilt up the athletes behind me meaning that myself and two others were the only ones left in the front group. I took the final home stretch a little more conservatively to save some energy and only made a small surge heading in towards the beach to lead out the swim leg. The run towards transition was a good 400 meters, which gave me time to pull up my prototype Scody sleeved tri top. 

German athlete Patrick Lange managed to get away from me early on but I stayed calm remaining in 2^nd place until 10kms into the bike leg. At this point I was caught and passed by Craig Alexander, Tim Reed and Tim Berkel. Reed and Alexander really rode strongly and I was left in 4^th for the majority of the bike leg. It was one of those rides where I never got comfortable and honestly struggled physically in the hot and humid conditions.

Heading out of transition I led the group until the 1km mark where I started to hit the wall. Tim Reed and Craig Alexander made the pass on me and a few minutes later Tim Berkel also came past. I tried to hang onto Tim Berkel for a few kilometers however the body was cooking and I  just couldn’t respond. The rest of the run leg was a battle and I was relieved to cross the finish line. 

Deep down I was disappointed with the result as I felt like training had been going really well and that I was in better form than what the final result showed.