Specialized 'Test the Best' day

I have been a Specialized Australia sponsored triathlete for a little over a year now and have always been an avid fan of the company and their amazing products. I actually purchased and rode both the Specialized S-Works SL3 Tarmac and Transition Expert bikes before I was fortunate enough to become a sponsored athlete.

The program 'Test The Best' demonstrates the companies commitment to consumers by providing a chance to come out and test ride Specialized bikes. The concept is a no brainer (after all some of the bikes now cost as much if not more than cars, and before purchasing a car you would expect to best able to have a test drive). It was fantastic to see so many people take up the opportunity of being able to test ride a Specialized bike especially the mountain bikes in the gap creek trails.

I came along Sunday afternoon to catchup with the team and also managed to do a little video to give you a feel of what the day is about.

Mooloolaba ITU World Cup Elite Men

The ITU Triathlon World Cup elite mens race was held on Saturday afternoon and didn't disappoint in terms of providing spectators with a look at some of the world's best triathletes and a sneak peak of the form from some of the athletes racing at the London Olympic Games later this year.

It was great to see the aussie men racing especially Brad who no doubt will be one to watch for the Olympic Games.

I put together a quick video of the race from the view of a spectator on the course so enjoy!

Mooloolaba World Cup Elite Women

The final race of the weekend was the ITU World Cup Elite Women's race. It was disappointing to see Emma Snowsill have to drop out pre race as I think lots of people watching wanted to see what she was capable of and if she can secure an Olympic spot. Erin (winner of the race) race was great to watch and was just a class above anyone else on the day.

 

Mooloolaba Triathlon 2012

This year was my first year in 4 years NOT racing the ITU World Cup race at Mooloolaba. As any athlete knows watching races you wish you were in sucks and to be honest I wasn't sure that I even wanted to go up and watch any of the racing at all. 

With the Queensland Academy of Sport booking some great accommodation I took up the opportunity to spend the entire week on the coast training up a storm as well as visiting lots of schools as part of my role with the Weet-Bix TRYathlon program (more about this in a later blog post). With so many races on I took up the role of photographer/videographer for the weekend and put together some videos and photos for those interested in seeing what this weekend was all about or perhaps just reliving the weekend for those involved. 

Stayed tuned for my ITU World Cup Mens Video & ITU Continental Cup Video as well as some photos from the ITU World Cup Elite womens race that I will post up very soon :) 

A mug shot from a good friend Wayne 

Media Training at the QAS

Yesterday afternoon the Queensland Academy of Sport organised a media training day with media guru Ian Hanson and his friend AJ. Ian has worked in the industry all his life and his knowledge and words of wisdom were very much appreciated by all the athletes who attended.  I learnt a lot from running though several different media scenarios and had great fun in doing so as Ian kept all of us on our toes asking some very hard questions. 

The first panel of athletes for questioning 

 Mat Brown in front of the camera

 Emma Jackson getting directions from Ian.

 My turn in front of the camera.