2013 Specialized S-Works Shiv

After riding on the original triathlon specific S-Works Shiv aka 'The Red Rocket' (as seen here) for the last year I was extremely excited to get onboard the 2013 S-Works Shiv. If there was ever a bike that was built with the sole purpose of going fast and keeping you fuelled (not to mention looking good) this is it. The concept of building a triathlon specific bike and ignoring all UCI rules is something that should be seen as a major benefit to any triathlete. Put simply the Shiv in my mind is the fastest bike in production.

My setup for 2013 sees a few small extra details which will hopefully help me go just that little bit faster. On board I have the new Specialized S-Works Quarq linked to the Specialized Comp cycle computer which will be feeding me all the numbers for training and racing. For race day I will be running my traditional Zipp disc and 808 combination.

In conjunction with my new ride I had a few people ask via my Facebook and Twitter if I had canned my trademark red race kit now that I'm riding on a black bike. I've mixed it up this season with help from Scody Australia and created a new tweaked version of my 2012 race kit. Thanks again to the team at Scody for making this all happen.

Big thank you as always to Specialized Australia for their continued support.

Mooloolaba ITU World Cup - DNF

Mooloolaba is quite possibly one of the hardest ITU World Cup courses there is. The course is brutal with the bike and run scaling the infamous Mooloolaba hill a total of 24 times. Add the hot and often windy conditions into the equation and you've got yourself a real race of attrition. I did my first ever ITU World Cup at Mooloolaba back in 2009 and this would be my 4th time doing the race.

I really hadn't planned to race the ITU World Cup but was given the opportunity the week out from the race by Triathlon Australia. I really felt that the course suited me and being that there was a smaller than usual field assembled I thought it could be a good opportunity for me to race hard off the front.

On the Friday night before the race I somehow managed to pick up a throat infection and come race day I was feeling less than great. I tried to put these thoughts out of my head and get on with the job at hand and just give the race everything I had.

The swim was moved from the traditional beach start to the river due to dangerous surf conditions. It was a real shame as I really enjoy the Mooloolaba beach swim as it seems to suit a stronger swimmer such as myself. The gun went off at 3pm sharp and within the first hundred metres I moved to the front of the main swim pack. Honestly the pace felt very slow and so I moved up into 3rd with just two other athletes sitting 20 meters or so in front. I managed to have a peak under my arm and see Gomez sitting comfortably on my hip with a large group behind us. It was very different to the ITU World Cup swims I remember and to be honest it felt a lot slower than any 70.3 swim I've ever done.

As soon as we hit the ride I put the hammer down and tried to get away with no success. It seemed like the chasers would shut down any move that went away only to slow right back down when they caught back up. About half way into the race my body was having none of it and I dropped off the group with around a lap left to ride. I couldn't drink or eat on the bike because of my throat infection and was even struggling to breathe in the final few laps.

I headed out of transition onto the run wanting to run hard but with less than a lap done I was forced out of the race. Although I really wanted to push through and finish it just wasn't worth it being how sick I was. It was such a hard call to make but it had to be done to avoid any more damage to the body.

I'll have a few days off now to get the body right and then continue my training for my next block of races in the USA. It's a trip I've really been looking forward and it will be my first time racing in the USA.

2013 Specialized S-Works Venge

What you see before you is the 2013 Specialized S-Works Venge which Specialized Australia has generously provided my for my racing and training this season. Planet Cycles in Brisbane did an amazing job of building up this weapon of a bike just in time for its maiden race at Mooloolaba this weekend. I'm hopeful that I can do this bike justice this Saturday racing in the Mooloolaba ITU World Cup event.

I've only had a few rides on the venge but my first impressions is that this thing is fast.. like crazy fast. The response is instant with every pedal stroke being purely used for pushing you forward. The new Roval Rapide wheel set is truly amazing and they match the matt black paint job on the venge perfectly.

Pictures speak louder than words so below are a few for your viewing pleasure...

INCOMING: 2013 Specialized S-Works Shiv

I just dropped into Specialized dealer 'Planet Cycles' to check out the 2013 Specialized S-Works Shiv that Specialized Australia has provided me with for this seasons racing. I'm totally blown away with the quality and amazing detail on the paint job. Its being built up tomorrow so expect a full write up and photos very soon. 

Gatorade Series Raby Bay - 6th

Raby Bay played host to the final race of the Queensland Triathlon Series for the 2012/2013 season. I made the late decision earlier in the week to enter the event as I really wanted to be apart of the final race of the series. The short 400m/15km/4km distance for me is about going all out from start to finish and thats exactly what I was planning on doing.

I was met on race morning by a huge deluge of rain while trying to get in a few laps warmup of the bike course. With the amount of rain that fell from the sky I was actually doubtful that the race would still be held. Luckily the rain passed within 20 minutes or so leaving some very wet roads. Being that the course is held around the harbour the roads are often covered in an oily residue as a result of large cars and trailers carrying boats to and from the marina. The course is also quite tight especially during the cycle leg which means that you really can't ride hard for long as you want to as you are constantly having to break for corners. Its a very technical course which adds to both the challenge and charm of the race. 

I made a short video of the course the day before to give you an idea of what the race is like. 

I lined up towards the far right of the swim start and as soon as I heard the starting gun I hit the gas and moved myself in front. I took the lead and stayed in front the entire 400 metres exiting the water with quite a few athletes nipping at my feat. Over 400 meters it's really hard to establish any sizeable gap as its really only just over 4 minutes of swim time.

On the run into transition I was passed by 2 other athletes and went out onto the bike in 3rd. Soon enough though I was back in front and stayed there pushing the pace on my Specialized S-Works Shiv. Because of the wet roads I wanted to stay in front and out of trouble as the last thing I wanted was someone to crash in front of me and bring me down as well. The others in my group were quite happy to sit just off the back of my wheel with a few athletes receiving drafting penalties as a result of doing so. To be honest I didn't pay to much attention to those sitting behind me and just kept riding hard even though I could feel my legs fading going onto the last lap of the bike. It would have been nice to have a few others to help push the pace on the bike leg but thats racing.

I lead the group into the final transition but going onto the run my running legs were having none of it. I really faded badly on the run because of my efforts leading both the swim and bike portions of the race. To me these races are a chance to go hard from start to finish and thats exactly what I did.

Next up for me will be the Mooloolaba ITU Continental Cup in 3 weeks time. There is a solid field lining up for the race and I can't wait to get amongst it! 

Ironman 70.3 Geelong - 9th

Geelong has always been a happy hunting ground for me. In 2006 I won my first ITU Junior Elite Australian Championships at Geelong. At the time the race was a turning point in my development as a young triathelte as it qualified me for the ITU Junior Elite World Championships in Switzerland later that year and also awarded me a scholarship into the ‘Queensland Academy of Sport’ triathlon program. Coincidently it was also my first race under my coach Stephen Moss.

The race was announced as the Australian Long Course Triathlon Championships and with this title up for grabs I was motivated to produce a result worthy of the title. The course was a fitting battleground with a hilly and windy ride and an even tougher hilly run. Add this to the 40 men racing and what was described in the days before as ‘the best 70.3 men’s field ever assembled in Australia’ and I knew I was in for a hard and fast race.

I arrived in Geelong on Friday afternoon and used Saturday to catch-up with some of my fantastic sponsors who were at the event as well as doing some light training.

Video of the Friday and Saturday before the race:

Race Day:

Sunday morning soon approached and started with a 5am wake up. I had my usual pre race meal of toast with banana and honey along with a bottle of Dextro Energy sports drink. With a quick warm up done it was time for the gun to go off to start the 2013 Australian Long Course Championships. I started hard and found myself as per usual in the front swim pack swimming alongside Commonwealth Games Champion and Australian Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt. The swim felt solid but not overly fast which I took as a good sign of things to come. I exited the water in the front group of 10 men with gun swimmer Clayton Fettell who had around a 30 second solo lead.

Onto the bike I made the brave call to go after Fettell and really put the hammer down to hurt the others in our group and try and get away. I was quickly joined by James Hodge, Christian Kemp and Luke Bell and I made the call to ride hard early to catch Fettell and establish a lead over the rest of the field. Honestly the first 10km’s of the bike were insanely fast with speeds over 50kph being held. Fettell and Hodge really pushed the pace with Kemp, Bell and myself all content to sit back and hang onto the coat tails of these two amazing cyclists. The hilly and windy course was a real battle but despite this our group managed to ride through the first 45km lap in an hour flat. 

Going onto the second lap I was forced to dig deep to stay with the boys and fought through a really bad patch.

 The entire ride took its toll on me and by the time we hit the run my legs were in a less than ideal state. I pushed hard to stay with the boys however my legs were having none of it and so I just pushed as hard as they would allow.

 Battling with Estonian Marko Albert on the run

I was getting passed by athletes that I would usually run away from which was hard to take but I started to come good again with 5km’s to go on the run and gave these final km’s everything I had. I managed to catch one athlete with just a km to run to move myself into 9^th place overall.

Honestly I was really happy with how I went about the race. I swam hard and initiated the move on the bike that took 5 athletes up the road and put myself in contention to be on the podium. The run wasn’t there on the day for me but I gave it everything I had and didn’t die wondering so to speak.

At risk of sounding cliché I’d prefer to come 9^th and put myself in the position to win, than sit back and watch a chance for the win escape up the road and then run for at best a 5^th place.

As Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack affectionately titled his book ‘I’m here to win’ 

Pro Men

	Name	Country	S	B	R	Time
1	Kemp, Christian	USA	00:21:59	02:09:26	01:13:38	3:47:21
2	Bell, Luke	AUS	00:22:02	02:09:27	01:14:07	3:47:53
3	Hodge, James	AUS	00:21:53	02:09:18	01:16:11	3:49:48
4	Griffin, Leon	AUS	00:22:58	02:12:09	01:12:30	3:49:55
5	Fettell, Clayton	AUS	00:21:36	02:09:50	01:17:06	3:50:48
6	Berkel, Tim	AUS	00:23:06	02:12:00	01:17:05	3:54:27
7	Albert, Marko	EST	00:21:57	02:13:10	01:17:18	3:54:45
8	Pellow, Matthew	AUS	00:23:07	02:13:37	01:16:22	3:55:30
9	Betten, Samuel	AUS	0:00:00	0:00:00	0:00:00	3:57:01
10	Seear, James	AUS	00:21:58	02:13:08	01:19:52	3:57:15
11	Anderson, Mitchell	AUS	00:26:17	02:10:24	01:19:26	3:58:55
12	Millward, Callum	NZL	00:22:48	02:16:46	01:17:50	3:59:55
13	Skipworth, Todd	AUS	00:21:58	02:13:01	01:23:00	4:00:40
14	Appleton, Samuel	AUS	00:21:56	02:13:13	01:23:41	4:01:15
15	Polson, John	AUS	00:23:00	02:16:29	01:19:00	4:01:40

*No times shown for me as my timing chip fell off

Post race photo