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.

2016 S-Works Shiv

After two races and two wins on the board so far this year I have got to know my new ride for 2016 pretty well. With this said I wanted to give a detailed looked at Specialized S-Works Shiv which I am racing on this season. A big thank you as always to Specialized for their amazing support and Planet Cycles in Brisbane for building up this speed machine.

Specialized Fuel Cell locked into place. Inside I carry I spare tube, valve extender, Co2 canister, Co2 head along with 1 tyre lever. In the top of the Fuel Cell during races I carry anywhere from 2-5 energy gels. 

Shimano Di2 shifters with a bike computer mount in an easy to read position. 

An S-Works Quarq keeps me training and racing in the correct power zones. I also ride 172.5 length crank arms.

A bright red S-Works Rib cage is tucked up behind the Sitero saddle. With this bottle cage and the internal bladder in the frame my hydration needs are well taken care of.

 So aero from behind!

On race day I usually run a Shimano 11-23 cassette and an 11-25 for training rides. Tyres are S-Works Cottons front and rear. For many races I ride the Roval CLX60 wheel-set. However I will choose to ride with the Zipp disc on some flatter race courses.

QTS Triathlon Series Race 7 Raby Bay – 1st

The last few weeks of training have all been in preparation for Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay. With race day just 2 weeks away I thought that the QTS event at Raby Bay over the sprint distance would be the perfect opportunity to brush up on my speed. Even though I now focus on the longer race distances I think that it is still important to race a couple of sprint distance races every season in order to work on my top end race speed. The great thing about racing at home is that I can jump on my bike on race morning and use the 30min ride to the race venue as a good pre race warm up. I also had the opportunity to hand out the finishers’ medals to many of the kids competing in the ‘Kool Kids’ triathlon event which is always enjoyable.

Race Day:

I started the race hard and quickly went about trying to establish myself at the front of the race. I managed to get the lead quickly and pushed the pace to make it hard for the others behind to keep up. Even though it was only a 750 meter swim leg I still opted to wear my Orca RS1 swim skin for the time savings I find it provides me with. 

I exited the water in first with Kane Richards and Jack Hickey just behind. I exited transition a few seconds behind Kane & Jack after a slower than usual transition. In these shorter races there is no room for error and the few seconds I lost at this point of the race set me back before heading out onto the 20 kilometer bike leg.  

I was looking forward to getting onto the bike course which is quite technical with lots of corners and gradual ups and downs making it challenging to get into any kind of rhythm. The wind had also picked up which was just another added challenge to the bike leg. 

Kane and Jack rode the first 5km loop at a very solid tempo and it took me until the 6 kilometer mark to make my way back into the lead after my slow transition. Once I hit the lead I lifted the tempo with only Kane able to keep up. Overall I felt that the pace during the bike leg was solid but never out of my comfort zone. I kept a close eye on my Specialized Quarq power meter data and upon finishing the 20 kilometer cycle leg I had kept an average speed of 41kph and 357 watt average power (normalized power).

I had a great bike to run transition and immediately set out at a fast tempo keen to really push hard and see what kind of time I could run. 

I have really been working a lot on my running in training and wanted to use the 5 kilometre run leg as a test to see how fast I could go while still remaining under my red zone. I was surprised to feel as good as I did on the run and was able to extend my lead over the rest of the field. 

Coming across the finishing line in 1^st was a great feeling and a really good sign that things are well on track for my next big race at Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay in 2 weeks time.

Triathlon & Multi Sport & Multi Sport Magazine Covers

Just before Christmas I was told that I was going to be featured on the front cover of 'Triathlon & Multi Sport' magazine. Making it even more special was the fact that my partner Bec Ohlwein took this amazing photo which made it onto the cover.

Following my win at the 'Hell of the West Triathlon' I am also featured on the cover of 'Multi Sport Magazine' which was another great surprise for me.

Hell of the West Triathlon (2KM/80KM/20KM) – 1st

For the last 3 years I have begun my season with what is dubbed as one of the hardest long course triathlons in Australia, the ‘Hell of the West Triathlon’. The race is known as such a tough race due to the often extreme heat and outback roads which provide little relief from the often brutal winds and make riders feel like a jockey aboard a bull at a rodeo with the rough road surface during the bike leg. The 2km swim, 80km ride and 20km run is a good challenge and has seen Pete Jacobs and Luke McKenzie as previous winners with Luke McKenzie holding the course record.

I have really changed my training over the last few months with a more strategic approach designed to improve on my weaknesses with the aim of becoming a much stronger athlete. With this different approach came a nervousness to see how I would translate this new training into a race performance. With a 2^nd in 2015 & a 1^st in 2014 I had some good benchmarks to gauge a 2016 performance by.   

Race Day:

The down and back river swim provided a fast first stretch with the current and then a hard fought battle against the current on the return journey. In previous years I have been able to get a good gap over the rest of the field. However this year I was unable to establish a solo lead out of the water despite leading for the entire swim leg and reaching dry land first. In tow were 3 other of the pre race favorites which meant a good group went onto the bike leg together. 

With an early surge the group was quickly down to just three athletes which included Giles Clayton, Michael Fox and myself. The out and back cycle course, despite being flat is quite taxing over a rough road surface meaning that you really need to consistently keep the power down to maintain a high speed. On the outward trip the three of us shared the pace making. Giles was riding very strongly and Michael really put the hammer down particularly on the homeward journey. 

Photo: FinisherPix 

With around 10km left to ride I came to the front and put in a big surge to establish a gap which I committed to extending all the way back to transition. Going out onto the run I managed to build up a nice 1minute 45second lead which I planned to extend during the first run lap. I was able to settle into a good rhythm quite quickly holding a solid tempo. With the 3 lap run course I could see my lead extending over my competitors at each of the turn around points. After the second lap my lead had extended out to just over 5 minutes and I maintained a good tempo throughout the last lap of the run unaware that I was so close to the course record set by Luke McKenzie. It was a really great feeling to run down the finish shoot to win the 25^th anniversary of the ‘Hell of the West Triathlon’ and be just 36 seconds shy of the course record set by Luke McKenzie. One consolation was that I managed to break the bike course record also set by Luke McKenzie in 2010.

Photo: Wayne Pratt  

My performance was something that I was really proud of and I honestly felt solid all day out there racing. With this being the third time in as many years that I have kicked off my year with this event the times were the quickest I have ever produced on this course while still feeling like I was racing well in control and not having to go into the red zone.