Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2016 i Triathlon Plus

NEWS IN BRIEF BIG NEWS MADE SMALL PIP PIP HURRAY Australian triathlon champion Pip Taylor has returned to triathlon after maternity leave, completing a Master’s degree in nutrition and publishing a book, The Athlete’s Fix. Just five months after the birth of her second child she took ninth place at the Ironman 70.3 Western Sydney. “It was fantastic to be back out there and back in the mix,” she said. U20’S TRI FESTIVAL Great Britain’s top youth and junior triathletes will go head-to-head at Strathclyde Country Park in Scotland for the British Triathlon U20’s Festival on 3 - 4 September 2016. The festival will include the finale of the 2016 British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series as well as the British Triathlon Inter Regional Championships. Youth and junior athletes…

IAN DEMPSEY Age 35 Home Aldridge, West Midlands Day job Senior coach and owner at FitClub (Midlands) Ltd Career highlights 2014: 6th age-grouper at the Olympic distance ITU world finals in Edmonton, Canada; 3rd age-grouper at the ITU World Triathlon in London’s Hyde Park; 2015: 1st age-group category at Ironman 70.3 Staffs and winner of open age-group London AJ Bell triathlon. I SWAM competitively as a teenager and then spent the next 10 years either partying or putting my feet up. In 2008 I realised I needed to improve my health and took up running, moving into 10k and marathons. In 2012, a friend persuaded me to join him in the Half ICAN Marbella Triathlon – a middle distance. I finished in six hours and loved it. Watching the Brownlees…

WHAT IRONMAN WESTERN AUSTRALIA WHEN 6 DECEMBER 2015 WHERE BUSSELTON, AUSTRALIA WINNERS LUKE MCKENZIE (AUS) 7.55.58 SARAH PIAMPIANO (USA) 9.03.47 The course at Busselton has long been renowned for its fast, flat, record-breaking potential. But Luke McKenzie etched his name in history by clocking up the fastest Australian Ironman time, and breaking the eight hour barrier. The iconic triathlete clocked an impressive 7:55:58 to take nearly two minutes from the previous record set by three-time world champion Craig Alexander in 2012. McKenzie, a 34-year-old former world championship runner-up, left his rivals for dust crossing the finish line more than 20 minutes ahead of the 2014 champion Denis Chevrot of France. The race started amid steady rain withChevrot leading out of the water 57 seconds ahead of German Christian Kramer and…

DETAILS Date 12 June Location Staffordshire Distance 70.3 – 1.2m/56m/13.1m gosh.org/GTR100 ONLY 100 PLACES AVAILABLE This year Gordon and Tana Ramsay are taking on the iconic IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire event, and have 100 exclusive places available on their team – the GTR100. With the event having sold out to the public in a matter of hours you can still take on this world-famous challenge. By joining the team you’ll receive a host of incredible benefits to get you in perfect shape for the event. JOIN THE GTR100 AND RECEIVE: • Top of the range HUUB Archimedes wetsuit • HUUB tri-suit, cycling jersey, bib shorts and running kit • Musculoskeletal screening with Team GB physiotherapists • Invitation to training events alongside elite athletes • Entry to sold-out IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire •…

The human body comprises of approximately 60 per cent water, so it’s no surprise to learn that maintaining adequate fluid levels is a key performance factor. Studies have shown that even a small amount of dehydration can have negative effects on athletic performance and can predispose you to heat stress. Dehydration occurs when fluid loss through sweat, urine and breathing is greater than fluid intake via drinks and food. If you train and race in a dehydrated state, you are forcing your body to perform at less than full capacity. So what can you do to remedy this? One solution is to conduct a sweat test. This involves weighing yourself, exercising, then weighing yourself again to see how much weight you lost. This helps you understand how much fluid you…

Whenever I read a super athlete profile, my heart sinks when I my eyes fall on the section entitled “A typical week’s training”. I just can’t believe they really do all that in one single week. Perhaps the swimming content is accurate or maybe the cycle content or the run content. But all three written as a typical week? Well, call me an old cynic, but I know what I’d do if I was being interviewed by a magazine – I’d pick the best bits ever and write them down. It’s a natural thing to do, because they’re probably thinking: “If I write what I really do, no one will believe I do so little.” So what tends to happen is that the athlete is a little selective. Most of…

TRIATHLON has long led the way in terms of sexual equality. Apart from a few notable, noble exceptions bike companies are only just waking up to the fact that more and more women are looking for genuinely high performance rides. But what should you be looking for and why? The good news is there is now a wide range of specialist performance bikes to choose from. These include fully aero time trial/triathlon models, drag efficient but versatile aero road bikes and conventional non-aero road race bikes, which can now come in either traditional rim brake or the latest disc brake versions. Whatever bike suits your needs, whether they be long distance solo speed efficiency, lightweight climbing and short course acceleration advantage, or a mix of the two, definitions of a…

£2,000 cannondale.com As massive fans of the men’s version, will the women’s Supersix impress us too? “The sheer class of the Cannondale shines through immediately” THE LAST time we reviewed the gents version of Cannondale’s Supersix Evo we described it as the best conventional road bike we’d ever ridden, and our women’s test team came to the same conclusion about this latest female-specific version. FRAME AND FORKS This is a conventional road bike with no aero treatment on the frame. There are no teardrop tube shapes, the brakes and gear cables are sitting out in the airstream and the Speed Save rearstays are actually flattened against the direction of the wind rather than cutting through it. However, what it lacks in aerodynamics it gains in comfort and responsiveness. Those “Speed…

It’s amazing how many triathletes arrive at the water’s edge completely under prepared for their first swim in open water. Nobody knows how they are going to react to entering the water for the first time so it’s always a good idea to attend a coached session usually run by a local triathlon club. TRAINING It’s essential you train for open water in the pool. It is about using drills to give you the confidence to deal with the new environment. Learn about sighting and how its action affects your swim stroke. Use a club session to swim without lane ropes and swimming across the diagonals of the pool. GETTING IN Here is a step-by-step guide to help you ease your way into open water and cope with potentially crippling…

THE BEST PLACES TO TEST YOURSELF DETAILS What The Harlech Triathlon When 3 April 2016 Where Harlech, North Wales IF YOU’VE always fancied the idea of storming a castle in dramatic style put the Harlech Triathlon 2016 in your race calendar. The event has always finished against the dramatic backdrop of the 13th century castle. But this year, the organisers are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the event by moving the finish line inside the castle for the first time. It means triathletes will tackle a dramatic climb from the 13th-century water gate (which includes 200 steps) to finish inside the historical castle keep. The race itself has dramatic origins – launched in the wake of the foot and mouth outbreak to encourage visitors back to the town. Back then…

I could potentially make the difference between a world champion and second best, but most people fail to acknowledge it. British Cycling swear by it. Some people refer to the chimp analogy to understand it. I am talking about sports psychology. That often perplexing hypothesis of mind-over-matter. But what is it really all about and does it work? I often think about how much physical training I do. Then I think about how much mental training I do. The disparity is enormous because in short, I don’t do any mental training. Of course, there is the intrinsic aspect of mental training, which is part and parcel of many training sessions. After all, endurance sports don’t come without a degree of mental input, by default. I refer to stand alone refinement…

Cycle power meters used to cost an absolute packet – more than a brand new carbon bike in many cases. But with each passing year the prices are dropping to levels that we can all afford. These days you needn’t pay more than £500 for a decent one, and the good news is that they’re getting cheaper all the time. As the prices fall it’s worth considering whether you need one and how you might benefit from it. Here we look at the various options and their affordability. Plus we give you the lowdown on how you can use a power meter to help you race and train smarter.…

Calculating your sweat rate can help you determine how much fluid you should consume during a training session or race. It’s important to remember that your sweat rate is specific to the discipline being tested, so you may wish to conduct this test for swimming, cycling and running. The other caveat is that weather conditions, pace and clothing choice will make a big difference to your sweat rate. If you’re using this test to determine how much you’ll sweat during a race, you’ll need to replicate race-day conditions as closely as possible. 7 STEPS TO DETERMINE YOUR SWEAT RATE 1 Have a good wee, then weigh yourself wearing little or no clothing to get the most accurate reading. It is best if no solid food is consumed during the test…

“I wanted to be a role model and show my children you can do anything you want” Pressing the keyboard, Nick Green felt a mixture of excitement and terror as the message flashed onto the screen. “Congratulations,” it said, “on entering the AJ Bell London Triathlon.” Every triathlete is familiar with that mixture of emotions on signing up for a big race. But for Nick, a dad of two from Cardiff, it was particularly daunting, because he’d grabbed one of the few remaining spots while lying in a hospital bed recovering from his fourth open heart surgery. Despite muscle wastage and weight loss of 10 kilos after three months in hospital he was determined to get racing again. Nick’s heart problems became apparent from the moment he was born in…

£2,299 focus-bikes.com A high tech bike but make sure you pay attention to the sizing “You’ll be in the ideal position for burning off the bunch” WHEN IT comes to cutting-edge competition road bikes, they don’t come much more loaded with the latest tech and trends than the Focus Cayo Disc. The German firm hasn’t made concessions to comfort or a more female friendly fit with this Donna version though. FRAME AND FORKS If you compare the small sized Donna version with the extra small unisex Cayo Disc you’ll find that the frames and forks are identical in construction, with just some pink detailing to differentiate it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as many women we know actually prefer the fit of a man’s bike to a female-specific frame.…

£2,399 giant-bicycles.com “Its eager efficiency made this the bike our test team always gravitated towards” FEW BIKE companies have committed as wholeheartedly to women’s cycling as Giant and their complete Liv brand. The Envie Advanced TRI is not just a superbly versatile, high velocity, multi sport bike, it’s a bargain too. FRAME AND FORKS The Envie Advanced is Liv’s version of their multi race winning Propel Advanced aero road bike. There’s more than just the signature Team Liv paint job separating the frames though. The Envie has a slightly shorter reach top-tube and taller head-tube in response to feedback from their own athletes and amateur test riders. The state-of-the-art Kammtail AeroSystem Shaping technology tubes with matching seatpost, flush mounted seatclamp and very neat custom SpeedControl brakes on the trailing edge…

ABOUT THE CLUB Somerset RC Tri is run with an all-inclusive ethos. We believe that within this atmosphere athletes learn from others, helping them train and achieve goals and ambitions in what can be a challenging and sometimes life-changing sport. Club members range from those who have just taken up the sport, including a thriving junior section, to those who have competed internationally including Stephen Redman, Heather Pearce, James Page, Jo Carritt, Steven Lord, Andy Ellins, Lorraine Ayres and Stuart Collins. TRAINING AREA Somerset RC Tri operates around the Taunton Deane area, making the most of the surrounding topography which includes the Quantock, Mendip, Chilton and Blackdown hills, as well as the Somerset levels for road riding, and Wellsprings Leisure Centre for spin classes. This is supplemented with freshwater and…

It’s that time of year when training outside is not appealing. It’s cold and dark, but don’t let fear of injury keep you from stepping outside. WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR BODIES? When your body gets cold, it slows down. Your heart rate slows and this results in less oxygen getting to your muscles and brain which makes your body and mind feel sluggish and less responsive to exercise. We also undergo structural changes in our muscles, where muscle fibres become less elastic and harder to contract, also resulting in that sluggish feeling. HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU: • As a result of the structural changes in the muscles, it becomes harder to move. This means your muscle responses will be less immediate, as well as being weaker. This is largely down…

CALENDAR KEY MARCH ■ 4-5 March Abu Dhabi, UAE, WTS Olympic distance ■ 12-13 March Mooloolaba, Australia, Triathlon World Cup ■ 19-20 March 19-20 Buffalo City, South Africa APRIL ■ 2-3 April New Plymouth, New Zealand, Triathlon World Cup ■ 3 April Windsor Duathlon, England ■ 9-10 April Gold Coast, Australia, WTS Olympic distance ■ 16-17 April Chengdu, China Triathlon World Cup ■ 23-24 April Cape Town, South Africa, WTS Sprint distance ■ 23-24 April Penrith, Australia MAY ■ 7-8 May Huatulco, Mexico, and Cagliari, Italy, Triathlon World Cup ■ ■ 14-15 May Yokohama, Japan, Triathlon World Cup ■ 14-15 May Aguilas, Spain ■ 26-29 May Lisbon, Portugal JUNE ■ 4-5 June Besancon, France ■ 4-5 June Strathclyde, Scotland ■ 11-12 June Leeds, England, WTS Olympic distance ■ 12 June…

WHAT IRONMAN 70.3 MIDDLE EAST CHAMPIONSHIP, BAHRAIN WHEN 5 DECEMBER 2015 WHERE BAHRAIN WINNERS DANIELA RYF (SUI) 3:28:20 BART AERNOUTS (BEL) 3:11:15 What a year 2015 was for double Ironman World Champion Daniela Ryf. Scooping the inaugural Ironman 70.3 title in Bahrain meant a hat trick in the Nasser bin Hamad Triple Crown series and a record prize purse of one million US dollars – the biggest win in the sport to date. The 28-year-old champion had already won the first two races of the series in Dubai in February and at the World Championships, in Zell Am See-Kaprun, in August. Her confident win in Dubai on 5 December, after leading from start to finish, sealed a lucrative and history-making win. Very strong winds on race morning led to the…

When you race a triathlon you cannot expect to go at 100 per cent intensity for the entire thing. Pace judgement is critical if you want to execute the best swim, bike and run possible. However, it’s hard to accurately measure your intensity on the bike without a power meter. Here are three common mistakes triathletes make on the bike, causing fatigue without any overall benefit, and how to fix them using a power meter. 1. PACING The problem: Attempting to ride at a constant power output that is too high. Sort it: The best way to race a triathlon is to spread your energy out appropriately between the three disciplines so that you stay strong throughout. You can use a power meter to help you gauge your race pace…

FAST FOOD TO FIX YOUR BODY A GREAT, high-calorie warming winter meal with a high level of carbohydrates for replenishment after training. Lima beans, commonly known as butter beans add great content to stews, salads and vegetable dishes. They are full of nutrients and as a bean are high in fibre (around 33 per cent of your recommended daily allowance), carbohydrate, protein, healthy fats and mineral content such as molybdenum & iron. Half a cup of lima beans contains approximately 35 milligrams of calcium, helping keep bones strong and 353 milligrams of potassium for normal function of your muscles and heart. It will also contribute 9.1 milligrams of vitamin C, which is about 10 per cent of your daily needs. This helps the iron absorption into the blood. The same…

BRAND NEW BIKES PUT THROUGH THEIR PACES 1 FIRST RIDE Boardman hasn’t compromised easy speed and enjoyable efficiency to increase comfort. The head-tube is slightly higher than their race models and the top-tube reach is racy, encouraging a naturally efficient stretched position. The frameset is under 900g with a similarly lightweight fork and it rolls easily on Boardman’s new SLR Elite Five 28mm deep wheelset. 2 FAST RIDE The forged arms of the FSA Gossamer Pro cranks might not be as stiff as Shimano equivalents, but add power-friendly chainstays and down-tube to the low weight of the bike and it gains speed with ease. Despite no aero profiling on the frame it’s very keen to hang on to it too, taking on the challenge of rising roads with determined drive…

OFFER 1. DIGITAL EDITION FREE TRIATHLON PLUS APP AND SAMPLE ISSUE PAY JUST £27.99 FOR 13 ISSUES AND SAVE 28%* OFFER 2. UK PRINT EDITION WITH FREE GIFT FREE HIGH5 ENERGY PACK This month we are offering subscribers this fantastic FREE HIGH5 pack of goodies. This essential pack contains enough award-winning nutrition to boost you on your training, or keep you at your best on race days. Pack contains an assortment of best selling flavours, product shot for representation only, flavours may vary. PACK CONTAINS: 1x DRINK BOTTLE 1x ZERO EXTREME SPORTS DRINK 3x ZERO SPORTS DRINK 6x ENERGY GEL POUCHES GET YOURS FREE WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE 2 EASY WAYS TO ORDER…

£2,799.99 boardmanbikes.com Will the Brownlee’s favourite brand satisfy our hard-to-please test team? “The AiR is a very relaxing place to be, however long your ride” BOARDMAN HAS gone for breadth not depth in their women’s range. That means the “Brownlee approved” AiR aero road bike is bracketed in performance and purpose terms by the SLR Endurance all rounder in both conventional and disc brake versions and the out and out aero triathlon/time trial ATT bike. FRAME AND FORKS The AiR shares a lot of design DNA with the ATT too. That’s particularly obvious in the fork, which has a very swollen top end that creates a smoothly aerodynamic garage for the Tektro brake that’s mounted directly on to the rear. A deep ovalised down-tube, bladed seat-tube and matching seatpost with…

EVEN WITH ONLY four bikes we managed to bag an impressive range of rides that cover almost every competitive need. If you want a particularly precise, direct feeling ride with outstanding brakes and a powerful, masculine fit then the Disc Cayo Donna definitely lives up to the Focus name. If you want a bike that’s so well balanced and easily efficient with its speed that it almost hides just how quick it really is then the Boardman AiR is a proper top class package. If you’re after a conventional road bike then Cannondale’s Supersix Evo climbs, corners and descends like a dream and stays more comfortable than most specifically designed long-distance bikes. When it comes to the varied needs of a multi sport athlete though one bike here ticked every…

Coaches often talk about going faster and longer. However, we don’t know what’s actually happening to our bodies when we try to overload them in order to stimulate adaptation. Here’s how to move forward safely this season. THE SCIENCE Muscle fibres make up the muscle structure. For the muscle to contract, the fibres need to contract, and how powerfully this happens depends on the number you have and their individual strength. The bad news is that you cannot develop more muscle fibres through training: you are born with a specific number and that’s your lot. This means you need to use the ones you have effectively. For the human body to get stronger, we have to stress muscle fibres beyond their habitual level. Therefore, the principle of overload is simple:…

Riding a single speed bike might be considered somewhat retro, but perhaps it’s time to reconsider the benefits to improve performance. FREEWHEEL OR FIXED GEAR? Most single speed bikes have “flip flop” hubs on the rear wheel. This means you can convert between freewheel and fixed by turning the rear wheel around. Start with a freewheel gear so you can stop spinning if you need to. When you get fitter and technically proficient, experiment with a fixed sprocket. WHAT IS THE RIGHT GEARING ? To work this out, ride your geared bike along the routes you will use on your single speed. Try out a number of gears until you find the one that suits you best. Use a gear ratio chart (bikecalc.com/gear ratios) to convert your chosen gear into…