Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2015 i Triathlon Plus

IT SEEMS like only yesterday that we were screaming on the Brownlee boys and Helen Jenkins in the Hyde Park epic that was the London 2012 Olympics. But already the selection process for the team to take us into the Rio Olympics next year is well underway. British Triathlon has put forward the names of 11 athletes for the start list of the Rio test event being held on 1-2 August. Earning a generous clutch of international medals since London means Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee have automatically earned places on the start line along with Non Stanford, Helen Jenkins, Vicky Holland and Jodie Stimpson. All eyes were on the ETU European Cup in Antalya, Turkey early in May to see which of the 13 GBR athletes would overcome the rough…

When Paula Radcliffe blasted round the London Marathon in 2003 wearing white medical compression sleeves on each calf, she set the running world on fire. Radcliffe had long been a fan of compression wear, but after this public outing everyone in the sporting world was discussing the benefits, perceived or real, of compression wear. Like all elite trends compression has trickled down from the pro-world into the mainstream, but should you invest in some high tech compression gear and what can it actually do for you? WHAT IS COMPRESSION? Put simply compression is the application of pressure to the muscles which then frees up the venous flow of deoxygenated blood back to the heart. The thinking behind compression wear is that by improving the movement of blood around the body,…

Buying clip on aero bars: WHAT TO LOOK FOR Arm rests Non-slip, soft materials are generally better, allowing you to get into position and stay there in the most comfort. Rough or thick padding can get a bit much in very hot weather. Legality Draft-legal triathlons demand a bridge between the bars and that clip-ons are no longer than the leading edge of your brake levers. For draft-illegal triathlons, no bridge is required, and the bars can be longer. Extensions The bar extensions can come in a number of different variations – S-bend, straight, ski. What suits you best depends on your preferred tuck and whether the clamps are mounted above or below your handlebars. Adjustability Good adjustability results in the best riding position. Look for fore and aft adjustment…

£400 evanscycles.com “There’s an unmistakable sense of spring and buoyancy that we’d praise in a bike at twice the price” THE 14 SPEED spec of the Fuji looks poor on paper but the outstanding ride quality of the frame and forks plus some really neat design detail shine straight through direct spec comparisons when you hit the road. FRAME AND FORKS The 2.5 is the cheapest bike in the Fuji range that gets the custom double butted A2-SL Sportive frameset and it’s a beauty. The hydraulically pressure formed main tubes include a down tube that switches from tall and narrow for headtube support to flat and broad for maximum pedalling stiffness at the bottom bracket. The broad, shallow top tube gets a subtle curve between the tall headtube and skinny…

Open water swimming is the one part of triathlon that instills fear in many. Even if you’re a strong, confident swimmer mass starts can still be daunting. If you don’t get it right, you can add minutes onto your swim time or end up in an undesirable situation. Preparation is key but so is strategy. Being the most technical discipline and also as the swim forms the start of your event, it’s a good idea to set off on a positive note for the rest of the race. 1 BREATHING A little focus on your breathing will make a huge difference to your performance and how you feel during the first leg of your event. Some triathlon events encourage competitors to get pumped up and excited before a race, which…

You may not realise it but your brain plays a key role in your performance and positive thinking will help you to not only overcome any fears or doubts, it will also help you towards a better race experience. Thinking the right way is something that will take practise, but once it becomes an integral part of your performance preparation, it will become second nature to you. We all spend so much time training to ensure our bodies are in optimum physical condition, but how long do we spend training our minds to win? Every successful athlete will practice the act of positive thinking, whether it is visualising the perfect race, writing down lessons learnt from past races or listing out key objectives and what they need to do to…

TATA KIDS OF STEEL One of the world’s largest and longest running children’s triathlon series, run by the British Triathlon Trust (British Triathlon and Tata Steel), is now in its ninth year and by the end of 2015 more than 70,000 youngsters will have taken part. One former Kid of Steel is Josh Jones, 18, last year’s British age group triathlon champion. There are 10 events held between May and July with a special final race at London’s iconic Olympic venue The London Aquatics Centre and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on July 14. Entries are through schools only so contact your school directly to see if they can get involved. Bikes and helmets are provided and entry is free. tatasteeltriathlon.com IRONKIDS Entry numbers have been doubled to meet demand…

DETAILS What Tallington Lakes triathlon Where Tallington Lakes Leisure Park, Stamford, Lincolnshire When Sunday 5 July 2015 SET NEAR the historic town of Stamford and the cathedral city of Peterborough, a 90 minute train ride from London, this inaugural race promises triathlon heaven with perfect racing conditions and entertainment to keep the family happy, too. As you glide through the warm, clean spring-fed lake, pedal through the undulating Lincolnshire countryside and finish with a breezy run through picturesque scenery, the rest of the family can water ski, wakeboard, dinghy sail or canoe until it’s time to cheer you across the finish line. A bike mechanic will be on hand before the race to help with technical issues and you can book a wellearned post race massage with a sports therapist.…

WITH SUPER BIKE prices now regularly costing over £10,000, it’s easy to fall into the trap of forgetting that £500 is still a huge amount of money to spend on a bike. Thankfully all the bikes in our test impressed us with the level of performance and also the breadth of potential ride characters you can find at the fiercely competitive sub £500 price point. With all bikes here using a butted alloy frame the most obvious differences are in transmission spec. There are seven, eight and nine speed Shimano set ups on test and you can even get 10 or 11 speed gears for around £600 if you choose a bike from an online seller. Better transmission doesn’t just mean more gears, but better quality shifts and a longer…

£499.95 boardmanbikes.com “The Road Sport uses a great frame to deliver a superb ride for the money” WITH THE bike tinkering heritage of their legendary namesake matched to the massive buying and selling power of Halfords, Boardman has been the benchmark for low price, top performance bikes for years. The Road Sport is no exception and uses a great frame to deliver a superb ride for the money, too. FRAME AND FORKS An all metal, rather than semi carbon fork is a big part of why the Boardman is the heaviest bike on test. The slim alloy blades mated to a steel top end actually ride remarkably well, flattering the already smooth frame feel. The frame is also cosmetically smooth with all the main welds filed down for a carbon…

1 STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING Developing a level of athletic strength and power makes you injury resistant. Add strength exercises to your training programme once a week to facilitate good running form and core activation. Don’t use machines as they work isolated muscles through a specific range of movement and provide no functional benefit. Remember to train the movement not the muscle so do exercises that use the major muscle groups which are activated during the run phase. These include squats, lunges, single leg deadlifts, step ups, and also some dynamic and postural core muscle work such as planks. Build up slowly eventually adding weights into these exercises. 2 TECHNIQUE Incorporating drills into your run programme will help refine your stride and in turn, lead to reduced risk of injury. Work…

You spend more time on the bike during a triathlon than anywhere else and running off the bike in good shape should be the ultimate aim for any triathlete. Therefore what you consume on the bike is of utmost importance to make sure you have sufficient energy for the run. The bike leg is the perfect opportunity to top up on nutrition while not working at too high intensity, yet why do so many triathletes still get this wrong? Here’s how to get it right. 1 EAT SOLID FOOD If you’re racing longer distances it’s especially important to fuel effectively, but think about what food you’re taking on. If you are piling in the gels at this stage you could be in trouble on the run. Pro cyclists eat solid…

This six week training plan is designed to help you race your fastest Olympic distance triathlon (1.5k, 40k, 10k). It takes you up to race day and includes a one week taper into your big event. It assumes you’re already training for swimming, cycling and running, so it’s not for complete beginners. You’ll need to be proficient enough to cover the distances separately before you begin the plan. Each week there are two bike sessions, two runs, two or three swims and a brick session. Week three is an active recovery period, when you get to put your feet up a bit more. With six weeks to go before you race, there’s no time for messing about. The bulk of your sessions need to be race specific in terms of…

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET YOUR MONTH OFF TO A FLYER OUR DREAMS of seeing the Brownlee boys side by side on the ITU World Series podium were put on hold once again after a bitter-sweet race in Hyde Park on 31 May. After strong swims, they exited the Serpentine in fifth and sixth place. But while Alistair went on to obliterate the field on the run, a puncture at the start of the bike leg cost Jonny precious seconds. The younger Brownlee soldiered on and finished in 42nd place, two minutes behind his sibling, which cost him valuable points on the series scoreboard. Jonny now lies in seventh place on the leader board with Alistair’s win propelling him into fifth position. Javier Gomez still tops the board and Alistair…

KATE STRONG Age 36 Day Job Nutritionist Career Highlights Gold in World Championships, China; IT WAS after university while travelling in Latin America when I first came across Ironman and vowed to complete one. Back in the UK I completed my first 70.3 on very little training, but after meeting my long-term partner, I put my dreams on hold. We moved to Australia and ran a guesthouse in the Blue Mountains where I felt increasingly isolated and miserable. I started running at night when he was asleep. My lungs burned and my legs ached, but I loved it and I began to feel free. When I called off our wedding just six days before I dusted off my bike and went for a 165km ride. I signed up for my…

INGREDIENTS Serves 2 400g new potatoes 2 salmon fillets Bunch of asparagus 1 lemon Fresh dill METHOD 1 Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. 2 Halve any big potatoes. Add to roasting dish, toss in olive oil and pop in oven for 20 mins. 3 Season the salmon fillet with salt and pepper, add a squeeze of lemon. Make a space in the roasting dish and place the fish skin side down for another 20 mins (or until cooked). Steam asparagus for five minutes. Serve with chopped dill and a wedge of lemon. SALMON Salmon is an excellent nutrient dense training food. It’s an ideal source of grade one protein as 25 per cent of calories are from protein, which means all of the essential amino acids are present in sufficient…

Sprint distance races are a great way to get into the sport of triathlon, but that doesn’t make them easy. The relentless pace, the sense of competition, wind, hills and cold choppy waters -they’re certainly no walk in the park. In such a short event (750m, 20km, 5km) tiny margins take on great significance too. By the time you waste 15-seconds in transition or 20-seconds on the bike, you’ve slipped from third to seventh in your age group. So whether you’re aiming for your first or fastest ever sprint tri, this essential guide will help you to avoid common mistakes, train better and race faster. “Tri suits allow you to do an entire triathlon without having to waste time getting changed” GET THE RIGHT GEAR 1 THE BIKE You can…

WHEN 2 MAY WHERE ST GEORGE, UTAH WINNERS TIM DON (GBR) 3:51.56 HEATHER WURTELE (CAN) 4.17.58 TIM DON struck a jubilant strongman pose as he ran towards the finish line at St George celebrating his second Ironman victory in less than a month. Fresh from successfully defending his title at Ironman 70.3 Brazil in April, he looked strong from the start emerging from the swim within a minute of the leaders and quickly catching them on the bike. Thanks to a strong run, reigning champion Brett McMahon (CAN) managed to shake off a few contenders and looked set to take his second victory. But GBR’s Don refused to give up and hung on in second place. His persistence paid off and at nine miles McMahon began to falter. Don saw…

£399 wiggle.co.uk “The pearly white paint and blue panel details create a really clean look and the short head tube sets up a naturally racy position” VERENTI IS the house brand of online bike, swim, run megastore Wiggle and they can always be relied upon to deliver good looking, well equipped bikes that won’t break the bank. The Verenti is particularly well shaped for more competitive riders too, but its performance doesn’t quite measure up when you attempt to put the power down. FRAME AND FORKS Running from front to rear it’s great to see carbon bladed forks on the Technique. Carbon fibre is generally lighter than alloy and steel and it naturally damps more vibration and dissipates shock better. An alloy steerer tube and crown at the top keeps…

£450 decathlon.co.uk “The Triban doesn’t just carry a serious component payload for the price, it also delivers a great performance” B: TWIN IS the house brand of French sports hypermarket Decathlon and the new Triban 520 is the best equipped bike you’ll find in any shop and better than most direct sell online options too. It doesn’t just carry a serious component payload for the price, it also delivers a great performance for a wide range of riders. FRAME AND FORKS The heavily tapered carbon blade forks complete with mudguard and low rider rack bosses immediately prove that B:Twin haven’t cut corners on the chassis. The integrated headset headtube and hydraulically pressure formed, semi-geometric tube sections build into the only sub 10kg here to prove there’s no excess metal in…

It’s so easy to slip into, isn’t it? That very comfortable training mode where you know what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it. Wednesday morning? Long reps in the pool, of course. Thursday evening? Long run with the group, same distance and same course as always. Friday late afternoon? Turbo session in the garage, 6 x 6 minutes at anaerobic threshold, recovery spin one minute. And so it goes on. Remember the old American on holiday in Europe cliché? If it’s Sunday, it must be France. That’s a lot how many of us approach our training. And if we repeat the same training regime, what happens to our racing performance? No answer required. The thing is the comfort zone is exactly that, comfortable. We don’t…