With this year’s London Triathlon still fresh in the memory, the organisers have confirmed that tickets for next year’s event will go on sale tomorrow (Friday 17 October), with four different race types available.
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Commonly known as the world’s largest triathlon, more than 13,000 athletes of all abilities took part this year, including Olympic swimmer Mark Foster, road cyclist Rob Hayles and TV presenter Jennie Falconer.
Next year’s event will take place on 8/9 August 2015 and offer four race types: Super Sprint, Sprint, Olympic and Olympic Plus, as well as the option to compete as part of a team relay. It will again form part of the British Triathlon Super Series, along with Blenheim Triathlon, Tri Liverpool and Windsor Triathlon (coming into its 25th anniversary).
This year’s elite races were won by Emma Pallant and Mark Buckingham (report here), and you can check out our photo galleries here and here.
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To secure race spot in the capital next year head to www.thelondontriathlon.co.uk.
Recently I was lying on a table while a physio friend of mine inflicted the kind of pain on my buttocks you’d normally have to pay serious cash for in Soho. As I lay there squawking like a castrated parrot every time he elbowed me in the hamstrings, he engaged me in small talk about how my season was going, presumably because he was tired of looking at someone who had the same startled expression as a pensioner who’s just heard a noise downstairs.
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I was happy about this conversational diversion because the previous evening, despite having a torn glute, I’d managed to dredge a new PB for my local 10-mile time-trial up from somewhere (22:35mins, in case you’re wondering). The presence of my tormentor meant I had a new audience for the story, having already carped on about it to everyone else I know.
Upon hearing of my achievement he replied: “It’s amazing you’re still setting PBs at your age.” As backhanded compliments go this was worse than being called a Nuneaton beauty queen. But before I had time to join in the witty banter by laughingly smacking him with a right uppercut, he delivered the killer blow: “It just goes to show that getting old need not be a barrier to performance.” That one really stung.
Age-related injuries are all the rage at the moment and my friend Neill Morgan has recently been under the surgeon’s knife to get two new Achilles tendons fitted, which is a bit like putting carbon wheels on a wheelie bin. Meanwhile, my injury has forced me to realise that, unless I can invent a flux capacitor, my best sporting days may soon be behind me.
This is a difficult notion to comprehend because there are still so many athletic goals I want to achieve, such as covering 100m in under 10secs, which I’ve only managed once before when I fell off the end of Brighton pier on a stag do.
Even before my injury I was feeling my age due to watching the para-swimming at the Commonwealth Games and realising I was slower over 400m than a man with no arms. But now that my ‘you’re getting on a bit’ injury is making my running so slow that I’m being outpaced by plate tectonics, I’ve started wondering whether I should scrap the Ironmans and start targeting races that reflect my decrepitude.
It was for this reason that I decided to enter the Brompton World Championships, a genteel race for owners of the famous folding bikes who are happy to ride around at the speed of coastal fog and where fashion is prized over form. The race takes place over four laps of Goodwood motor racing circuit (15km) with 600 riders observing a strict dress code of jacket, shirt, tie and the expression of an indignant gecko. I opted for a full tweed suit with waistcoat and a pipe clenched determinedly between my teeth, which may have been a mistake because it was a boiling hot day and even before the start my back was sweatier than Eric Pickles in a cake shop.
I’ve owned a Brompton for about five years after deciding to try and live petrol free. Initially this was a nightmare because it took me ages to push the car to work, so instead I opted for a small-wheeled folding bike guaranteed to make school kids wet themselves laughing at me. This was the first time I’d tried racing anyone on it (unless you count every time I commute through London) and I was surprised how seriously many people were taking the event – there were Lycra shorts, cleats and even the odd aero helmet on show.
The race began Le Mans style with a sprint to the bikes, which were then hurriedly unfolded before we surged on to the track. Despite my intention to simply pedal round like a gentleman my inner-triathlete took over about 0.5secs into the race and I instantly started stamping on the pedals as hard as anyone in brogues can. Despite being distinctly under-geared I finished the race in a creditable 27mins, bagging a top-10 finish in the senior citizens (over 40s) category with the added satisfaction of out-sprinting some French arseflute who’d been drafting me for three laps. Clearly continentals are no match for a man powered by fine British tailoring.
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I can honestly say that I haven’t enjoyed a race as much as this one for years, and even though I nearly died of tweed-induced heatstroke I will definitely be on the lookout for more gentlemanly races in the future. Until then, though, it’s back to the physio, who wants to use an ultrasound machine to zap my buttocks with electricity. Although after seeing how much this treatment costs I’ve decided to get the treatment free by mooning at a busload of pensioners and waiting for the police to come and taser me.
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It looks like European nations delivered four of the five fastest average finish times at this year’s Ironman World Championship, with Spanish athletes delivering an impressive 10:19hrs average for the 140.6 miles.
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That’s according to the latest round of analysis from tri statistician Raymond Britt, who says that the next four fastest average finish times were taken up by athletes from France, Belgium, Brazil and Switzerland. The UK holds its own with an average of 11:23hrs, despite sending a large contingent:
The RunTri.com founder also looked at the correlation between fast bike and run splits – in other words, how many athletes rode the bike hard and left enough in the tank to have a great run.
He breaks the results down into four groups: 1. Fast and Balanced; 2. Energy to Spare for a fast run; 3. Left it on the Bike Course; 4. Smooth and Steady for a slow bike and slow run. You want to be #1 or #4, according to Britt:
“With the best-of-the-best triathletes racing Kona, a clear majority are in quadrant #1 and #4,” he says. “Outliers in #2 and #3 were either racing too cautiously or rode too hard and suffered on the run, respectively.”
(Main image: Paul Phillips)
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Did you race Kona this year? Where are you in the graph? Let us know in the comments!
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Want to experience what it’s like to ride in the pro peloton? Hurt specialists The Sufferfest have teamed up with Team Giant-Shimano to create a new training video that casts you, the viewer, as a rookie plucked from obscurity to join your heroes.
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“When this amateur, this unknown Sufferlandrian came through, beating some of the best riders on the planet and won the Tour of Sufferlandria, the whole world took notice,” said Wade Wallace, editor of CyclingTips.com.au. “So it was no surprise when big teams started calling the Sufferlandrian team director Gunther Von Agony.”
The teaser video sees Team Giant-Shimano’s John Degenkolb shouting at the Sufferlandrian recruit as he fights to merit his inclusion in the team during stages of this year’s Tour of California and Tour de Suisse:
The Sufferfest & Team Giant-Shimano: The Rookie: Trailer from The Sufferfest on Vimeo.
The 55min downloadable video features a workout created by elite coach Neal Henderson of Apex Coaching, and is based around three 10min high-intensity race simulation intervals:
The Sufferfest: The Rookie: Sample Footage from The Sufferfest on Vimeo.
The Rookie is the 19th cycling training video by The Sufferfest and is available for download from their website here.
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For news and reviews of all the latest tri kit, head to our Gear section
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With this year’s Challenge Vichy done and dusted, the organisers have released the 2014 highlights, with a particular focus on the age-group races this year….
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Around 2,000 athletes took part in central France last August, with defending champion Andrej Vistica (CRO) winning the men’s race and Hungary’s Gabriella Zelinka overtaking 2012 winner Martina Dogana on the run to clinch the women’s race (race report here).
Challenge Vichy 2014 L’autre film from les films du grand large on Vimeo.
Next year’s race will be held on August 29-30 and entries should open very soon on the event’s website here.
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Did you race Challenge Vichy this year? Let us know in the comments below!
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New on the scene in 2013, the Clumber Park Off-Road Duathlon is now in its 4th year and attracts competitors for an exhilarating combination of woodland biking and trail running. The 3,800-acre National Trust Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire is the setting, a beautiful parkland with vast areas of woodland.
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The course’s two runs take in internal roads and trails, with the occasional hill thrown in to test the legs. The 16km bike features narrow technical woodland trails that occasionally open out into straights where you can pass the opposition.
If you fancy repeating the experience, Clumber forms the first round of the Midlands Off-Road Series, with two further events in November, the Evil Sheriff Duathlon and the Nottingham Off-Road Duathlon.
For a good all-round test of fitness and an early winter workout, Clumber should appeal. Darren Sharpe of RAF Triathlon, first in the 2013 men’s race in a time of 1:13:41, and series winner for the 30-39 age group, gives us his tips for some fun in the forest…
Kit
“The weather can be unpredictable in late October,” says Darren, “so bring plenty of clothing options – long-sleeved tops/arm-warmers, base layers and full-finger gloves. If it’s very cold, your glasses can steam up easily as the air isn’t moving as quickly in the tree sections of the course.
“Try to avoid mountain bike shoes with buckles as they’ll slow you down in transition. A hardtail mountain bike with front suspension is the ideal set-up for this course and it’s 29er-friendly as there aren’t too many technical sections.”
The first run
“The 5km run course starts on a downhill section of road. At the bottom of the hill the road bends before you start the climb, which is off road. The trails are hard packed, but an off-road shoe is recommended as there are some muddy areas.
“It’s worth walking round transition after racking your bike to see the entrance and exits for the run and bike as the start/finish line is around half a mile from transition.”
The bike
“The 16km bike course is fast and mainly flat with a couple of short, sharp climbs. Make sure you’re in the right gear as you approach the climb as it can catch you out, leave you with no option but to walk/run up it.
“There are also areas of the course where you need to ride over tree roots. Watch out for these if it’s wet as they’ll be very slippery. The course is two laps with a short section out and back to pick up the loop.”
The second run
“The second run is an out-and-back loop using part of the same route from the first run. It’s only 3km, so there are no excuses for leaving anything in the tank!”
Where: Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire
What: 5km run, 16km bike, 3km run
More info: www.onestepbeyond.org.uk
(Main image: Mark Epton)
Related: Clumber Park Duathlon – in pics
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Are you racing Clumber Park this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!
Despite the promise of “rivers of mud” at the official course recce, this year’s Xterra Worlds in Hawaii delivered blue skies and slightly cooler temperatures for a stellar end to the 2014 off-road season.
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Bermuda’s Flora Duffy won her first Worlds title despite a hard crash on the bike, while Spain’s Ruben Ruzafa claimed his third title in assertive style – full race report here.
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(Images: Xterra)
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Did you race in Maui last weekend? How did you get on? Let us know in the comments!
The world of optical heart rate monitors for athletes is growing fast – Fitbit has just taken the wraps off its new Surge, a ‘Fitness Super Watch’ which combines eight (count ‘em) sensors including GPS and optical HRM.
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Unveiled alongside the more affordable Charge (£99) and Charge HR (£119) models – which combine activity tracking, Caller ID and in the latter’s case an optical heart rate monitor – the Surge will cost £199 when it lands early next year.
Coming in three different colours (black, blue and our pick, tangerine), the Surge features built-in GPS to track pace, distance, elevation and more, and its smartwatch features include Caller ID, text alerts and mobile music control.
Claimed battery life is an impressive seven days, and other features include automatic sleep detection, multisport metrics, a backlit LCD touchscreen and food intake tracking.
But it’s the optical heart rate monitor which is likely to garner most interest, based on PurePulse technology for automatic, continuous heart rate tracking.
We’ll be getting our hands on one shortly to see how it stacks up against similar tech from Mio and TomTom…
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More info from Fitbit.com/UK.
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The dates are confirmed – triathlon’s test events for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held on 1-2 August next year, with qualification points up for grabs and huge crowds expected.
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The routes will take athletes along Copacabana beach on the restaurant-lined Avenida Atlantica, with the Olympic course also climbing through local neighbourhoods – along the same route as the real thing in 2016.
The 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Olympic Qualification Event will feature a start list of 75 men and women, and will offer the maximum level of Olympic qualification points available, putting it on par with the World Triathlon Series Grand Final. Neither prize money nor ITU World Cup or World Triathlon Series points will be available at the test event however.
Speaking to 220 this morning, top British athlete Jodie Stimpson said: “I had heard a few people talking about the possibility of a world cup test event being held in August and am really excited to be able to go over and race on the course that will be the next Olympic course. Next year for me is all about trying to get on the Olympic team so going to race the test event obviously will play a big part in that plan.”
2013 WTS champ Non Stanford added: “It’ll be great to finally race on the proposed 2016 Olympic course. It will more than likely stand as a selection race for TeamGB athletes too, so it will be a key event in our calendar. The course also looks really exciting; the bike is technical and hilly which is great news for us.”
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The 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Paratriathlon Event will mimic the Paralympic Games course, with a minimum of 60 athletes set to participate. Qualification criteria for the test event will match that of a World Paratriathlon Event, and points earned at the race will go towards both Paralympic Qualification and ITU World Paratriathon Rankings.
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Following this morning’s news that triathlon’s test events for the Rio 2016 Olympics will take place on 1-2 August next year, 220 columnist Tim Heming offers his thoughts…
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It’s clearly not been easy to secure a date and fix the course for the necessary test event for Rio and the ITU are cutting it fine.
They have ensured it will be a strong field by making it a Level 1 Olympic qualifier, but ideally this race would have been confirmed at the end of the summer so it could take its rightful place in the World Series.
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Instead, it will now not be part of the Series, and has been crowbarred in alongside the 10 existing events, up from eight in 2013 and seven from 2012.
It really throws a spanner in for preplanned World Series schedules, splitting up the three European races and adding to the extensive and expensive travel from Abu Dhabi to Australasia, Japan, Europe and North America.
On the plus side, we really are now witnessing a global series and athletes do not have to compete in every ITU event and can still gain maximum World Series or Olympic qualification points.
What it will do is whet the appetite for 2016. The Copacabana backdrop will offer some stunning vistas and let’s hope the course throws in enough challenging hills on the bike to make it a real test.
It’s an equally exciting time for Paratriathlon, a debut test event, ahead of a debut games, whose crusading competitors will relish the opportunity.
It doesn’t seem many months since thousands crammed into Hyde Park for one of the spectacles of 2012. With this announcement, Rio has been brought fully into focus. It’s set to be a busy and intriguing year of racing. Let the fun and Games begin.
(Main image: Mteixeira62)
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Do you think they got the dates right for next year? Let us know in the comments below!