Before I begin, here is my normal disclaimer:

• These are static images taken at a single moment during the race.
• Camera angles can distort positions.
• I’ve also started viewing multiple sources other than the images below to make my recommendations.

I’m also assuming that athletes have arrived at these positions through a deliberate process, supported by trial and error, bike fit professionals, and some form of aerodynamic testing.

Photos by Kevin Mackinnon

1. Hayden Wilde – 1:58:51

The Olympic Silver Medalist seems to have adapted nicely to the time trial position. In my experience, most World Triathlon-focused athletes can either go full-blown TT position or something in between, as you’ll see further down the list. Hayden rides a pretty standard position that is a bit more reminiscent of the positions used just before we started seeing the trend of taller and longer setups. He rides taller in the front, but doesn’t ride as long. What I like about his position is that his bar drop is in just the right spot, allowing him to relax onto the front end and keep his head low.

2. Rico Bogen – 1:59:02

Rico rides the most aggressive position of the top 10 bike splits. He looks like what a ProTour rider would look like if they didn’t have to abide by the UCI rules. He is very low and long, with the front end so low that he forces his head into a very nice position. I’m not sure how comfortable he is, but if he hasn’t already, I’d experiment with coming up in the front to see what that would do to his CDA.

3. Justus Nieschlag – 1:59:07

It’s hard to get a great look at Justus’s position in these photos, but he has a solid setup. His front end isn’t that low, but he does a really nice job of hiding behind his hands in a very relaxed position. He rides what I’d call a moderate reach—not tight, but not overly stretched out, either.

4. Jelle Geens – 1:59:08

I struggle to write this because I’m biased by his result. He won the race! This doesn’t mean that he can’t improve. I’ve worked with world champions that didn’t want to change a thing until it stopped working. I’d always say that “failure forces change.”

If Jelle hadn’t performed so well during the back half of the year, I’d rip his position apart! Jelle doesn’t ride as steep as some of the other top riders, and this is exacerbated by not having great anterior pelvic tilt. Some of this pelvic position can be attributed to his front end being overly tall and the reach being short.

If I were working with Jelle, I don’t think I’d do anything drastic in 2025, as you don’t want to make big changes to a formula that seems to be working. The changes I’d make would focus on getting him more familiar with the mechanics and posture of a good TT position. I would extend his reach and work on his pelvic position, which could result in moving the saddle forward, or by him adjusting to a more forward position on the saddle. I’d keep the bar height where it is if adding length achieved the desired result.

5. Kyle Smith – 1:59:09

Kyle is another athlete who rides a very aggressive position—steep, low, and long. A few things I’d do here: 1. Lower his saddle, 2. Raise the front end, and 3. Add more angulation to the bars using the Canyon fairing to shield the head and body, similar to what you see Sam Laidlow and Patrick Lange doing.

6. Leo Bergere – 1:59:29

Leo is another ITU athlete who, like Wilde, looks really great on a TT bike. I don’t think I’d change anything with his position at this time. He rides forward with good pelvic tilt, a great front-end position that elongates his torso while keeping his head nice and low.

7. Henri Schoeman – 2:00:07

I went to Henri’s Instagram account to see if I could find more images/videos of him on his TT bike. It seems like he looks a bit different in all of them. This suggests he either does a lot of experimenting or his position is primarily driven by his posture at the time. Henri is somewhat limited by the geometry of his bike. He rides more rearward of the bottom bracket with a relatively tall front end. When you don’t ride as far forward, in order to maintain an open hip angle, you will typically need to raise the front end. Henri does a great job of working around this by manipulating his posture on the bike, sinking low onto the bike and keeping his head low.

8. Ruben Zepuntke – 2:01:17

Ruben rides one of the longest positions in the top 10. To classify this position, I’d go with steep, long, tall and narrow. I have seen images of Ruben racing where it looks like he could do a better job of keeping his head down, but that is just from observing a few pics from his Instagram account.

9. Harry Palmer – 2:01:29

It looks like Harry visited the Silverstone wind tunnel in November of 2024 with his bike sponsor Argon 18. Having participated in many of these sessions, I’d be curious to know how much time the athletes actually had in the tunnel and if they were also working with a bike fit professional. I will write more about this in my “Pillars of Speed” series, but I’m always happy to see an athlete exit the tunnel without having their chins on the front wheel, having thrown all bike fit principles out the window as they chase the lowest unsustainable CDA.

Harry does a great job with his front end, keeping his head low and hiding behind his hands. I think when you’ve had the chance to do some aero testing, you’ll see how big of a difference this makes, and it will incentivize you to focus on it throughout the race.

Harry doesn’t ride very far forward on the bike, which could limit how much he can lower his front end without impacting his biomechanics via a closed hip angle. With how well he postures on the front end, I’m not as bothered by his saddle position.

10. Gregory Barnaby – 2:01:45

Greg has a nice position. As I mentioned in the Kona bike article, he rides steep, long, low and keeps his head in a nice position. I do think, if he has any stability issues or feels like he is falling off the front of the bike, he could experiment with more bar tilt for extra support.

-Mat

The post Taupō Rides: The Positions of the Men’s Top 10 Bike Splits from 70.3 Worlds first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

After arriving in Lahti last year feeling like he was ready to push for the podium, Jason West ended up getting sick and not even being able to start the race. It was one of the few down points of a stellar season that included wins at Clash Miami and Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos, along with podium finishes at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, the PTO US Open and the PTO Asian Open.

He’s back for another go at the 70.3 Worlds, but arrives in Taupo after a self-admittedly tough season. West spent much of the first half of the year fighting through injury and pain, and after taking a long break halfway through the year, has been steadily building back to his 2023 form. While most of the pros here in New Zealand are yearning for a break after a long season, West would love to keep things rolling.

The 31-year-old American will hit the course here in Taupo on the new Ventum Tempus.

“It’s been awesome to be on the new bike,” he said. “I think they did an incredible job with it. It handles really, really well … the responsiveness of it. It feels more like a road bike, which is great, ’cause you get on your bike and you feel like you can whip around corners. You feel really connected with your bike, like it’s almost an extension of you.”

West has also been impressed with the new bike’s front end – “it is super adjustable and super clean, and they are continuing to develop more things to provide extra reach and bridges to get bottles in the right place.”

West has tested the new bike and his position in the wind tunnel – “we know we’re fast,” he said.

FRAME: Ventum Tempus

COCKPIT: Profile Design Wing ultimate 42cm w/Asc pro

HYDRATION: Profile Design HSA/800 EVO and Profile Design Hsc250 gel bottle

DRIVETRAIN: SRAM Red 2x, 165mm cranks, 56/43 chainrings, Quarq Powermeter

WHEELS AND TIRES: Swiss Side Hadron Disc and 80mm front with Continental GP5000 tubeless tires

SADDLE: Wove V8 and what we hear to be a prototype cage from Wove.

PEDALS: Wahoo Speedplay aero

The post Jason West’s Ventum Tempus first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

It might be his first trip to Australia, but the upbeat American certainly appears in the right frame of mind (and fitness) to be able to excel at the final two races in the IRONMAN Pro Series. While Marc Dubrick isn’t gunning for a top-10 finish in the standings since he hasn’t done an IRONMAN, (like Grace Thek, who we interviewed earlier), he is hoping to earn enough points over the next few weeks to get into the top-50 in the standings, which would provide a welcome US$5,000 cheque.

The trip to Australia also serves as a tune up for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo in a couple of weeks, which has been Dubrick’s “focus the whole year.”

After earning a scholarship at the University of Missouri after walking on to the cross-country and track team there, Dubrick, who had been a competitive swimmer through high school, turned his sights to triathlon. He started competed on the elite draft-legal racing scene from 2018, but would eventually start jumping into some long-course races along the way. He was second at his first half – IRONMAN 70.3 Maine in 2021, and earned his first qualifying spot to the 70.3 worlds in St. George the following year. He continued to jump back and forth between draft-legal and long-course racing until this year.

“I made the switch 100 percent and it has just been so good for me,” Dubrick said in an interview in Busselton a few days before the 70.3 race. “I think I just better at this distance. I really enjoy the community as well. I joined the Real Tri Squad (RTS) two years ago and it just makes every race really fun. We have a nice community growing and the people on the team are fun … It’s just the camraderie around triathlon in general – in long course it seems to be a bit better.”

Preparing For a Fast Day

“I like to compare the course (here in Busselton) to Indian Wells,” Dubrick said. “It’s flat and the pavement is actually better here. And it is pancake flat. We’ve got the 12 m draft rule and an ocean swim, but it’s with a wetsuit, so that will also make for a quick swim. We’ve also got some short-course people coming in, so they’re going to push the swim. Hopefully I’ll be there and helping with that and split it up, because I don’t really want a massive 20-person group on the bike.”

Dubrick is also expecting Swede Robert Kallin, who’s 3:54:33 bike split at IRONMAN Vittoria-Gasteiz is being hailed as the fastest ever for a full-distance race, to blast through the course. Kallin, who is currently in eighth in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings, is just one point behind Jonas Hoffman, and is looking to move up at least one spot in the standings after this weekend.

“I’m sure he (Kallin) wants to make sure he doesn’t get off the bike with everyone because every second counts,” Dubrick saiid. “It’s actually funny because he is literally one second behind the person who is ranked ahead of him.”

So where does Dubrick fit into all this? Now that he’s “all in” on the distance front, he’s looking to continue to compete with the top athletes.

“I have the run background, the swim background, been working my ass off on the bike, so hopefully I’ll be in a position where I’m always coming off the bike close to the leaders and can let the run legs talk,” he said.

Along with those lofty goals, though, is an outgoing nature that makes Dubrick a perfect fit for the RTS squad (and also his part-time gig doing customer service for Magic5).

“Beyond just performance I want to keep meeting people, keep growing my community, keep getting people excited about triathlon,” he said. “I absolutely love this. I just love the multisport community. If I can get people in the sport motivated to chase their goals, whether it is to finish an IRONMAN, finish a half, do an Olympic, whatever it is. Have a good time with it. With the Real Tri Squad, especially, we have a great community.”

While Dubrick is considering moving up to a full-distance race next year, he’s not trying to recover from even one IRONMAN race heading into tomorrow’s race, let alone three, like many of the contenders have done through 2024. If he can help keep the pace moving through the swim, look for the 30-year-old to stay in the mix through much of the bike. If he can stay close enough, who knows what sort of “talk” those run legs can provide.

Mark Dubrick’s Felt IA 2.0

_{Dura Ace 1x drivetrain, with an 11-30 cassette and .}

_{… a Drag2Zero 58-tooth chainring}

_{Dubrick tested this aero set up off the back of his Bisaddle Saint Pro 3D saddle, and the aero water bottle on the top tested a few watts quicker in the wind tunnel.}

_{We’re used to seeing the raised BTA bottle to go along with the Fast TT aero bars}

_{He’s not sure where it started, but he’s leaning into the Marc “The Shark” moniker}

_{We believe Dubrick will be the first triathlete to use the Enve SES 100 wheels in a race}

_{He’ll also be riding the ENVE Disc. He’s using a Continental Aero 29 mm in front with a GP5000 TT 28 mm on the disc.}

The post Marc Dubrick Has a Fast Bike, but That’s Not the Only Reason We’ll See Lots of Him at the Last Two Ironman Pro Series Races first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

No, it is not a name that you typically associate with Italy. The son of a couple from the UK (mom from London, dad from Bristol), Gregory Barnaby was born in Verona, Italy, 33 years ago. He did his first triathlon in a swimming pool in 2000, and has pretty much been hooked ever since. All that devotion has really paid off in 2024 – Barnaby heads into the final two races of the IRONMAN Pro Series with a shot at the overall title.

Formerly a member of the Italian national team competing at draft-legal World Triathlon events, Barnaby had already decided he would be moving to long-course racing at the end of 2019, realizing that he wasn’t likely to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

“I thought it (long-distance triathlon) was more for me,” Barnaby said in an interview near the famous Busselton Pier a few days before the IRONMAN Pro Series race in Western Australia. “I always suffered with the really, really fast pace, especially on the run. I was a lot better over the long distance, even in training, so I probably could have switched before, but I mean, even short course has taught me so much that I take into long course.”

After competing in numerous half-distance races in 2021 and 2022, Barnaby’s big breakthrough came at IRONMAN Israel in 2022. The Italian ran alongside Patrick Lange for 25 km before the German was finally able to drop him. Barnaby ran a 2:35:33 marathon split (compared to Lange’s 2:30:31) and would finish third. (Denmark’s Daniel Baekkegard was able to hold him off.) In 2023 Barnaby made his IRONMAN World Championship debut in Nice, finishing eighth.

Based on those results, it should hardly be a surprise that Barnaby is now in the running to take the IRONMAN Pro Series. At the start of the season, though, the Italian didn’t appear to be on track for the success he’s enjoyed. He found out after pulling out of T100 Miami that he had a broken rib, which meant he couldn’t get started on the Pro Series races until IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca in May. He surprised himself and his coach, Luca Zenti, with a third-place finish there. In June Barnaby had a tough day in Cairns, finishing eighth. Things really turned around, though, In Frankfurt, where Barnaby finished third at the IRONMAN European Championship. He then moved up two spots at this year’s world championship, finishing sixth in his Kona debut.

IRONMAN Pro Series

With only one “counting” 70.3 on his IRONMAN Pro Series resume for 2024, Barnaby is just a few points behind American Matthew Marquardt and a couple of hundred points ahead of Kristian Hogenhaug (who also have a race in hand) heading into the final two series races. Hogenhaug is also here in Busselton, and all three will be in Taupo in a few weeks, too.

You can see the standings here.

“My goal at the beginning of the season was to finish in the top-five of the series,” Barnaby said. “I’m there now – I’m fifth – but now my goal is to finish higher because the season has gone so well.”

Barnaby was aware that giving himself a couple of shots for a decent score would be advantageous, which is why he and girlfriend Giorgia Priorone came to Australia after his race in Kona. It also provides some insurance in case something goes wrong at either race.

So, what would it mean for Barnaby to take the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series and the US$200,000 bonus cheque for the winner?

“It would mean the world to me,” he said. “I’ve been in the sport for almost 25 years now, and doing it professionally for the last 12 years. It can be tough at times. The sport is changing and there’s more money involved, but it hasn’t always been like that. It wouldn’t just be the money, it would be an amazing achievement for me.”

Lest you think the pressure might get to him, it is worth noting that Barnaby has a reputation for being calm heading into races.

“Yeah, its a lot of money, and, yeah, it’s a big, big ambition to win the Pro Series, but I’m normally pretty relaxed before races and I think that is one of my strengths,” he said. “Now I’ve trained well and I can perform well. I know I’ve done the work and I don’t let the pressure get to me. I just want to race my best at each individual race. I already put a lot of pressure on myself, so I don’t feel too much pressure from the outside.”

So, to answer the question posed in the headline of this story, yes, it would appear that Gregory Barnaby is a likely contender to take the IRONMAN Pro Series this year.

Gregory Barnaby’s Bike (Training Set Up)

Since we caught up with the Italian a few days before the race, his bike hasn’t be completely set up for race day.

Frame: Trek Speed Concept
Wheels: Vision. (On race day he’ll use a 91 SL on the front with a Vision Disc.)

Cockpit: AeroCoach (Minini is one of his sponsors!)

The post Can Gregory Barnaby Win the IRONMAN Pro Series? Meet the Italian Contender first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

While at the booth we did find some time to look at the expanded offerings Dimond is bringing to the space. Like most triathlon-focused bike companies, Dimond found they needed to offer more than just flagship triathlon-specific bikes. That’s especially true for companies, like Dimond, that only offer non-UCI approved versions. Those bikes are fast – probably some of the fastest on the market. Cervelo went down a similar route with the P5X and P3X series (yes, they still have the UCI-approved P5 and P-Series), but even that approach comes with a price. I’m not talking about the lack of weight savings. I’m talking about how expensive they are, and how hard they are to produce. In the end, bike molds are not cheap, and manufacturing at small scale isn’t either. The other hardship that these companies run into is providing the necessary customer service required for these specialty bikes. No matter what the size the customer base, they still have to have parts on hand, along with customer support staff that know what they are talking about.

What has been very different with the companies that are offering non-UCI approved bikes is the wide variety of pricing. Dimond, for example, offers $10,000 frames that end up at $21,905.21 for a full build. But, because they have been able to utilize a modular building process, they can still have a $3,500 offering for a fully-built beam bike. (I personally think you need to get your head checked for spending $22,000 on a bike for a triathlon, but we live in a world where people spend that sort of money just getting to the race. So, I guess, if you have it, why not?)

So, lets look at Dimond’s flagship offering.

THE MOGUL

Frame Weight: 1.8 ± 0.05 kg (Size IV)

Dimensions: 43 x 32 x 11 in

Size: I, II, III, IV, V

Build: Frameset, Custom

Compatibility: Shimano Di2, SRAM eTap, Mechanical (1x only)

BB Specification: PF30 (46 mm dia. x 68 mm w.)

S.H.I.S. Specification: IS 41 28.6 / IS 41 30.0

Material: Carbon Fiber

MONARCH BASE BAR

Basebar Width: 40 cm

Stem Length: 90 mm

Pad Reach: Max. 150 mm

Arm Tilt Adjustment Range: +/- 10°

Steer Tube Clamp Diameter: 1 1/8 in / 28.6 mm

51 SPEEDSHOP EXTENSIONS

• 15mm Offset
• 30 Degree grip angle

LUNCH BOX

Large enough to fit your whole lunch, and almost three times the size of most storage systems, the Lunch Box is an integrated bento that’s built in to the beam behind the stem. The volume is significant – size IV and V hold approximately 700mL, while the II and III sizes hold about 550mL.

Some examples of what will fit:

• 13 Gels
• 8 Cliff Block Sleeves
• 6 PowerBars
• 2 Gel Flasks

TOTES

Tools Or Technical Equipment Storage (TOTES) is designed specifically for your flat kit and multitool storage. The compartment is located above the BB cluster. The TOTES improves aerodynamics and will allow you to fix a flat on those long training, or race, days. Your significant other will be happy to hear they won’t have to pick you up (again) because you left your flat kit at home.

Suggested contents: 1 Tube, 2 Tire Levers, 2 CO2 Cartridges, 1 CO2 Inflater Adapter, 1 Small multitool.. (Or, if you’re sure your significant other really loves you and won’t leave you stranded, more snacks.)

AERO

The fully integrated internal cable routing on the front end is super clean.

TIRE CLEARENCE

While one could fit a 30 mm tire on the Mogul, the margin of error is pretty slim. Dimond recommends 28 mm tires, which are shown here.

FYI

Because of the way the Mogul is built, if you plan to use it on a smart trainer, you will need to purchase the Stationary Trainer Adapter to keep your warranty active.

My thoughts have always been consistent with regard to the look and feel of the Dimond beam bikes: they are beautiful with a rear disc wheel.. They look a little odd without a disc on the back, in my opinion.

According to the company’s website, here’s the current Dimond triathlon line up:

• MOGUL $10,000 (Frame only) $21,905.21+ decked out.
• IKON $8,499
• MARQUISE $7,499
• MARQUISE RIM $7,199
• TRILLUANT $4,999
• CARBONADO $3,500

One of the things Tollakson and I spent some time talking about was how much overlap our companies have in the endurnace market these days. At Slowtwitch, I continue to point out that, in the end, our community is more “Endurance Sports” driven than “Triathlon” driven. Over the years Tollakson has been forced to follow the path of this loyal triathlete customers, too. That’s why it’s not only been a success, but a need, for him to produce Road, Gravel and even get into the Mountain Bike scene. The company also does little kids’ “Balance Bikes,” but that’s mostly becuase of Tollakson’s passion for youth cycling, and, in my opinion, his joy of being a father who trying to keep his kids as active as he can.

Dimond has been able to innovate, not just because of the modular build process, but by also keeping high-dollar accessories in house through the launch of Red Crown Cycling, which does bars and wheels. That ensures Tollakson avoids having more items shipped from overseas, and ensures he can keep things spec’d the way that these bikes need to be.

The latest from the company is the new GRANITE Gravel frame. That bike was born from the desire to get a 2.2 Mountain bike tire between the seat stays, while still using a road BB. They did end up about .1 short of that goal, but, maybe if you’re like the great “Caveman” Conrad Stoltz, you can just shave that little bit extra off the tires and be just fine.

The Dimond Granite:

Max Tire Clearance: 700c x 50mm or 27.5 x 2.2″

BB Standard T47 (86.5mm)

Fork steerer tube 1.5 to 1.125 tapered

Internal Cable Routing

Internal storage allows for a all sorts of stuff including “lunch”

The FIDLOCK system they use to keep your goods in the frame is the best one I have seen to date.

TIRE CLEARENCE

45c is what is shown here

Mounting’s Galore

This bike is made to go the distance with over 11 mounting points outside of the top tube. This frame can probably hold enough gear for even the longest backpacking adventurer.

The Red Crown Cyling and Intergrated Front End.

Dimond was born out of Tollakson’s desire to go faster. His engineering mind would just never stop thinking about things. He was the first professional triathlete to use the high-hand position – which is now common. His elbow pads may have been a little extreme, but using them still tested faster, and he was clearly onto something.

Starting and owning a business is hard work. I have always admired Tollakson for doing what he does, and I certainly applaud him for still being in game. What he currently makes in the triathlon space may not be for everyone. If it is something you’re interested in, you should go check the Dimond bikes out. They are far from the standard, UCI-approved frames so many other company’s are offering. You can get more information at www.dimondbikes.com

The post Dimond Bikes Continues to Press Forward first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

I am most definitely biased, but I think cycling is the best sport in the World. Unlike many traditional team sports, it’s something you can do far beyond your school and university days. It’s a lifelong sport and one of the most effective ways to see the world. Cars seem to go too fast to appreciate the scenery and walking doesn’t get your far enough. On top of all of the enjoyable aspects of cycling, it’s also therapeutic with the rhythmic motion being cited as meditative, the aerobic aspect being good for your heart, and the nature of the sport makes it a common rehabilitation exercises for various injuries. Even the best things have their limitations, though. Here are 5 things that cycling and cyclists often lack.

1.) Weight Bearing

Wolff’s law of bone explains that bones respond to the forces placed upon them. In other words, if you stress your bones, they will become stronger. This isn’t a completely novel concept; we are used to the idea of the body getting stronger due to stressors. We place stress or force on muscles and we expect them to grow bigger and stronger. Bones are no different. 

Bones will get stronger from forces such as weight lifting or even running where there is pounding and force going through the skeleton. Cycling, though, is considered a non-weight bearing sport. 

If cyclists don’t stress their bones through other activities, they are at risk for their bones to become weaker and weak bones are more likely to succumb to injuries. Cyclists should take special efforts to load their bones through other cross-training activities. Personally, I do weight training year-round. I supplement my cycling workouts with 2 heavy lifting sessions each week. 

2.) Lateral Movement

Cycling occurs exclusively in the sagittal plane. This means that in cycling we are only moving forward. Unlike sports like basketball or soccer that require athletes to move both forwards and sideways, cycling mainly uses the muscles that move our bodies forward. 

Since we aren’t stressing the muscles that move our bodies from side to side, these muscles will often atrophy or become weak. Despite not using them for forward propulsion, we still need these muscles for stabilization, injury prevention, and being a well-rounded human. 

The Gluteus Medius is a muscle often underused in cycling that can cause issues when it fails to fire. A weak Gluteus Medius can result in knee pain, IT band issues, low back pain, and hip pain. In order to strengthen your Gluteus Medius consider adding fire hydrants, clam shells, lateral leg raises, and/or lateral band walks to your pre-exercise routine. I spend 5 minutes before every ride completing glute medius exercises. Fire hydrants and clam shells are my staples. 

3.) Eccentric Movement

Cycling is primarily an exercise of concentric movement. Concentric exercises involves the muscles shortening when working against resistance (the upward phase of a squat). Eccentric movements involve the muscles lengthening (such as the downward phase of squat).

There are many benefits to concentric exercise such as building muscle mass and concentric exercises are easier on the muscles (causing less soreness). Eccentric exercises often cause more soreness, but they also help to strengthen tendons and can be helpful for injury prevention. In order to be a well-rounded athlete, you should work to include both concentric and eccentric exercises in your workout routine. For me, eccentrics are as simple as emphasizing the eccentric phase of certain lifts I do in my weight training routine. For example, I will concentrate on a slow and controlled downward phase of my back squats.

4.) Good Posture

In a world where we fight against poor posture constantly, cycling seems to only make things worse. After leaning over our laptops all day with rounded shoulders and a curved spine, we then head out on our after-work ride with rounded shoulders and a curved spin as we reach for our handlebars. 

Cyclists need to spend special time working on posture. In my own routine, I include exercises like wall angels, cat cow, bird dogs, and open thoracic books to encourage my body to return to neutral after all of my many hours of forward slouching on the bike. 

5.) Upper Body Strength

Cyclists never miss leg day! Upper body day, though, some cyclists are actually scared of it. If you’re a road cyclist then you may wonder why upper strength even matters especially when looking at World Tour Cyclists. If you’re a mountain biker, though, you understand that upper body strength is critical for controlling your bike, avoiding crashes, and surviving the inevitable crash without broken bones. Either way, we need upper body strength to be functional humans. Don’t be afraid of lifting weights. Some of my favorite upper body exercises are overhead press, landmine rows, and single arm dumbbell snatches. If nothing else, start small with body weight exercises such as push ups, pull ups, and tricep dips. You’ll be thankful for your extra efforts when carrying groceries inside, lifting up your child or grandchild, or putting your suitcase in the overhead bin.

Everything in Moderation

I’m definitely not telling you to cycle less! In fact, a great thing about cycling is that unlike sports like running, it’s relatively easy on the body which means we can log more hours than most sports. That said, it’s still important to take everything in moderation and to supplement our favorite sport with some additional exercises to keep us strong enough so that we can ultimately do even more pedaling.

The post 5 Things Cyclists Lack first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

The more I research the history of this industry, the more I realize how Dan Empfield has influcened the bike industry as we know it today. Let’s talk about something other than stack & reach, or X&Y, or the fact that he created the first Triathlon-specific bike. I want to speak for a second about how he has always influenced front-end design; if you go back in history, you start to notice that every time a bike manufacturer wanted to go with an integrated headset, he told that individual and or company to go pound sand. He would always give many reasons for the why, but in the end, it would be the simplest reason: because it made it too difficult for the user to adjust the bike position. You would sell someone a bike and they would go get fit and well, instead of changing out a stem or adding some tilt, boom you had to take out the old metal saw and find the super glue.

We can go back and look at the companies that have taken heed of Dan’s advice and those who haven’t. Specialized, Trek, and even Cervelo all had a lot of issues with the lack of adjustability in their proprietary set-ups. All of which were justified by the wind tunnel, tests, and a “sexy-looking” bike. When disc braked bikes started to come out, Trek sort of got it right, Cervelo was 2nd, and the Specialized Shiv missed the mark altogether. What the bike manufacturers forgot about was the need for the end-user to be comfortable (comfort = fast) for the long haul of 70.3 and 140.6 distances, which is precisely what they were making those bikes for. The fight over integrated water bladders, and the design on front-end to ensure the bike could be as fast as possible in the wind tunnel, missed the mark. Marketing consumed their time and engineering efforts, skimming over comfort and adjustability.

If you go to this year’s bike count at the IRONMAN World Championships, you can see the bicycle companies that have taken heed of Dan’s suggestions and created bikes that may not be so fast in the tunnel, but offer users the experience that they were looking for when it came to adjustability and comfort.

Back to my original question and title of this article: who really is leading the charge in the aerodynamics and comfort of the front end of the bicycle? Is it the bicycle companies that are making the fastest bikes, or is it the third-party specialists that look at how the big companies are screwing the front ends up and filling those gaps? If you look at the bike count, you see the same bicycle company leading the charge over the last 20 years. Cervelo has lost the bike count only once. But that gap continues to become smaller. If you look at other companies, they have come and gone based on marketing spend, product adaptation, and bike designs that need to be revised for the end-user. What has been consistent across the board is that the front end is always massively won by third-party aero bar manufacturers, and not the stock bicycle manufacturers. These either come from good relationships with OEM partners or simply the fact that the bicycle brands screwed up the front end so badly that the end customer needed to find a better solution to become comfortable for that rider to become faster.

Just look at the current Specialized Shiv, for example. All of that time and energy in the wind tunnel testing that bike working around water hydration and internal bladder patents that, on paper, make it faster than the last one. And they made adjustments based on the feedback they got from the original. Yet the bike had zero to little tilt adjustability. In the end, Specialized got so irritated with the lack of sales from that bike that they ended up abandoning long course triathlon altogether, focusing on shorter-distance events. Not a single sponsored rider is using that bike anymore. If you go online and look at most of the Shivs being sold, they have different third-party aero bar setups. Why is this? Why didn’t Specialized work closely with an OEM spec partner that could help them with the design of that front end? Were they afraid that information about the bike was going to get leaked during development? Were they were trying to increase profitability by manufacturing the front end themselves?

I don’t know the answers to this, but what I do know is that every single time I look at that bike, I get sad. It is a speedy bike, but they just completely missed the boat on the front end which in my opinion, affected sales. By extension, it reduced Specialized’s commitment to long course triathlon (and all of triathlon as a whole).

Now, if you look at other companies that did listen to Dan’s advice and have made tremendous strides with growth, not only in triathlon, but as a brand in general:

KONA bike count over the last 10 years

Quintana Roo is an example that has always worked closely with Dan, not because they have always seen eye to eye, but because they knew Dan would give them the feedback that he gained from the community as a whole, and they would take that feedback and integrate that into the design of their bikes. QR’s history has almost always been to use 3rd party integrated aero bar set ups for any of their TT bikes; they would invariably seek advice and partnerships from third-party experts to help them. This could be because these small companies like QR that I am talking about did not have the budget or desire to work on the front end themselves, but regardless of the reason they didn’t, it seems to have worked out for them in the long run. 

This year in Nice, we learned the same thing at the bike count: overall, third-party aero bars always win over manufactured stock aero bars that come on bikes.

When it comes to the masses, the data points to the fact that either the bike brands need to come up with better approaches to their front-end designs, or they need to work more closely with these 3rd parties that are winning the aero bar race.

Looking at the 2024 Nice Count, only 35.3% of all bikes came with brand-manufactured front ends. 64.7% was with 3rd party OEM Partners or customers switching out for better solutions. Profile Design owned more than 1/2 of that 3rd Party result.

Even the pros are taking the bull by the horns and switching up the front ends.

2024 IMWC Nice, Pro Female Bikes

Is Profile Design the best? At the bottom (age group masses), it appears so, but if you look at the top (the pros), they even need to catch up if they want to continue being at the top. With all these other players in the mix, it’s becoming apparent when you are looking at purchasing your next bike, brand and frame are just one part of the thought process, followed by what bar you will put on.

Now, let’s keep one super important thing in mind: we haven’t completed the 2024 bike count yet; we are only half done. Kona is still to come, when we get all the men’s data, and then we can really start to hone in on all of the trends, including bars. I believe there’s even going to be a bigger gap between vendors. My guess is we will see a greater increase in third-party and 3D-printed bars.

This whole topic makes me think:

#1 There’s a lack of understanding that some of the big bike companies have when it comes to the front-end fit of endurance athletes.

#2 There’s an importance of specialists in the marketplace.

The post Who Is Leading the Charge with TT Bikes Front Ends? first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Now, just a reminder: to play the game, a rider must finish the race.

Equipment trends

• While Cervelo had the most bikes, Canyon took the fastest time
• Pro’s chose Shimano over SRAM, yet chose ceramicspeed over regular derailleurs
• Favero Assioma took the pedal count within the top 10
• No one in the top 10 was riding 1x
• Aerobars are no longer “Stock”

Big steep hills, fast steep descents

With an elevation gain of +8,895 ft and loss of -8,877 ft, the Championship course took a toll on some, yet 8 of these ladies ended up in the top 10 overall. Let’s start with some crazy facts from the GPX file provided by IRONMAN.

CLIMBS

With eight sections that qualified as a “climb,” athletes saw max grades over 20%

1. 6.1 mi 1,081 ft 3.6%: Starting mile 6.2 – avg grade of 3.6% and Max grade of 9.7 %
2. 0.9 mi 151 ft 2.7%: Starting mile 17.9 – avg grade 2.7% and max grade 8.1%
3. 11.5 mi 3,206 ft 4.9%: Starting mile 25.1 – avg grade 4.9% and max grade 23.3%
4. 1.1 mi 187 ft 3.2%: Starting mile 39.1 – avg grade 3.2% and max grade 4.1%
5. 0.6 mi 106 ft 3.1%: Starting mile 43.9 – avg grade 3.1% and max grade 4.4%
6. 1.7 mi 358 ft 4.2%: Starting mile 48.2 – avg grade 4.2% and max grade 8.6%
7. 4.1 mi 1,066 ft 4.8%: Starting mile 75.8 – avg grade 4.8% and max grade 7.6%
8. 1.1 mi 203 ft 3.1%: Starting mile 90.3 – avg grade 3.1% and max grade 5.1%

DESCENTS

With seven sections that qualified worthy of a “descent,” athletes saw max grades of -12.1%

1. 4.2 mi 687 ft -2.7% Starting mile 20.9 – avg grade -2.7% and max grade -4.4%
2. 1.4 mi 268 ft -3.1% Starting mile 40.2 – avg grade -2.6% and max grade -4.5%
3. 1.2 mi 391 ft -6.1%: Starting mile 53.5 – avg grade -5.9% and max grade -8.6%
4. 7.1 mi 1,774 ft -5.5%: Starting mile 68.7 – avg grade -5.5% and max grade -12.1%
5. 0.9 mi 147 ft -3.8%: Starting mile 79.9 – avg grade -3.8% and max grade -4.7%
6. 7.7 mi 1,766 ft -3.9%: Starting mile 82.3 – avg grade -3.9% and max grade -9.4%
7. 10.4 mi 1,950 ft -2.9%: Starting mile 91.7 – avg grade -2.9% and max grade -10.8%

#1 Laura Philipp: 5:02:25

• Speed Machine: Canyon Speedmax CFR
• Drivetrain: Shimano with SRM
• Aerobars: Canyon Custom
• Wheels: Swissside Disc / 800 front
• Pedals: Wahoo Aero
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: Yes

#2 Kat Matthews: 5:05:46

• Speed Machine: Canyon Speedmax CFR
• Drivetrain: Shimano 2x
• Aerobars: Canyon Custom
• Wheels: DT Swiss Disc, 1100mm front
• Pedals: Wahoo Aero
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: Yes

#3 Marjolaine Pierré: 5:12:27

• Speed Machine: Cervelo P5 (2019 Model)
• Drivetrain: Sram 2x
• Aerobars: Stock
• Wheels: DT Swiss ARC 1100 Disc / Arc 110 front
• Pedals: Favero Assioma
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: Yes

#4 Chelsea Sodaro: 5:15:14

• Speed Machine: Pinnarello Bolide
• Drivetrain: Shimano 2x with SRM Crank
• Aerobars: Most
• Wheels: DT Swiss ARC 1100 Disc / Arc 110 front
• Pedals: Shimano
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: Yes

#5 Nikki Bartlett: 5:17:42

• Speed Machine: Cervelo P5 (2019)
• Drivetrain: Shimano 2x w/Rotor Crank
• Aerobars: Drag 2 Zero
• Wheels: Rolf Prima Disc / Rolf Prima EOS front
• Pedals: Look Keo
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: No

#6 Marta Sanchez: 5:18:00

• Speed Machine: Cervleo p5 (2019)
• Drivetrain: Shimano 2x
• Aerobars: Custom
• Wheels: Hed Disc/ Speedsix Ultra light front
• Pedals: Favero Assioma
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: Yes

#7 Penny Slater: 5:18:36

• Speed Machine: TREK Speed Concept
• Drivetrain: Sram 2x
• Aerobars: Drag 2 Zero
• Wheels: DT Swiss ARC 1100 Disc / Arc 110 front
• Pedals: Shimano
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: No

#8 Lotte Wilms: 5:22:02

• Speed Machine: Strorck Zeitjaeger
• Drivetrain: Shimano 2x
• Aerobars: Sync Aerobar One
• Wheels:  Xentis Mark4 5-spoke
• Pedals: Favero Assioma
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: No

#9 Merle Brunnèe: 5:23:44

• Speed Machine: CUBE Aerium
• Drivetrain: Shimano 2x / Rotor Crank
• Aerobars: 3D printed
• Wheels: Citec disc/ 83 Front
• Pedals: Favero Assioma
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: No

#10 Daniela Bleymehl: 5:23:50

• Speed Machine: Scott Plasma 6
• Drivetrain: Shimano SRM
• Aerobars: Rad Sport Ibet
• Wheels: Princeton Blur 633 Disc Wake 6560 Front
• Pedals: Shimano
• Ceramicspeed rear hanger: Yes

The post IMWC Nice: Women’s Top 10 Finishing Bike Splits first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

SuperTri kicked off its 1st of 5 races last week in Boston. Luxembourg’s Jeanne Lehair and Great Britain’s Alex Yee claimed victories. Lehair got redemption after a disappointing Olympic Games. Yee defeated his friendly rival, Hayden Wilde, in dramatic fashion, crossing his arms as he crossed the finish line replicating the same move Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is famous for. It looked like Wilde took exception to the celebration, although the two congratulated each other shortly after. Some in the triathlon community seem to have not liked the move either but I would welcome some more personality into our sport. You see players in major sports leagues celebrate for a lot less (sometimes for a routine play that takes a handful of seconds). Our athletes are incredible. It is okay to show some emotion!

Stop two on the SuperTri tour stayed in the United States, as athletes took to Chicago’s lakefront to do battle. The race paired with the Chicago Triathlon, which welcomed more than 8,000 age group athletes over the weekend. The women’s race came down to five athletes on the final run. Olivia Mathias and Taylor Spivey used short chutes to edge ahead and try to chase down the victory. It was Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown, however, who eventually caught the leading duo and would go on to take the win. Olympic Champion Cassandra Beaugrand moved up for 2nd. America’s Taylor Spivey held on for 3rd. Taylor-Brown said, “It’s really nice to be back on top. I forgot what it’s like to lift the tape. It’s a nice feeling but it’s so hot out here. All the girls did incredible.” Spivey added, “It feels so good. I always seem to get 4th place so just being in the top-3 is really satisfying.”

Short chutes and penalties were the story in the men’s race. Wilde and Vasco Vilaca separated themselves at the start of the final run, utilizing their short chutes, while two of Tim Don’s Podium Racing athletes had to serve penalties. Wilde encouraged Vilaca to take a turn at the front towards the end of the first of two laps. Vilaca, appearing to be at his upper limit, could not go to the front and Wilde carried on ahead of him. That move proved to be decisive, as Wilde built a small lead from there and crossed the line first. France’s Leo Bergere passed Vilaca late to finish in the runner-up spot. Vilaca rounded out the podium, after missing the time cut in last week’s race. Wilde was excited to get the win saying, “(I’m) Super stoked to be finally back on top. It’s been a long time.” He said he changed his tactics from last week & committed to a more conservative race strategy, with less time spent off of the front of the race.

Women’s Race

Temperatures approached nearly ninety degrees fahrenheit for today’s race. The water temperature was in the mid-seventies and some wind created choppy swim conditions in Lake Michigan. Competing on home soil, Kirsten Kasper led out the swim and secured a short chute for Stars & Stripes Racing. Beaugrand and Taylor-Brown, teammates, pushed the pace on a very technical bike course, traversing the lakefront path. Leonie Periault fell behind the pace early. Brownlee Racing picked up the second short chute. Mathias and Jessica Fullagar got onto the run first. Several of the pre-race favorites worked their way back into the main group. Beaugrand picked up the final short chute for Crown Racing and created a small gap heading into the second swim leg. Nine athletes were separated by ten seconds heading onto the second bike leg. Mathias, Beaugrand, and Spivey were given the short chutes by their team captains. Brownlee Racing had to decide between Beth Potter and Mathias.

A group of four athletes were all in contention on the final bike leg. It looked like the winner would come out of a group consisting of Mathias, Taylor-Brown, Spivey, and Fullagar. Mathias and Spivey took their short chutes to gap Fullagar and Taylor-Brown by a few seconds at the start of the final run leg. Beaugrand moved up into 5th place, leading the chase pack. Taylor-Brown quickly closed down the gap and moved into the lead. Mathias and Spivey tucked in and let her dictate the pace. The pace proved to be too much for the pair and Taylor-Brown moved clear of them. A hard closing Beaugrand came through for second but she ran out of the needed real estate to catch Taylor-Brown, who won the race. Spivey rounded out the podium in 3rd.

Men’s Race

Similar to last week’s opening swim leg, this week started with what we might call a full contact swim leg. Matt Hauser and Chase McQueen led out of the water and went back and forth several times, pushing and shoving each other, trying to get the first short chute. McQueen struggled to locate his bike in transition and Hauser took the first short chute for Podium Racing. One of the announcer’s remarked that “bumping is racing.” Vilaca picked up the next short chute after the first bike leg. Eleven men were within eight seconds of the lead. Notably, Alex Yee was not in that group. Wilde, wanting to keep things that way, pushed the pace on the first run and grabbed the final short chute for Crown Racing.

The second iteration of swim-bike-run saw Yee continue to fall off of the pace. He now trailed by more than twenty seconds. Tim Hellwig went down on the bike, into a hay bale, but was able to get right back onto the group. A large group of eight were all within contention heading into the final swim. Kenji Nener reached the bike first but the group quickly reeled him in. It was going to come down to a run battle. Tim Don expressed frustration with Crown Racing Manager Chris McCormack, who he accused of fixing Wilde’s bike chain in transition and tending to a bike shoe issue for a different athlete. Wilde, who had time to put on a Red Bull hat in transition, and Vilaca took their short chutes and gapped the field at the start of the final run. Wilde and Vilaca ran together for the first of two laps. It did not look so much that Wilde increased the pace but that Vilaca had reached his limit and dropped back. Wilde took the win. Bergere moved up to finish second. Vilaca rounded out the podium with a hard fought third place finish.

(Not so) Quick Take: Today’s race, just like last week’s, was entertaining. We are getting to see some of the best short course triathletes trade blows in a fast paced environment. The first two races have taken place in large US cities but, in general, away from where people live. The Chicago lakefront is actually somewhat difficult to get to. You have to cross a major highway (Lakeshore Drive) to get to where the race was. It can be difficult to find parking on the lakefront. The race course did not pass any residences. There seemed to be people around the start and finish but a lot of the course looked empty. I do not know what the fix is because there would not be a clean body of water to swim in other than Lake Michigan in Chicago proper. It looked like many age group racers passed on staying for the race. When you have professionals compete at the same time as age groupers you benefit from all of their family and friends attending the event. Watching today’s race I, again, thought to myself that this format is made for television and that a casual sports fan could watch on a summer in August, without a lot of other options to choose from. I watched it on TriathlonLive. There is still a sign-up requirement to watch through SuperTri directly. SuperTri can help grow the sport. It just feels like a little something is missing. More people should be seeing these incredible athletes racing like this right after the Olympics.

Photos: SuperTri

The post Taylor-Brown, Wilde Win SuperTri Chicago first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

The beautiful capital city of Tallinn, Estonia, played host to the IRONMAN 70.3 European Championships today. Stacked fields, consisting of athletes contending for the Pro Series and athletes transitioning from short course to long course, looked to make their mark on the race. Athletes were greeted by unseasonably warm temperatures that reached eighty degrees fahrenheit and winds that reached twenty miles per hour. This led to a healthy number of athletes not being able to finish the race. It was Greece’s Panagiotis Bitados on the men’s side and Germany’s Caroline Pohle on the women’s side who would prevail.

Bitados was a surprise winner but does have a pair of wins in 2024. After the race he said, “That’s the point for me to enjoy, to finish safe, and to push everything of my body, and for me I am happy for myself, and that’s the goal for me. So I am happy today.” He tried to do each discipline at a high level and was happy that his run came through today. Asked what comes next he added, “Training, and then training.”

Pohle was much less of a surprise on the women’s side but did well to hold off her challengers. Known as a strong swimmer, it was her bike and run that solidified her result today. She tells us, “I’m absolutely speechless. At the moment I think it’s just a dream. I worked so hard the last month and today it pays off the hard work the last month so, yeah, I’m absolutely speechless and happy and proud of myself.” Pohle continued, “I played my cards at the swim and at the bike. I tried to push hard from the beginning. I hoped for a good run and worked really hard on my run performance the last month.”

Men's Race Recap

Germany’s Hannes Butters led out the swim in 21:07. That was enough to put a small gap on the rest of the field. Great Britain’s Sam Dickinson, who you might know as Alex Yee’s sherpa for the Paris Olympics, came out of the water in second in 21:36. Dickinson was second at 70.3 Bahrain in 2022 in his only other start at the distance. Marc Dubrick, Jelle Geens, Panagiotis Bitados, Kevin McDowell, Kacper Stepniak, and Justus Nieschlag, all joined Dickinson up front. The main chase pack included names like Joao Pereira, Antony Costes, Peter Heemeryck, Leonard Arnold, and Robert Kallin. The Tallinn bike course is fast and flat. Butters maintained an early lead over the field. Kallin bridged up to the chase pack by halfway and then to the front of the race with 15km left to go. Kallin would only be able to gap Butters by thirty seconds heading into T2. The rest of the field, however, was much further back. Kallin had distanced them by four minutes.

Germany’s Leonard Arnold was the only person within three minutes of the leading duo. Arnold moved into the lead of the run early, with Kallin falling back. By the 10k mark, however, Bitados had moved all the way through the field and into the lead. Arnold was in second. Geens, one of the strongest runners in the field, was one minute back in third. From there, Bitados’ lead would only grow. He pumped up the crowd down the finishing chute, as he broke the tape in 3:36:09, splitting 1:09:18 on the run. Arnold and Geens would hang on for second and third respectively.

TOTAL SWIM BIKE RUN
1 Bitados, Panagiotis 3:36:09 21:46 2:02:49 1:09:18
2 Arnold, Leonard 3:36:45 23:06 1:59:58 1:11:04
3 Geens, Jelle 3:39:13 21:45 2:03:00 1:12:20
4 Stepniak, Kacper 3:39:52 21:50 2:02:53 1:13:04
5 Nieschlag, Justus 3:41:57 21:52 2:02:58 1:14:46

Women’s Race Recap

Germany’s Caroline Pohle took control of the race from the start and would lead wire to wire. She put approximately forty seconds on the main swim pack, which included Marta Sanchez, Kate Curran, Pamalla Oliveira, Sif Madsen, Lauren Brandon, Luisa Prat, and Grace Thek. You know that you swam well if you can put that much time into some of the strongest swimmers in the sport. Lisa Norden, Kaidi Kivioja, Kat Matthews, Maja Stage Nielsen, and Tamara Jewett were a little further back but still in contention. Pohle did not wait for anyone to catch her on the bike. She led by ninety seconds at halfway. Madsen and Matthews had broken away to form a small chase pack. Norway’s Solveig Lovseth rode in between them and a larger chase pack. Pohle’s lead would grow to more than two minutes, with only the three aforementioned women within striking distance.

The only question that remained was if Matthews could run Pohle down? Pohle maintained her lead early in the run and then her lead began to grow over the second half. Matthews was seen taking water and ice at pretty much every aid station. The conditions were clearly playing a role in deterring her comeback attempt. Pohle would not come under any pressure on the run, clocking a superb 1:20:17 run split in warm conditions to take the win. Matthews would have to settle for second. Lovseth rounded out the podium in third. Thek and Curran used strong runs to move up to take fourth and fifth place respectively.

TOTAL SWIM BIKE RUN
1 Pohle, Caroline 3:59:40 25:10 2:11:50 1:20:17
2 Matthews, Kat 4:02:39 26:20 2:12:46 1:20:55
3 Lovseth, Solveig 4:05:56 27:12 2:12:44 1:23:23
4 Thek, Grace 4:08:23 25:54 2:18:55 1:20:42
5 Curran, Kate 4:09:35 25:49 2:18:44 1:22:28

Quick Takes

Quick Take #1 – Caroline Pohle was excellent today. It is not easy to go wire to wire and beat someone as good as Kat Matthews by three minutes. Matthews will not be happy not being able to take full points in the Pro Series. This looks to be Pohle’s best run result of her career. It also came on a warm day, not meant for personal bests. Pohle will only be harder to beat moving forward if she is able to replicate this kind of a run performance. It is not easy to run well, after being off the front of the race all day.

Quick Take #2 – Panagiotis Bitados is ranked 101 by World Triathlon. He was 8th at the Hong Kong World Cup earlier in the year, one spot ahead of Matthew McElroy. He is now three for three this season at the half distance, winning Challenge Walchsee and 70.3 Kraichgau earlier in the year. He took down some strong competition in those races utilizing a similar blueprint. He is a front pack swimmer and excellent runner. If his bike keeps him close enough to the leaders then he is going to be a threat in any race he enters. We do not know what is next for him except for, of course, more training.

Quick Take #3 – Let’s not be quick to anoint short course Olympians at long course. Geens and Lovseth both took 3rd today. McDowell was 19th. Dickinson was 20th. Bitados is more of a hybrid athlete, crossing over into both formats. This is not meant to put short course athletes down but to simply acknowledge how good long course racing has gotten. The bike is so difficult now that it does require specific training to figure out how to put a good run together. It will be interesting to see how more athletes perform who make the move after this Olympic cycle.

Photos: Brit Maria Tael for IRONMAN

The post Bitados and Pohle Take 70.3 European Crowns in Tallinn first appeared on Slowtwitch News.