Spiezathlon

Howdy Folks

A quick update from today's race which was held in a beautiful central Swiss town, Spiez, right near Interlaken. The lake and Mountain backdrop was fantastic and so was the course, a 5km/20km/5km over rolling Swiss Countryside.

On the eve of the race, due to extensive travel I crammed my bike and run tune up surges into one day (usually spread over 2) and unfortunately my hamstring spasmed up on me again and I could not run faster than 80% without it shortening. I would not normally race, but due to the support I have recieved from Swiss Cannondale and Wildcats www.wildcats.ch and the fact that I missed the last Swiss Cup race in Zofingen I decided to execute a controlled race and consciously work within my constraints. This resulted in a 3rd place finish.

I definately do not recommend this to athletes in normal circumstances and it is not a noble way to perform as an athlete.

Big thanks to the Wildcats and Cannondale Swiss, especially Cedric for their support and lets hope I can hit all future Swiss races with a full head of steam

Regards
Radar

Spiezathlon and New Sponsor

Greetings all,

The Interview (In French from www.triathlonetduathlon.fr) from last wek is here

http://www.triathlonetduathlon.fr/spip.php?page=sommaire2&id_article=10422

I am back on the Cannondale Slice for the final two races of the trip- the Spiezathlon Swiss Duathlon Cup this Saturday and then the Team Trial at Cuincy French Grand Prix on July 5th. I am staying with Mulhouse director, Patrick Sanchez's house and the training through the forrest has been brilliant andthe rolling countryisde nice for getting reacquainted with some time trial work. The TT work is also important for the Australian Duathlon Champs and Oceania Duathlon Champs which are both non drafting events this year.

In other news, I am just about to announce a new sponsor which fits perfectly for both parties. It is a product that is becoming more common that I have found to be of significant performance benefit in racing and training. Should be announced before the end of the month.

Will update after Spiez which sees me get a test against Powerman World Champ and ITU European Champ, Andy Sutz

Regards

Radar

Cuincy French Grand Prix, TED Interview

Well this was a very dissappointing result on the weekend, only managing 13th place. The race was held in the North of France in Cuincy and started at 8pm at night. The runs were 5km cross country and the bike 30km flat and very fast. Unfortunately, our team had only 3 athletes after the mid race withdrawal of Joerie Vansteelant and therefore we had to be conservative on the bike after hauling ass the first half trying to find a break . In the end, 5 guys went up the road and we had to play it safe and wait for the final run. My transition again let me down and it is something I need to consciously work on in prep for the World Championships, it is not just the 6 or 7 sec you lose but the lactic acid you accumulate trying to haul the deficit back which compromises the rest of your second run. I felt strong but couldnt get back in touch with the lead group which I was hoping to shake up. I was 45 sec down on first (9th fastest 2nd run) and the top 20 were all within 58 sec of the winner so that gives some indication of the depth and margin for error here. The team did very well to control the damage and we finished 2nd on team classifiction which cements our position in the overall classification.

Mid week I also did and interview on www.triathlonetduathlon.fr in the lead up to the race. It is a great website and recieves 1000 unique visitors a day so plenty of interest in Tri and Du news over here

Little Seb and Lianne have headed home today to try and get a routine back and I am looking forward to the next 2 races before heading home to get working towards the World Champs

Keep punshing

Radar

Sensational!! The Thiers Race Video

Here is a sensational video that Martin Reyt aka Bib aka My French Manager made from the race of Thiers...it is complete with French DJ David Guetta in action....truelly French influence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ1Eze3duCc

Hope you enjoy and thanks to Bib for his efforts with this

Regards
Radar

Big Victory in 13km Thiernois!

We have arrived back in France and have been catching up with our great friends and Team PEC in Clermont Ferrand. We are staying with Gael Mainard, a Division 1 Cyclist and awesome training partner and have plenty of running company with Martin, Yohan and the boys.

I was very grateful that Martin organised for me a start today at a 16th edition of the famous and VERY HILLY 13km Thiernois, 40 min from Clermont Ferrand. The course is very hard climbing from 300M to 500m in the first 8km before descending back to the start. Typically it is reserved for Kenyan and Moroccan winners but today with very hot weather (33 C) I was able to resist the mid race challenge of the only Kenyan in the race, Osaro to run away with a tremendous victory.

The race details are here and results should be up soon
http://www.13km-thiernois.fr/

Big thanks to the organising committee and community of Thier for their generous support and Martin for organising this race for me. Finally a huge thanks to the crowd for their boisterous support out on the course and water hoses to cool us down during the run. This is really an iconic event and I hope to return again next year to defend my title.

Running Regards
Radar

VIDEO- Training in Casablanca

Here is a video of James Attard and I training at the local track in Morocco. Thanks again to Leys for his expert production:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YavCW5qyz8

Casablanca Morroco

Greetings all,

We are really loving our time in Casablanca, despite the cancellation of this year's Duathlon race. Yesterday we relaxed with the family of Race Director, Jamal and his mother prepared us a beautiful cous cous and we got to explore the urban jungle of "Casa". It is amazing how welcoming and friendly people are and Sebastian couldn't be dragged away from playing soccer with the local boys in the alley way. One of the great highlights of travelling is that Sebastian can get exposure to the broader context of humanity and all it's forms around the world. It is the greatest lesson I have learned and it is really rewarding seeing him gain these experiences and have so much fun.

This morning, James Attard (fellow Aussie Duathlete) and I did a session on a dirt running track inside the local athletics stadium. The laps are 350m long and after doing an interval session the legs and clothes are completely covered in dirt. We were told that many great athletes have trained here and it shows how facilities and infrastructure are of little importance in a Spirit driven sport like running.

We are off to Marakesh for a few days and then I will try to find a big 10k road race in France next week to tune up the legs for the next races.

Running Regards
Radar