Cervélo

Cervélo supports Canada’s WoundedWarriors.ca Bike Team

Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Next Sunday, May 20th, twenty-one Canadian soldiers, who are members of the WoundedWarriors.ca bike team, will ride Cervélo S2’s as they participate in the Big Battlefield Bike Ride through France and Belgium.

This is the first time Canadian soldiers have participated in this six-day, 550-kilometre event. They will be joined on the ride by soldiers from Britain’s Hope for Heroes, all riding with one purpose - to increase awareness of and to decrease the stereotypes around mental health issues. The soldiers on the WoundedWarriors.ca team are participating as part of their own recovery therapy from Operational Stress Injuries (OSI).

Capt. Mark Chamberlain served seven months in Afghanistan and readily admits he suffers from operational stress injuries (OSI). Now he’s preparing for the bike tour in Europe. “Combat and mental injuries aren’t something to be ashamed of,” he said. “Together as a team [of soldiers] we can get through these types of things.

The six-day journey will lead the veterans through famous battlefields in France, such as Caen, Dieppe, Amiens, Arras, Ypres and Dunkirk. During the tour, the vets will attend a special ceremony at Vimy Ridge highlighting the journey.

Capt. Wayne Johnston is the founder of Wounded Warriors and says there is more than one reason for this bike tour in Europe. “Generally guys with OSI start to lose their own self worth and their own focus on life,” he said. “You go every week to see your psychologist. You take your pills everyday sometimes wondering when am I going to get off this. What this ride has done for the individuals is given them focus and helped them to build back their self-pride and self-worth. When these guys get together they’re blooming. I don’t know how else to describe it,” Johnston said.

“Cervélo became involved when we were asked by our Engineering Manager, Michael Clarry, who is also a Lieutenant Colonel and the Commanding Officer of 32 Combat Engineer Regiment,” said Phil White, Co-founder, CEO, Cervélo. “We consider it an honor to have these soldiers riding Cervélo’s to promote mental health awareness and recovery through physical fitness.”

That is also how Glenn Innes, the Cervélo Territory Manager in Ontario felt when he volunteered to accompany the soldiers on a training ride – “just to help them out with their new bikes.” Glenn and the soldiers bonded, and impressed with his attitude and manner, they invited him to ride as their guest on the Big Battlefield Bike Ride. “I am truly honored by the gesture and also very excited about participating,” he said.

You can follow the progress of the WoundedWarriors.ca via Glenn’s blog that will be posted online during the six-day tour.

To follow the riders on Twitter: @wwcajames; @wwcaphil; @wwcawayne.
To donate or support a rider: http://woundedwarriors.ca/bike-ride-2012/.

Report: Team launches Hesjedal into pink

Sun, 13 May 2012 03:05:27 GMT

Ryder Hesjedal became the first Canadian to wear the Giro d’Italia Maglia Rosa today when the team put in an enormous effort to place him on the door step in the uphill finale.

Five argyle jumped to the front of the peloton with less than 40km to go to start chasing down the breakaway before the final climb to the finish line.

There Christian Vande Velde and Peter Stetina rode with Hesjedal near the front of the shrinking main group as the break disintegrated. As the stage winner rode on to victory Hesjedal remained poised and drove in to the finish to take the pink jersey back to the team.

“I’ve been around for a while, just persisting and plugging away, and the team’s been incredible,” Hesjedal about having the race lead.

“It’s the team coming together, we’ve never done anything like this before,” Vande Velde told VeloNews.

The team is doing more than that as Vande Velde himself now sits fourth on the overall, with Stetina right behind him in fifth. As well, Stetina now has the outright lead on the Best Young Rider classification and wears the white jersey!

Report: Team owns Giro TTT, Navardauskas in pink!

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:00:35 GMT

It was another amazing team time trial for the boys in argyle, taking the win on the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia and earning the race leader’s maglia rosa for Ramunas Navardauskas. Director of Competition Allan Peiper sent this report.

After some good results during the hilly classics and second in the GC at Romandie it seemed like we were always present in the races but still yearning for more.

We flew into Denmark on the Tuesday after Romandie — just a day at home before our four week trek through Denmark and Italy. We had to pull in Ramunas Navardauskas to replace an injured Thomas Dekker. I had given Ramunas a heads up the last day of Romandie he may have to go to Italy.

He was just back after a collarbone break and still not in top form in Romandie but willing to go to Italy even though as he told me he was not wanting to disappoint. He had 12 hours at home before repacking his bags but did it as a true pro, without complaint.

Robby Ketchell our sports science director planned out the training for the days before the prologue in Denmark and the emphasis was the TTT in Verona on stage 4. We were hoping for a good result with Rasmussen in the prologue so TT work was in order.

Peter Stetina was a little nervous with so much expectation within the team that won the TTT in last year’s Tour de France. Climbers are usually not the strongest at the TTT but with some 5km efforts and repetition of the start order confidence grew that we could pull it off in Verona.

Rasmussen finished a fine third in the prologue and with six riders inside the first 30 we had done our homework. Navardauskas lead the leaders table for two hours before his time was beaten and finally finished sixth — so he was obviously in form.

Stages one and two ended in bunch sprints with Tyler Farrar finishing fourth and third respectively. Ramunas was part of a six-man break that lasted 170km on stage two so the boy who worried he was not good enough had other people worried!

The transfer to Italy was an undertaking to say the least but all arrived in Verona monday night before the rest day. It was not a rest day as such as the tension was building for the TTT. Robby Ketchell had flown in early to Verona and gone over the course with local ex-pro Eros Poli. He had seen where we had to win time and on the rest day the boys went over the course and did some efforts to keep the motor running nicely.

Today everything was set and organized to run like clockwork. The official warm-up on a closed circuit gave us the chance to go over the course at a good pace to really test the corners and climb. I thought they were riding too hard during the warm up as we sat on 55-60kph on the flat but we let them be.

Other teams saw us or were passed by us as they warmed up and I saw they were impressed as the boys drilled it in training only hours before the event. The pace they rode in training would give them the confidence in the technical parts of the course to win time on the opponents.

We started well and then Vande Velde had a moment through a corner and was a little gapped. We had to call them to ease and reorganize to let him get on. It took 3km before we hit cruise speed and at the first split we were up on Katusha.

At the second split we still led and as we turned onto the main road after the climb and descent we knew we just had to maintain the speed to win. The boys got a bit shabby in the last 5km but if that does not happen you cannot win as everyone has to be at their limit.

Stetina rode the race of his life and hung on by his nails. The stalwarts of the team VDV, Hesjedal, Farrar and Hunter kept the pace high with Bauer and Navardauskas the big motors. Rosseler did some big turns nearly exploding each time he came off the front only to find the courage to get back in line for one more pull.

At 1500 meters out Navardauskas did a huge pull and we hit a 300 meter false flat piece he came off the front and as VDV lifted the pace he went off the back. Ramunas fought to hold the gap at 3 meters and in the final left corner at 900 meters he made contact!

Into the final straight it was eyeballs out to the finish. Bauer did his final pull and come off and Stetina lost contact in the last meters but the time was inside the rest. One team to come BMC but their splits were slower and the joy was overwhelming for all of us.

Wins are hard to come by in pro sport. We have been consistent all through the Classics, Tour de Romandie and into the start of the Giro. We needed this win and the joy and pride of getting onto the podium together makes every sacrifice worth it. As we went onto the podium I said to Jack Bauer he had to remember this moment because it would be one of the peak moments of his life.

We won the TTT, our goal, but we also got the pink jersey. Ramunas Navardauskas wears pink — the boy who did not want to let us down. The one who led the prologue, in the break on stage two and now wears the coveted maglia rosa. His team mates were all overjoyed at him being the leader because he is the ultimate team player. An unassuming, shy and humble young man has hit the highlights in the Giro.

Garmin-Barracuda will defend the jersey and we will go for the stage tomorrow with Tyler and who knows, with six riders in the top 10 in GC we may just get someone else in pink in the next days!

Race Review - May 5th-6th 2012

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:01:04 GMT

In the first big race weekend of the season, teamTBB was able to put in podium performances.

Wildflower Long Course, California, USA

Saturday May 5th
Distance: 1.9 km swim • 90km bike • 21.1km run

teamTBB - USA athletes racing
Scott DeFilippis
James Cunnama

James and Scotty had great results over the weekend at Wildflower. James came off his first key race since surgery last year to race very strong and finish in 3rd place against a stacked field. James was happy with the effort and finished just behind the defending champ and Jordan Rapp. James had a solid swim, a great bike leg on the hilly hard course, and finished with a strong run on the hilly hard course. Scotty had a solid race coming in 11th place overall. He has been working on his swim all winter and showing progress. In addition, he had a good bike leg and finished with his usual amazing run performance. The tough course and conditions played to our boys favor as they are both toughmen.

Up next, Scotty is getting ready for Ironman Texas in less than two weeks. While James is looking forward to racing at the Columbia Triathlon and at the Quassy Rev3 Half-Irondistance event.

Congrats boys and best of luck on your upcoming races boys!

2012 AVIA Wildflower Long Course Triathlon
Lake San Antonio, CA / May 5, 2012

Top men

1. Jesse Thomas (USA) 3:58:59
2. Jordan Rapp (USA) 4:00:22
3. James Cunnama (RSA) 4:02:01
4. Paul Matthews (AUS) 4:03:20
5. Chris Legh (AUS) 4:04:56
6. Clayton Fettell (AUS) 4:07:35
7. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 4:07:44
8. Dustin McLarty (USA) 4:09:46
9. Stephen Kilshaw (CAN) 4:11:08
10. Nicholas Thompson (USA) 4:11:41

Find out more: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2012-main.htm

Rev3 Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Sunday May 6th
Distance: 1.5km swim • 40km bike • 10km run

teamTBB - USA athletes racing
Mathias Hecht

teamTBB - Thailand athletes racing
Christie Sym

Christie raced strong at Rev3 Knoxville Olympic distance race this weekend. She finished in 16th battling a top field that included Kelly Williamson, Becky Lavelle, Lauren Goss, Laurel Wassner, and Amanda Lovato to name a few. Christie was happy with the fast swim in the downriver current, had a solid bike on the hills, and finished with a good run. Christie used this race as another hit out as she prepares for IM Texas in less than two weeks time. She is excited to for the Ironman and knows that her fitness will come through the longer she races.

Mathias Hecht also flew over to race at the Knoxville event on his way to race Ironman Texas. I haven't heard from him, but he had a good race effort in preparation for the key event in less than two weeks. Mathias finished 13th in a very strong field of ITU and Olympic distance speclalist.

Congrats Christie and Mathias! Best of luck at Ironman Texas!

Find out more: http://www.rev3tri.com
Revolution3 Triathlon Knoxville
Knoxville, TN / May 06, 2012
1.5k swim / 40k bike / 10k run

Top men

1. Greg Bennett (USA) 1:47:02
2. Cameron Dye (USA) 1:47:44
3. Andrew Yoder (USA) 1:48:13
4. Kaleb VanOrt (USA) 1:49:16
5. Chris Foster (USA) 1:49:34

Top women

1. Kelly Williamson (USA) 2:01:47
2. Lauren Goss (USA) 2:03:06
3. Laurel Wassner (USA) 2:05:30
4. Becky Lavelle (USA) 2:05:47
5. Jessica Meyers (USA) 2:06:08

Buschhutten Triathlon, Germany

Sunday May 6th
Distance: 1.5km swim • 40km bike • 10km run

teamTBB - Germany athletes racing
Per Bittner

Per faced a very competitive field in his Olympic distance race this weekend. Unfortuneatly, the fast ITU boys got a lead on the swim, and Per wasn't able to bridge back on the bike. He was dissapointed to finish in 12th and struggled in the cold rainy windy conditions. He is looking forward to his next race the Challenge Barcelona Half Irondistance race and moving on from his dissapointment.

Find out more: http://www.tvg-buschhuetten.de

St. Croix 70.3, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
Sunday May 6th
Distance: 1.9 km swim • 90km bike • 21.1km run

teamTBB - USA athletes racing
Mary Beth Ellis

Mary Beth took on the "Beast" at St. Croix but feel short of the race win coming in 2nd to Angela Naeth!

Mary Beth was also Lance'd pretty handily. After a disappointing race at St. Anthony’s, Mary Beth had a solid race that at least showed some of her fitness. However, she is looking forward and focusing on Ironman Texas in less than two weeks.

MBE was not happy with the swim as she led the whole way only to have a cheeky Nina Kraft pull around her with 15 meters to go and exit the water first. On the bike, the rain slowed the descents and race down as there were some section of slick roads and some sections of very deep standing water. The run was hot and humid but at least the rain had a happy side effect of cloudy skies keeping the runners cooler than normal. MBE was happy with the bike but wish she had gone for the win instead of just jogging through the run. Next time, she said she will go for blood.

Congrats on tackling the Beast and finshing 2nd, MBE! Best of luck in Texas coming up soon!

Find out more: http://www.stcroixtriathlon.com

Ironman 70.3 St. Croix
St. Croix, US Virgin Islands / May 6, 2012
1.2m swim / 56m bike / 13.1m run

Top women

1. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:28:12
2. Mary-Beth Ellis (USA) 4:33:34
3. Sara Gross (CAN) 4:46:33
4. Nina Kraft (GER) 4:47:44
5. Tamara Kozulina (UKR) 4:47:51
6. Kim Loeffler (USA) 4:49:24
7. Jenny Fletcher (USA) 4:59:40
8. Stephanie Jones (USA) 5:01:01
9. Marie Danais (CAN) 5:01:50
10. Karen Smyers (USA) 5:08:07

Great racing teamTBB!

Cervélo P5 at the Giro d’Italia

Tue, 08 May 2012 21:55:09 GMT

Two weeks ago I flew to Girona, Spain to help the pro mechanics finalize the setup of the new P5s for the first happy Team Garmin-Barracuda riders. The team learned at November’s Boulder training camp that we had a new TT bike coming, and they were really looking forward to riding it, especially after Dave Zabriskie told them about the P5 he took home from January’s wind tunnel test.

The mechanics really appreciated the simple assembly of the bikes: standard fork steerer tube and headset bearings, easy internal routing of Di2 cables (the battery’s hidden pocket is super clean too) and the utterly simple set up of the Magura hydraulic brakes. That’s thanks to the “Simple” part of the P5’s twin design goals, “Simply.Faster.” After learning a few new details on the first one, the mechanics spent significantly less time setting up and adjusting the P5s compared to other TT bikes.

A rare look “under the hood” during assembly. It only looks a bit messy because I snapped this photo “in process,” before final lengths were cut and cables tucked in. The hollow base bar and stem are designed so all cables are 100% internal, reducing aero drag by up to 40 grams (4 Watts).

Rider sizing was a question at first, since the P5 has 24mm higher frame stack than the P4, but it can be set up lower than the P4 or higher than the P2 due to its bespoke integrated aero bar. Measuring arm pad stack and reach on the riders’ existing P4s made looking up the right P5 size and handlebar configuration really straightforward. We printed out several copies of the P5 Arm Pad Stack & Reach Table and filled in one for each rider. It’s linked at the bottom of the P5’s geometry tab on the web page at cervelo.com, where anyone can use the same stack & reach table as the Team.

While I was in Spain we built P5s for David Millar, Christian Vande Velde, Ryder Hesjedal and Alex Rasmussen.

Alex rode his P5 to third place in the prologue a few days ago, which is a super good ride by him. He said the P5 corners excellently, which no doubt helped on this course.

Ramunas Navardauskas wasn’t sure whether he’d get a P5, but last week the mechanics determined he’d take a size 56 with Low handlebars and 15mm of fork spacers and built it up for him this week. The following photos are thanks to Robby Ketchell, Slipstream’s Sports Scientist.

You can see how happy Ramunas is to hear that he’ll get a P5 for the Giro.

Ramunas’ P5 is set up with 15mm of AeroMatched fork spacers between the frame and stem to raise his arm pad stack to the perfect height for his riding position.

Ramunas’ P5 aero bars are the Low configuration and his arm pads are mounted forward and wide. Ramunas is riding straight extensions, but any standard 22.2mm diameter extensions can fit into the base bar. Ramunas’ Garmin 500 is perched neatly on the handlebar’s TrueAero cross brace.

Good luck to the Team Garmin-Barracuda pros in the coming stages! Watch for the Team in the Team TimeTrial Tomorrow!

teamTBB racing around the world this weekend

Sat, 05 May 2012 15:11:46 GMT

With May upon us, the race season is getting into full swing now the better weather approaches in the northern hemisphere.

Wildflower Long Course, California, USA
Saturday May 5th
Distance: 1.9 km swim • 90km bike • 21.1km run

teamTBB - USA athletes racing
Scott DeFilippis
James Cunnama

James and Scotty are leading teamTBB racing taking on the iconic Wildflower long distance event this weekend!

Scotty and James will be ready to battle a strong men’s field at Wildflower this weekend. After an amazing training camp in Australia, Scotty is better shape than ever and is using this race as a hit out before he tackles IM Texas in two weeks. James is coming off surgery last year on his knee last year and dealing with some ongoing issues. However, he looking to build on his podium performance last year and move up the podium.

The men’s field will include last year’s winner Jesse Thomas as well as Clayton Fettel, Jordan Rapp, and to name a few of the top contenders.

The course is very tough from start to finish. The swim is one loop in the cold clear lake waters. Then, the athletes move onto the bike where they will complete one loop that is almost all undulating terrain and includes the famous Nasty Grade climb. Finally, the athletes will run a mix of roads and trails to finish off with a hilly half marathon run. The tough course and conditions should play to our boys favor as they are both toughmen.

After his tough camp in Australia, Scotty is ready for a barn-burner and is hoping to run himself into contention. While James is looking for a solid showing after his surgery and hopes to use this race to build his fitness and form for the entire season.

Best of luck to the boys!

Find out more: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2012-main.htm

Rev3 Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Sunday May 6th
Distance: 1.5km swim • 40km bike • 10km run

teamTBB - Thailand athletes racing
Christie Sym
Christie heads to the Rev3 Knoxville Olympic distance race this weekend. After a solid showing against some of the top Olympic distance athletes last weekend at St. Anthony’s, Christie is hoping to improve and use the harder bike and run courses to show her Ironwoman strength. She will battle a top field that includes Kelly Williamson, Becky Lavelle, Lauren Goss, Laurel Wassner, and Amanda Lovato to name a few.

The Knoxville course starts with a cold swim the river with some upstream and downstream sections, moves onto a hilly challenging bike course around the country with some good climgs and quick descents on the roads outside Knoxville, and finishes with a flat and fast run course.

Christie is using this race as another hit out as she prepares for IM Texas in a few weeks. She is excited to improve on last weekend’s efforts and have a solid bike/run as she builds into the Ironman in a few weeks.

Have an amazing race Christie!

Find out more: http://www.rev3tri.com

Buschhutten Triathlon, Germany
Sunday May 6th
Distance: 1.5km swim • 40km bike • 10km run

teamTBB - Germany athletes racing
Per Bittner

Per will race a very competitive Olympic distance race this weekend. After his great 4th place result against a strong field at Challenge Fuerteventura, Per is very excited to get out and have another excellent race effort. The race is local for him and allows him to get a measure of where his fitness is right now as he builds into the season. While the non-drafting Olympic is shorten than he usually races, he is very eager to get in a quick event. He will battle the biggest names in the sport including Andy Ralert, Sebastian Kienle, Stefan Justus, Maik Petzold, and many more.

Per is using this race as another hit out as he gets ready to tackle his long distance season.

Have an amazing race Per show those ITU guys how tough the long course racers are!

Find out more: http://www.tvg-buschhuetten.de

St. Croix 70.3, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
Sunday May 6th
Distance: 1.9 km swim • 90km bike • 21.1km run

teamTBB - USA athletes racing
Mary Beth Ellis

Mary Beth rounds out the teamTBB racing around the world this weekend. She is taking on the "Beast" at St. Croix and very excited to see what this iconic event has to offer!
She is very excited not only to race this iconic event but also to get her first chance to race Lance. Although she may need see him much after the swim start, she is still excited for the event and looking forward to the challenging course. After a disappointing race at St. Anthony’s, Mary Beth is eager to show her fitness and have a good solid race on the bike and run. Like Scotty and Christie, she is also building up for IM Texas in two weeks.

The top contenders facing MBE at this year’s event will be Angela Naeth, Tamsin Lewis, and Kim Loeffler. The course starts with a choppy sea swim, moves onto a very hilly challenging bike course that includes the famous “Beast”, and finishes with an undulating run that promises to be hot and sticky.

MBE has had this race on her wish list for a few years and is very excited to finally get the opportunity to race on St. Croix. She is expecting the race to be very challenging and can’t wait to meet this famous “Beast”. She is excited to challenge herself and continue to build form for IM Texas.

Best of luck hope you tackle the Beast, MBE!

Find out more: http://www.stcroixtriathlon.com

Good luck, we wish you the best mechanical luck!

Report: Talansky powers to podium and best young rider in Romandie

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:30:21 GMT

A great week for the argyle in Romandie was capped off by Andrew Talansky showing the cycling world just what he can do. He nearly won the mountain time trial, resulting in second overall and securing the best young rider jersey. Allan Peiper sent this report.

We have had a great week here. Lots of laughing and a good vibe in the team. Some of the riders like Hesjedal, Vande Velde, Rasmussen and Stetina getting the final competition in before the Giro.

Martin in his final spring race the week after a super 5th place in Liege last sunday. Talansky coming into form for California and Navardauskas coming back from a collarbone injury.

We started with Dan Martin our clear leader and Talansky protected. Hesjedal was to take a back seat saving energy for the Giro.

Alex Rasmussen was our man for the prologue and he had a little bad luck with rain just as he rode as did other favourites but finished ninth against riders who rode in the dry. Ryder did a couple of good sprints the first days and showed his form with late attacks on stage one.

Peter Stetina lit it up at the foot of the final climb on stage 3 after Rasmussen and Navardauskas with help of two Rabo’s chased down the break to set up Ryder for the sprint.
Talansky had orders to do nothing but save energy and at 100m from the finish realized he was sprinting for first and just missed third by a whisker and the all so important time bonus but the writing was on the wall, he was in form and JV had already predicted that before the week.

In yesterday’s Queen stage with three first category climbs we tried to make it hard for Sky and Stetina went away with a group on the third last climb only to be chased and caught by Sky at the foot of the last climb.

Talansky and Martin went over the top of. The last climb with the leaders and Wiggins was isolated for a moment there before regroupment of 30 riders for the last 9km run in to the finish.

Today with the TT at over 1000 meters altitude and a strong wind blowing the 16km technical course with its fast descent at the start and 5km 10% climb made making choices for bikes and wheels hard.

Andrew took advice from our sports science guy Robby Ketchell and ran with TT bike and full back wheel. After the first descent of 3km Andrew was 12 seconds up on Wiggins and 10 on Evans so he was moving!

He hit the climb hard and bottomed a little half way up before rallying the last km to the top getting to the split 1s behind Porte. Knowing he was riding for fastest time gave him wings and technically he was perfect in the run in and as he crossed the line 15s up on Porte we had the right to hope for the win.

Wiggins was the only one who could disrupt the joy and he did that crossing the line less than one second ahead of Andrew. I must admit being close to tears at being so close after such a great ride. Andrew was distraught but that shifted to joy as he realized second to Wiggins in the same time plus second overall was a big statement.

Its great to be a part of the first real success of young riders. Their total disbelief and joy at those first successes are amazing to be a part of.

In the final analysis we capped off a strong week as a team, riding for the win and being in the action every day. What a great way to end the week here in Romandie with Andrew Talansky second at less than one second to Wiggins and second in the overall GC while being best young rider!

This kid Talansky is the coming man and we have the depth behind him to support that in the future!

Dominating Double Wins for teamTBB this weekend

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 02:20:46 GMT

Xena and Dave of Alaska teamTBB Philippines double teamed the competition both winning at the Koh Samui Triathlon in Thailand this weekend. This will be a unique long course event offered up the biggest prize purse in all of Asia and drew a star-studded stacked field. The race made Dave and Xena work hard with a challenging course and very hot humid conditions. The race started with a very warm 34 degree Celsius 4K swim then a 123K bike and finished with a 30K run in 40 degree hot and humid conditions. Dave raced smart all day and stole the win running past and defeating a stellar field that included Cam Brown, Dirk Bockel, Faris Al Sultan, and Marino Vanhoenacker to name a few. The women's side is not nearly as stacked our Xena took the race from the start and lead all day racing strong in all three disciplines. Carrie Lester finished in 2nd battling strong all day and Ali Fitch struggled but battled home strong in 9th place.

Xena reported in that the race conditions were incredibly tough and said she was very proud of Dave for his win against such a strong field of men. She summed up the weekend saying "Koh Samui Triathlon: beautiful place, beautiful people, awesome race! Aaron reported in that he struggled on the day and the race conditions were the toughest he has ever experienced. He was dissapointed to finish 6th but is looking forward to his next race for redemption. Matt also struggled on the bike and run and was unable to finish. While Ali reported that the conditions were equally tough, she was faced with additional challenges as her bike had a mechanical that kept her in the big chain ring all day and the fuel on course did not agree with her. But, Ali was proud that she battled through her gut distress and finished strong.

Female
1st Caroline Steffen (Alaska teamTBB Philippines)
2nd Carrie Lester (teamTBB Thailand)
3rd Joanna Lawn
9th Ali Fitch (Alaska teamTBB Philippines)

Male
1st David Dellow
2nd Faris Al Sultan
3rd Marino van Hoenaker
6th Aaron Farlow (teamTBB Germany)

Congrats to Xena and Dave on a great weekend of racing and a pair of wins on a tough day!

Find out more: http://www.triathlonsamui.com

Feature: Development alumni continue to impress

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 03:46:59 GMT

Slipstream Sports is proud of its commitment to developing the next generation of riders, through the Chipotle-First Solar Continental team and the Slipstream-Craddock junior development team. The fruits of this effort are increasingly visible on the Garmin-Barracuda team, most recently at the Amstel Gold Race where development team alumni Alex Howes and Raymond Kreder rode in the day’s main break.

For Americans Howes and Jacob Rathe, having the development program experience is helping them in their neo-pro season.

“There is no way I would be here this year if it wasn’t for the development team,” said Rathe.

“Being able to do races like the Tour de Langkawi and the Volta Portugal were vital for me to develop into a WorldTour rider quickly. Team Director Chann Mcrae doesn’t just want to help his riders get results so they can go to the WorldTour, but wants to challenge them so that they will be ready when it happens.”

Multiple years on the Continental team gave Howes a ramping-up effect. “The development team did a good job of slowly increasing the level and intensity of racing. By my final year, I was able to handle two tough 10-day stage races and race well in both of them.”

Despite the experience gained racing on the Continental team, the difference between that and the big show is still going to be significant. When asked what is most apparent, both immediately said the speed of everything is much faster.

“The speed these guys can maintain on the long climbs is incredible. Especially after racing 200km!” said Howes.

“There haven’t been too many surprises, but the main difference is how fast things happen in the races,” said Rathe. “Decisive moments can happen much more quickly.”
An additional aspect for Rathe and Howes, compared to a rider like Raymond Kreder, is adapting to living in Europe full-time.

“The transition has gone well so far,” said Howes. “It was a little rough to start with all the details that had to be worked out but that was expected. Now, I’m feeling quite happy and content in Girona and I always look forward to spending time there. We have a good crew of young riders there and we do our best to look out for each other.”

The young riders have already made their marks in races, with Raymond helping older brother Michel to three wins so far this season, in addition to riding in the break at Amstel Gold.

“My highlight has to be riding in the break at Amstel Gold with Raymond Kreder,” said Howes. “It was long tough day but I had a blast being off the front of my first Classics race.”

Racing a Classic was also Rathe’s highlight of his first pro season. “No question about it, riding the Tour of Flanders was the highlight. It has been my favorite race for a long time and the whole experience was surreal.”

Hot and fast racing for teamTBB this weekend

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

This weekend sees teamTBB showing the colors in Thailand.

Koh Samui Triathlon, Thailand
Sunday April 22nd
Distance: 4 km swim • 123km bike • 30km run

teamTBB - Philippines athletes racing
Caroline Steffen
Dave Dellow
Ali Fitch

teamTBB - Thailand athletes racing
Aaron Farlow
Matt Bailey

Xena, Dave, and Ali hot off the offical launch of teamTBB Alaska Milk Philippines will lead a star-studded teamTBB crew also including Aaron Farlow and young gun Matt Bailey to race at the Koh Samui Triathlon in Thailand this weekend. This will be a unique long course event that promises a star-studded stacked field, a challenging course, and very hot humid conditions. This is the first year of the event, since last year just weeks before it was due to go ahead severe flooding washed roads away and made it impossible to hold the event. This new race is very attractive to top professionals as it has a huge prize purse in conditions similar to the Kona Ironman in Hawaii later in the year. For the age group athletes, it is an amazing location to race and enjoy a holiday in paradise. The weather will be very hot and humid. The race starts with a long swim in the sea moves onto a challenging bike and finishes with the run where the heat and humidity will be the biggest challenge facing the racers. The men's field is stacked in addition to our Dave and Aaron. There are many top Irondistance athletes including Cam Brown, Dirk Bockel, Faris Al Sultan, and Steffan Poulat to name a few. The women's side is not nearly as stacked our Xena is the clear favorite. But Ali will have some good competition including Belinda Granger and Jo Lawn and a few other top Ironwomen from around the world.

Xena says that she feels ready to go and is looking forward to a fun race. Ali is also very excited especially coming off her first win with teamTBB just a few weeks ago. She has no expectations but has had a good number of solid weeks training in the heat and hopes that will be to her advantage. And Ali is ready to compete and go for a podium against the top Ironwomen in the field. Aaron is also very excited to race after a great block of training after his New Zealand 70.3. Aaron has been training hard with the team on the Sunshine Coast and is confident in his preparations. He is hoping that he and Dave are atop the podium on Sunday. After his breakthrough race at IM Melbourne, Dave has racovered well and has been training hard with the team on the Sunshine Coast. He said that his training has been going really well, and he is excited to have a good one backing up on his form in Melbourne. While young gun Matty has been training hard, he is ready to fly and show those old boys how it is done.

Best of luck teamTBB stars! Go for the podium and fight hard.

Find out more: http://www.triathlonsamui.com

Kreder, Dekker win Sarthe sprint stages

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:37:39 GMT

Thomas Dekker took his first sprint win in the argyle on the final stage of the Circuit Sarthe. Earlier in the race Michel Kreder repeated his first win as pro from 2011, winning the sprint on stage 2a!

“I am really happy with my first sprint win for Garmin-Barrucuda,” Dekker said after the race.

“I had a difficult period after Paris-Nice because I got the flu, and I was worried to get in shape again for the Ardennes Classics. Now I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks!”
Michel Kreder’s win was reminiscent of his two earlier wins this year, with younger brother and first-year pro Raymond leading the team effort.

“We decided that he’d do the same as at the Tour Med,” Michel recounted to Cyclingnews. “He left a gap behind me at the exit of the roundabout with 500 metres to go. I took an advantage of 20 to 30 metres and never got caught.”

Records fall to teamTBB

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 03:31:56 GMT

teamTBB had a very successful weekend in the two races they participated in.

Pico De Loro Invitational, Philippines
Sunday April 1st
Distance: 1.2 km swim • 35km bike • 8km trail run
teamTBB - Philippines athlete racing
Mathieu O'Halloran
Ali Fitch

Matty and Ali re-wrote the record books at the Pico De Loro International Triathlon in the Philippines. Both Matt and Ali took on the competition and destroyed their respective mens and womens fields. Both Matty and Ali represent the Alaska teamTBB Philippines and were excited to open their seasons with big wins on their team soil. Matty faced stiff competition from Swedish pro Frederick Cronenberg who pushed him to a new course record by almost ten minutes. Conversely, Ali faced very little pressure but raced herself hard to a new women’s record breaking the old mark by almost thirty minutes and finishing third overall among men and women. In addition, Ali's new women's record was under the men's old mark. Ali's husband Stu also raced and stomped the age group competition coming in 5th overall.

We were able to catch up with Matty after the race. He said "this race was challenging technically, physically and mentally due to the stormy weather and multi loop course. I was able to be evenly strong in all 3 disciplines and am very happy to do my first road triathlon since August of last year." He added that winning in a new course record was an amazing bonus to a great race day.

Ali was equally excited after her race. She struggled with illness after Singapore 70.3, and "was a bit ragged on the swim, but powered into the bike, putting in a big effort to gap me from the field." Onto the run, Ali said that she worked hard during the first two laps of the four lap run course to build a comfortable lead so that she could put it on cruise control into the finish. Ali added "it was amazing to win a race in such a beautiful location in the Philippines."

Congrats Matt, Ali, and Stu on a great start to the Alaska teamTBB Philippines season in 2012!

Find out more: http://www.picotri.com/

Lonestar 70.3, Galveston Texas USA
Sunday April 1st
Distance: 1.9 km swim • 90km bike • 21.1km run
teamTBB - Thailand athlete racing
Christie Sym

A new member of teamTBB, Christie Sym finished just outside the top ten at North American 70.3 Championships in Galveston Texas. Chrisitie had some mechanical issues on the bike that may have led some racers to quit, but she persevered to continue the bike and finished strong on the run. She is a tough athlete and will be back and ready to fights again in her next race.

Congrats Christie and welcome to teamTBB! We look forward to watching you improve with the team over the rest of 2012!

Find out more: http://www.ironmanlonestar.com

Record-breaking weekend for TeamTBB’s Matt O’Halloran and Ali Fitch in Philippines

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 15:00:45 GMT

Matty and Ali re-wrote the record books today at the Pico De Loro International Triathlon in the Philippines. Both Matt and Ali represent the Alaska teamTBB Philippines and were excited to open their seasons with big wins on their team soil. Matty faced some competition from Swedish pro Frederick Cronenberg who pushed him to a new course record by almost ten minutes. Conversely, Ali faced no pressure but raced herself hard to a new women’s record breaking the old mark by almost thirty minutes and finishing third overall among men and women.

Congrats Matt and Ali on a great start to the Alaska teamTBB Philippines season in 2012!

Race Preview - March 31st- April 1st 2012

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:21:59 GMT

This weekend sees teamTBB on opposite sides of the planet racing.

Lonestar 70.3, Galveston Texas USA
Sunday April 1st
Distance: 1.9 km swim • 90km bike • 21.1km run
teamTBB - Thailand athlete racing
Christie Sym

A new member of teamTBB, Christie Sym will be racing in the USA at the North American 70.3 Championships in Galveston Texas. Chrisitie just joined the team a few weeks ago and is excited to kick off her season as a part of the team. She is looking forward to a great race the suits her strengths. The swim will be an easy wetsuit swim in the bay followed by a flat but windy bike along the coast and finish with a loop run that is spectator friendly. Christie is coming off a top ten at Abu Dhabi and eager to get another top ten result here. The women's field is stacked with many of the top 70.3 athletes including Angela Naeth, Heather Wurtele, Kelly Williamson, Amy Marsh, and many more. Christie will have her work cut out for her but she is relishing the challenge.

Best of luck Christie and welcome to teamTBB! We look forward to watching you race fast this weekend and continue to improve with the team all through 2012!

Find out more: http://www.ironmanlonestar.com

Pico De Loro Invitational, Philippines
Sunday April 1st
Distance: 1.2 km swim • 35km bike • 8km trail run
teamTBB - Philippines athlete racing
Mathieu O'Halloran
Ali Fitch

Matt and Ali are very excited to race this small but growing event in the Philippines. There is reasonable prize money, and it is a great 2nd year event in the growing triathlon community around the resort in Batangas. The event has a scenic and tough course. It will start with an ocean swim in a clear sandy cove at the resort. Then the bike course has a big hill at the start and finish but is mostly flat through the rest of the ride. The run is a short loop course around the resort with plenty of opportunity to see spectators.

In the mens' event, Jurgen Zack will be racing as well some other pros who train at the new sports center in Phuket including Frederick Cronenberg of Sweden. Matty is excited to avenge his bad mechanical luck during his Xterra two weekends ago and is excited to test out his new Cervélo, Campy components, and fast 2XU trisuit. In addition, it is exciting to kick off the season on the roads and get to race at the resort which is the prime training base for the Alaska TeamTBB Philippines squad

In the women's event, Ali shouldn't have much competition. However, she will try to chick as many of the male pros as she can. In addition, Ali is looking forward to the course as it includes a couple of steep challenging hills after exiting the swim leg from Pico de Loro Cove. In addiition, Ali is very excited to compete in her first race in the Philippines as a member of the new teamTBB Philippines team. The picturesque Hamilo Coast will be a great place to race, but I am going to try not to admire the view and instead get my first win of 2012.

Best of luck Matt and Ali!

Find out more: http://www.picotri.com/

Xena Stuns at Ironman Melbourne

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:33:36 GMT

Another weekend another win for teamTBB, Caroline Steffen, aka Xena, detonated the competition this weekend with an amazing performance. She stunned the entire women's field winning by over 11 minutes over 2nd place, Rachel Joyce, and over 29 minutes ahead of the 2010 Ironman World Champion, Mirinda Carfrae, who finished 3rd. Xena ripped an 8:34 Ironman joining the sub-9 hour club using a super fast 4:35 bike and 3:01 marathon to achieve that feat. By the finish, Xena made a stellar women's field look pedestrian as she walked away with the win. Xena has become the 2nd fastest Ironwoman of all time second only to Chrissy Wellington. Likewise, Xena has demonstrated that she will be one to watch in Kona this October.

In addition, Dave Dellow showed the form that helped him capture a win at the Noosa Triathlon last fall. He came in with a solid 8:04 to finish 5th in a stacked field of professional men only 7 minutes behing Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander. Dave is well on his way to qualifying for Kona, and we are excited to watch him build upon his stellar performance for the rest of 2012.

Carrie Lester showed fine form landing at 8th in the women's race. In her first race with teamTBB, Carrie battled a strong women's field and had a great result. Hiro and Maki aslo performed great in their first Ironman races of 2012. They will continue to build upon their results here and look to improve throughout the year.

Congrats to Xena, Dave, Carrie, Maki, and Hiro! These teamTBB all-stars have set a high bar for the rest of the team!

Find out more: http://www.ironmanmelbourne.com/

Xena leads a hungry teamTBB

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:30:22 GMT

This weekend sees Caroline Steffen leadng teamTBB at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship in Melbourne.

Ironman Melbourne, Australia
Sunday March 25th
Distance: 3.8 km swim • 180km bike • 42.2km run

teamTBB - Philippines athlete racing
Caroline Steffen
Dave Dellow

teamTBB - Japan athlete racing
Maki Nishiuchi
Hiro Nishiuchi

teamTBB - Thailand athlete racing
Carrie Lester

Xena will lead a star-studded teamTBB crew to race at the Asian Pacific Ironman Championship in Melbourne this weekend. This will be a unique Ironman race that promises a star-studded stacked field and a fun challenging course. The race will start with a two loop swim in the bay of Frankston move to an undulating, windy bike course on the highway, and finish with a windy rolling run course from Frankstown to Melbourne St. Kilda. The weather could be anything from hot and humid to cold and wet. But all the racers will have to complete the same course facing whatever conditions the event throws their way. The women's field will include not only our Xena but also Mirinda Carfrae, Rachel Joyce, Rebekah Keat, Gina Crawford, Jo Lawn, and Belinda Granger. In addition, the men's field is equally stacked with top Kona finishers including Craig Alexander, Luke McKenzie, Luke Bell, Greg Bennett, Joe Gambles, and many more.

Xena says that she feels ready to go and is looking forward to a very close race. She hopes that it will be a fun fast group of females to challenge her the whole way. Carrie is also very excited to start her season with teamTBB. She has no expectations but has had a good number of solid weeks training with Brett and the team on the Sunshine Coast. Carrie is eager to see how she feels racing after a good block of training. She hopes for a good clean race and can't wait to see her own improvements. And Carrie said that a good placing against a stacked women's field would be a massive bonus! Dave has also been training hard with the team on the Sunshine Coast. He said that his training has been going really well with the 6 weeks up at Thredbo followed by 4 weeks on the coast with Sutto and the team. Dave is very keen to race and excited to have a good one in Melbourne. He hopes to pick up some good points and take the pressure off in regards to qualifying for Kona. Maki and Hiro will be rounding out the teamTBB crew flying in from Japan for the event. Maki and Hiro are excited to kick off their 2012 season against a strong field and have been training well back home all winter.

Best of luck teamTBB stars! Go for the podium and fight hard.

Find out more: http://www.ironmanmelbourne.com/

TeamTBB’s Mary Beth Ellis captures her first win of 2012!

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:02:24 GMT

TeamTBB USA athlete Mary Beth Ellis won the Singapore 70.3 taking the lead from the start to finish with a comfortable lead of over 6 minutes at the finish. Mary Beth stormed to the lead with a strong swim, then increased her advantage on the flat fast bike course, and held on in the oppressive 30+ degree heat and humidity for the win. Ali Fitch in her first race for teamTBB also raced and finished a strong 4th place. Congrats MBE and Ali on a great start to 2012!

For all the official race reports, athlete blogs and forum discussions please check: www.teamtbb.com

USAT names Mary Beth Ellis USAT Elite Non-Drafting Athlete of the Year

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:22:54 GMT

USA Triathlon announced their Elite Athletes of the Year. For the second year in a row, the long course Elite Non-Drafting Athlete of the Year was a teamTBB athlete. In 2010, the amazing Amy Marsh took home the honor and in 2011 the honor went to Mary Beth Ellis. USA Triathlon honored ITU Elite Athletes of the Year Sarah Groff and another former teamTBBer Manny Huerta. In addition to MBE, Jordan Rapp was honored as the Male Elite Non-Drafting Athlete of the Year. Barrett Brandon Chair of the USA Triathlon Athlete Advisory Council said that the selection was tough as “2011 was a year filled with many incredible triathlon performances. The AAC carefully examined the résumés and results of all the nominees, and is proud to honor these exceptional athletes. With the quality of nominees, the selections were no easy task. The AAC congratulates all the 2011 winners.”

Mary Beth reported in to teamTBB, "I am so honored to be selected by USA Triathlon as the Non-Drafting Elite Athlete of the Year. There are so many talented US female triathletes that accomplished amazing things in 2011 and have helped elevate the sport and pushed me to improve my performance. I couldn't have done it without teamTBB's support when I was down and out. In addition, my 2011 success is a true testament to the skill of my coach Brett Sutton who brought my triathlon career back to life. I also owe a big thank you to my supportive family and husband."

Congrats to Mary Beth! And big congrats to Doc and teamTBB for helping to bring out the best in yet another athlete! I am sure that 2012 will highlight amazing performances from new and returning teamTBB athletes!

Read the full press release at USA Triathlon now: http://www.usatriathlon.org/news/articles/2012/3/030112-elite-aoy.aspx

Weekend Race Recap: Abu Dhabi & IMMZ

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:24:03 GMT

This weekend saw teamTBB racing in the desert of Abu Dhabi and the lush greenery of New Zeland. Here are the reports from both races.

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, Abu Dhabi U.A.E.
Saturday March 3rd
Distance: 3 km swim • 200km bike • 20km run

teamTBB - Philippines athlete racing
Caroline Steffen

teamTBB - Germany athlete racing
Diana Riesler
teamTBB - Germany athlete racing
Joe Spindler
teamTBB - Gran Canaria athlete racing
Dan Halksworth
teamTBB - Gran Canaria athlete racing
Stephen Bayliss

teamTBB - USA athlete racing
James Cunnama

As promised, the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon produced fast and competitive races on the female and male side. Top teamTBB results were Xena in 3rd, Diana in 10th, Dan in 11th, and Stephen in 13th.

On the men's side, James had some mechanical issues and was forced to withdraw on the bike. Likewise Jo had difficulties and also could not finish. However, Stephen and Dan produced great early season efforts both finishing just outside the top ten in the stacked male professional field. Dan reported in that "I am pleased with first race of the season. I know that I can only get stronger through the year with more miles on the bike." I look forward to seeing the progress and improvements throughout the season along with the results. Stephen was happy with the race. He said that "he had a decent swim coming out in the front group with a 1min gap to the lone leader, Clayton Fettell. Then, the long 200km bike started with a big group of about 15 including myself that very gradually started to lose athletes. I lost touch with this group around 150km and lost too much time to be close enough to catch up to a top 10 position on the 20km run." Stephen said that he was pleased with the race as it was a good way to start the year by getting in this long race building bike fitness. Stephen finished in 13th position, while Dan was in 11th. Here at teamTBB we have no doubt that Dan and Stephen will be back in Abu Dhabi next year to battle for the big money with the boys next year.

On the women's side, Caroline Steffen, aka Xena, rounded out the podium in 3rd place only a few minutes behind the winner while Diana finished in 10th. Caroline was excited for the race and happy with the results after a big block of training getting ready for IM Melbourne. Xena started the day with a solid swim, battled through the bike, and finished with a strong run. It was a great way to kick off her 2012 season and excellent way to build fitness for her key Ironman event coming up at IM Melbourne in a few weeks. Diana was also pleased with her race after a long winter in Germany. Despite not biking as well as she would have liked, Diana will use this race to get ready for IM South Africa next month.

Congrats to everyone on teamTBB for their excellent early season races! This is only a harbinger of even better things to come!

Find out more: http://www.abudhabitriathlon.com/

Ironman New Zealand, Taupo New Zealand
Saturday March 3rd
Distance: 3.8 km swim • 180km bike • 42.2km run

teamTBB - Thailand athletes racing
Aaron Farlow

The weather in Taupo was crazy from 120km/hour winds to rains coming down sideways. Sadly for the Ironman competitors the race on Saturday was cancelled, but the organizers worked hard to put on a 70.3 Sunday in place of Saturday's Ironman. For the pros, the race offered the same prize money and points as the Ironman. While Aaron was looking forward to racing an Ironman, he was happy that the organizers did their best and still put on an event under the less than ideal circumstances.

In the shortened Ironman New Zealand, Aaron finished 5th in the strong field. He had a solid swim and bike but felt he lacked a bit of zip on the run. Aaron reported in that the result "was not as good as he hoped to achieve but he walked away with the same money and points as an Ironman with half the effort" Aaron is glad that the shortened event will allow him to recover quickly and get into camp ready to fire away. In addition, Aaron noted that the race course was alot flatter than he was led to believe. Unfortunately for Aaron the uber-biker, the bike turned into a large pack and would not let anyone get away. Aaron said he "rode and swam well but just wasn't good enough on the day to win the race."

Congrats on a solid race Aaron! Best of luck with your next Ironman race hopefully the weather is more favorable!

Find out more: http://www.ironman.co.nz/main.cfm?id=158

Report: Tour de Langkawi, stages 8 & 9

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 23:25:37 GMT

After many days of hot, sweltering sun with temps in the triple digits, rain cooled off the Tour de Langkawi and the argyle armada took many shots for another stage win. DS Allan Peiper sent this report.

Did you know Langkawi was the 4th longest stage race of the year? After the 3 Grand Tours of 21 days its Switzerland and…Langkawi at 10 days long.

Stage 8 was a short one because of the prayer day and we had to be finished by mid day so a 9am start for 100km. We wanted to give Raymond Kreder a shot at the sprint but after the breakaway on stage 7 he was a little tired and in the sketchy sprint finish he was 10th.

Today’s stage 9 was a longer 165km stage. We had the plan to get someone in the break. Not a small break because that has nearly no chance of surviving but a bigger break like Ray was in with 16 riders.

Androni wanted to let a small controllable break go but every time we closed it down and for 80km there were attacks and regroupments until finally 4 riders got away with Haas. Not the outcome we wanted but a chance.

The first 2 hours averaged 51km/h and agter 3hrs the average was 48.3km/h! The break got two minutes and Drapac started to chase. Vini Farnese helped in the final and the break was caught at 5km to go.

A big crash 3km out and only 30 riders left in the group as a consequence. I had spoken with Raymond about trying to get the jump on Guardini in the sprint to give himself at least the lead in the sprint and obviously the upper hand initially.

Today he went early at 300m out getting the jump on Guardini and held on for a long time just getting passed in the final meters by Guardini and finishing third. A promising effort from our neo’s here today!

Tomorrow’s final stage another short one of 114km with some final laps at the end. It will be scrappy for sure in the sprint but Raymond has the smell for the sprint.

Tommy D finally got a flight out of the South China Sea and is Euro-bound after three days of trying to get out — hopefully a quick recovery for him. Dave Z is back from the land of the sun-stroked and feels good on his bike again. The heaps of rain probably helped too.

Report: Tour de Langkawi update, stages 6 & 7

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:00:51 GMT

Though the first half of the race went great for the Garmin-Barracuda, illness and crashes have taken a toll on the argyle armada. Sporting Director Allan Peiper sent this report.

Tommy D really took some skin off his right leg in his crash on stage 3. It got infected and the medical staff has been working him, but yesterday’s Queen stage to Genting did not help his injury and he suffered. Tom Peterson and Nathan Haas fought like true soldiers after 5 days on the front for Zabriskie and Danielson. They finished 13th and 15th after 32km of climbing with gradient of up to 20%.

Peterson was in a group of ten but got a hunger bonk at 3km from the finish. Two CLIF gels from the car and he picked up within a minute but the group was gone and with the steepest part of the climb there was no coming back. Haas came from further back and finished 100 meters behind Peterson. Peterson the super domestic and Haas the talent for the future. What will this kid do in the future? I am curious. He is fast and can climb pretty well.

Today the longest stage 205km to the other side of the island and a super fast start with 102km covered in the first 2 hrs so 51 average! After 60km 16 riders got away and Raymond Kreder was with them. Our boys never let a group go until the big one went.

The group went out to 4:30 and we thought Raymond had a great chance. As it turned out he won the sprint for fifth. He’s been having a great ride here in Malyasia and he is fast and knows how to race.

Tommy D did not start today due to his infection, and Dave Z is hanging in there. I’m proud of how the team has ridden throughout the race — three days to go and two short stages left. It should be some exciting racing yet!

teamTBB Ready to Rip in Abu Dhabi and IM NZ

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:16:39 GMT

This weekend sees a phlethora of teamTBB athletes participating in Abu Dhabi and New Zealand.

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, Abu Dhabi U.A.E.
Saturday March 3rd
Distance: 3 km swim • 200km bike • 20km run

teamTBB - Philippines athlete racing
Caroline Steffen

teamTBB - Germany athlete racing
Diana Riesler
teamTBB - Germany athlete racing
Joe Spindler

teamTBB - Gran Canaria athlete racing
Dan Halksworth
teamTBB - Gran Canaria athlete racing
Stephen Bayliss

teamTBB - USA athlete racing
James Cunnama

As has been the case for the past two years, Abu Dhabi International Triathlon promises to be another amazing weekend of stacked racing on both the women's and men's sides. And this year, teamTBB is sending an all-star crew of male and female triathletes to contest the event. Caroline Steffen who finished 2nd last year is ready to take the title as the defending champion Julie Dibens is sidelined with some injuries. Fellow uber-bike, Diane will be ready to roll up the field on the bike looking for a top 5 result in the women's field. In the men's race, James Cunnama is back and racing after a 9 month struggle with injuries. James is ready to use this race as a stepping stone to kick off an amazing 2012 campaign. Joining James will be Dan, Stephen, and Joe all looking to use strong bike legs to build fitness for the year and contend for a top ten spot. Stephen Bayliss returning to race Abu Dhabi after racing there last year has had a great training camp in Gran Canaria with Dan. Dan and Stephen are ready to blast a fast swim show off their strong biking legs and battle for the money with the big boys on the run.

The Abu Dhabi triathlon is a tortous day starting with a choppy 3K sea swim in the salty gulf of oman, moving onto a windy and hot 200K bike ride, and finishing with a sweltering run along the deserted desert streets. The course is challenging mentally and physically and will provide an excellent opportunity for the teamTBB members to test themselves against the best athletes in the sport. Both fields are stacked with many of the top ten finishers from the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and top 70.3 athletes including Leanda Cave, Melissa Rollinson, Rachel Joyce, Angela Naeth, Heather Wurtele on the women's side. And the event will feature many of the world's best triathletes on the men's side including Frederick Van Lierder, Eneko Llanos, Dirk Bockel, Rasums Henning, Chris Lieto, and Faris Al Sutan so the teamTBB men will have their work cut out for them.

Caroline told us that she is "very excited to race in Abu Dhabi again after great experience 2010 and 2011. It is an unique race with sensational organisation and a high level starter field. Great race to kick off the 2012 season, perfect race distance to get ready for IM Melbourne."

James wrote in to say "this weekend will see my return to racing in the Abu Dhabi International Tri. After almost 7 months without racing this will be a bit of a test run in the build up to Ironman South Africa in April. My training has gone really well since I started again after my knee op in November and I am looking forward to getting out there and mixing it up with the best athletes again for one of the biggest prize purses in our sport."

Dan is looking forward to this weekends race; it will be a step up from the 70.3 distance. He said "the bike is going to be the big challenge for me but it will be another 200k in the legs. The field looks as strong as ever and the weather is looking a little milder than last year so a big bonus."

Stephen said that he and Dan have just arrived to Abu Dhabi. He said "it is a very spectacular place with all the amazing buildings and new construction going on. I am really looking forwrad to the race, it will be a good test to start the year with. I will aim for a strong performance and hope to get hold of some of the prize money on offer."

Diana and Joe are also excited. They reported that "it is our first time in Abu Dhabi and our 1st race for 2012. We're both very excited. And when two athletes in one household do the same race, it's like an inferno." Joe and Diana are eager to race after having some really good training sessions over the last few weeks. The only problem was that they couldn't train outside because of the winter in Germany with snow everywhere. But both Joe and Diana have had some excellent treadmill and bike turbo sessions. Diana and Joe said they both feel fit and fresh for this race and it be a good judge of their form after winter.

Best of luck to the teamTBB men and women racing in the desert get your just desserts!

Find out more: http://www.abudhabitriathlon.com/

Ironman New Zealand, Taupo New Zealand
Saturday March 3rd
Distance: 3.8 km swim • 180km bike • 42.2km run

teamTBB - Thailand athletes racing
Aaron Farlow

While many of the teamTBB all-stars are battling in the dessert, Aaron will be back in New Zealand. After his win last month at Challenge Wannaka, Aaron will be hoping to double up with a win at Ironman New Zealand. He is excited for the race looks to build upon his success earlier this season. Aaron said the race should have cold windy weather and a very competitive field. Facing Aaron is race favorite Cam Brown, who has won this race the last 10 years. In addition to Cam, Aaron will also face Teremzo Bozzone, Marino Vanhoenacker, Keegan Williams, Marko Albert, Timonthy Reed, and many more. Aaron expects with the strong field of good swim and bike athletes the race will go out fast from the beginning. But Aaron hopes to chase down the boys on the bike and battle it out during the marathon run to challenge for thewin.

The Ironman New Zealand course starts with a cold one lap lake swim in scenic Lake Taupo followed by a 2 lap bike over rolling terrain and on the rough chip-seal roads, and will finish with a 3 lap run through town. Aaron has recovered well after Challenge Wannaka and has gotten straight back into the rhythm of training. He is eager to race again as training is going well. Aaron said "I hope to be somewhere around the leaders throughout the race. A good race will get me somewhere near the podium which is my aim." Our tough man Aaron will give those top men a run for their money and is sure to battle it out to the finish line in Taupo.

Find out more: http://www.ironman.co.nz/main.cfm?id=158

Good luck, we wish you the best mechanical luck!

How “integrated” is the P5 for Di2?

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:16:38 GMT

How “integrated” is the P5 for the Shimano Di2?

Answer: The P5 is fully integrated for Di2 installation, including internal cables and battery completely hidden inside the frame’s “hidden pocket”.

The transparent CAD image above shows where the Di2 battery (red) fits inside the hidden pocket storage compartment which is built into the P5’s frame. The original Shimano Di2 battery is neatly stored inside the P5’s seat tube in the area above the BBrightTM bottom bracket: this is the “hidden pocket.” This is an aero benefit, since a typical external Di2 battery can add up to 11 grams of aero drag. Unlike a custom battery, using Shimano’s original battery and connectors keeps Shimano’s Di2 warranty intact.

To access the hidden pocket, simply remove the rear wheel and unscrew the cover. The battery slides out easily as the electrical cables are also inside the frame and stay neatly connected to the battery holder.

If your P5 is assembled without Di2, then the hidden pocket is available to store other things, such as a spare inner tube, etc.

The Aduro aero bar is also Di2 ready, as the shift wires route through the extensions and stem, and directly into the frame through the ICS passage in the top tube.

The CAD image above shows mechanical routing but Di2 cables follow a similar path.

The junction box fits inside the stem near the front of the base bar under the bolted cover.

Alternatively, if you want to have access to the junction box at all times, it can be attached to the side or top of the stem with double sided tape. The Aduro aero bar has a Di2 cable exit port at the trailing edge of the stem to let the cables out. Another more visible option would be directly on top of the stem. Of these two options, the best aero position may be on the side of the stem, in the wake of the base bar.

Thanks for asking!

Damon Rinard, Cervélo Engineer

Report: Vanmarcke proves strongest in Omloop!

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:17:33 GMT

Sep Vanmarcke shelled favorites out of the main break with a ferocious attack and bested the remaining two in the sprint for the win!

“A dream came true today!” said a nearly speechless Vanmarcke after the race.

“It was a fast day right from the start and our first real meeting point where we said, we have to be in the front was after 140km, the Taaienberg,” said birthday boy Heinrich Haussler who took the field sprint for fourth.”

“That’s where a group went up the road with Sep in it and the rest of us could stay in the group and save our energy in case it did come back together again.”

” Sep was so strong all day, and I didn’t see it but I heard he really the strongest rider in the front and then won the sprint which was an amazing effort.”

“This is a perfect way to start off the classics and great for the team’s confidence. This is something we can really build on. I also have to say a big thank you to our mechanics because our bikes were perfect and flying along the cobbles today. All in all it was a great day.”

Zabriskie dusts the field in Langkawi, retains lead

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:00:53 GMT

Dave Zabriskie obliterated the competition in the opening time trial of the Tour de Langkawi, besting the rest by a whole minute to take the first lead. He and the team then defended the yellow jersey on the second stage. Director of Competition Allan Peiper sent this report.

Coming from Australia I love the heat but here in Langkawi its ridiculous! Dave Z’s says its hot down here, “’cause we brought the heat!”

He turned up the heat yesterday in the TT taking a minute on the rest and at just under 50km average a good ride on a normal race bike with clip-on aero bars. Tom Danielson executed well for forth place and has the form for the big climb to Gentling on stage 6. Nathan Haas also rode well for a top-ten.

Stage 2 just finished; Dave is full of banter talking about his in line skates and he has everyone in fits of laughter! I am waiting to take him to the hotel and since podium and press conference he has been for a coffee and entertaining the fans while waiting. Talk about killing time…

Today we had the plan to control the bunch until we got a small group away no bigger than five riders as we are only six riders here so better to keep it under control.
Two riders got away after 20km and Tom Peterson and Alex Howes did 80km on the front holding the break at four minutes.

We got some help from a couple of other teams at 50km to go and the two were caught in the last 10km. A hectic final 5kms with Astana heading the bunch towards the line.

Nathan Haas put Raymond Kreder just behind the Astana train but a crash and some rodeo riding by some riders and it was full on battle stations into the last kilometre.

Raymond was fifth behind Guardini after an erratic sprint and Nathan said if they get it right Raymond will get a stage win!

Tomorrow should be another sprint and another big day for us to control. Yesterday afternoon there was a storm like none I ever saw or heard, the thunder was incredible. Its an adventure down here that’s for sure!

Cervélo Joins Pon Bicycle Group

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:54:38 GMT

Pon Holdings today announced that they have acquired Cervélo Cycles, after successfully concluding negotiations that began last December.

"Cervélo is a unique brand that we are very pleased to bring into Pon Bicycle Group (PBG). The Canadian based company's state of the art technology and passion for pushing the limits of engineering has captured the imagination of cyclists around the globe," said Janus Smalbraak, CEO Pon Holdings. "With Cervélo we believe there is great potential for growth and we are looking forward to working with them to achieve these goals."

Cervélo will continue to operate independently, retaining its unique identity, innovation and premium brand positioning. This is the same strategy Pon employ with their other PBG properties, Royal Dutch Gazelle and the German manufacturer Derby Cycle where Pon is a major shareholder.

Cervélo co-founders Phil White and Gerard Vroomen both remain with Pon Bicycle Group. White will continue in his present role as Cervélo CEO. Vroomen will assume a (part-time) role as Business Development Manager within PBG, focusing on special projects for the Group.

"The opportunity for Cervélo within Pon Bicycle Group, is tremendous," said Phil White, CEO, co-founder Cervélo. "The combination of Pon's considerable resources and expertise and Cervélo's cutting edge technology will make us stronger and more competitive as we continue to engineer the best bikes on the planet."

teamTBB Welcomes Jo Spindler!

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:15:59 GMT

I’m very happy to be back as an athlete into teamTBB. I’m with the team since 2009. I had my best years as an athlete with the Doc. Besides the sport, I was interested in the TBB business model with distribution, bike stores all over the world and a professional triathlon team acting as marketing machine. Finally when I got the chance I agreed to help building up a bike boutique in Germany. This is what I did last year. And this work and responsibility was so time and energy consuming, that it was impossible to carry on as a professional athlete. Nevertheless, I was keen to build-up a business in the sport I love so much.

But soon I realized, that not the sport, but DOING THE SPORT, was the center of my life, the glue that held everything together. A non-negotiable entity which structured my day and that I built my life around. I was interested in bike shop because I wanted to ride the fastest bike. I was interested in teamTBB because I wanted to be the best athlete. I was interested in the Doc’s coaching because I wanted to know the world’s best training. Since I simply stopped training and racing this center was taken out of my life and everything started to sound wrong. Besides that, I simply felt too fit to stop training and racing at all and forever. Deep inside I knew that I did not reach my athletic potential yet. Despite almost no training I was fit, it was never easier to keep a lean body and in my head there was still this ultimate, unbeatable desire in my brain to be the best. Dolphins swim, horses run, it’s their natural expression of being alive. And a triathlet’s natural expression of life is to train. In our sport almost every athlete would earn much more money if he works in a normal job. But if you have a talent, you cannot argue for pros and cons - you just feel the desire to act it out.

There is one other thing I want to mention: Besides my role as an athlete, I’m also a Brett Sutton educated teamTBB coach. During my time with the team I had the unique opportunity to work closely together with Brett – both as an athlete and as a coach. This change of perspective from athlete to coach and back to athlete was - and is - highly instructive for me and opened my mind a lot. Every single of Brett’s camps is different. Every year he changes his training a little. It’s an evolving process. But while I have done all the sessions as an athlete, and while I know all the sessions as a coach, I still have to learn a lot about real coaching. The sessions only make 50% of an athlete’s success. The other 50% is mindset, dedication, consistency: Creating the ultimate desire to succeed. Building the environment which allows the athlete to be the best he can be. This is the area where the Doc has unique intuition and unmatched abilities to form a personality. In working together closely with Brett he gives me the opportunity to reach my ultimate long term goal: To become a coach who is able to produce world champions.

And there is one last thing I’d like to mention. The beauty about teamTBB is the passion about the triathlon sport it is driven by. Passion is the engine and the heart of this whole venture, it is what the team is keeping alive since 6 years despite all difficulties and setbacks. And it is exactly what made it by far the most successful team in triathlon. The effort that Brett and Alex have put and are putting into their athletes is simply amazing. If there is a role model about keeping going on, it’s them. This is why I want to say them a big THANK YOU for their efforts in helping athletes living their dream.

Yours in sports,
Jo

Report: Michel Kreder does it again!

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:33:21 GMT

Michel Kreder doubled-up on his wins at the Tour Méditerranéen, taking the shortened stage win as well as the leader’s yellow jersey.

“Due to bad weather the race was adapted to eleven laps of the 10km finishing circuit,” said director Bingen Fernandez.

“A breakaway of two riders was controlled by the FDJ team for most of the race. Our riders raised the pace two laps from the end which put many of our rivals under pressure in the more technical parts of the circuit.”

“Despite a strong effort in the last kilometer from the Astana team, our lead-out riders stayed together and Michel was able to do a great sprint for the win,” said director Charly Wegelius.

“The bonus seconds given to the stage winner also put him in the yellow jersey. Another good collective effort from the entire team!”
“It was a awesome team win!” said Kreder.

“I said to the team I wanted to take control and [hit the] gas with 1.5 laps to go on the little climb with the whole team and so we did! After that it was so nervous to the finish. I followed Koldo and my brother like what we said I needed to do in the [pre-race] meeting.”

“So I did and with 500m to go I was on my bother’s wheel and I screamed at him to ‘GO!’ and he lead me out. I only had to pass him to win.”

Report: Michel Kreder turns lead-out into win!

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:18:55 GMT

Michel Kreder was responsible for leading-out his brother Raymond and teammate Koldo Fernandez, but a gap turned into an impressive win for himself and the team!

“Today was a short and very nervous stage of 135km,” said team DS Charly Wegelius.

“The group was made especially nervous by the strong winds, and there were several attempts made to break the race in cross winds.

Garmin-Barracuda took control of the race 12km from the line with a very strong collective performance. 4km from the end the Astana team took over, but our riders came back in the last km with an all out effort.”

Michel Kreder went full gas into the last corners, and opened a gap on his rivals with the help of his teammates who allowed a gap to open that was impossible for the other sprinters to close.”

“A well deserved victory built on the back of solid team work.”

“It was really a team win,” said Kreder.

“I was suposed to do the lead-out from 1km to go and I did that with my brother and Koldo on my wheel. At 700 meters there was a small corner to the left and normally my job [would be] over there but my brother and Koldo left a gap because I went so fast in the corner.”

“I kept that gap untill the finish!”

Race Preview - February 11th 2012

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:10:08 GMT

This weekend sees teamTBB in Australia at the Falls Creek Tri in Victoria.

Falls Creek Victoria, Australia
Saturday February 11th
Distance: 2 km swim • 80km bike • 20km run
teamTBB - Philippines athletes racing
Dave Dellow

On the weekend before Valentines' Day, Dave Dellow loves the challenge of facing a strong field on a big stage at the Supersprint 2XU Falls Creek Triathlon that will serve as the Australian Long course championships. The race in Falls Creek Victoria will be a tough day starting with a 2K swim in the immaculate Rocky Valley Lake followed by an 80K ride over a three lap course of the Bogong High Plains road and 20K run on the beautiful Aqueduct running trail. The race will be very challenging and run up at altitude in Falls Creek.

This will benefit Dave as he is a hard nut and has been living and training in Thredbo for the last six weeks. Dave is very excited to test his fitness after a great training camp, the same camp that prepared Aaron for his victory in Wanaka.

Dave is very excited for his first race of 2012. After finishing 2011 with a big win at the Noosa Triathlon, Dave is excited to see how he has progressed over the winter and will be chasing the win. The Australian Long Course Championships will be a great way to start his 2012 seaon and build his momentum for a great 2012 season. Dave will use this race as a key step on his road to Ironman Melbourne in late March. He will race hard from the gun as always and go after the strong field of Australian and international athletes. Follwing this event, Dave plans to continue his racing domination with Ironman Melbourne with the goal of collecting points to race in Hawaii this October.

Good luck Dave! Get after it and bring home a podium for teamTBB!

Find out more: http://www.supersprint.com.au/events/2xu-falls-creek-triathlon--brooks-trail-running-festival-2012.aspx