Lance Armstrong is Back!

Lance Armstrong recently made his return to triathlon at the 70.3 Panama Half-Ironman in very impressive fashion. The following video features his Panama result broken down, as well as what I believe is to be expected from Lance in the future.

                        

(Refer to graph above and images below)

                                    

Olympic Qualification Process Explained

With the 2012 London Olympics on the horizon, it’s getting closer and closer to the time when each National Olympic Committee (NOC) must announce who they will send to compete in the triathlon. There is a total of 55 spots for both men’s and women’s events. The number of athletes that each country is allowed to send depends on the performance of its athletes based their. The countries ranked top 8 in the world are allowed to send 3 athletes to the games. Countries ranked below top 8 in the world may only send a maximum of two athletes. The home country is always granted one female and one male spot.

This chart indicates important dates with regard to the team qualification process.

Date	Mile Stone
1 June 2010 – 31 May 2012	Period of Olympic Qualification
1 May 2011 – 30 April 2012	Period for ITU Continental Olympic Qualification Events Locations:
6 – 7 August 2011	2011 ITU World Olympic Qualification Event Location: London, GBR Aug. 6 - 7
1 November 2011	IOC will contact all NOCs who are eligible to apply for Tripartite Commission Invitation Places
16 January 2012	Deadline for NOCs to submit their requests for Tripartite Invitation Commission Places
1 May – 9 July 2012	The Tripartite Commission will confirm, in writing, the allocation of Invitation Places to NOCs.
8 June 2012	ITU to inform NOCs of qualification places
22 June 2012	ITU to confirm final allocation of qualification places
2 July 2012	ITU to confirm final allocation of qualification places
9 July 2012	Deadline for London 2012 Organizing Committee to receive entry forms

While world rankings decide how many athletes are allowed to attend the games from each country, they are not the deciding factor with regard to team selection. The National Federation for each country determines their own criteria for their athletes to meet in order to qualify for the games.  For example, Canadian and French federations require their athletes to come top eight overall in a predetermined race to be automatically qualified for the Olympic games; top nine in the U.S.A; and top ten in New Zealand. Australian athletes have it tough, as they must win to be guaranteed selection to the Olympic triathlon in London.

Triathlon.org compiled lists of the winners of these important qualifying events to date:

Men’s - http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/olympic-simulation-men-2012.pdf

Women’s - http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/olympic-simulation-women-2012.pdf

Athlete Podcast Discussion - London 2012 Olympic Games Triathlon

On Wednesday, February 9th, Triathlon-Daily had the opportunity to have an online podcast discussion with a few of Ontario, Canada's elite triathletes regarding hot topics related to the upcoming Olympic Games in London, England.

The podcast topics include:

• Guest introduction
• Who should we expect to see on the podium in London 2012?
• What will it take to defeat the Brownlee brothers?
• Impact of teams
• Will Chris McCormack make the Olympic team?
• Top underdog
• Can Simon Whitfield earn another medal?

Podcast

Alex Vanderlinden and Rachel Skubel are both elite triathletes training out of Multisport Zone in London, Ontario. They are coached by Cliff Worden-Rogers, who is also located in London, Ontario.

Andrew Yorke is a professional elite triathlete coached by former Olympic coach, Barrie Shepley. Andrew is currently training out of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

2012 SRAM Red released

Since SRAM received a 234.8 million dollar investment from Trilantic Capital Partners in 2008, the Chicago, Illinois based bicycle component company has continued to show significant increase in popularity year after year. February 1st, 2012 SRAM released their upgraded top of the line groupo, Red.

Rather than falling into the trends of electronic shifting, or eleven-speed rear cassettes, SRAM has kept it simple and stuck with ten-speed, cable shifting. The 2012 SRAM Red has a claimed weight of 1,739g which will make it 100g lighter than the already feather-weight 2011 Red groupo. Notable improvements from the 2011 groupo include an improved front derailleur for solid, more reliable shifting; upgraded lever ergonomics, including textured hoods for improved grip; truly hollow carbon fibre cranks; and finally, SRAM has moved to cam-actuated rim design brakes which are proven to be lighter, while having greater stopping power.

SRAM continues to become more and more popular among triathletes and cyclists alike. I feel that it will only be a matter of time before SRAM becomes the most popular top-of-the-line bicycle components on the market. 

The Joys of Olympic Years

Simon Whitfield is the only male Canadian athlete currently guaranteed an Olympic spot thanks to his 4th place finish in the ITU World Championship Series event at Yokohama this past summer. This leaves two spots up for grabs. The two favourites to grab the remaining spots are Brent McMahon and Kyle Jones. Here is a short video of McMahon and Jones briefly discussing their journey and what needs to be done to ensure they make the team.

The Olympic hunt is on! There always seems to be a few outstanding performances during Olympic years. American, Jarod Shoemaker comes to mind. His outstanding performance back in 2007 qualified him for the Olympics when he finished top American against much higher ranked athletes. He left it all on the course, and didn't make it look easy.

Check back soon for a post outlining how triathletes qualify for their countries Olympic team, along with my predictions for the roster of these teams.

Cervelo releases the highly anticipated P5

Cervelo has added their newest Time Trial/ Triathlon bicycle to their line up of already impressive machines. The company started by two Canadian engineers in 1995 has become known for their innovative aerodynamics and ability to design and produce some of the fastest bikes on earth.

In 2005 the P3 was released. A design much ahead of it's time, the P3 quickly became one of the most popular bikes at triathlons and time trials. The P3 is now known as the most copied bike frame of all time, as many cycling manufacturer competitors copied key points from the P3's design. An example of this is the curved seat tube.

Cervelo P3

No other bike release (not even the P5) was as highly anticipated as the release of the Cervelo P4 in 2009. Having spent hundreds of hours in the wind tunnel, Cervelo promised a bike that would, aerodynamically, leave others in the dust. Key upgrades from the P3 included a more aerodynamic frame, an integrated hydration system, and integrated rear brakes. 

Cervelo P4

Finally, we arrive at the all new P5.  Cervelo says they have risen the bar even higher than that of the P4 with regard to aerodynamics, claiming that the P5 could save athletes ~30 seconds over a 40 km time trial. Main differences between the P5 and P4 are improved aerodynamics, with angles to increase air flow across the entire surface of the frame; the worlds fastest and best fitting aero bar with 100% hidden cables; an all new storage and hydration design; and finally, what is in my opinion the coolest new feature on the P5, hydraulic brakes by Magura. 

Cervelo P5

With the use of hydraulic brakes, Cervelo becomes the first TT/Triathlon bike to use hydraulics. The front brake is integrated into the fork to help boost aerodynamics, while ensuring maximum stopping power. 

An interesting note is that the P5 actually has a lower starting cost ($6000) than the older P4 model ($6200).  This is probably due to the fact that the P4 comes with complete SRAM Red components and a more reliable set of wheels in the Shimano rs30's. At $6000, the P5 comes with mostly Shimano Dura-Ace, and some Ultegra (Chain and Cassette), the hydraulic brakes are however included at the starting price. Neither of the rides are available with their pictured Zipp race wheels. As a matter of fact, even the top P5 with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 for $10,000 comes with entry level Vision Team30 wheelset.

With the recent changes in company structure, it will be interesting to see how the P5 sells and performs. It may play a large role in the direction the company chooses to take in the future.

Welcome Triathletes and Fans of the Sport!

You have arrived at Triathlon Daily, your source for news from the wide world of triathlon!

My name is Andrew Flanagan. I have been a student of the sport of triathlon for over 6 years and have competed in, and finished over 25 triathlons varying from Sprint (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) to Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run). My experiences training for, racing, and studying the sport, paired with my education, have moved me a long ways through the learning curve of triathlon.

This blog will feature everything triathlon related including: current trends, results, new equipment, interviews with professional and up and coming triathletes, training tips, and finally, news from the triathlon world.

To conclude this post, I leave you with one of my favourite triathlon sprint finishes of all time from way back in 2005 at the New Plymouth ITU World Cup. The clip shows a group of athletes, Kris Gemmell, Bevan Docherty, Rasmus Henning, and Hunter Kemper as they make their moves with about 400m to go to the finish line.

Check back soon for a post about the recent release of the Cervelo P5!

Happy training!

Andrew Flanagan