Is Lance Armstrong planning an ÖtillÖ debut in 2018? That’s certainly the suggestion on his Strava account, which this week has a session logged under the description ‘ÖtillÖ Training’.
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Spotted by the Editor of our sister magazine ProCycling, the session shows Armstrong covering 6.8 miles around the Colorado River area of Austin on 24th April, with an average moving pace of 07:05/mile. See the session here.
ÖtillÖ (meaning ‘island to island’) is the Swedish originator of the sport of swimrun, which is increasing in popularity within the triathlon community. Armstrong famously competed in several triathlons before being banned from competitive sport following his doping confession.
His ban was lifted in 2016 but he has so far not returned to multisport, although he did win a 35km trail running race in California in 2015 which would indicate he would be a strong competitor. Any return to multisport is bound to polarise opinion however.
We contacted Lance Armstrong this morning and are waiting for a response. We also contacted one of the ÖtillÖ race directors, Michael Lemmel, who this morning told us that he has no further knowledge of Armstrong’s plans. We haven’t spotted him on any ÖtillÖ start lists either, although with most of the season ahead, there’s still plenty of time for him to enter one of the World Series races and the mention of ÖtillÖ on his training log seems to indicate a clear intent.
ÖtillÖ sees competitors race across trails and swim between islands, in conditions that are beautiful yet tough. Image: Pierre Mangez/ÖtillÖ
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If Armstrong has his sights set on the ÖtillÖ World Championship race in Sweden in September, which comprises 65km of technical trail running and 10km of tough sea swimming, then he will need to qualify.
With the director’s choice spots already chosen, he would either need to qualify by winning an ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series race, accumulate points through merit races, or participate in seven races in 24 months (five ÖtillÖ and two merit races).
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We’ll keep you posted with any further updates on this story. In the meantime, what do you think? Would you want to see Lance Armstrong race ÖtillÖ? If so, who do you think would make a good swimrun partner for him? Post your comments below:
Our sister title Bike Radar and manual makers Haynes have teamed up to create The Road Bike Manual app, a comprehensive guide to maintaining and repairing your bike, with step-to-step practical tutorials on everything from hubs to headsets, and everything in between.
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Priced £2.99 it includes 20 step-by-step videos, 50 sections of content and 40,000 words, plus new content updates every month, under the following sections; Pre-ride Checks, Drivetrain, Wheels, Frame, Brakes, Cockpit and ‘Get Me Home.’ For each of the jobs it tell you how long it will take and show you what tools you need to do it.
In particular the Get Me Home section covers emergency inner tube and tyre fixes using common objects you can find on the ground. You’ll also learn how to get home with a broken handle bar, or even a damaged chain or wheel.
From BikeRadar, the authority on all things bike, and Haynes, the most trusted name in manuals, The Road Bike Manual is the most thorough and comprehensive service and repair manual for your road bike.
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Get the Android app on Google Play
Get the iOS app on iTunes
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Riding high after victories in Abu Dhabi and the Commonwealth Games, the one to beat in Bermuda had to be South African Henri Schoeman – but would he be able to keep the rest at bay and claim two WTS wins in a row?
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The 50 elite men that made up the rest might not have included the Brownlees, but there was plenty of quality all the same with 2017 world champ Mario Mola, Schoeman’s team-mate Richard Murray, Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt and the in-form Frenchman Vincent Luis fresh from a third place in Abu Dhabi, in the mix. But in the end it would prove to be a race no one could have predicted.
At 22C it would be a non-wetsuit swim in the North Atlantic, followed by a challenging hilly bike leg that would see 10 ascents of Corkscrew Hill. The four-lap 10km harbourside run then took place in Hamilton, the island’s capital.
At the start Schoeman laid down his intent early in the swim, taking the lead after about 500m, and never relinquishing it. And in the beginning of the bike leg it all looked good for the South African. Part of the leading group of 12, it looked like the pack could work well and maintain a lead over the rest, but this lead was short-lived with the infamous Corkscrew Hill taking its toll on the riders. By the middle of the second lap the group had swelled to around 18 and more, with no one looking to make a breakaway.
Then on the hill at the start of the third lap 21-year-old Norwegian Casper Stornes saw his chance to break away and by the end of the lap he had managed to establish a lead of 30secs over the chasers, a lead he extended to 37secs by the end of lap 4.
Strong cyclist Andreas Schilling from Denmark then made his break on the fifth lap and for the next three laps the two would lead the race, albeit with a big gap between them, but then
on the eighth lap Norwegians Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden thought they would try and join their compatriot on the podium and made their move, and overtook the Dane on the way into T2, 01:18 behind Stornes.
The Norwegians would start the run leg in the top three places, but could they hold their positions?
At the halfway point they were still looking strong and despite Mola’s best efforts, which saw him finish fourth, they would ensure a clean sweep for Norway with Blummenfelt taking second, 21secs behind Stornes, and Iden taking third.
What a historic day for Norway and triathlon.
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“When I saw the group let me go I thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and I took it”, says Stornes.
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For the women’s WTS race in Bermuda all eyes were on one person only, reigning ITU and Commonwealth champion Bermudan Flora Duffy. Here Duffy would be racing on home soil at the inaugural WTS Bermuda, and this race, above all other WTS races, was the one she really wanted to win.
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Although the first WTS race in Abu Dhabi of the season did not go to plan, Duffy is the in-form athlete taking five WTS victories in 2017; and racing with the backing of the home crowds, the race should be hers for the taking…
The 31 other athletes trying to stop her taking the win included Brits Jodie Stimpson and Vicky Holland, WTS Abu Dhabi winner Rachel Klamer from The Netherlands, and American Katie Zaferes, back racing after her nasty fall in Abu Dhabi.
And the race started well for the Bermudan; she led the 1,500m non-wetsuit swim from the start, heading up a small group of five included USA athletes Kirsten Kasper and Summer Cook. Brit Vicky Holland was 19secs behind, leading the chase group.
The challenging bike leg, with its 10 ascents of Corkscrew Hill, would suit the 30-year-old Bermudan, renowned for her bike powers, and out on the bike, although American Kirsten Kasper tried to stay with her, it soon became the Duffy show after she made a break just before the start of the first ascent of Corkscrew Hill.
From then on there was no stopping the Bermudan. By the end of lap one she had a 29secs lead over a 14-strong chase group, which included Brits Holland and Stimpson, with nine more laps to go. To the delight of the cheering crowds she then extended to 37secs at the end of lap two, where the gap stayed for the next few laps.
Then during lap five she put her foot down and her lead increased to 54secs, and by the time she started the final bike lap she was up 01:23.
The local girl was in a league on her own but could she maintain the lead on the flattish, four-lap, 10km harbourside run in Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda?
The answer was yes. Although Katie Zapheres made a break from the chase, and then with 8km to go Vicky Holland ran into third position, there was no catching the Bermudan and victory was more or less assured for the home-grown hero, with the crowds cheering her every step.
These people are gonna make @floraduffy cry 🙂 #WTSBermuda pic.twitter.com/OP1YpQ6bmw
— TriathlonLIVE (@triathlonlive) April 28, 2018
However, the fight was truly on for second and third. Side by side Holland and Zapheres battled until the blue carpet when, in a sprint finish, Holland just managed to take it.
A tight photo finish between @KZaferes6 & @VixHolland #WTSBermuda pic.twitter.com/qL8FP1uEYe
— TriathlonLIVE (@triathlonlive) April 28, 2018
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But Duffy is in a league of her own and her sights will now be firmly on the world title – can she win it for a third successive year? Only a fool would bet against her.
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The Promoter is Immediate Media Company London Limited
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The promotion is open to all residents of the UK, including the Channel Islands, aged 18 years or older, except the Promoter’s employees or contractors and anyone connected with the promotion or their direct family members.
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WTS Yokohama: The women’s race
Continuing in her formidable form Bermudan triathlete Flora Duffy has collected the first WTS win in the official Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying period, and her second straight WTS victory of the 2018 WTS season.
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First out of the swim, she remained in the lead bike pack and then stole the race away in her run, which ultimately landed her at the top of the Series leaderboard in the WTS rankings.
USA’s Katie Zaferes claimed silver medal and her second-straight WTS podium of the season. Then finishing off with the bronze was Non Stanford (GBR) whose third place landed her on her first WTS podium since 2016.
Starting with one of her best swims, Stanford was helped by Jodie Stimpson to bridge the gap to the leaders, Duffy and Katie Zaferes (USA) on the bike. Duffy took off at the start of the run, followed by Zaferes and Stimpson. Stanford ran through nicely to claim the bronze whilst Stimpson finished 12th.
Stanford said: “In all honestly I spent last night Googling job applications and I was reading this morning what I have to do for this particular job, I just didn’t expect that today. It has been a really tough two years, I have gone through a lot of up and downs. This sport can be super cruel and super tough, but it has just taught me that if you stay patient and just keep plugging away you can get back up there really.”
British Triathlon Performance Director, Brendan Purcell commented on Stanford’s performance: “There’s a bit more there but it’s really exciting. That was a quality field, the only women who were missing really were the other Brits.”
With this his final World Series event in charge before he moves to British Rowing, he added: “It’s been great to see Non get back on the podium, and the sport can feel positive that the next two years are going to be really exciting as we build up to Tokyo.”
WTS Yokohama: The men’s race
Spaniard Mario Mola delivered a three-peat victory at the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama. After putting up one of his best swims of his career, he survived a massive bike pack to break away after T2 in what would be a dominating run. Mola became the first man in WTS history to ever win in Yokohama for three consecutive years.
The Yokohama win also was his first WTS gold of the 2018 season, which meant that he will remain as the current frontrunner in the Series rankings.
The silver and bronze medal went to two men eager to get back on the WTS podium. Aussie Jacob Birtwhistle outsprinted Spaniard Fernando Alarza in the final moments to finish second, his first WTS podium since July 2017. The bronze for Alarza was also his first since June of 2017.
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Grant Sheldon was Britain’s highest finisher in the men’s race in 18th place. Tom Bishop was 24th and Marc Austin 47th.
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2012 Ironman World Champ Leanda Cave has announced her retirement from triathlon.
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That day every professional athlete must face – saying goodbye to a career of racing:https://t.co/fiCUaXUlbW https://t.co/fiCUaXUlbW
— Leanda Cave (@leandacave) May 17, 2018
One of GB’s finest triathletes has called time on her illustrious multisporting career. Leanda Cave, now 40, started out in Bath in the 90s, taking the U23 world title in Carlsbad in 2001 before embarking on a breakthrough 2002 season. Second at the ETU Euro Champs in Hungary preceded the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where Cave beat the fancied Australian ITU World Champions, Michellie Jones and Nicole Hackett, to take silver 19secs behind the Canadian veteran Carol Montgomery. 2002 would culminate with Cave becoming the ITU World Champion in Cancun, Mexico, edging a stellar field that included Jones again, Loretta Harrop and Cave’s future coach Siri Lindley.
An injury-disrupted 2003 followed before one of the lowest points of Cave’s storied career arrived, namely being controversially overlooked for the Athens Olympic Games in favour of an injured Jodie Swallow. Cave moved to middle-distance racing in 2006 before 2007 saw wins at Escape from Alcatraz and the ITU LD Worlds, bronze at the 70.3 Worlds and a top-10 at her maiden Ironman in Hawaii. But it would take another four years before she would attain the dizzy heights of mounting the podium in Kona, finishing third behind Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Carfrae. Just one month later, she took her first full Ironman win at Arizona.
A decade on from her breakthrough season, Cave (now known as Superbird) produced another defining year by doing the double – the title at the 2012 Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Vegas in September came a month before victory on the lava fields of Kona, passing Caroline Steffen with three miles of the run remaining to take the crown by 62secs.
Since then she has consistently collected more podiums, including a second at the Ironman North American Championships in 2015, and two thirds at Ironman 70.3 Miami and Ironman France in 2016.
As with the majority of former pros, Cave remains firmly rooted to the sport but now in a coaching capacity, providing various packages for all levels and abilities out of Miami Beach, Florida. For more info check out, leandacave.com
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The eighth edition of the Slateman Triathlon in Llanberis, North Wales, was a record-breaking race, with an eight-year high for water temperatures, weather and race times.
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220 were amongst the 1,200+ triathletes taking part across the two days the Pedalcover Slateman opened Always Aim High’s ‘2018 SUUNTO Adventure Triathlon Series’, a trio of Adventure Triathlons based in North Wales.
SPRINT SATURDAY
Slateman Saturday consists of the shorter races of the weekend. With the first day of the two-day Savage Race and the Sprint Triathlon. A sprint duathlon was added this year alongside the Sprint which added to the racing and delivered both in terms of challenging terrain and competitive racing.
As sprint races go, the Slateman course is one of the tougher on the calendar. With the swim in the chilly waters of Llyn Padarn and a bike taking in the steep ascent and descent of Pen y Pass, a shin-splittingly savage climb into the forests of Elidir Fach finishes the race. The women’s race saw a tight finish with Rebecca Lodge taking the win by 31 seconds to Ruth Purbrook in a time of 1.19.14 and third going to Hannah Bruce of Manchester Tri.
In the men’s race the battle for first was fought hard in the forest, with Scott Hill of RAF Triathlon emerging victorious in 1.13.12, followed by Dan Elliot in 1.14.53 and Jon Reilly in third in a time of 1.15.38. This was the first time the podium has been taken by three Savage Athletes.
The all-new Duathlon saw Stephen Abbott win the men’s race with a time of 1:22:05, while Rhian Roxborough of GOG Tri took first place in the women’s race with a time of 1:23:17.
THE CLASSIC SUNDAY
With north wales waking to another warm and sunny day, the warm waters of Llyn Padarn welcomed over 900 ‘Classic’ Distance athletes to Day 2 of the Pedalcover Slateman.
In the Classic Race, Under 23 Jack Hindle took the best part of 4mins of the course record to finish first in 2.24.45 a head Pete Dyson and Beau Smith.
The women’s Classic saw the strong return of Aim High Champion, Suzie Richards, who took the win in 2.45.44 and knocked 7mins off the course record. The Savage titles were won by Scott Hill of RAF Triathlon and Ruth Purbrook of Full On Tri.
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We’ll have a major seven-page Slateman Savage race report in issue 353 of 220, out on 14 June.
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For more information on Always Aim High’s 2018 & 2019 race calendar, visit www.alwaysaimhighevents.com.
Fancy racing in the beautiful and historic city of Dubrovnik at the the city’s first-ever international triathlon on Saturday the 13th of October 2018?
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There are two separate competitive distances available, a sprint and an Olympic. The course includes a swim in the beautiful clear waters of Gruz harbour, some 2km from the Old Town; a flat fast bike ride on closed roads, and finally a flat the run loop within the harbour. Event distances include:
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* The sprint 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
* The Olympic 1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Both these distances will be available as relays where 3 people can take part in the individual disciplines.
There will also be lots of fun activities on offer, including a pre-race party on the 12th October, a Friday morning warm-up swim by the Old Town walls at Banje Beach, a post awards party on Saturday evening and a spectacular ocean Boat Trip for all competitors and their partners on Sunday morning.
Designed with all ages and fitness levels in mind, these activities will provide holidaymakers with a taste of the overall triathlon event, offering families, couples and single people the opportunity to take part as well.
Mato Frankovic, Mayor of Dubrovnik says: “On behalf of the City of Dubrovnik it is a great pleasure to welcome triathletes from all over the world to our beautiful City.
The city of Dubrovnik is systematically investing in sporting events and we are especially interested in promoting sport in the unique setting that is Dubrovnik, Croatia’s prime destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site. We do hope all the participants will enjoy our city as we are delighted to welcome them”.
Dubrovnik Triathlon is being organised by Brighton and Hove triathlon Event director, Human Race founder and London 2012 Olympic Triathlon competition manager, John Lunt.
“This event is a fantastic end of season treat for those triathletes and their partners who have raced hard all season, Lunt said. “The weather is always great in Dubrovnik and it will be a fantastic race in an amazing location. The World Heritage site provides an incredible back drop and you will be guaranteed a very warm and friendly welcome in Croatia. We are limiting numbers in year one as the city welcomes a new sport to the city”.
A brand new website has been launched www.Dubrovniktriathlon.com which has all the details. Accommodation packages, Airport transfers and bike carriage details are also available on the website.
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You can fly to Dubrovnik with Easy Jet
The late Bank Holiday proved prosperous for Britain’s elite paratriathletes, who collected nine gold medals at the first-ever Dorney Lake-hosted ITU World Cup event. International athletes were welcomed to West London, where temperatures topped 25°C at the London 2012 Olympic rowing venue.
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Gold medal-winning performances were achieved by Commonwealth Champions, Joe Townsend and Jade Jones, while Rio Paralympic champions Andy Lewis and Martin Shultz (GER) also won their respective categories.
It was also a big day for the nation’s emerging talent, including Britain’s Hannah Moore, who won PTS4 gold just a year after trying her first paratriathlon, and a group of potential new guides for the visually-impaired athletes.
After winning the PTWC race, Townsendsaid: “The sport just keeps moving on; you can see the fields are stacked and it’s close, hard racing. With a lot of guys coming across from different sports to paratriathlon, it means I’ve got to keep on pushing the boundaries and training hard.”
He added: “To have my family here today and see me come across the finish line, and for me to see smiles on their faces too is phenomenal.”
His fellow PTWC Commonwealth champ, Jade Jones-Hall, also continued her winning streak to take gold at the Dorney Lake race. Jones, who has been working through her law degree finals, couldn’t apply much power on the bike after a mechanical issue meant she had to cover the whole 20km flat course in her easiest gear. But she demonstrated her supreme class to claim the win from teammate Lizzie Tench.
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Rio Paralympic champion, Andy Lewis, enjoyed every moment of racing at home. He claimed PTS2 gold ahead of Maurits Morsink (NED) having missed some training this year due to injury. He said: “My little boy and my little girl are here today, and hearing them today has really helped me, because I found that tough today, and probably one of the toughest races I’ve done ever, just because I’ve not raced for a long time.”
The visually impaired events (PTVI) proved valuable opportunity to not only witness some world-class racing but also trial some new guides. Paralympic silver medal winner, Alison Patrick won gold with Hannah Drewitt while world champion Dave Ellis was a winner with Mark Buckingham.
Patrick said: “I haven’t raced since the European’s last year so it’s good to back out there. Me and Hannah have only worked together this week, but she did really well.”
“Mark’s just got so much experience,” enthused Ellis at the line. “I felt really comfortable on the bike with him.”
Buckingham, who guided at short notice after Carl Shaw broke his collarbone, added: “It was a good race. There’s still a bit of learning to be done though; my shoes came off the pedals as we were mounting the bike and my saddle came loose. It’s nothing we can’t work on for next time, though!”
Britain’s other golds came from Paralympians Lauren Steadman and Ryan Taylor, and Steve Crowley. George Peasgood had another fine race to claim silver behind superstar Martin Schulz.
British gold medals:
PTWC: Jade Jones, Joe Townsend
PTS2: Andy Lewis
PTS3: Ryan Taylor
PTS4: Hannah Moore, Steve Crowley
PTS5: Lauren Steadman
PTVI: Alison Patrick, Dave Ellis
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Full results available via www.triathlon.org/results/result/2018_eton_dorney_itu_paratriathlon_world_cup