DTR Sports Managements James Attard wins in a challanging rained drenched race in Spain. Please find below his personal account.
Hi everyone,
another week into this European exploration, well call it what you like but exploration works for me, and I’ve found what I came searching for, more on that later though!
Another week and you guessed it another race! Sunday saw Raf, myself and Cesar (our Basque manager!) traveling to the nearby region of Navara, to a small town called Arbizu. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see too much of what Arbizu had to offer, the weather was just terrible. Constant rain for the whole race and about 10c once it warmed up!
Being so cold, the 5th race on our busy schedule, and a little low key compared to our earlier races I was finding it really hard to get motivated to race. Even when the gun went off I just couldn’t get my head around getting the job done. Raf and I had planned to run the first run a solid tempo to try and get a gap on some of the strong local riders who seem to be able to power up the hills with ease! Raf was doing his bit and soon he’d lost everyone, including me! It seemed to take a big effort just to get back to him so we could ride together as planned.
The ride was two laps of a 16km loop with a 6km climb each lap. I seemed to be suffering the same fate on the bike as the run and Raf was on his own off the front once we hit the climb. Luckily I reached the top of the climb before the Basque athlete San Martin had caught me and we were able to bridge the gap back to Raf. So second lap of the bike and back to the climb and even though I knew it was coming I just couldn’t respond to Raf’s attack at the bottom of the climb. This time over the top of climb I was on my own about 15sec down on Raf and San Martin and looking like holding onto 3rd would now be a good result.
For whatever reason though my attitude started to change and I got it into my head that I could catch them and get back into the race. Whether it was the cold and I just couldn’t feel any pain in my legs I’m not sure but I was finally riding strong and 2km out of transition I managed to catch Raf and San Martin. I couldn’t believe it, from being in such a bad way and negative attitude I’d now ridden myself back into contention and all of sudden my spirits were high.
Into transition, swap wet cycling shoes for wet running shoes, and I got the jump on Raf. The start of the run was terrible, I had no feeling in my legs or feet they were just so numb, I’m sure it would have been a site to see watching me run the first 1km or so. After that I just had to settle in to a strong rhythm to make sure I kept the advantage I’d got on Raf in transition. The win was extremely satisfying for me under the circumstances. It also led me to my momentous find I touched on earlier, a txapela! What on earth is a txapela you ask? It’s a traditional Basque hat given to the txapelduna (champion) of pretty much all events held in the Basque country. The post race food was also second to none, and unlike anything we get in Australia. Nice hot chorizo sausage, bread, wine, cheese……you’ve got to take time to appreciate these things! Everyone had most definitely earned it!
Next weekend finally finds me with no racing, a chance to sort out the little niggles and prepare for the upcoming races, the next being my last in the Basque region, the Bilbao Duathlon on the 10th May. So I guess it’s a weekend off for you all too, enjoy!
DTR Sports Management’s James Attard continues to impress overseas. Please find below his latest report:
What a busy couple of weeks since the last update! After the race in Jard sur Mer, I travelled down to our base in the north region of Spain to our apartment in Gernika. I’m here in the Basque country with Raf and his wife Lianne and baby Sebastian.
Continuing with our busy racing schedule we were straight back up to Chatearoux, France for the second race in the French Grand Prix series. This race was over the Olympic distance again like in Thailand. The first 5km of the first run was pedestrian slow, but once Sergio Silva(Portugese cross country winner) hit the front the pack soon split up. I found myself a bit further back than I’d have liked, just trailling off the second pack. Perhaps the racing and travelling taking it’s toll.
A good transition saw me onto the bike more or less at the front of the group I’d been trailling, with only 3 or 4 guys up the road. This weeks bike was much better for me, even with being tested on the first run I felt I had some punch back in the legs and found the bike pretty comfortable, easily responding to any attacks.
Onto the last run and again with a great transition I was into 3rd place (two guys up the road and probably had 1st and 2nd sewn up). Here I got a little excited and rather than just running with duathlons fastest Silva, I went past him but soon paid the price. I couldn’t keep the tempo and had to ease off slipping back to 11th. Half way thru the 5km I also got a yellow card(stop and go) for not racking my bike correctly. This didn’t turn out as bad as it’s sounds, I gathered myself and kicked on to finish a credible 9th.
Back on the train and only 4 full days to recover for the International Duahtlon of Gernika, would it be enough! It must be a sign of my fitness and strenth this year as my legs weren’t actually that bad folling the race in Chateauroux. I think back a couple of years and I’d have been a wreck after a tough olympic distance duathlon.
The Gernika duathlon is unlike any I’ve competed in. The support this race recieves from the entire community is amazing, as you prepare for the race it feels as if everyone else around you that isn’t racing is preparing themselves for a huge party. The race itself runs through the streets of Gernika, and the first run was two laps of a 2.5km circuit. The pace this week felt comfortable for me and I was happy I’d made a full recovery. Onto the bike with the front group of about 12. Raf and I had opted again this week to use our platforms (running shoes on the bike), a decission that probably ended up costing us!
The French and Belgian athletes knew that if we were all to start the second run together Raf and I would have been hard to beat, so it was there objective to ride away from us. I responded well to the first few attacks, but the fourth caught me off gaurd and 3 guys got up the road. Unfortunately very few from my bunch were prepared to work and chase, so it was obvious we were soon racing for 4th! Later on in the bike another 3 guys got away, and after working pretty hard I just didn’t have the legs to go with them.
So out onto the run in 7th place there was only 2.5km now to improve my placing. It didn’t take too much to move into 6th but it seemed as if a top 5 was out of reach. The 2008 World off road duathlon champion was holding on firm to 5th and only slowly coming back to me. With about 400m to go I was all of a sudden on top of him and with a final kick managed to just get him on the line.
Another top 5, a little disappointing though as it felt like a day that could have been! You’ve got to stick with your decissions though and if they don’t work out then learn by them! I’ve learnt again this race, so look out you Euro’s there’s more to come yet!
Back to some more regular training now, racing again this weekend but will just train through it as I haven’t even done a proper long run since leaving Melbourne with all the travel and racing! After that it’s basically a weekend on, weekend off of racing till the end of the trip!
After my best triathlon season ever I am proud to associate myself with the Ryders brand of eyewear, with a clear focus on Ironman and half ironman competitions in the coming seasons as well as racing pro in Hawaii I have set my sights on securing some of the best products to be associated with in order to attain my best results possible. I am really looking forward to having a close association with the team at Ryders and most of all wearing the best glasses around. You can check my progress on my up and coming website www.mattywhite.com.au.
DTR Sports Management is excited to work with Matty White in his quest to climb the elite ranks globally in Ironman Distance Triathlon.
Mattty brings with him some exceptional results and goals moving forward. Please see below a small bio on Matty White.
Matt has been competing in triathlons since the age of 15 and has completed numerous Ironman, Marathons and Endurance Races across the globe. Matt Turned Professional in 1999 and based himself on the Gold Coast in Queensland and later moving to the Provence Region in the South of France competing for various French Triathlon Clubs throughout a 7 year period. Matt has recently become a Fire Fighter which enables him to compete at a professional level and maintain a healthy balance in his life.
Matt completed his first Ironman in 2001 in what is regarded as the toughest Ironman on earth, based at Embrun in the Alpine region of France, he finished 8th overall and has subsequently challenged himself on the world Ironman circuit culminating in four top ten finishes at Ironman Australia and a career best of second place at Ironman Korea in 2003.
Career Highlights
2nd Place Ironman Korea 2003
6th Place Ironman Australia 2003
7th Place ironman Australia 2008
10th Place ironman Australia 2004
2 time winner of Adelaide Marathon 2005 and 2007
3rd South Australian Time Trial Championships 50km (Ave 44.7 km/h)
Welcome Matt and all the best in the future racing
DTR Sports Management Luke Whitmore powers home at Ironman Australia to post a sub 9 hour race, please see report below:
The 5th of April 09, what a day it was for me in Port Mac. It was my sixth Ironman and fourth in Port Macquarie. I approached the day and the previous three months training with a quiet confidence but complete respect for the distance and my opposition. I my time of 9:16 from last year was not going to be competitive enough to win back to back 25-29 Australian Championships, coming up against David Clark (x AIS athlete) and Ben Orr who was ageing up from 18-24.
In the days before the race North Coast of NSW was belted with rain causing severe flooding just up the road in Coffs Harbor. The hastings river (swim course) was not it’s usual sky blue color, instead and murky, dirty brown color. Transition resembled a boggy marsh and the already dead surfaced roads were wet, covered in crap and littered with pot holes. Making the hilly bike course even more challenging.
I started the day with a pb in the 3.8km swim, swimming 53.25. I was excited with this time as I felt I had swam slower and not pushed hard enough at the end of the swim. Building on the confidence gained from this swim I set a great tempo on the first lap of the bike, making time up on the lead group of age groupers and feeling quite strong. However at the start of the second lap I developed tightness in my right hamstring and new I would need to back of the pace. I backed of for about 10km got in some food, salt and drink and set about setting a steady tempo for the remaining to laps.
I got of my bike with a time of 5:09 and a combined swim/bike time of 6:05, 3 minutes quicker than last year. This got me incredibly excited as I knew I was in the best running form of my life and set about picking of the twenty something age groupers in front of me. By the end of lap 1 I was into the top 10 and steadily reeling in the rest. I finished with the fourth fastest run time overall, the quickest age group run split and caught all but two other age groupers (one of them also in my age group). I felt immense satisfaction crossing the finish line in 8:58 and will now enjoy the next two weeks reflecting on an incredibly successful season.
After a successful day personally I then had the pleasure of supporting my wife, friends and three of the athletes I coach achieve their goals. I was still dressed in my comfy Degani race uniform at midnight having watched my old man finish his first Ironman in 16:22 a monster effort (considering he was riding his bike for 8:30 straight!).
A sincere thank-you goes out to all those who have contributed to my success this season.
Ryders Sunglasses – Thanks Neville for giving me a new pair of amber lenses the day before the race, they made negotiating the rain and pot holes much easier on the bike course.
Saucony – I absolutely love my paramount training shoes and the fast twitch racing flats were extremely light , yet supportive helping me to run the fourth quickest marathon of the day.
Winners Bars – Provided some great nutrition for the bike course.
Degani Café Bakery – My cycling and race uniform have been extremely comfortable and look great and made training and racing a easy with out concern of chaffing and saddle sores. Also providing me a beautiful new Guerciotti road bike has made many of my training kilometers an absolute pleasure.
DTR Sports Management – Without Dan’s support and confidence in me, I would not have known where to begin to develop relationships with my fantastic sponsors. He also lent me his Zipp 808 wheels, which where a pleasure to ride.
Eric Hansen – Continues to challenge me in training and racing to aspire to things I thought not possible and ensures me I still have plenty of room for improvement.
Tarryn – My beautiful wife and training partner, without her support and shared passion for triathlon and in-particular Ironman I would not have been able to achieve that long term goal of breaking 9 hours.
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The weather for the race was actually quiet nice. Not much sun but it wasn’t to cold which made me pretty happy.
The race was under way pretty early and as usual i put a lot into getting my swim right from the start. I can say this was reasonably successful as i was only 1.20 down on the leaders which is pretty good for me. I did change some ways i prepare and it seemed to work. Even if it was the last race of the season!
The bike course was an out and back 40k loop. It started with a reasonable climb straight out of transition for about a one k then it was mostly undulating with winds hitting from all directions. Luckily the wind was not too strong. It only took me about 10k to catch lead guys and as usual they were in a tight bunch of about 20!
With a plan to go hell for leather and try to max out in order to pass and not have them sit on i went like crazy to get past. Luckily it worked and then i saw the TO (traffic official) come past and break them up, which made it hard for them to work together to catch me.
After i gaped them it was all about keeping it up and getting a lead into T2.
Transition was quick and i really didn’t want who ever was behind me to be able to see me. As i found out at the turn around at the 2.5k mark i had a big lead and they were not going to catch me. Heading into the second lap with a good lead was nice to be able to enjoy the last 5k and run to victory by about 3 mins.
It was a great way to finish the season and can only hope for better results for next season.
Thanks to every one for your support this season.
Regards,
Paul Attard
DTR Sports Managements Gareth Halverson kicks of the ITU season with a top ten result at Mooloolaba. Strong all round performance please see below for personal report.
Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast was the venue for the first World Cup of the 2009 season. Unfortunately, for my thirty-three comrades and I the Sunshine Coast was not living up to its name and we were greeted by overcast conditions and gusty winds with the occasional drizzle of rain. The conditions had already forced the organiser’s hand and the swim had been relocated from the usual surf swim into the river behind the main street due to some heavy breaking waves. For mine the prospect of tackling the intermittent dumping waves was more alluring than tackling the Bull Sharks notorious in the Mooloolaba canals.
At 2.00pm, sharks or not, we took to the water and the race was on. This was my first World Cup race since early July when I participated in the Hamburg World Cup in Germany. I say participated because sadly on that day I was only able to complete two-thirds of the race and it spelt the end of my 2008 season. All that aside though the swim was furious and it felt great to be back mixing it with a truly international field. I did however make a slight tactical error by getting myself into a position whereby every swim can saw me on the wrong end of flailing arms. I was stuck on the inside of a course that circumnavigated an island in the middle of the river and had to fight hard just to get on the right side of every can. At the end of the swim I was pleased to see that I was towards the front of the main group however, and after a smooth transition was positioned in third wheel with a small group of three Queenslanders (Josh Amberger, Courtney Atkinson and Jimmy Seear) up the road.
The Mooloolaba bike course is one of the most demanding and appealing courses in World triathlon. Demanding, because it is a seven lap course that sees the athletes climb up and over a hill to a turnaround point and then back up and over the same hill. Even the fittest of the Elite Men are asked to prove their worth on this course. Appealing, because the spectators have a great view of the athletes as they traverse the hill and for the athletes there are always the inevitable attacks that are launched in pursuit of splitting the field. The three escapees had opened up a small but significant gap at the first U-turn, a gap that would soon open to 90 seconds at its peak. Safely inside the main bunch I concentrated on maintaining a good position towards the front of the pack to ensure that if any attacks were launched I’d be able to react quickly and not be left hanging off the back. Although there were a few sharp attacks during the 40km cycle leg the bunch stayed together and entered T2 ninety seconds behind the leaders who were now down to two, Atkinson and Seear, after dropping Amberger approximately half way through the cycle leg.
I had another smooth transition and was once again third onto the run behind my two Aussie compatriots Dan Wilson and Brad Kahlefeldt. A front group soon formed with all the major hitters up front and the two escapees in our sights. The run course follows the same course as the bike leg as we run up over the hill again and about three hundred metres from the crest do a sharp U-turn and head back towards the centre of Mooloolaba. Climbing the hill on the first occasion I felt my legs quickly grow heavy, partly due to the demanding cycle leg. At the crest of the hill I was dangerously dangling five to ten metres off the back of the main group. At the completion of the first lap I was still in this position, unable to close but running well enough to maintain a vague contact. Climbing the hill on the second occasion and the group was now starting to split up. I was slowly finding my running legs but so were the other athletes and New Zealander Kris Gemmell had shot off in pursuit of Seear and Atkinson. After 5km I was joined by French athlete David Hauss, and he was charging. I knew this was the guy I had to stick with if I was to get myself back up the front. I stuck to his heels for about two kilometres but after that had to yield to his pace and concentrate on not blowing the race altogether. On the final lap I found myself breathing heavy and feeling the pinch of this tough run course. At the final U-turn the diesel engine of German Andreas Raelert stormed by and despite my best efforts to jump on his feet I was unable to keep pace. I ran hard to the line and crossed it in eighth position just over ninety seconds behind winner Courtney Atkinson, who had run valiantly to maintain his lead off the bike and take the victory. Kris Gemmell had run well but also ran out of ground to finish twelve seconds behind Courtney, with Brad Kahlefeldt rounding out the podium
I was quite pleased with the result of my race and will use it as a good platform into the rest of the season. There are plenty of areas where I can sharpen up and hopefully this will result in some more good performances throughout the year. The next race will be the Ishigaki World Cup in Japan on the 26th of April. Until then I’ve got a small block of training to do so I best jump back into it.
Happy training,
Halvo
DTR Sports Managements Daniel Clarke braved the weather today to race in the Run for the Kids. He had a strong performance considering he has come from 1500m specific training. That being said a time of under 45 min and unofficial 13th place shows the strength and depth of Daniel’s running ability and show good signs for racing coming up.
Daniel looks great in his new gear supplied by 2XU
GEELONG PROVIDES FINAL CHALLENGE FOR WEARY WORLD ASPIRANTS
TRIATHLETES desperate to represent their country in a World Championships on home soil ensured today’s Geelong Challenge was a highly competitive and fitting end to the new, national Challenge Series.
The event was the seventh and final event held across the country, with the multisport series underpinned by the Olympic Distance Triathlon, which has acted as a qualifying event for age group athletes attempting to represent Australia at the ITU World Championships on the Gold Coast in September.
About 550 athletes made the most of cool and calm conditions, with Paul Attard stamping his authority on the event to record the fastest time of the day by almost three minutes. The Victorian completed the 1500m swim, 40km ride and 10km run in 1hr 55min 46secs, ahead of Troy Drinan and Leigh Stabryla in the overall placings.
Attard worked his way into the race methodically after giving up some time on the opening swim leg.
“I had to catch up a bit of ground after the swim – which is always the case for me – but I was able to get out of transition okay and settle into a bit of a rhythm on the bike, so I pegged back some time and worked my way to the front,” he said. “The run was tough enough, as there was a bit of a headwind out there and even a set of stairs to negotiate, but I finished things off pretty well and hopefully that sets me up for a fair Worlds campaign on the Gold Coast.”
The fastest woman home was Regina Wright, who recorded a time of 2hr 13min 25secs, eclipsing Beverley Thomas and Yvette Fisher in the overall standings.
The Enticer Triathlon, a short distance event for those wishing to sample the sport contained some big names, with 2004 Olympic gold medallist Kate Allen taking part in a celebrity relay team alongside a couple of Geelong Cats’ legends in Paul Couch and Andrew Bews.
Allen, who then handed out finishers’ medals to kids competing in the TRYstars junior triathlon, is nearing the end of a three-month summer sabbatical where she has been training and visiting family in her native Viictoria, before heading back to Europe where she represents Austria.
Almost 8000 athletes competed in the Challenge Series across the nation – a series created by Triathlon Australia to provide multiple pathways to the sport and offer a multisport series that provides options for the entire family.
GEELONG CHALLENGE
Eastern Beach Reserve, Geelong
CHALLENGE SERIES (TRIATHLON AUSTRALIA)
April 5, 2009
OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON (1500m swim, 40km ride, 10km run)
AGE GROUP WINNERS: FEMALE & MALE
16-19 years F Gabrielle Dufty 2:25:44
M Nathan Barry 1:59:50
20-24 years F Rebecca Wiasak 2:20:35
M Paul Attard 1:55:46
25-29 years F Regina Wright 2:13:25
M Leigh Chivers 2:00:48
30-34 years F Natalie Smith 2:16:36
M Troy Drinan 1:58:32
35-39 years F Beverley Thomas 2:15:08
M Andrew Simpson 2:07:21
40-44 years F Anne Martin 2:23:05
M Stephen Foster 2:02:35
45-49 years F Maureen Cummings 2:26:57
M John Stekelenburg 2:08:54
50-54 years F Annette Chatterton 2:38:50
M Malcolm Dow 2:12:13
55-59 years F Jennifer Lucas 2:37:55
M Graeme Cole 2:16:03
60-64 years F Barbara Gruber 3:18:03
M David Taylor 2:27:56
65-69 years F – -
M Noel Middlecoat 2:43:48
70-74 years F – -
M Brian Lynch 3:15:00
