I had a great result in the weekend finishing 1st at Ironman Western Australia and therefore defending my title there. It was a tough day with temps in the mid thirties. Not so bad if you get a chance to acclimatise but coming from an abnormally cold spring in Christchurch I was one fired Kiwi. I have never been so hot in my life!! We were told last night that 12% of the field couldn't finish which apparently is large.

So I was first out of the swim and then powered away on the first 60km as the temp was very comfy, after 120km I was up around 10min but after 180k I was back down to only 5 min as the age group athletes were catching the girls behind and so they were speeding up. I knew I was biking quite well though as only 1 age group athlete caught me with the 15min head start (that's quite an improvement for me), and I was very pleased that I had no problems with my feet in my bike shoes even though it was hot (the standard length axels must be the right length for me). The last half of the bike it had heated up a lot and was a bit windy and I just couldn't cool myself down and couldn't get in enough fluids so when I came out onto the run I was parched. It took around 22km to rehydrate (I was drinking about 4 cups of anything each 2km) and so I felt much better at around 22km and so started to up my pace a bit, but at 28km I started getting bad cramps (I had left my salt tabs in transition by mistake). So everytime I tried to stride out my hamstrings started cramping and then my quads and calves too. So I played it safe as I still had that 5 min lead and I really didn't want to have to start crawling in the last few km!!

So I was so happy to be winning again after a pretty challenging few months with the sickness at critical times, the heart abnormality news and the ankle injury. I hadn't had much running before the race as I have been very gradually increasing my miles but my ankle held together well and it feels great now (although that may be because the rest of my muscles are so sore I really can't feel it!!). Anyway I believe I am back on track and am very excited about being able to work properly on my running again. My next race is Challenge Wanaka next Jan where I will be going for the hat trick.

If you want to see my finish check out this link, hopefully it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHF22lS58BQ

I hope you have a great Christmas and thanks so much for your support this year in what has been a pretty tough year for me (although I still managed 2 ironman wins and 1 iron distance win this year so it hasn't been so bad).

Dam its hot in Japan!!

Fun in the sun took a whole new meaning over the weekend in Yokohama. Really though, an amazing race in Yokohama with the course, and all the people of the city that came to cheer us on as we suffered in the extreme conditions.

I love Japan! I've raced there so many times before in my triathlon career and always enjoy heading back there. It sure was a difference in cultures going from London directly to Yokohama, But that is also part of being a professional athlete and traveling and racing around the world week after week.

I had struggled all week to recover from the hard race in London 6 days before. I tried to do everything to help my body recover as fast as I could. I had Japanese massages ( interesting to say the least!.) I drunk so much Powerade, I think you could see it running through my veins. And I had movies going non stop in my room all week long.

The weather had been warm all week, and the humidity was brutal. You just stepped outside the hotel and from one moment to the next you were sweating everywhere. I guessed "warming up" was a bit of a waste of time so to speak, I mean I was already melting from the inside out just to keep cool.
All the boys were here this weekend and a lot were race fresh as they had skipped London. I knew it was going to be on right from the go in the swim, and I had to stay in touch or it could be game over very early on. I found myself back early in the swim but in the front group none the less. Actually, I didnt have to fight to much at all which is always nice. As I exited I noticed a gap had formed and I had to hit the burners a bit heading onto the bike. It took me a bit to bridge up to the front group which formed. But all the key players were in there so it became a case of just waiting for something to happen.
There were a lot of attacks in the first few laps, but they were all short lived. That was until Courtney Atkinson escaped off the front. My plan on a day with these kind of conditions, was to conserve as much energy as I could until the run. I thought this would be the best thing for myself considering the hard run I had in London. But Jan Frodeno and Maik Petzold had other ideas. When they also slipped off the front, and then bridged up to Courtney the race changed. The three of them worked really well over the last 15k and put our big group under pressure. We were not working well at all, and the chase was on and off. The gap just kept going out and out and I started to wonder if I missed the big move. Finally we entered transition 47 seconds behind with just 10k in the sun to go.
I went out early in pursuit of the three in front. Quickly the big group of 30 off the bike was down to just 4. Myself, Javier Gomez, Laurent Vidal and Bevan Docherty. We pushed hard to try to make some time to the front guys. Maiki and Courtney came back pretty early. But Jan just kept his pace high and didn't look like wilting a bit. Javier and I started to surge a lot after 5k, and this hurt all of us, including ourselves a bit I think. At this point we stopped making time to Jan. With one lap to go Jan was still in front by 30 seconds to Javier and Myself. I could see that Jan was looking too good to be caught today. I turned my focus to preparing for the sprint with Javi for the second place on the podium. I knew if I could just hang on, my sprint finish would be strong. The last lap was really hard but I hung on to Javi with everything I could. As we went into the last corner I could see Jan celebrating his win ahead. Now it was my turn! I waited to the last moment and then started to sprint. I think both me and Javi were already to smashed to make a real go of it. But I managed to sneak ahead of him for the silver medal on the day.
It was great to see Jan get up after some bad luck during the year. I knew he was in great shape it just hadnt shown as much as He would have liked it to. It was also great for myself of course. To back up so well after London was a real surprise. And how I felt during the race, and especially on the run was a great feeling.
So another podium in the World Championship series which is great. It also lifts me to 3rd overall for the year before the final in 3 weeks time on the Gold Coast.
I said from the start of the year, I just wanted to stand on the start line in the Gold Coast knowing I had a chance to become a World Champion. Now I have this opportunity, I must focus really hard over these last weeks to make it happen.
Tomorrow starts this last critical training block. Im on the Gold Coast already staying with Bevan, Jan, Laurent and Andrea in an apartment. Its going to be a lot of fun, and I think we will all be able to help each other out in these last weeks for the best.

Hope all is well with everyone these last weeks will fly!!
Kris

Feel it HOT HOT HOT!!!

That basically sums up my trip here to the Philippines. The Weather was hot, the people were great and had warm personalities and this place is amazing. Plus I hate it in cold weather when I can't feel my toes after the bike, so
bring on the heat.

My experience here has been wonderful, we have been treated like rock stars, the venue for the race was beautiful and the event was put on at a world class level which is an amazing achievement for an inaugural race.

Onto a quick summary of the race. The Pro field, although small was definitely high quality with Cameron Brown, Chris Macca McCormack, Pete Jacobs and Tim Mar summing up the male Pros, but with prize money only going 3 deep it was going to be a fight until the end. The swim kicked off at 7am, the pace was controlled as we all knew how hard the day ahead of us was going to be. Jacob's lead most of the way on the 2 loop course around the wake board park (which we will come to later)! All 5 of us where out together and it was onto the 90km bike. I had a shocker of a transition losing both my shoes getting on the bike. I quickly fixed this and caught back up. Most of the ride was steady except for when Brownie made a break for it at about 30km. He managed to keep away for a good 20km but we soon
reeled him back in. The crowds out on the bike and run course where huge. Thousands of locals were out there supporting and cheering. It reminded me of IM Frankfurt where there were half a million spectators.

Then it was off for the 21km run. The course was pretty flat but the temperatures were well over 30'C. Macca left transition at a crazy pace that I didn't match. He gained a 30sec lead, but was always in my sights. At
about 7km I caught back up. We ran together for 5km, Brownie was not too far behind and we were dying. Running through aid stations trying to collect as much fluid and gels as we could to hydrate and cool ourselves down. I got a
bit of a gap on Macca and didn't want to slow as I knew Brownie was close and he looked like he was running fast. I made the last turn around at 15km and was home bound but I really started to struggle now. I managed to hang
on for the win, but my insides were cooking. Macca stuck it out for 2nd and Brownie came in 3rd. I guess if you count Macca's Maori heritage you can say kiwi's 1/2/3. On the girls side we had Lisa Bentley 1st, Gina Kehr 2nd and Charlotte Paul 3rd.

Morning everyone,

Well my little visit to good old London town went as well as I'd hoped for.. Great day at the office for myself with getting up for 3rd. And also a lot more positives from the day. Which means everything is right where we had wished it to be heading into the Gold Coast.

You all know this series keeps on rolling. I'm actually typing away to you here from my hotel room in Yokohama, Japan. No sooner had I done with the race and drug testing. I was back packing my bike again, and heading over here to get settled in as early as I could before this weekends penultimate race around Yokohama. The weather is certainly a lot warmer here than in London was over the weekend, so Ill enjoy just sitting in my room trying to recover for sunday.

Heading into London I felt really good. Everything has gone well through that hard period of training Id done. And the balancing act with all the racing had seemed to pay off. I was still a bit frustrated to be so close in both Kitzbuhel and Hamburg when I knew I had great form. But Chris told me it was all part of the plan for the year, and just tough out the best result I could do at the time. Over the last three weeks my training volume had been cut right back. But with the lack of volume comes the increase in intensity. Its always nice, but its like the good with the bad. So more rest and TV time, but my body sure did need it!

Racing in London of course allowed us all to get our first look at the course for the 2012 Olympics. It will change quite a lot from what we raced on yesterday, but the center of it will remain, and the flow will be similar.
Being a non wet-suit swim I had to make sure I stayed as close to the front as I could. This part of our sport has changed so much lately. A few years ago the best swimmers were generally not the best runners. But now nearly all of the fastest guys in the water are also the fastest on land! For me that means swimming my butt off during a race to be near the front. And training my arms off in between them to make up the ground. I did have another great swim for me on sunday. If I look at where I've been over the last years its a massive improvement. But still it's not fast enough to make the front group everytime comfortably. And thats where Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez sit nine times out of ten. So exiting the water I was in the middle of the front group of 12 guys and the main pack of 30. I worked hard with 4 others for two laps to try to get to the front group of 12. But we were fighting a losing battle. Also the big pack of around 30 were closing fast. On the next lap they caught us and so it was just the 12 in front still.
They had the gap out to about 40 seconds at one stage. But soon it started to come back, and before you knew it we had them in our sights. So it was going to be another mad dash on the run, It's always fast now there is never any question. But being in London, and Alistair in the form he his at present, nothing but fireworks were expected!!
I had another great transition as normal and made sure I was not in the middle of the group in case anything could go wrong, which it usually does! I have to admit I was running with my bike and I heard alot of screams! A cold shiver went down my spine as those cries felt very fimilar.
I threw on my shoes and got to work quickly. I knew they would be coming for me and coming for me fast. It thinned out pretty quickly at the head of affairs. And after the first lap there was only 8 still in contact. Heading back out on the second lap of three the pace went up again and everyone started to feel the pinch. Alistair was the main aggressor, and he was making everyone hurt early. As we turned at 5k there were only 5 of us left, and Alistair surged again. This time he put 20 meters into us before we could recover from it. At this point there were just 3 left to chase. Myself and my two german training mates, Stefan Justus and Sebastian Rank. I know both of these guys really well and one thing is they both can go on the run. Ranki has always been someone with a huge amount of talent, but he's been through a rough patch with some injuries and illness. Stefan on the other hand is just getting better and better every time he races. I knew I was in a dog fight now and Alistair was still just 10 seconds in front.
The mind games started... Do you try and go and risk blowing up or hope that you can hold a sub 3 minute per k pace for the next 3 kilometers and survive here. I found my answer quickly when Stefan attacked us with 2k to go. It wasn't much of a change of pace but it was enough to shake both me and Ranki. Now I was really in the box mentally and physically. I've been in this position many times before, 3rd or 4th? and more than not its been 4th because 4th is good too right!. I've been thinking about this a lot this year, and know I've got to work to my strengths more often in these kinds of situations. Too many times I've waited for the other guys to make there move, and its not worked for me. So I had to go first, that was number one in my mind. And so with 200 to go I started to sprint. It wasn't a full out sprint but it was enough to get a small gap with the surprise and try to hold it. I knew Ranki would come back at me, as he has a ton of gas. And so he did! We fought all the way to the line and both hit the ground not long after. It was a great race, and to finish like that with two close training buddies made it seem like a bit of fun in the forest back in Saarbrucken, Germany.

In the end all good signs at the right end of the year for me. I have climbed to number 6 in the world now and with Yokohama this weekend I'll be looking to go some steps higher. Con-grads to Alistair again he truly is changing our sport and I think its wonderful as an athlete and fellow competitor. I always want to be better than I was the day before, so this guy is just making me work even harder right now.

Hope all is well back home with everyone.
Regards,
Kris

Morning everyone,
Its five down, and three more rounds to go for this years inaugural World Championships series. With the last three events in London ( on the the Olympic course ) Yokohama and of course the big finale in the Gold Coast. this series feels like you just finish one race, and before you know it you are preparing the next one. But thats what makes this new series so interesting, and so exciting for everyone.

Hamburg is the birth place of this World Championship series and it didn't disappoint again. There is no way to describe the atmosphere in Hamburg without really being there yourself. The course is fantastic for the spectators, and yet still provides all the qualities to find the fastest athlete on the day. When you are running around and you cant hear yourself breath from all the noise, you know its something special. All of the three hundred thousand crazy Germans screaming there know triathlon because of this race, and every year it gets bigger and better.

Heading into Hamburg I felt good, a little tired from all the training volume I was putting in, but it was necessary for the later races in the series. I knew I was fit there was no doubt, it was just about how will this race go, and will it suit my conditioning.

My swimming has been maybe my biggest improvement overall during the year so far. It's something I have had to work very hard at for so long, and still do. But Andrew ( my swim coach) and myself have started to work out what I need at certain times of the year to enable me to race consistently in the front group. And again I found myself there in Hamburg. I relaxed my way through the swim and just tagged onto to the end of the front group when we exited the water after the 1500 meters.
Once on the bike course the first group formed quickly with around 30 guys. A lap later it grew to 45, with all the big names staying near the front. Thats how it stayed until a group of 4 guys slipped off the front halfway through the 40k-s. None of the guys were the big hitters on the run and they gained one minute pretty easily as everyone was happy to let them go. Which meant it became a bit of a waiting game in the bunch before the fireworks would happen on the run.
I felt pretty good early through the first k-s, and managed to settle in the front group of around 12 guys. I didn't expect anything to happen until around the half way point but Jarrod Shoemaker hit us after just 3k and the game changed. It wasn't a big change in pace, but when you are already running under 3 minutes per kilometer or around 20 kph, a little increase will do a lot of damage. I couldn't go with Jarrod so early into the 10k and just tried to relax and remain focused as I thought they may come back or to attack on the last lap. The group got smaller and smaller at the front with every kilometer. And heading into the last lap of 2.5k Jarrod was still holding 15 seconds on Brad Kahlefeldt and a further 5 seconds on a group of 7 which I was in. We had been going along quite nicely and I felt good, so at around 8k I tried to lift the pace and catch the boys in front. As soon as I changed the rhythm and mine I got in trouble. They guys in the group realized it and attacked me straight away. Thats when I knew I was in diesel mode for today!! I just couldn't change gear and the other guys did. I feel off the back of the group with 1500 meters to run, and they stretched away from me. I did find my form again once i went back to the pace I could hold and passed a couple of the boys that blew up just before the finish line. So 7th, another great result by the World Championships. It also keeps my world ranking at 8 heading into these last races with still one more race to count for me unlike some of the other guys in front of me.

Maybe the best thing of the weekend was having Chris there to observe me and how triathlon has changed over the years since he was coaching Hamish Carter. I had predicted with Chris before the race that someone could run under 30-mins in Hamburg for the 10k! and I was right. But it was not just one bloke it was four! 30.07 for myself was not bad either but 20 seconds to far from first. The game has changed there is no doubt about that. But we both know this is a work in progress and we will learn more and more from each other with each race I do. So come the Gold Coast I'll be looking to slip into the extra gear Im looking for when I need it most.

Until then its back to work for the next two weeks before London WCS on the 15th of August.
Take care,
Kris

Morning everyone,
Well the 4th round of this years World Championship has been run and won. I "did" have fond memories of Kitzbuhel from last years World Cup where I finished 2nd. So this year I wanted the top of the podium!

I arrived in Austria with some good training under my belt from Saarbrucken, Germany where I'm based whilst over here in Europe. Its a great city, and there is a good group or guys training here which makes it fun.
I'd been in a small hole after coming down from altitude and flying over from the US. But that is fairly normal for myself. I'd kept my volume high and was feeling better everyday as the race approached. The weather in Kitzbuhel was not looking wonderful in the days before ( low 20s ) but none of us would have expected how it would turn so dramatically during the race.

I guess I should start, with the False start!. Thats right, I got the perfect start. It was just what I was looking for. I had some fast Russian feet to follow in the beautiful lake off the pontoon. Well that was until I ran into him after 300 meters that is. I thought what the hell is he doing! Then I saw the kayaks and marshals waving madly and blowing there whistles and the gig was up. I turned back to the pontoon, only to see half the field still standing there. The long day had begun for me.
The second start, which was the real one. Was of course not as good as my first. My arms were already full of lactic acid, and I really struggled to hold onto the first group. I just hung in there though and was satisfied to exit where I did under the circumstances.
So onto the bike, It was rather a challenging and technical course. Especially when it started to rain like nothing I've ever had to deal with in a race before. But the problem for me was not so much the rain, But how quickly the temperature dropped with it.
Oh yeah i forgot the CRASH... yes me again! On the second lap everyone was starting to get a bit nervous with the amount of rain coming down. This usually means possible crashes. I thought if I ride at the front, I'll stay out of trouble right? wrong. Some guys up front started swerving across the road and before you know it 6 of us were lying on the road at 45kph. As it happened I thought to myself, this is a joke. What the hell did I do to deserve this.
As I hit the ground I knew straight away that I got lucky on this one. I picked my bike up quickly, straightened everything up that needed to be, jumped back on and chased as hard as I could to get back to the front.
Once I was safely back in the bunch I quickly checked myself over. I could see I hardly had a scratch which was lucky. I had hurt my neck a bit, and I must have landed on my collarbone/ shoulder as it was giving me some grief every-time I got out of the seat to climb the hill on each lap. I was back in the race and I knew it. I tried to focus again on my race plan and execute the race as best I could.
Halfway through the bike the temperature started to drop, and it just kept dropping. At one point we had 6 degrees!! I know we were in the Austrian mountains but isn't this meant to be summer... I really started to lose my composure the colder I got. I found myself drifting in and out of the race, and started to shake and shiver non stop. I could see a lot of the others guys were also in the same predicament but it was only a small comfort at this point. I tried everything to get warmer before the end of the bike came. I knew the race would be decided early under these conditions, and it was going to be important to keep in contact right away.
As I jumped off my bike in Transition 2 I've never felt so uncoordinated. My body just wasn't responding to what I was asking of it. And when I tried to put my shoes on, this simple task turned out to be some what challenging or laughable which ever way you look at it. I ended up fumbling around for more than 30 seconds before I finally got them on and hit the run. My next problem though was how to run when you cant feel your legs or your feet. Not to mention it burns to breath and you need to, a lot!!! Lastly I was already 30th on the race course before I started to run. Some of the other guys looked like they were in Hawaii with the way they were running. I sure wished I was there too at that moment.
With every meter though I started to feel better. I picked up guys every lap from then on, and would eventually run myself back up to 9th. It was not what I was hoping for at the start of the day. But this World Championship series is starting to be about what you can get from the races that don't go to plan more so than from the ones that do go to plan. So with this result I move up the World rankings to 8th. My next race will be in Hamburg in two weeks time. Im sure I'll be in even better shape for that one as the timing of being down from altitude will be perfect for me.
Im still a bit stiff and sore after the crash and race. But I have some healing hands around here in SB that will have me back up and running come next Sunday.

So until then, take care everyone. The forests of Germany are calling me!
Cheers, Kris

Fours stages over two days (two TTs and two road races). Jude placed 3rd in the first stage and then second in the follow two stages. Jude won on GC by 2sec.

Morning everyone,
Every year for the last two years there comes a race in Des Moines, Iowa. Its a race like no other we have on the circuit during the year. With so much on the line, and most of it is plain old hard cash.. Its also freaken hot in Des Moines! two days before the race and 40 degrees with 98% humidity! do I hear Ambulance anyone...
In a time when money is the object of everyones problems the team in Des Moines do a fantastic job. More importantly Hy Vee the major sponsor of the event, the way they come up with 1 million dollars in prize money is just simply amazing. As an athlete Its a dream to be able to race for prize money like this. To the winner go the spoils, thats pretty normal I guess. But here the spoils are $200,000 big US dollars, so to the winner went more than just the spoils of winning the race but to spend a nice the big check afterwards!!
Not only did we have the big Hy-vee event the weekend also doubled up as the World Team Championship. We had a great team with Myself Andrea Hewitt, Bevan Docherty and Sam Warriner. The race would be run as a team relay with each athlete completing a 250 swim a 8k bike and then finishing off with a 1.8k run. It was going to be difficult to back up after the big race but we all knew what was expected when representing your country.
I had planned with Chris for the Hy-Vee events to be one of my first peaks of the year. I've been training and racing well throughout the first half of the season off mostly limited intensity in my program. We stepped it up a notch over the past month in Boulder heading into Hy-Vee and were both looking forward to the results.

When I arrived in Des Moines you could feel the anticipation from all the athletes. From the get go we all knew it was going to be a big day for someone, for sure... we just didn't know how close it would be come race day at the finish line for 6 of us.

The race started well for me. I had a great swim maintaining contact with the front pack most of the way. had a great transition from swim to bike and was the front of affairs quickly. I'd planned to be as close to the front as I could without expending any more energy than I needed. I also wanted to keep an eye out for any key break away opportunities that could present themselves, especially early on. For the first 4 laps of 8 the bike was pretty much, full gas. We had around 20 guys in the front group some working some not but thats the game. The second chase pack of about 15 guys were really close and chasing hard the whole time. they caught us after three laps and then the pace dropped. For a lap and a half I actually got up the road by 20 seconds or so with Matt Reed when this happened. He's a hammer on the bike, I knew if I could follow we had a small chance to steal a march. But It wasn't going to happen, the other top guys were not letting me go, and it was shut down before it got dangerous. Straight away Matt attacked again and this time they let him fly. A couple of others drifted of the pack late in the bike as the group slowed down considerably as we all prepared for the run. But I was sure the winner was going to come from the big group, and so it was game on for the run.
I hit the second transition and went straight to work to string the guys out early on the run. I had some great help from Jan Frodeno ( Olympic Champion ) setting the pace early, and I felt great when I was at the front. The first to come around us was Brad Kahlefeldt ( Commonwealth Games Champion ) and he set about raising the pace again. At 3k there was really just the three of us with a small group behind by maybe 5 or so meters which included Javier Gomez ( World Champion 2008 ) Jarrod Shoemaker ( USA Olympian 2008 ) and last and by no means Least Simon Whitfield ( Double Olympic medalist).
Myself and Chris had spoken about going with my instincts after the race in Korea played out the way it did. I had raced to a plan there and held back when I felt great in patches and didn't move with it. So at 4k I hit the go button! I went away from everyone for some meters, but then hit my only bad patch of the race and got reeled back in. Weather or not this was just bad timing for me that I felt bad at that very moment after feeling so good prior to making the move. Or that the increase in speed caused it, I'm still not sure but I'll never know. What I do know is then when Brad attacked straight over the top of me, only myself and Jan could follow him. This surge was also quite short but it did do some damage. Although shortly after we eased up again and they other three again joined back on to make six once more. Then it was Javier's turn, everyone covered this but Simon. He was lurking just off the back ( as in Beijing 2008 ) gone again you say? not by a long shot..
At this time I started to feel very good. The pace had slowed a lot and it was decision time. You could see everyone was thinking the same thing is it too late to raise the pace now and suffer myself?? Or if I do would I be the sacrificial Lamb. To be honest in this situation you have to back yourself. If you think you are good enough, and I do, then go for it, so I did. I knew it was a technical finish, and I also knew where I wanted to be to give myself the best chance coming into the final meters. The scene was set, 6 guys 500 meters to go and 200,000 to the winner, tickets anyone?
Brad was first to raise the pace slightly after a dead turn. Then simon went next looking for position. Both seem to be thinking what I was trying to do, be first into that last corner. I got around Simon to hold the position I wanted before the final straight. Jan was getting shuffled around a bit behind all of this but he loves this position as we saw in the Olympics. As we hit about 70-80 meters to go it all got a bit messy fast, to say the least. If you play this game then you have to live by that decision. Simon did the sprint brilliantly. He took it all the way to the finish and also won the big Dollars! Myself, Jan and Brad decided that we would run down the left and try and sneak under Simon before the line. But three bodies didn't work down there, and we all really got in each others way. It all looks pretty comical when I watch it on the replay, I think I nearly hit the deck two or three times in that last 80 meters.
As I've said in the past, you live and you learn, so Im learning again which for me means I need to keep improving so Im ready for the next time. Can't say that I'm loving all the 4ths but there is a place for everyone in a race, and in Des Moines mine was lucky number 4, again!.

As I mentioned we also had the team World Championships in Des Moines. It was strange to back up after such a race and to be involved with the finish like it was, there were some long thoughts that night but come sunday morning it was game on again. I never had so much fun before a race. Biking down as a team was different but exciting. We all were joking around and no one really knew what to expect apart from it was going to be brutal. Unfortunately Sam had a bad crash some weeks before on her bike. And Bevan had been sick for a week, so our team was looking like a wounded bull before the bull fight even began. I hoped for everyone that the set backs wouldn't effect us and so we went with Andrea to lead off and then for me to follow with the hope of getting some sort of a lead and hanging in for Sam and Bev to bring it home. Andrea raced awesome giving me the lead in the hand over. I ran to the water and dived in and pretty much right away went into lactate city!! yesterday was in my legs, my heart and my head. I tried to hang on but lost 10 seconds to the Australians by the time I got back to Sam. Sam was really up against it and we all wished the best for her but the broken rib was just to painful. Bevan had a great leg to finish off and looked like he's starting to get over the sickness heading into the european rounds of the series. So for team NZ it was a 6th, not the result we were all hoping for some weeks prior to the event. But under the circumstance probably the best we could do.

Im now back in Europe for the next two rounds of the World Championship Series. First of all is Kitzbuhel, Austria next weekend. Then the Queen race of this World Championship Series Hamburg, Germany. Chris says my form will only get better from here, as we head into the business end of the year. Which means I probably will get that chance to learn from Des Moines. So guys I'm going with game plan B for these next races hope you like it.
Cheers
Kris Gemmell

De langste dag van 2009 werd zondag voor Rudy Vriend de mooiste uit zijn wielerleven.
Begonnen als jeugdrennertje van pakweg 8 jaar bekroonde hij in de vesting Bourtange zijn lange en mooie wielercarrière met het mooist denkbare; de nationale titel. ,,’t Heeft even geduurd”, grijnsde de 28-jarige krachtpatser, terwijl hij van alle kanten werd gefeliciteerd en gezoend, ,,maar die titel is nu binnen.”

Op de website van de Midi Center - Ruiter-wielerploeg meldde hij voor zijn rennersprofiel bij de vraag ‘hobby’ een ‘liefhebber te zijn van de grote plaat’. In wielertermen is de grote plaat de zware versnelling. Als je die beter dan je concurrent rond kunt krijgen, kun je elke wedstrijd winnen. Rudy Vriend won, op de grote plaat, al menige wedstrijd in binnen- en buitenland. Klassiekers zowel als criteriums, maar nog nimmer een nationaal kampioenschap.

Wie op die gedenkwaardige zondag in Bourtange bij de finish stond, heeft met bewondering gekeken naar de kracht die Rudy Vriend in de laatste tweehonderd meter ontwikkelde. Als vierde uit de laatste bocht gooide hij zijn versnelling op de ‘grote plaat’ en denderde naar, naast en voorbij de op papier veel kansrijker geachte sprinters Dennis Smit en Arjan van Reek. Het tweetal was honderd meter voor de finish al geslagen en kwam, zoals de Belgen dat zo mooi kunnen verwoorden, ‘niet eens op de foto’. De liefhebber van de grote plaat stak er met kop en schouders bovenuit.

Bourtange 2009 werd voor Rudy in het bijzonder maar ook voor de hele Midi Center-Ruiter-ploeg een onvergetelijke dag. In dit kampioenschap, waar eliterenners zonder contract – vroeger gewoon amateurs genoemd – sinds lange tijd weer eens een eigen kampioenschap mochten rijden, heerste de brigade van Paul Tabak van start tot finish.

Vertrokken met elf man was men kwantitatief de grootste groep op een totaal van zo’n 120 vertrekkers. Maar een zekerheid voor succes is dat allerminst. Daar is meer voor nodig. Allereerst een renner in vorm maar ook een team dat als eenheid wil opereren. Dat voor elkaar door het vuur gaat en het eigenbelang opoffert voor het gezamenlijke doel. Dat was dan ook het betoog van ploegleider Paul Tabak bij de voorbespreking.

Ging het in het verleden nog wel eens mis, dit keer liep de Midi Center-Ruiter-machine gesmeerd. Met name Sander Lormans, nota bene zelf een van de topfavorieten, was niet uit de eerste tien weg te slaan en controleerde elke beweging. Via de ‘oortjes’ hield hij zijn makkers op de hoogte als er wat spannends stond te gebeuren. In vrijwel elke vluchtpoging was een ‘paars’ shirt aanwezig en waar nodig werd verdedigend gereden om een vlucht te neutraliseren.

Op het 8.8 km lange parkoers door open landerijen maar ook elke ronde door de bochtige, smalle straatjes van de vesting Bourtange, viel de beslissing zeven ronden voor het einde. Het kaf was inmiddels van het koren gescheiden toen achttien sterken definitief uit het geslonken peloton ontsnapten. Bij die achttien vier van ‘ons’; Joost Spring in ’t Veld, Sierd Steigenga, Sander Lormans en Rudy Vriend. Maar ook snelle jongens als titelverdediger Vissers, Van Reek, Smit, Pronk en anderen. Kenners schatten onze kansen redelijk maar niet bovenmatig hoog in.

Hoe bedrogen kwam iedereen uit. Joost, die in begin zelfs aan opgeven dacht vanwege de kou, verbeterde per pedaaltrap en ook Sierd, de veteraan van de ploeg, groeide naarmate de wedstrijd vorderde. Het solidariteitsbeginsel, dat Paul Tabak in de voorbespreking als onmisbaar voor succes had gepredikt, werd door iedereen perfect uitgevoerd.

Gelegenheidsspeaker Jannes, ja, de populaire volkszanger uit het noorden, moest na elke naam van een vluchter melden dat er weer eentje van ‘Midi Center-Ruiter’ mee was. Bij de finish groeide de spanning toen de kopgroep van achttien tot negen was gereduceerd en we er nog met drie bij waren. Maar wel met zes andere, vooral snelle jongens.

Niemand kon in die laatste kilometer nog echt wegkomen zodat in de laatste, moeilijke, bochtige en smalle meters positie moest worden gekozen. Rudy en zijn twee maten deden dat perfect en uit de laatste bocht gaf Rudy vol gas. Meters voor de finish was al duidelijk dat de rest kansloos was maar Rudy durfde de handen nog niet van het stuur te halen omdat, zei hij even later, want, “ik wist niet precies waar Smit zat”.

Zijn maatjes Joost en Sierd, achter hem, konden de situatie beter overzien en staken al voor Rudy zo ver was een arm omhoog ten teken van winst. Vlak achter Smit en Van Reek werd Joost prachtig vierde en Sierd vijfde. Dat betekende voor Sierd, dat hij de eerste Fries in dit NK was geworden, en hij niet voor niets ’s morgens zijn speciale Friese sokjes had aangedaan. Radio Friesland was er als de kippen bij om Sierd, in het fries uiteraard, het hemd van het lijf te vragen.

Met Rudy als middelpunt, werd het een compleet Noord-Hollands feest, daar in Bourtange. Mobiele telefoons en digitale camera’s verrichtten overuren, iedereen zoende iedereen en de leiding van de ploeg – ploegleider Paul Tabak en voorzitter Raymond Rol – glom van trots.

Rudy kwam handen tekort om felicitaties in ontvangst te nemen en om zijn verhaal te doen. Maar op de vraag ‘en wat nu volgende week in het grote NK?’ kwam voor sommigen de onthutsende mededeling ‘niks, ik ga morgenochtend om drie uur met mijn vriendin naar Schiphol voor een weekje vakantie in Portugal’.

Reglementair hadden de nummers 1, 2 en 3 van dit kampioenschap recht op een startbewijs voor het NK profs maar of ze starten is onduidelijk. Rudy in ieder geval niet en vrijwel zeker ook Dennis Smit niet wegens een nieuwe operatie aan zijn eerder dit seizoen gebroken pols. In dat geval zouden Joost en Sierd die plekken in kunnen nemen. Zekerheid daarover is er nog niet. En of Sierd start, lijkt ook onwaarschijnlijk.

De huldiging in Bourtange was iets bijzonders. De drie prijswinnaar torenden hoog boven de fans uit op de brug in de oude wal rond de vesting waarbij in klederdracht gestoken Bourtangers voor een heel speciale entourage zorgden. Rudy genoot er volop van. Net als later op de avond toen hij middelpunt was bij een gezamenlijk etentje van de ploeg, de begeleiders en wat naaste familie. Aan eten kwam hij bijna niet toe, zijn mobiel bleef rinkelen. Tip: Bel hem pas over anderhalve week weer op, dan is hij terug uit Portugal.

Voor het nageslacht hier nog de complete Bourtange-ploeg 2009: Renners: Rudy Vriend (1e en kampioen van Nederland), Joost Spring in ’t Veld (vierde), Sierd Steigenga (vijfde), Sander Lormans (15e op 22 sec), Theo Postma (38e op 3.15 min), Wim Botman (40e op 4.54 min), 50. Rick Fransen (50e op 7.36). Arno van der Zwet, Camiel Denis, Jan Bos en Dennis Leliveld vielen uit. Arno deed tot over de helft goed mee maar kreeg astmatische problemen. Camiel, Jan en Dennis hadden, volgens eigen zeggen, allen ongeveer hun slechtste dag van het seizoen en waren al snel uit koers.

Kijk voor een impresie bij TV Noord op: http://www.rtvnoord.nl > uitzending gemist > Noord Sport (Samenvatting NK wielrennen in Bourtange).

NK Elite-Vrouwen en Beloften:
In het weekend van zaterdag 27 en zondag 28 juni 2009 vinden de Nederlandse Kampioenschappen op de weg plaats in Heerlen/Landgraaf.
Namens het Midi Center – Ruiter Wielerteam nodigen wij graag 6 personen uit om op zaterdag 27 juni als VIP-gast bij het kampioenschap aanwezig te zijn.
Op deze dag rijden 5 beloften van het wielerteam het nationaal kampioenschap.
Voorafgaande aan deze wedstrijd rijden de dames hun kampioenschap, in deze wedstrijd rijden ook dames van het Batavus Ladies Cycling Team mee.
Het dames team is ook ondergebracht in de stichting Wielermanagement Noord-Holland.

Programma zaterdag 27 juni:
09.00 uur Elite-Vrouwen 7,5 ronden 117 km
13.30 uur Beloften 10,5 ronden 164

Wij zouden het op prijs stellen als u per omgaande aan Paul Tabak wilt doorgeven of u van deze uitnodiging gebruik wilt maken en wie er aanwezig zullen zijn.
Dit kan per mail (info@ruiterdakkapellen-wielerteam.nl) of telefonisch via 06-24745056.

Nadat wij de bevestiging van uw aanwezigheid hebben ontvangen u de kaarten en het officiële programma van zaterdag 27 juni.

Graag tot ziens in Heerlen/Landgraaf!

Met vriendelijke groet,
Paul Tabak