Innehållsförteckning för August 2024 från 220 Triathlon

WHY I TRI It was 35 years ago when I first tried triathlon. I bumped into a guy at White Oak Leisure Centre in Swanley who explained what it was, and I thought I’d give it a bash. Six weeks training, I couldn’t swim more than two lengths of crawl and nearly finished last. I improved, though, and the pinnacle of my career was coming seventh in the age-group world champs. I’ve raced for the GB age-group team 23 times, in New Zealand, Mexico, Hawaii, even China. One I won’t ever forget is Sala in Sweden where I met the late, great Ian Pettit for the first time when he was team manager. It was so hot and we all ended up in the bar, elites drinking with age-groupers. Unfortunately,…

FEATURE JODIE STIMPSON Q&A In a decade of brilliance and often world domination from Britain’s triathletes, West Midlands’ Jodie Stimpson deserves her place. A double-Commonwealth gold medal winner in 2014, ranked second in the world in 2013, and four memorable victories at the top level of the World Series, Stimpson – accomplished across all disciplines – could be a match for anyone. But having started triathlon at just eight years of age, the now 35-yearold was also the one who just missed out when it came to Olympic selection, particularly for Rio 2016, where Helen Jenkins won out in a straight shootout for the final slot. Stimpson has been much quieter in recent years. Having moved up to longer-distance non-drafting racing, appearances and results have been more sporadic, and she was…

ASHLEIGH GENTLE Australian two-time Olympian and PTO-ranked world No 2 who has won more 100km races than anyone else. MEN Gold: Hayden Wilde, NZ Silver: Alex Yee, GBR Bronze: Matt Hauser, AUS “I think Wilde will make a move on the bike. Even if he gets a really small chunk of time, I think any gap can be enough to get him gold ahead of Yee. Hauser is a really good all-rounder and will be there at the front from the start - and I won’t deny I’m a bit biased.” WOMEN Gold: Cassandre Beaugrand, FRA Silver: Taylor Knibb, USA Bronze: Flora Duffy, BER “Like Wilde, Taylor will definitely try something on the bike in Paris which might end up getting her the gold medal, but I also think Beaugrand’s…

Triathlon requires lots of kit, and while big items like a bike and wetsuit can steal your attention, getting your choice of sunglasses wrong is fraught with peril. Do so and you may end up squinting around a race or constantly pushing your glasses back into place. To help you make such a vital decision, we’ve put 11 pairs of performance eyewear to the test. Each pair has been tested over a number of rides and runs in various conditions. We’ve also put them through their paces with controlled testing on the same loops on the bike and run, ensuring conditions remained consistent throughout. So what are we looking for? Well, for a start, performance eyewear needs to be comfortable and fit well. We’re also looking for a fantastic field…

TOP-END WETSUITS If your goal is to exit T1 first, you’ll want a suit that strikes the balance between flexibility, buoyancy and comfort, while also being super easy to remove on the fly. Aquasphere Racer V3 £558 Incredibly supple; improved hydrodynamics. Issue 417 uk.aquasphereswim.com Orca Apex Flex £589 Soft and flexible; ideal for good swimmers. Issue 417 orca.com Yonda Ghost 3 £589 Impressive mix of flexibility and buoyancy. Issue 417 yondasports.com Zone3 Vanquish X £699 A dizzying array of tech put to good use. Issue 415 zone3.com Sailfish Ultimate IPS Plus 3 £925 A classy high-end suit with a price to match. Issue 406 sailfish.com BUDGET WETSUITS Always try before you buy as sizes can vary massively between brands. Then consider your swim ability, as some features may be lost…

TRAINING NUTRITION Cramming your training into a busy working week can be tricky enough without the added stress of preparing a nutritious and balanced meal every night to help you refuel and recover effectively from each session. But help is at hand, as I’ve designed the four recipes overleaf specifically with speed in mind. First up is a dish I was lucky enough to come across on a visit to Venice in Italy – Venetian polenta with baby shrimps. It’s a delicious dish of baby shrimps sautéed with garlic and rosemary, and it’s served with some soft polenta. This is absolutely perfect for rustling up before or after training – corn polenta takes literally one minute to cook – and is packed with sustaining carbohydrate to top up your depleted muscle…

I’ve written before about the challenges of swimming technique, because of the three disciplines it is without doubt the most technical. But the upside to swimming being such a challenge is that working on and refining your technique can result in big improvements without necessarily working any harder. Previously when I’ve written about swimming technique, I focused on body position – aiming to sit higher in the water to minimise drag. The next step is to work on stroke mechanics. So let’s break down the ‘Recovery’ and ‘Catch’ phases of the stroke and highlight some basics to work on during your swim sessions: RECOVERY PHASE The movement between your hand exiting and reentering the water is called the recovery phase. An efficient recovery phase is important to minimising fatigue and…

STAR LETTER Got an opinion to share? Then email us at fao220@220triathlon.com TESTING THE THAMES I competed in the Royal Windsor Triathlon on Sunday 9 June 2024. From the Monday night, I then suffered with sickness and diarrhoea. I’ve contacted a number of people who also did the race and are in a similar condition, with the same symptoms. I noticed on Reddit there were a number of reports that water quality was down when we swam in the Thames. I have contacted British Triathlon and Human Race. British Triathlon have admitted in this email that a number of people have reported as being ill from the event. For me there’s clearly an issue with the criteria of the tests or the tests themselves. I feel there may be hundreds…

“I couldn’t do this sport without my family. My dad [above at the 2014 Commonwealth Games] taught me to swim when I was four years old and took me to my first triathlon, and ever since then my mum, dad and sister have been at every race possible. “Mum and dad would use their vacations to come and support me and triathlon was and is such a massive part of our lives – my sister can rattle off more stats than anyone. “I could tell you where dad would stand on every ITU course. He’d cover more distance than I would in the race getting to all different spots, and I could hear my sister over everyone! Mum would be just as loud as soon as I got on to…

SOPHIE COLDWELL Sophie Coldwell will arguably be the most talented triathlete ‘not’ to participate in Paris after she lost out in an agonising selection decision in June. Having missed out on Tokyo in 2021, the 29-year-old felt she had justified her spot after winning Yokohama WTCS last year and then finishing 13secs and three places ahead of Waugh in the nominated priority race this summer in Cagliari. While Coldwell’s initial appeal was upheld by the arbitration committee, the three-person panel from British Triathlon then returned the same decision. It left Coldwell – eighth in the Olympic rankings and the highest ranked athlete to miss out on Paris – feeling “disappointed, sad, but above all angry at my federation.” Instead, Coldwell has accepted her spot as a reserve. JONNY BROWNLEE Having…

PREP 5mins COOK 10mins SERVES 2 INGREDIENTS • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 red onion, finely sliced • 1 stick celery, finely chopped • 1 fresh green chilli, deseeded and chopped • 1 clove garlic, crushed • 1 tsp smoked paprika • 1 tsp ground cumin • ½ tsp cayenne pepper • 2 cans black beans • 1 can chopped tomatoes • Pinch of brown sugar • 1 tsp red wine vinegar • Squeeze of lime juice For the salsa • 2 spring onions, finely sliced • 1 green and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped • 1 tomato, chopped • Fresh coriander and/or mint • Pinch of ground cumin • Squeeze of fresh lime juice • 1 tsp olive oil For the topping • 2 tbsps natural yoghurt…

THIS MONTH'S COACHING PANEL ANDREW SHEAFF Breathe easy, swim fast US swim coach Andrew has been helping swimmers improve for 20+ years. He specialises in helping triathletes improve their swimming through online coaching ANDREW WOODROFFE Run to the tempo Andrew is a performance triathlon coach and longdistance athlete based in Zurich, Switzerland. HELEN WEBSTER Tow a safe line Helen is the editor of 220 Triathlon and a fully qualified open-water swim coach. MATT DURKIN Protein longevity Matt is the new product development manager at SCI-MX, a sports nutrition brand. → BREATHE EASY, SWIM FAST Q I need to sort out my breathing when swimming? Any tips? A Effective breathing is one of the most important and most challenging skills to learn, particularly in open water. One of the key skills…

TAG YOUR PICTURES @220TRIATHLON…

THE MEN TO WATCH Hayden Wilde, NZL The Falcon’s been flying since his Tokyo bronze medal with four World Series wins. Yee has usually pipped him in their evolving rivalry, but Wilde has plenty of incentive following Commonwealth silver, when he received a harsh transition penalty, and a freak injury on the morning of last year’s Test Event that meant he had to quit on the run. Matt Hauser, AUS Given its rich tradition in the sport, it’s almost embarrassing that no Australian male has won an Olympic triathlon medal – Hauser could change that. The 26-yearold Queenslander secured a first World Series win in Montreal last year, while a runner-up spot in May’s Yokohama WTCS showed he’s a maturing threat on the world stage. Léo Bergere, FRA Had to…

MEET THE TEST TEAM OUR RATINGS 90+ % BUY NOW A GENUINE CLASS LEADER 80-89 % IMPRESSIVE ONE OF THE BEST YOU CAN BUY 70-79 % GOOD A DECENT PERFORMER 50-69 % AVERAGE IT’LL DO THE JOB WELL ENOUGH 0-49 % POOR SIMPLY PUT, DON’T BOTHER! HELEN WEBSTER 220’s editor is also a qualified open-water swimming coach. ROB SLADE 220’s content editor and resident adventure seeker. MATT BAIRD Has spent years testing tri kit and accessories for 220. JACK SEXTY A strong age-grouper focusing on top-end gains. JAMES WITTS He’s a published author writing about sports science. SWANS VALKYRIE GOGGLES £44.99 There’s no escaping it, the look of your goggles has an impact on how you feel when you swim. Which is why the Swans Valkyrie goggles immediately caught my…

TRAINING MASTERCLASS 01 Know your true number Before you start trying to improve your FTP, it’s essential you know what it is. The more accurate your FTP is, the more impactful your intervals and training sessions based on it will be. Try training with an over-inflated FTP and you’ll struggle to finish workouts or build excessive fatigue. If it’s too low, you won’t be getting the training stimulus you should. This means putting yourself through the ‘fun’ of a proper FTP test. I’m a big fan of protocols based around a 20min effort and taking 90% of your average power for that effort as your FTP. I’ve found that estimates and extrapolations from shorter efforts and ramp tests often give an ego-flattering overinflation. And longer efforts, unless you’re an extremely experienced rider,…

FAST AND FIT FOOD VENETIAN POLENTA WITH BABY SHRIMPS PREP 1min COOK 5mins SERVES 2 INGREDIENTS • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced • 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped • 200g peeled baby shrimps • Splash of dry white wine • 200g polenta (instant or slow-cook) • Extra virgin olive oil METHOD 1 Gently sauté the garlic and rosemary for 1min. Add the shrimps and wine -if using uncooked shrimps, cook them until they turn pink. 2 Cook the polenta according to packet’s instructions; use a large pan and a long spoon as the polenta will spit out at you! The polenta should be the consistency of porridge. Add a good glug of olive oil, season and then dish out. 3 Add the shrimp, garlic and…

Q Are ibuprofen and paracetamol bad for my performance? A They’re not great. According to a review article in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, ibuprofen and paracetamol reduced protein synthesis after high-intensity training and weights; in other words, they reduced the anabolic effect and so limited muscular growth. Why is down to cutting activity of an enzyme linked with muscle repair and regeneration. As both drugs are also linked to liver and gastrointestinal issues, respectively, it’s wise to avoid unless needed and certainly not recommended for purely sporting purposes. Q What’s the most affordable way to prevent bonking? A A mix of solids and liquids, equating to around 100cals every 15-20mins, should ensure you maintain your energy levels adequately. If you don’t fancy sports nutrition products,…