First off, tremendous race.

Did you back off during the last portion of the marathon knowing that you didn't have to run as hard and still win?
Edit: Thanks for doing this.

TJ,
Congrats on a fantastic performance! It was a pleasure racing beside you this past weekend. Very inspiring
I have to ask...how does your bike ride compared to a standard design? Would it take some getting used to in terms of feel? It may be a next purchase....

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Ryan

I would like to get a look at the front end of your bike and see how it has evolved over the years.

Sure I already know the answer, but you are riding a new "Dimond" now and not your modified 3001, right?

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

1) What did you eat for breakfast?
2) What was in your SN bike bag?
3) What did you eat while riding?
4) What did you eat in T2?
5) What was in your SN run bag?
6) How many pee breaks on the bike?
7) What was your cogset / chainring combo?
8) Aero bar going down from 50-mile turnaround to the bottom?
9) NP / AP?


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I was pretty fortunate to see Andy Raelert running the opposite direction with about 5 miles to go, and at that time had over a 2 mile lead on him. I thought to myself, you just won the race, now don't lose the race. I switched from being offensive with the race to defensive with the race. I took my time and walked the last aid stations, made sure to take care of all the details with my nutrition. A lot of the spectators wanted to high five and celebrate (as far back as 10k to go), but I told myself, no celebrating until you can see the finish line.

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Cheers,

TJ Tollakson
http://www.tollakson.com
CEO: http://www.rustersports.com and http://www.dimondbikes.com

TJ - great race. Was a pleasure to track and watch it online!

In terms of your Dimond bikes, do you think the rider realizes the performance benefit(s) on the bike or the run? That is, is the bike faster than other standard two-triangle designs or does the increased comfort of the beam set you up for a better run?

Also, thanks for doing an AMA. It is amazing to have people of your caliber open themselves up to questions from us peons.

Congrats on your win and thanks for doing this.

Regarding your position on the bike: have you tested it in the tunnel and, if so, what sort of savings do you get compared to a more conventional position with your forearms horizontal?

Split-wise, you were remarkably close to you race in LP - 50ish swim in both, 4:33 bike LP vs 4:26 MT, and 2:56 run LP vs 2:54 in MT. http://home.trainingpeaks.com/...acid-winning-race-re

How did you feel the races compared? Which did you perceive as being a better bike and/or run? Having never done either course, I can't put it in perspective. You smashed the bike course in MT, but then again, in LP, the bike course record is held by Steve Larsen, so perhaps being so close to that was actually a better ride.

Just curious to hear some thoughts on how you felt the performances at each of your wins compared.

Congratulations. And thanks for doing this.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Great race, man. Congrats.
We got a little anxious when you shut it down toward the end. Awesome day though.

I'm just curious how hard a ride like that really is.
Are you riding at a heroic IF? Or is your FTP so freakin' high you are noodling around?.

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@christopher_borden •
Spinning Spoke • Dimond Bikes • Flo Cycling • Castelli Cycling

Great race and thanks for the opportunity!!

How often during the bike leg did you come out of your aero position? Is handling an issue on some of the steep fast descents in the last section of each loop at IMMT? Do you find you really need to train to hold that position for a 4.5 hour ride?

Congrats on big win!!! Maybe I will pass on the loaded nachos next time ;)

Anyway, some questions which I am sure others will ask eventually:
- What was your race day weight
- What was your front tire psi
- What was your rear tire psi
- What front tire
- What rear tire
- What inner tubes do you ride

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Congrats on the win TJ!

I don't have any questions, but here's the pro race recap for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/...amp;feature=youtu.be

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

The most obvious question should be how the hell do you go that fast?

Great race BTW.

IMMT Specific
-How long before the race do you arrive on site and practice the course?
-Do you prefer hotels or home stays?

General
-What are your thoughts about the WTC's restructuring of the 2015 race year by limiting the number of races with prize purses but increasing the purse for those races?
-How will that affect your race selection in the future?

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

No questions, just congrats on a great race.

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"if you chose it, it's not really pain"

Hi Ryan,

I get that question quite often. Unlike the softrides of years past, the Dimond actually feels and rides like a normal bike. You can't tell it is a beam bike when riding it, unless you look down at the rear wheel. The bike is stiff and smooth. I would love to see you riding one. The other big advantage of the Dimond is the vertical vibration dampening. While you won't notice a bounce in the beam while riding, the beam will actually absorb bumps in the road with a few millimeters of flex. I have two bulging discs in my lower back and riding a Dimond has really saved my back from the stresses of riding all the time.

TJ

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Cheers,

TJ Tollakson
http://www.tollakson.com
CEO: http://www.rustersports.com and http://www.dimondbikes.com

Can you post your bike power file?

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Cheers,

TJ Tollakson
http://www.tollakson.com
CEO: http://www.rustersports.com and http://www.dimondbikes.com

Thank you TJ for that. I was wondering how you supports the custom cups enough but that clearly shows how you are doing that. Also assuming they were custom made by you. Has that position tested faster in the tunnel and how much does the helmet help as well.

I am riding my new 2014 Dimond. I used to a modified 1996 Zipp 2001

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Cheers,

TJ Tollakson
http://www.tollakson.com
CEO: http://www.rustersports.com and http://www.dimondbikes.com

One of the best speeches I've heard from a race winner. I hope someone posts that on youtube. Super inspirational... congrats.

1) What did you eat for breakfast? Whole wheat Bagel, PB and Jelly, 2x Ensure Plus, 1x RedBull, 1/2 bottle TYR Endurance Sport consumed 2.5 hours before the race, 45 min before race consumed 1xpack of PowerBar Gel Blasts (cola), and 1/2 bottle TYR Endurance Sport, 20 min before race consumed one Red Bull.
2) What was in your SN bike bag? Mars Bars and 1x Bottle of TYR Endurance Sport but I did not even take my special needs bag
3) What did you eat while riding? 12 PowerBar Gels (4x Pomegranat blueberry acai, 4x Green Apple, 4x Orange Dream), 1 packet of cola PowerBar Gel Blasts, 1 bottle of TYR endurance Sport, water.
4) What did you eat in T2? nothing, but I grabbed 4 gels for the run and salt tabs
5) What was in your SN run bag? 16 oz of RedBull, 3xPowerBar gels, mars bar, PowerBar gel blasts. I took 2 gels with me, and about 6 oz of the RedBull.
6) How many pee breaks on the bike? 2 pee breaks on the bike (mile 75 and mile 110)
7) What was your cogset / chainring combo? 54/39 172.5 crank with 11-25 cassette
8) Aero bar going down from 50-mile turnaround to the bottom? absolutely
9) NP / AP? I'm having some problems with trainingpeaks and wko reading the srm file correctly but AP was 279 and NP is in the range of 289

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Cheers,

TJ Tollakson
http://www.tollakson.com
CEO: http://www.rustersports.com and http://www.dimondbikes.com

thanks, figured so.

How do they compare (sorry if this isn't quite the place)

Also congrats on the race, amazingly well paced the whole way.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com