No risk of drafting at this race.

The first year i photographed it and the pros looked to maintain the 7m gap. The 2nd year I did it and 3 of the chasing pros had come together on a small incline, as they looped back past me. Don't think they were drafting really, but more having a catch up as it was 170kms into a long and very solo bike ride.
Some of the large fields you have in the USA on loop courses look like it would be hard not to draft at some stages?

Did a rough count and there are about 130 individuals doing it this year(third year it has been going).

Wanaka in NZ is along way from the rest of the world, so they have a team component to it also, which will hopefully keep it going. About half the individuals are international but there are only about 3 from the USA(all pros).


Here is a part of a preview I wrote which will hopefully generate a bit more interest:

http://www.triathlonshots.com/...lengeWanaka2008.html


Can't even copy my own preview to post here very well, never mind.....

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

Can't make it this year. But this is a fantastic venue. It was one of our favourite places we visited in NZ. It is definetly on my list of races to do.

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Scott McMillan, M.Sc
Twitter@Factor9Coaching | Factor9Coaching.com | Facebook

Good luck Grant! I had fun spectating last year and hope it's another good day this year. How did the bike course change?

You've still got time to do a Queenstown-GY-Queenstown-Kingston-Queenstown ride as a tune-up! :)

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

[You've still got time to do a Queenstown-GY-Queenstown-Kingston-Queenstown ride as a tune-up! :) ]

Thanks for the good wishes. Just got back now from my first triathlon since completing 'Challenge Wanaka' last January.

And yes it is only 14 days away and i am planning at least one more 4-5hr ride. Queenstown-GY-Queenstown sounds good but it might be something a bit flatter i do instead. Am alot more run fit this year but less bike fit so it will be interesting to compare the 2 results.

This year the hilly section to 'Treble cone' that was at the end of the 180km has now changed to be the first part of the ride, so the cyclists come through Wanaka again early in the race. Will have a good look at the website now; this link might work:
http://www.challenge-wanaka.com/maps/bike_map.pdf

It is otherwise pretty much the same which is great because it is a nice course.
There is a fair bit of depth in the mens pro field but very few in the womans, considering the overall individual entry numbers are like 'Silverman'. You would be doing extremely well to place 3rd overall in Wanaka like you did in Silverman(?).

G.

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

The first year the weather was calm and it was perfect conditions.
The 2nd year when i did it it was perfect calm and warm/hot conditions. It was the great weather and nice course that got me back 2 years running. Have already decided not to do it 3 years running, but am pretty sure i will do it again sometime.

I think the race can do with a bit of international promotion as it is a a good off-season race for those in the Northern hemisphere and they could do with a few more entrants.

Will post the results on this thread when they happen.

G.

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

Not to mention that Australasian fields are stronger than North American fields, regardless of pro status.
The entry list at the Lake Hayes Sprint (no chip timing, aid stations, or food/water afterwards) is testament to that.

Hopefully there's no fresh chip on the course. On a training ride I did last year out near Treble Cone, it was so fresh that the bike was sliding around on the tar and a 15mm piece of chip stuck to my front tire, lodged on the inside of my fork, and in a matter of seconds shaved a flat spot into my tire! Don't miss that one bit.

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

It sounds as though you are interested in this race? Let me know if you do ever enter it.

Apparently some large course chip has been laid in a section of the road, but mostly it is fine from my observation.

Did the Wanaka to Treble Cone section a few days ago and it was good. I have had tar and small bits of chip stone stuck to my tyres on really hot days. I will be avoiding the black tar spots if it is extremely hot as tar stuck to my tyres would have my brain thinking it will slow me down.

NZ seems to have a dis-proportionate number of top elite triathletes for a poulation of 4,293,637(as of this moment in time).
NZ has good climate and roads/facilities for training so that is part of it.


Here is my photo coverage of the event a year ago, or so:

http://www.triathlonshots.com/eastertri.html


You will see there are a couple of triathletes who do ITU races taking it out. The Lake Hayes triathlon is really a smallish holiday fun event, but for about the last 10 years it is won by someone who is world champion junior or age group 1st/2nd in the ITU worlds(mostly the case for the guys race).
The week before the worlds here in 2003 they had a fun sprint race and Simon Whitield won that. He was one lap ahead of me in the 5km run and cruising so i tucked in behind him an another guy for about a kilometer.

And by the way there is pretty much always water halfway through the run and at the finish. You should have done it?

Do you have aid stations in all your sprint triathlons in the USA?

Mine you a recent marathon i did south of here only had water and that was a struggle for me. The sprint triathlon I did yesterday only had water at the finish mindyou. It was over some of the 'Challenge Wanaka' course and the winds were so strong several people got blown off course. Have cycled/raced in worse though and it was good training.

G.

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

The race is now just 8 sleeps away.

Asuming the weather is good over the next 3 days. i am still planning on doing a couple of 2-4 hour rides. I know it sounds too much this late in the game, but am feeling really great, but know i am short of long rides.
Anyone have any thoughts on cycling this much a wek out???

just to be clear though, last year i went hard-out and only averaged 32km/hr and this year intend to take it more easy on the bike. So am not trying to win my age group or anything.

Interestingly my motivation a few weeks ago just wasn't there for riding long, but now it is. basically felt there was more in life than riding for 5-6 hours by myself. anyone else ever feel like that??

am getting excited, but am not quite fully charged to say 'bring it on', just yet.

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

Well, you're around farms a lot. What if I told you that 8 sleeps away, all the hay is in the barn?

You're not going to make up for a lack of long rides in the last week before a race. I'd hope that one last 2 hour ride would be part of your taper plan, but you only stand to hurt your race if you feel compelled to go ride 200k today.

Keep your legs fresh, rest, and devote energy to putting your mind in the right place.

Having a mindset that your lack of long rides is not a big deal will help a bit on race day. If you toe the line freaked out that you haven't been over 100k in a month, you're already toast!

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

Below was copied from my results page.

Was glad for Petr. He just beat Justin Daer into 3rd by less than a minute. And he was less than a less than a minute from 2nd.

had a talk to him and he said he struggled a bit after half way in the aero bike position. Coming out of 3 months of Winter so no road bike training.

'Challenge Wanaka'

Wanaka, New Zealand
January 17th 2009

Chris MacDonald above in action today. The man is 'super human', going by how I and most others found the race course/conditions today(ie. pretty challenging!)

Haven't had time to sort through all the photos. Will have full photo event pages up in the next couple of days. I was doing it but had my sister and cousin photographing it.

Results

Mens:

1st, Chris MacDonald in new course record time

2nd, Keegan Williams

3rd, Petr Vabrousic.

4th Justin Daer

Woman:

1st, Gina Ferguson

2nd, Merryn Johnstone

3rd, Hillary Biscay

The above is probably already on 'ST', but haven't checked.

I had a solid race and went 5 mins faster than last year.

G.

www.TriathlonShots.com

It was cool to see Quelle Roth race director Felix Walchshofer of which Challenge Wanaka is linked to racing the full event as an individual today.

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

Great effort mate.

And here is an image showing Felix(Roth race director) in action at 'Challenge Wanaka':



He said he started training after Roth 2008, gave up smoking and got a personal triathlon coach(Suzanne). It was great to see him out there and 13 1/2 hours for the first iron-distance race is a good effort.

G.




www.triathlonshots.com

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.