Kansas people…
Check out this article on Pro Triathlete Pip Taylor…
…are we becoming a triathlon hotbed? …ha! …well maybe not…but still cool to see a Pro living and training out of Kansas! Way to go Pip!
*****Pip clicks for Oz title *
Dave Kirkpatrick | 24th February 2009
Lennox Head-based triathlete Pip Taylor’s focus is now on the world championships in the US after winning the Australian and Oceania Long Course Championships on the South Coast.
LIKE Dorothy out of the Wizard of Oz, Lennox Head triathlete Pip Taylor knows she is not in Kansas anymore.
But after winning the Australian and Oceania Long Course Championships in Huskisson on the South Coast at the weekend, Taylor has her sights set on a return to the United States in May.
Specifically the town of Lawrence, Kansas, where she will base herself for the next seven months and compete in 13 or 14 events as part of the North American circuit.
It’s all part of the jet-setting lifestyle of an elite-level triathlete.
Taylor’s win at the weekend means she has qualified for the ITU World Long Course Championships to be held in Perth in October of this year.
But she is not sure she’ll able to make it because her focus will be on the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater in the US in November.
“I’m committed to the racing the 70.3 world championships, that was never in doubt,” she said.
“But I’d love to come back to do the long course because I have qualified for it. Even though I’ll be on the opposite side of the world, if I can fit it in my travel plans, I’ll definitely try and find a seat on an airline.”
Taylor was largely untroubled in her win at Huskisson even though the event was held during a heavy block of training.
She completed the 3km swim, 80km bike ride and 20km run in 4 hours and 22 minutes and finished a few minutes ahead of second-placed Lisa Marangon.
Not that she was overly excited about her performance.
“I had a decent swim, I wasn’t overly happy with how I swam, but I got off to a solid start and had a decent gap coming out of the water,” Taylor said.
“I was happy with how I rode, I rode pretty consistently, but I got overtaken by a pack halfway through the bike leg and came into the second transition in second place.
“I was then able to get into my rhythm on the run. I felt pretty comfortable, and was able to pass a girl and go on with it.”
That’s it as far as competition on home soil goes for the foreseeable future.
Taylor will now return to Lennox Head to continue her training in preparation for another US assault.
“For me, the year is pretty much split 50-50 between Lennox Head and the US but I love coming home to Lennox and chilling out and making the most of the area to get in some good quality training,” she said.
“I do all of my training around Lennox, and at the Alstonville pool, and we have got a good little spot up there with all the other guys.
A typical training day for me is six or seven hours.”
From Lennox Head to Lawrence in the US - Taylor likes the small-town feel of the mid-west city which is right in the middle of tornado alley.
“Coming from the north coast to the big cities doesn’t work too well for me,” she said.
“Lawrence has a big university (Kansas University) based there so it is a very, very sporty town and is supported well by a lot of good sporting facilities.”
As long as Taylor clicks her heels three times and realises there is no place like home, she’ll always be welcome in Lennox Head.