Berkel, speaking from his home training base said “I’m very happy to be signing up with Rockstar racing and Giant. Giant have some of the nicest bikes on the market and I’m really looking forward to racing on them in 2012 I’m also excited to be teaming up with Dwight Woodforth and Rockstar Racing. It’s great to see Rockstar moving into triathlon and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

For Rockstar racing and team director Dwight Woodforth this is a significant step outside the mountain bike world. This is an exciting time for Rockstar Racing, the move into Triathlon is something we have been working on with our major partners for some time. “Tim is a great asset to our team, not only is he a talented and well respected athlete but he fits the Rockstar mould perfectly.” commented Woodforth.

“Rockstar Racing was established on the back of our Mountain biking platform. We have had great success not only on the track but also off. Our Rockstar Team kit have been extremely popular and we recently reached an agreement with clothing Manufacturer Champion System to sell our gear through there online store in the US & Australia.” he said.

This is the first real move for an Australian team into triathlon and while it might not have the fanfare of the Green Edge movement the Rockstar team has had some top results on the dirt. Now they are turning their attention to the tarmac with Berkel as the pilot.

Related posts:

1. Today I defend my title at the 2011 Challenge Copenhagen
2. Challenge Copenhagen Race Report
3. My first place in the 2010 Challenge Copenhagen

Everything went according to the plan (at least for the most part), including the big 1000km bike week. On Sunday I needed to pull together 130km on the bike to finish out the 1,000km for the week.

I had no idea what was in store for me. As I was finishing off the big week, a car came from out of nowhere and hit my bike, literally breaking it in half. It all happened in the flash of a moment, and although I’m totally fine and completely uninjured, it’s hard to piece everything together. All I can say is that I’m extremely lucky my bike was the only casualty.

So Belinda picked me up and took me back home, broken bike in tow. I was still determined to get my goal for the week, so the second I got back, I hopped on my road bike and finished the ride. In spite of it all, I got my biggest week ever. 1,000kms on the bike! Oh, and this other little thing happened too. I proposed to Belinda. I figure a girl who’s there for me after a bike crash is a good find and definitely worth hanging onto.

Abu Dhabi was on the horizon, and although I came into the race feeling more prepared than ever, it didn’t go as planned. High winds, hot temperatures and the boys driving the bike very hard got the better of me.

I biked pretty hard through the first hour and a half, but then I started cramping. My nutrition was running out, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I’d hit the wall. I basically bonked about 150km into the bike. Matty White was right alongside me, we got off the bike 20min down and I was in a very bad way. We both decided to start the run to see how we flet but I only got to 5k in the run and pull the pin. The temperatures and exhaustion had run their course.

I’m definitely disappointed, I’m not ashamed. Only 16 of the 41 competitors managed to brave the temperatures and winds to the finish line, and the average finish time was one hour slower than last year’s race. It was a challenging day, and my hat goes off to those who finished.

Right now, I’m back in Oz enjoying the much more reasonable weather. I’ll be training in Lennox head with the crew for the next few weeks before the Port Macquarie and Busselton 70.3 races.

As always, I’ll keep you posted on the results.

The New 2011 Canondale Slice
I just got this bike, and it rides like a dream. The Slice is the best tri bike I’ve ever ridden, and the results show. I won Challenge Copenhagen on this bike, and I think that if I weren’t riding it, I would have been much more tired for the run.

It all has to do with the way this bike is engineered. The Slice has a shock dampening micro suspension (called the SAVE system) on the rear. It reduces a lot of the wear you get from riding long distances, and in my case, it kept me feeling much more fresh once I hopped off the bike and did the run.

I’ve got some pretty serious bike training coming up in the next few weeks, so the new Slice will certainly come in handy. The Abu Dhabi triathlon features a 200k bike section, so I’m planning on slowly increasing my distance on the bike before I head over there in March. During my most intense week, I’ll be biking an insane 1000 kilometers. Just so you know, I’ve never done that before.

Shimano’s Dura Ace DI2 Electronic Shifting System
You can really see the evolution of bike racing with this new Shimano gear shifting system. There are no cables, so you get a super smooth transition between gears. This is actually really handy. When you add up all of the little delays in a race, something like this can make a big difference.

Being that these have be designed triathletes, the new system eliminates the need for me to change hand positions during shifting. I can change gears at the base bar as well as the bar extensions because the system is linked.

Also, the electronic rear derailleur system is the fastest & most precise shifting I have seen. It’s made from Aluminium and Carbon which is why the whole rear derailleur weighs in at only 225g.

But you haven’t even heard the best part. The DI2 self-tunes. What a timesaver. No more trekking across town to the bike shop to get it done (not that I mind it). What could be more useful in the middle of a big race?

Shimano has also been kind enough to give me some new shoes, wheels, and bars. Thanks again guys!

I’ve gotta shout out to Scody and Daikin. Thanks for your support.
What second Christmas is complete without some new clothes? Scody always has the most colorful and interesting designs out there. I love working with them because I get to be a part of the process, helping them come up with gear that makes me look good. It’s win-win all around.

I’ll be blogging about my training schedule shortly. Like I said, it looks like I’ve got a lot of intense weeks on the bike ahead of me. I’ll keep you all posted on my progress, and if they have to scrape me off the road during that 1000k week, you’ll know.

Related posts:

1. How I’m preparing for the 2011 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon

I know you’ve got some time to look at the article right now. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading my blog. So go ahead, dig in. Here’s a link to subscribe.

See you in Port Macquarie

Related posts:

1. 220 Triathlon magazine interview

To see more about their fantastic gear, visit http://www.compressport.com.au

A big thanks to the guys at the Australian 220 Triathlon magazine.

Related posts:

1. Check this out! I’m on the cover of Australia’s 220 Triathlon magazine
2. How I’m preparing for the 2011 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon
3. Welcome to the new site…

After initial talks with Matt Hodges and Michael O Hara of SIS here in Australia, who insisted rather than just signing a deal they really wanted to make sure that I liked the product and that it was suitable for me. After using the products in training I soon put pen to paper. I’m proud to be the first person SIS have sponsored here in Australia. There product range is really simple as they have products for BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER exercise. The SIS ‘GO GELS’ stand out as a product I have really noticed a difference from the rest. The SIS GO GEL was the worlds first ISOTONIC Gel, therefore it doesn’t need any water to wash it down and so much easier to get down!

What’s the secret to training harder, racing faster and recovering quicker?”

Was the question that persistently perturbed me, Tim Lawson an athlete and head honcho here at
Science in Sport. This question was the starting block that pioneered sports nutrition in professional athletics.

Born out of passion in 1992, We, SiS have now gained the credibility through our brand’s authenticity being recognised as the world leader in sports nutrition. SiS evokes the desire of performance excellence, focussing on the needs of athletes, where a fraction of a second can stand between success and failure and one performance can change the world, each of our products have a core function to energise, hydrate, recover and enhance Sports men & women.

Our open attitude and constant dialogue with the sporting fraternity, ensures insights, which deliver the facts, to allow us our unrivalled results. Accomplishing every Athletes common goal promotes confidence through SiS, we inspire ambition by breaking records, winning Olympic golds, World Championships, Premiership titles. We know no bounds we’ve scaled the heights of Everest, passed from pole to pole, crossed deserts and the Worlds oceans. We’ve been there and done that but still crave more.

When your body is pushed to the limit we’re with you, we speak your body’s language, from training to competition we’re part of the kit that compliments your performance, we’re the crucial part of the sporting ritual.

After enjoying great success overseas, SiS is now available in Australia, with Matt Hodges as the brand‘s official representative.

Matt was quick to realise the benefits of SiS a few years ago when he represented Great Britain in cycling.

He then became heavily involved in the research and development of new SiS products, which eventually led him to work for SiS UK for over 7 years.

Now living permanently in Australia, Matt is the ideal person to promote SiS to the Australian market. In fact, if there‘s a more passionate advocate for SiS, we‘d like to meet them!

Check out Science in Sport

Related posts:

1. Post race interview – Port Macquarie Half Ironman
2. Port Macquarie Half Ironman
3. 220 Triathlon magazine interview