On the 29th November 2015, on a particularly hot Ironman Cozumel Sunday, SRM sponsored triathlete, Michi Weiss, posted the 2nd fastest bike split of the day en route to 3rd place overall and his third consecutive podium at this race which he has dominated for the last two years winning by seven minutes in 2013 and a staggering twenty minutes last year. Coming just six weeks after the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii where Michi also posted a top 10 bike split, he arrived in Mexico two weeks before race day feeling good and ready to mount the second consecutive defense of his title. The Cozumel race course is one that really suits Michi’s specific abilities in that the buoyancy providing ocean swim also features a favorable current which helps the non front pack swimmers like Michi to exit the water within touching distance of the leaders, as he did again this year posting an Ironman PB of 0:49:40 for the 3.8km swim. The bike course is fast and flat with technical sections, which is perfect for the strongest cyclists and as such Michi already holds the course record. The run surface is also consistent and flat. And so it was that those of us on Team Weiss were pretty confident that another dominating victory was doable, even likely. In this article I am going to unpack Michi’s SRM power file from the race and highlight the reasons why a title defense is such a hard thing to pull off, especially when it is the second one in two years!
0 comments views
Weiss Powers into Top 10 Bike and 16th Overall at Ironman World Championships With the sun just peaking over the horizon at exactly 0630 on Saturday 10th October 2015 and the temperature already nudging 26C with 80% humidity, the canon sounded to mark the male pro start of the Ironman World Championship in the bay of Kailua-Kona. We knew then that it was going to be a day of attrition. Who would best be able to put together equally strong swim, bike and run splits while being cooked alive? If ever there was proof needed that while triathlon is made up of three disciplines it is but one sport and the cumulative fatigue, especially in Ironman distance undertaken in great heat, needs to be very carefully managed by the successful athlete whether pro or age grouper as if not, the day will be a short one as many of the big names found out. Indeed, the eventual winner, Jan Frodeno, described the race as “like being locked in a sauna that also happens to have a wind tunnel in it”. The ‘Kona Code’ is a truly unique challenge, which requires real experience to crack.
0 comments views
On 28th June 2015, Michi Weiss once again took the podium in 2nd place at his home Ironman in a time of 08:06:59 coming in behind overall race winner, Marino Vanhoenacker who also took his 7th Ironman Austria title. Arguably one of the most iconic events on the Ironman calendar, race day delivered great crowds, perfect weather and the usual super fast splits. Michi’s bike leg of 04:20:57 was also the 2nd fastest of the day coming right off one of his best ever Ironman swims and preceding a stellar 02:48:18 marathon. In this article I want to take a look in detail at the SRM power file of an athlete at the top of his game.
0 comments views
Beautiful yet relentless would best describe the Ironman 70.3 Aix-en-Provence bike route. It is 90km of constantly changing gradient, varied road surface with extremely technical flat and downhill sections, all of which present a test for which only the triathletes with the strongest legs and the best bike handling skills need apply. After a solid 1.9km swim, Michi entered T1 just over 3 minutes behind strong biker Andi Boecherer. and then put together a cycling masterclass to put himself firmly in contention. A minor recent injury flared up on the run putting paid to a podium but that is sports at the highest level. But now lets take a look at Michi’s SRM power file and I’ll try to unpack exactly what is required to nail the fastest bikesplit in amongst a field of very strong professional triathletes.
0 comments views
