Aussie Dylan Hill was the 3rd fastest age grouper overall at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Mont Tremblant and second in M25-29 behind German Robin Schneider. He had lost time almost 3 minutes to the German during the swim and then steadily gained time back, but it was not enough. In the end he missed the win by a minute and was 34th overall. We now had a few words with this speedy man from Launceston, Tasmania.

Slowtwitch: Thanks for your time.

Dylan Hill: No worries at all. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

ST: Right after Mont Tremblant you spent a couple weeks traveling through Canada and New York City I believe. Was that all planned or did you wing it?

Dylan: Yes, we had a great time exploring Montreal, Toronto and New York City. Destinations were planned about a month in advance.

ST: What did you see and experience?

Dylan: Old Montreal is a really cool place, lots of nice restaurants, cafes and nice architecture. Toronto definitely had an American feel to it as soon as we arrived; we had 3 nights here and experienced the power of Niagara Falls, went to a Rogers game and checked out the city among other things. New York was on another level! Crazy busy city! Statue of Liberty, Empire State, Times Square, 5th Avenue, Central Park, 911 Memorial and Museum were all sights we were lucky enough to visit. Awesome place, but I’m definitely not a city boy. Lots of great memories!

ST: Anything that you remember especially fondly?

Dylan: Oh, honestly, I probably enjoyed Mont Tremblant the most. It was such a beautiful place! Triathlon lets you experience special places! What a great sport we are involved in!! Also, the 911 memorial was one of the most moving places I’ve ever witnessed and will not forget.

ST: But I guess the real world called again and beckoned you back to Australia. What is actually your day job?

Dylan: I’m a Personal Trainer in the real world. Love it. Working with clients from all walks of life. I have a real passion for rehabilitation and sport specific training.

ST: What did all your clients do while you were hanging out on the other side of the world?

Dylan: Ah, well I have very understanding clientele. Majority of their programs were sent through in advance before I left so I was able to correspond a little with clients via facebook, email and viber. It all worked out well actually.

ST: Let us talk about your race in Mont Tremblant. You were 34th overall and second in your age group in 4:02:17. Did you have any idea about the German ahead of you?

Dylan: Nope, no idea whatsoever. I wish I did haha. It was very hard to work out who was who. 90% of the race I was just racing myself.

ST: You actually steadily gained on him, but in the end the 3 minute advantage Robin Schneider had was too much.

Dylan: Considering my swim leg isn’t the strongest, I knew I’d be chasing hard as soon as the gun went off. This is nothing new. So it’s all good. I’ll keep chipping away at it. Robin raced impressively and big congratulations to him - he definitely deserves the result! It was all about the experience for me first and foremost and I loved every minute.

ST: Was the race in general going as you had in mind?

Dylan: Oh mate, it was all about the experience for me! This was my first World Championship event and I had no idea what to expect. I was completely stoked when I found out I placed second. I bumped into Robin at the finish line and he was the one who told me I finished second. Turns out it was a good race between us both.

ST: Drafting was a big issue, or at least one that was hotly discussed. What did you see and experience?

Dylan: Man oh man this was crazy!!!! I could not believe what the hell was going on! Hectic, and very dangerous! I didn’t know what to do at times, there were bunches of blokes filling up the whole road, ridiculous. All I could do was make sure I stayed right and on the front as much as possible. This definitely needs to be addressed for future world champs.

ST: If you were in charge, what would be your solution?

Dylan: Buggered if I know. I guess my initial thoughts are to have more officials out on course, or perhaps even have paid officials? Possibly, if there were more officials seen by competitors it would automatically deter competitors away from drafting. But as far as I could see, 50% of the people competing weren’t even worried about getting caught for drafting/cheating. It’s actually a bit sad. I mean, I never expected things to be anywhere like they were out on the bike course. It was the world champs and people were blatantly cheating. It didn’t really make sense to me.

ST: What kind of bike are you riding?

Dylan: I’m lucky enough to be riding a Trek Speed Concept. Unreal bike! Hands down the best TT bike I have ever ridden. I also love my Domane, very comfortable!

ST: Do you ride with power?

Dylan: No I haven’t previously. But, I am currently getting a Stages power meter fitted to my Speed concept and Domane. My coach Grant Giles is fairly keen on using power as a training tool so it’s about time I get that sorted. Looking forward to seeing what it’s all about.

ST: How tall are you and what length cranks do you ride?

Dylan: I’m 168cm tall, and this is going to sound ridiculous, but I’m not sure what length cranks I ride haha.

ST: Oh my, but has anyone helped you with the bike fit?

Dylan: My local bike shop and sponsor (Cycle2) have helped me get set up on both bikes. But I have not had a ‘proper’ bike fit. This is something I want to get done asap. I’d love some advice on this!

ST: In Busselton earlier this year you had a similar finish time as in Mont Tremblant. But Busselton seems to be a faster course.

Dylan: Busselton is a fast course. Flat as a tack! Weather and conditions wise it was exactly the same as we had in Mont Tremblant, perfect! All I can put it down to is personal improvement. I have a great coach in Grant Giles from Aeromaxteam coaching.

ST: So what is next for you?

Dylan: Ah well, I’ve just had a good 2 week break and will be getting back into some training now that I’m back in the homeland. Majority of my season is already planned out and starts with Noosa on 2nd November. I’d like to continue focusing on the 70.3 distance with Western Sydney, Auckland, Coles Bay, Busselton and perhaps one other 70.3 on the agenda. We will see how the season pans out.

ST: Should the Pros be worried about you?

Dylan: Oh mate, I don’t think so. I mean, yeah turning pro is a goal, but I am in no rush to apply for my license. I think I can definitely be competitive with some of the pro’s within Australia so time will tell. I just want to keep improving.

ST: Do you train with any of them?

Dylan: Nope. Launceston is a fairly small town. But in saying that, we have awesome training grounds - Tough during winter, but fantastic in summer! There is also currently a solid group of triathletes, and cyclists living in Launceston so we all try to get together as much as possible. I’d say I do 70% of my training solo.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Dylan: Not real good at answering questions like this sorry mate… better off just firing direct questions at me haha. These interviews are all new to me. Not real good at talking about myself.