The 2-time Ironman World Champion Normann Stadler is one of the pre-race favorites going into the upcoming 30th anniversary event, and he talked to slowtwitch.com about his state of readiness, his team and the middle of the year sponsorship change.
ST: Normann, we are getting very close to Ironman Hawaii 2008. Are you ready to go?
Normann: Yes, I am more than ready and am very much looking forward to the big race in Kona. The work is done and now I just have to make sure to stay healthy and give my body enough time to recover from the hard work of the last few weeks.
ST: Where are you going to spend the next couple of weeks and what are you doing?
Normann: I have been in San Diego since August 20 and this is now for the 9th time. I’ll stay here until September 30 and then it is time to get on my beloved island in Hawaii. As I already said, the tapering has started and the work is done. I’ll try though to get myself mentally fit for the race. On October 13 I’ll go back to Germany and on October 23 the Dresdner Kleinwort Marathon takes place in Frankfurt and our team will take part as a relay. Plus I am really looking forward to the German fall season.
ST: Your 2008 season did not go as smooth as you most likely would have liked. Any thoughts?
Normann: It does not always work out like we want in our life. I won the German Half IM Championships 3 weeks prior to Ironman Frankfurt and then caught a virus, which made a start at the Ironman impossible, not matter how bad I wanted it. This is my 20th triathlon year and I had lots of ups and downs, but it is important to always fight again to get up again. And that is something I deal with well. Plus the most important race is yet to come. ☺
ST: You switched mid-season from Kuota and Scott. Are you dialed in on your new ride?
Normann: Yes, I changed indeed and that had important reasons. I helped Kuota to get big, as no one really knew Kuota in 2004. After my win, the brand boomed and I had a big part of that. But I also felt that it was hard to work professional with a “smaller” brand and thus I decided to work with Scott. That Plasma 2 is an amazing bike and I immediately felt comfortable on it. It is very stiff, very aerodynamic and looks very good too. It was love at first sight. The most important thing though was to be taking serious as a Pro. When I have an issue, I can call and there is an immediate solution. Should I need a new bike or new shoes, a few days later it all arrives and I can continue doing my job. I am actually very proud to have a contract with Scott. I had 3 other offers from bike companies and the decision to go with Scott was the right one. Scott also works closely with some of my other sponsors such as Zipp, SRAM and Profile.
ST: Are there any other updates/news on the sponsorship front?
Normann: My main sponsors are Dresdner Kleinwort Investment Bank, Die Deutsche Steinzeug, Scott bikes and shoes, Profile Design, SRAM, SRM-System, ZIPP, blueseventy and Volvo cars. Each of these sponsors is very important in a unique way and I am very glad to have such supportive and professional sponsors.
ST: Does the new Team setup help or distract, or both?
Normann: Just perfect. We really match up well and we really push each other in training. It really has developed into a real team and after 20 years of triathlon I feel like I am experiencing a second spring. It is lots of fun to measure yourself with the young wild ones in training. It also helps very much to have a strong team around you and I am sure I can speak for my teammates here.
ST: Drafting rules for Ironman races, are you content with the way they are done now?
Normann: We have to go by the rules and nothing will change that. If the distance is 7 meters that is ok, if it is 10 meters that is ok, because at the end of the day the strongest athlete wins. All the discussions about drafting are useless if that is how the rules are written. I won with the 10-meter distance and I also won with the stagger rule.
ST: German triathletes face pretty regular drug tests. Do you think more should be done on a world wide level?
Normann: Of course it would be great if all athletes had the same standard, but it is the job of the officials to change that. I can only speak for my team and myself, and we do everything possible to have a clean sport. I have already been tested 8 times outside of competition in 2008. We have to report every day where we are and where we train. The German NADA Anti Doping agency actually visited us on Wednesday and did blood tests, which then were flown to Salt Lake City where they were evaluated. It can only work like that. It is very expensive for the agencies to test like that and our team is leading the way here too. The Dresdner Kleinwort Team supports NADA with a pretty large sum to allow them to do more tests. If you want a clean sport, you have to be willing to do something for it.
ST: Who do you see as favorites for Hawaii both in the men’s and women’s race?
Normann: I respect all of the Pro athletes in Hawaii and all kinds of stuff can happen in a long race like that. Of course there are a few folks who I think will be at the very front and have the potential to fight for those spots. The guys I consider most dangerous are Macca, Crowie, Llanos, Van Hoenacker, Beke, Brown, Lieto, Al Sultan, Bracht, Sindballe and of course Stadler. ;-) Plus there will be guaranteed another athlete who’ll drive us all crazy. In the women’s race without a doubt Wellington and then no one for a long time.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Normann: No ☺
[Editor's note: Kuota's managing director, Mario Comalli, offers the following comment on his company's 4-year relationship with Normann:
"Kuota always supported Mr. Stadler with the best in terms of products, technical development and image and helped Him to get 'big' since 2004. Kuota helped Mr. Stadler to optimize His position on the bike year by year to reach the best performances and last year Kuota launched the new Kueen-K project were Mr. Stadler expressed great satisfaction and positive feedback.
"During the last summer Kuota and Mr. Stadler faced insurmountable differences in the management of the communication, image and relationships. From my point of view, there was nothing related to a 'professional way to work with' or to a 'smaller brand' as stated from Mr. Stadler, it was exclusively a question of lack of personal respect and education in business relationship."]
