Dirk Bockel was in the limelight during the Beijing Olympics with his breakaway attempt during the bike leg. More recently the German born Luxembourger finished third at Ironman New Zealand and fourth at 70.3 St Croix.
Slowtwitch: Your country is listed as Luxemburg, but that is not where you grew up.
Dirk: I grew up in the South of Germany near Stuttgart, but lived in Saarbruecken for several years, where Germany has its Olympic triathlon center. Luxembourg is only 45 minutes away and I trained and spent a lot of time there. I finally moved out there and then several years later I became Luxembourgish—which really changed my life and career.
ST: Why the move to Luxemburg?
Dirk: It’s a very beautiful country with different terrain and less traffic than in Germany. The main reason is that I made several friends and my coach at that time was coaching the Luxembourg national team, so I spent most of my time there training with them. Several years later I was one of the team members and today I bring good publicity for our small and very unique country.
ST: Rumor has it that you speak several foreign languages. Can you tell us more?
Dirk: Yes, I speak German, English, French, and Luxembourgish. I did a focus on languages in school and studied Latin (4 years), French (4 years), and English (10 years). Once I started racing internationally I tried to communicate with the other athletes in their language- so my language skills progressed. Once I became Luxembourgish, I wanted to adapt and fit in- so I only spoke Luxembourgish when I was there - and it was required by the army and part of the process to become a citizen. English is my second best language after my native language, which is German. I became fluent when I went to the University of Tampa. I just love to learn other languages and have fun trying them out. I am starting to pick up some Danish and Spanish as well, so those are next on the list!
ST: What brought you to the University of Tampa?
Dirk: I was on scholarship for cross country, track, and swimming and graduated with a bachelors degree in International Business.
ST: You mostly raced ITU races until the Olympics, but we have seen you now at a few longer events. Is that your future?
Dirk: Well, the “deal” was to go to the Olympics and it was one of my lifetime goals. It was a great match and we executed the plan very well. I did take part in two Half Ironman races prior to 2008. Now after a successful Olympic race for me, I needed a change to keep my motivation up-my swimming and biking skills are obviously of much better use in long distance and it is working out pretty well so far. The future is not too clear - once the Olympic criteria for 2012 come out I will analyze them with my coach and then we will go from there. Both long and short distance could be an option, but it seems like I have better success with the distances where I can use my bike power and my diesel engine in general. Let’s wait till after Hawaii...
ST: I guess you stamped your ticket to Kona in New Zealand?
Dirk: I did - and I was very proud of it. First attempt and it worked right away and that is good. My minimal goal was to qualify for Kona in NZL, but I had higher personal goals (like getting on the podium) that also came true. So all in all- New Zealand was a hell of a trip with heaps of fun and success.
ST: You had a very solid race in St. Croix. Were you pleased?
Dirk: Oh yes I was. It’s just my second WTC race and considering my running handicap due to my injury, I have to be very happy. Both races, the IM NZL and St Croix were out of 30km running per week- so my swim and bike was great and the plan for the run was to make the best out of it and I can live with that. I know there is more to come. I just started to use my SRM and I already made big steps in a pretty short time. In general it was tough out there and the heat was hard on me - I still have around 15 blisters on my feet because of that race, and I only have one week left to get healthy before the Disney 70.3. Apart from the race, I had an amazing time with my home stay and friends- I have to go back there for sure.
ST: What will come next?
Dirk: After IM New Zealand, St Croix 70.3 and Disney 70.3, I will take a few days to recover before heading back to Europe. I will race some Bundesliga races (German Series) to maintain my speed and also ride the National Road Cycling Champ in Luxembourg. The only big race of the summer will be the ITU European Champs in Prague, CZE, which is somewhat mandatory for me to keep my support from the Luxembourg Federation since it is an ITU race. After that I will have a few days off before building up to Hawaii Ironman World Champs and Clearwater Ironman 70.3 World Champs.
ST: Which result do you cherish the most and why?
Dirk: That’s hard to say after racing for over 20 years in the sport. I had podiums in ITU races as well as WTC races. The Olympics was a fantastic experience for me and I had my moments of glory there. I know that I can win Ironman races and I hope when you ask me that question again later on that I can refer to my awesome race in Hawaii!
ST: What or who inspired you to race triathlons?
Dirk: My first coach, Dieter Waller from Waiblingen, was my running coach when I did athletics and he supported me and gave me his old bike and took me to the pool and all that. Shortly after I started racing triathlons and found out that I was more successful with that than with the pure running. I did my first tri in 1989 and joined the national team at the end of 1992, after placing 7th at my first European Championships. That’s how it all started. Today I still am still inspired by other athletes, but back then it was Hellriegel, Zäck and those guys that really got me going and motivated me.
ST: Can you describe your training?
Dirk: Oh that’s a complex question: I train with Coach Michael Krüger from Denmark; he also coaches Thunderbear Sindballe and Rasmus Henning. He brought me to the Games and is responsible for my success for the past 5 years. We both believe in hard condensed training with serious recovery. So mostly we train in 3-1 (three days on, one day off) blocks or closer to the races in 2-1 (two days on, one day off) blocks to deal with the load. Some days I have up to 8 hours of training and with 4 sessions it could get very condensed but on the other hand I know I have my days with just a swim or even completely off. We don’t overemphasize any discipline in particular since my strength is being pretty stable in all of them. Since we just started to race WTC, we had to make sure that I survive the long bike rides and that is paying off big time right now. I haven’t been able to run much so far but hopefully for the rest of the season that will pick up again. I think, it’s a healthy mix of speed and base training, but to be quite honest- he is the man in charge and I don’t question his plans. I travel a lot and train with various groups and so sometimes I do make some compromises in terms of following the training plan. My coach and I have permanent phone and email contact which works out great. Apart from training, he has great knowledge about all kind of aspects of the sport, since he races himself and he is still a great training partner and motivator before the races—the complete package!
ST: How are things going for you in terms of sponsorship?
Dirk: The economic crisis definitely had an impact on me this year, but I can’t complain too much. The biggest support I get is from the government in Luxembourg who allow me to do triathlon professionally. I also have my bike sponsor Liger- MaxLelli, Triathl’Aix- my club team in France (you guys have to visit one of the most beautiful places in Europe-- Aix en Provence in the south of France!) and Santini, who equip me with custom made bike clothes and triathlon wear. Some other companies that support me are: HED wheels, BlueSeventy wetsuits, Selle Italia saddles, Science in Sport nutrition, and Oakley sunglasses. I am still looking for a premium sponsor, but with my aggressive racing style, it shouldn’t be too hard to find one soon.
ST: How long have you been on the Max Lelli bike?
Dirk: I think I signed at the end of 2007 for the Olympic season, so it’s my second year with MaxLelli. Marco Bonelli, a well-known broker on Wall Street is the boss. The US company is actually called Liger. Remember when Napoleon Dynamite said:” It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.”
ST: What bike did you ride before?
Dirk: I rode another bike that was a TT set up with normal handle bars and ITU set up- so that wasn’t too satisfying and I was looking for a new deal.
ST: Do you follow other sports?
Dirk: I am a cycling fanatic and follow all of the big races. In general, I am interested in most sports except soccer. I just can’t see the point even with my German background...
ST: Tell us about the foods you like.
Dirk: My step mum is Korean, and I love Korean food. It is healthy, fresh and has a strong flavor. I am also a big steak and fish fan. My wife Alicia is a great cook and she has never prepared anything that I didn’t like. At the end of the day I like to sit outside and have great conversation with friends over some wine and cheese- you have to enjoy live to the fullest.
ST: What music do you listen to?
Dirk: I think I only bought 1 CD in my entire life. I do like some harder music, especially before workouts. When I am done with training I am very chilled and enjoy more quiet music. I guess you can say that I am not a big music person. I have so much going on that once when I am done wit all my stuff I just enjoy the silence or good conversations.
ST: What was the last book you read?
Dirk: I just read a book that I borrowed from my brother-in-law who is a dating coach in NYC. His company is called the Art Of Charm (www.theartofcharm.com). The book before that was The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss.
ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Dirk: I will just finish up my triathlon career and will be traveling between Europe and the States with my two kids and my wife. I will have a few houses and working on my business while simply enjoying life and being happy.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Dirk: No too sure, I guess that was plenty of information. If you want to know more, have a look at my new blog at LiveAndLetTri.com which will be launching in the next couple of days- surf through the pictures and get an impression of my life. For everyday updates you can also follow me on twitter @dirkbockel
