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There is certainly a bit more tension in the air now with the race less than 24 hours away. We followed some of the athletes today as they got one more swim in and then started to check their bikes in.

Related gallery
Abu Dhabi Triathlon images - Thursday
The Abu Dhabi experience - images from the race launch in November


All images are © Herbert Krabel / slowtwitch.com

The inaugural Abu Dhabi Triathlon was won by Eneko Llanos and Julie Dibens who took the lion share of the $230,000 Pro price purse. The field assembled in Abu Dhabi was pretty much the most impressive outside of Kona and the performances shown further supported that thought. The unique distance of a 3k swim, 200k bike and 20k run was unique in itself, but the exotic location added quite another touch to this event.


Related galleries

Images from the Abu Dhabi Triathlon - Friday
Images from the Abu Dhabi Triathlon - Thursday
The Abu Dhabi experience - images from the race launch in November

All images are © Herbert Krabel / slowtwitch.com

Saturday, May 22nd was the day of time trial stage of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. It would be a decisive stage for the overall contenders of the race. Top triathletes Chris Lieto, Chrissie Wellington, Chris McCormack, and Slowtwitch's publisher Dan Empfield were invited to race the course prior to the stage, to see how they would measure up against the pro peloton.

First onto the course was Chris Lieto, who tore up the course at a blistering pace aboard a brand new Trek Speed Concept. Previously, Lieto had ridden prototype versions of the bike, but this time he was on a full production model, finally available to the public. In fact, many of the amateur athletes who rode the course were also aboard the Speed Concept as part of a Trek test ride program for the event. Chrissie Wellington showed up aboard her Cannondale Slice, but instead of her typical triathlon apparel, she came wearing a full-sleeved speed suit and an aero helmet. Wellington appeared to have a great run, reportedly catching her minute man (Dan Empfield) within the first lap of the 20-mile, two-lap course. Unfortunately, Empfield suffered a crash some time after his first lap, and was unable to finish. Rounding out the bunch was World Champion Chris McCormack, who left his Specialized Shiv at home, presumably taking his Transition because it is easier to transport. As of this writing, no official results are available for the amateur athletes.

All images are © Nick Salazar of salazarphotography.com

The 2010 Rev3Tri event promises to be a very nice event and here are some images leading up to the event. The expo and finish line area in downtown Knoxville are very pro and quite a few pros are in town for this race. Tomorrow though pros and age groupers will either race the Olympic distance event or the Half.


All images © Herbert Krabel

With her three Ironman wins in 2008, Belinda Granger moved up into the realm of Ironman-distance stars. Her 11 victories at the distance include three Ironman Koreas, two wins at Ironman Malaysia and Ironman Canada, and single triumphs at Ironman China, Ironman Lake Placid and Quelle Challenge Roth. Her bike is deadly, and sports a 4:48:08 Ironman bike split PR to back it up. And, while finishing 4th at Roth last year, she cracked the nine-hour barrier.

But in addition to her triumphs, the 38-year-old Australian star recently displayed that she is as tough as anyone in the sport. After three Ironman wins in 2008, Granger was ready to rumble at Ironman Hawaii but found her right leg going numb and her bike split and overall finish were nowhere near her accustomed level. After three months of diagnostic detective work, doctors discovered that she had a thickening of the wall of the external iliac artery, which restricted blood flow to the leg. Granger opted for surgery, which required doctors to use a part of a vein from her lower leg to repair the artery. But before the surgery, Granger elected to defend her Ironman Malaysia title. Somehow she managed to finish the bike leg 20 minutes ahead of her opposition, with just 25 percent of the usual blood flow in her leg, and set a new course record.

After successful surgery in February, Granger had to completely cease swim, bike and run training. Three months later, she outdueled 2006 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Samantha McGlone to win the Honu Ironman 70.3 in Hawaii. In July, she felt ready to challenge former Team TBB member Chrissie Wellington at Quelle Challenge Roth. But after she got hit by a car, Granger could only struggle to a disappointing 5th place finish.

Back in Boulder to train, Belinda and husband Justin Granger settled into the hard work necessary to try for an Ironman Canada three-peat. This photo gallery contains a week in the life of final training sessions in the triathlon Mecca of Boulder.

So what would be the best soundtrack for the runs of 2009? “Born to Run?” by the Boss? “Runnin’ on Empty” by Jackson Browne? “Run Like Hell” by Pink Floyd? “Long May You Run” by Neil Young? “Running Down a Dream” by Tom Petty? “It Keeps You Running” by the Doobie Brothers? “Running With the Devil” by Van Halen? “Ready to Run” by the Dixie Chicks? “Run For the Roses” buy Jerry Garcia? Or is it all over for you, and before you walk off for good, you play “I’m Not Running Any More” by John Mellencamp?

We say take a look at some of triathlon’s brightest stars in full stride. Alistair Brownlee, Craig Alexander, Emma Moffat, Sarah Haskins, Chrissie Wellington, Chris Lieto, Alexandre Ribeiro, Laura Bennett, Tim O’Donnell, Michael Raelert, Jared Shoemaker.

Isn’t this enough to inspire any of us and our discouraged soles to give it another go?

Photographs © by Timothy Carlson

Related galleries
Timothy Carlson's best swim pics of 09
Timothy Carlson's best bike pics of 09

From the pools at Boulder’s Flatirons to the US Military Academy at West Point, from the swims at Lake San Antonio, the Potomac River, the Hudson River, Monroe Harbor, the Pacific Ocean, and Kailua Kona, a gallery of photographs by Timothy Carlson of Part 1 of The Best of 2009 – the swim.

Photographs ® Timothy Carlson

Related galleries
Timothy Carlson's best run pics of 09
Timothy Carlson's best bike pics of 09

There were several landmarks in the realm of the triathlon bike in 2009. Chrissie Wellington blasted the women’s Iron-distance mark with a 4:40 at Roth. Normann Stadler just missed a similar record by a few seconds there as well. Julie Dibens used the bike to crush the field at Clearwater and to whip good friend Chrissie Wellington in Boulder. Chris Lieto almost reversed the famous title of Lance Armstrong’s first book. It would have been about the bike – if only he has been able to follow his 4:25 at Kona with a sub-three hour run. As always cyclists showed a lot of grit – just look at the pictures of West Point Triathlon competitor Rob Sherry, of the strain on the face of New York Triathlon winner Rebeccah Wassner. There was beauty on two wheels – just check out Charlotte Kolters immaculate white and gold outfit and bike, or Matty Reed’s laser focus look at Clearwater. And there was a thin line between a legal margin between bikes and a four minute penalty, as many at Clearwater found out. Bikes looked good in the countryside of Boulder and on the ultra urban Lakeshore Drive in Chi-town, or in the tropical tree canopies of Hawaii at Ultraman.

Photographs ® by Timothy Carlson

Related galleries
Timothy Carlson's best swim pics of 09
Timothy Carlson's best run pics of 09

Timothy Carlson picked out his favorite triathlon images of 2008 and divided them into 3 galleries.
Starting with the National Championships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Carlson captured the fiercest of competitions, the joy of victory and the agony of a not so prefect race.



Part 2 of "Best of 2008" is right here.
Part 3 of of "Best of 2008" is right here

All images are © Timothy Carlson 2008

The second part of Timothy Carlson's favorite triathlon pictures of 2008 continues with the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada and touches a few races in Colorado.



Part 1 of "Best of 2008" is right here.
Part 3 of of "Best of 2008" is right here

All images are © Timothy Carlson 2008

The final set of Timothy Carlson's favorite images of 2008 covers the 30th anniversary of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida and returns to Hawaii for the Ultraman World Championships.



Part 1 of "Best of 2008" is right here.
Part 2 of of "Best of 2008" is right here

All images are © Timothy Carlson 2008

Little kids as young as three years old wear floaties on their arms and get to walk through 40 yards of shallow water for the swim. With anxious parents hovering nearby in case of a fall, they dry off, put on helmets, and get on everything from Princess style bikes with glittery pink tassels and training wheels to tricycles and round a parking lot. The run for these pre-kindergarteners consists of a 60-yard out and back holding on to a parent’s hand When needed. At the finish, 2008 elite winners Joanna Zeiger and Simon Thompson hand out green finishers’ yo-yos. By the time the 13-14 year old waves starts, some kids blitz through a 200-yard swim, a 4-mile bike and a 1-mile run with ferocity, others survive with unconquerable smiles.

Many athletes who competed in the 2009 Lifetime Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, MN on Saturday, hustled to Boulder, CO later that day to race the 2009 Boulder Peak triathlon on Sunday. For many pros though that just meant to return home immediately after Saturday's event to the big Boulder triathlete town. Timothy O'Donnell won the men's race and Mary Beth Ellis took the women's title.

All images © Eric Wynn www.ericwynn.org

August 15, 2010

Denmark's very first Ironman distance event set in its jewel of an urban capital, Copenhagen, happily coincided with a celebration of the 500th year of the Royal Danish Navy and fashion week. Triathlon made a big enough splash to draw some 125,000 (police estimate) to the historic and modern touristic draws along its fabled waterfront that hosted a three-loop marathon. A smaller but intensely enthusiastic crowd of about 8,000 crowded around the historic Christianborg to cheer some pretty impressive finishes -- Rebekah Keat's 8:54:36 with a 4:48:04 bike, and Tim Berkel's 8:07:39, featuring a 4:28:01 bike and a 2:46:54 marathon.

The swim started under mysteriously gray and soggy skies in a lagoon protected by the the slim Amager Strand. The bike route passed historic Amalienborg castle, much of the waterfront, and then featured a spectacular run north along the coast. Next came a highly technical zig zag jaunt along picturesquely narrow roads that roamed through well-manicured farm and pasture land, as the riders were cheered on by cheerful Danish locals - almost every nook and cranny of a surprisingly up and down landscape.

The run started down the waterfront past much of Copenhagen's acclaimed modern buildings, then reversed course past much of several Scandinavian navies there to toast the Danish navy's 500th, reversing course and then swinging past T2 and the finish line on three loops in which all runners were cheered up and on by the citizens of Hans Christian Andersen's home.

Somehow, a very young Challenge Copenhagen triumvirate that includes COO Thomas Veje Olsen and Andreas Rasmussen pulled together all the permits and support of the city officials. They also overcame the chaos of a pre-race night rain that flooded much of the city - and some of the first transition zone - on the eve of battle.

At the end, the skies were blue, the streets were dry and the walls of this most ancient and modern city were ringing with the shouts for top Danish finisher Jens Groenbek (3rd) and for two visiting Aussies - Tim Berkel and Rebekah Keat - who broke out of victory dry spells to notch their first Iron distance wins in a few years.

Nineteen images are © Timothy Carlson. The photo of local favorite Martin Jensen suffering a race-ending second flat tire is © Brian Martin Rasmussen.

Farewell to Florida's flat and fast record-setting triathlon speedway after five groundbreaking Ironman 70.3 World Championships at Clearwater. By choosing not to graduate to the full Ironman distance, Germany's Michael Raelert became the first man to repeat at Clearwater and continued his dominance of the distance. By focusing on regaining her ITU long course World Championship form under famed coach Brett Sutton, Great Britain's Jodie Swallow dominated another talented field. Thanks to a rough ocean swim, smaller elite fields, a windier bike, and a more cautious pace at the front of the bike, this year's race was seven minutes slower but higher in competitive drama.

All photos © Timothy Carlson

In search of races that would play on TV for their new World Championship series of eight worldwide events, the International Triathlon Union sought out internationally renowned cities on four continents with iconic backdrops for the action. They scored a hit when Washington DC organizer Chuck Brodsky worked got permission to hold the North American leg in our nation's capital. So Olympic medalists like Simon Whitfield, Jan Frodeno, Bevan Docherty, Emmas Snowsill and Moffatt came to race. On a cloudy to sunny day, rising star Alistair Brownlee topped World Champion Javier Gomez and Miss Moffatt topped her renowned training partner Snowy. Meanwhile, a still recovering from injury Sarah Haskins held US honors with a strong fourth place finish and Andy Potts (4th) and Hunter Kemper (5th) finished ahead of Olympic and World Championship medalists Whitfield (DNF) Docherty (DNF) Frodeno (6th) and Daniel Unger (11th) to represent the red white and blue on home ground. Photos by Timothy Carlson.

The Handmade Bicycle Show started today in Richmond, VA and and we went there to capture a few images. Since its first year in 2005, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHMBS) has grown from 23 exhibitors and 700 attendees, to 150 exhibitors and 7200 attendees. On the first day of the show organizer Don Walker called Craig Calfee, Sacha White, Nick Crumpton, Mike DeSalvo and Richard Sachs on stage to thank them for having supported his show with their presence all along.


Check out Handmade Bicycle Show gallery #2


All images are © Herbert Krabel / slowtwitch.com

The second day of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is usually very busy, and today was no exception. The hall opened to the public at 10am and it was key to get most of the photography done before that time. Despite all of that we were able to capture more images of bikes and personalities in Richmond, VA.


Check out Handmade Bicycle Show gallery #1


All images are © Herbert Krabel / slowtwitch.com

While Michael Raelert pulled an upset and upstaged his older brother Andreas's impressive second place debut last year, Julie Dibens redeemed two disappointing fourth place finishes and fulfilled a long held dream to win a world title on pavement. Along the way, Raelert smashed last year's already impressive world record time by six minutes with his 3:34:10 clocking and Julie Dibens broke the four hour barrier for women at the 70.3 distance by 27 seconds with a 3:59:33 mark. However easy the course itself may have been, bereft of hills as it is, the sheer speed left a lot of high quality wreckage outside the top 10. A pre race chilly northeaster whipped up waves and chop, forcing WTC officials to move the swim from the open Gulf to the protected waters of the harbor.

Photo Gallery by Timothy Carlson

Michael Raelert pulled an upset, Julie Dibens redeemed two disappointing fourth place finishes and fulfilled a long held dream to win a world title on pavement and along the way, records were set and many renowned triathletes were humbled at the Foster Grant Ironman 70.23 World Championships in Clearwater.

Photo Gallery by Timothy Carlson