At the recent Mooloolaba ITU World Cup Brendan Sexton grabbed the runner-up spot behind fellow Aussie Brad Kahlefeldt and recorded his finest result to date. We can expect to hear more from the young Pro who had a bad collision with another cyclist on a bike path in 2009, just a week after his 5th place in Noosa. Sexton ended up with a broken hand and multiple fractures to his face which required surgery and titanium plates permanently inserted around his eye socket. But that accident appears to not have compromised his dashing Aussie looks, and he certainly hasn't slowed down after that injury forced long hiatus.
Slowtwitch: Congrats on the nice race in Mooloolaba.
Brendan: Thanks Herbert. It was the best way to start the year.
ST: While the 2nd place there was your best World Cup finish, without the 15-second penalty it could have been different it appears.
Brendan: Who knows? Brad got the win easy in the end. He’s been around the block, he is tough as nails and he knows how to win. I did feel great but we’ll never know.
ST: How exactly did you get the penalty?
Brendan: There is a rule in ITU that you must make sure all your belonging go into your allocated box next to your rack in transition. The rule has been around for a while but I’ve been doing quite a bit of lower key racing over the summer and I’m out of the habit of keeping tidy. I was very keen to get out of T2 near the front and the helmet ended up out of my area.
ST: Going into Mooloolaba what were your expectations?
Brendan: I knew I was in good form, possibly my best form to date, across the three. My coach, Jono Hall, and myself have been working very hard over the summer to really nail the one percenters and this gave me a lot of confidence. I knew I would be able to hang in with the hitters on the run for longer than I have in the past. I wasn’t expecting to be one of the aggressors, I went in with the plan of letting the others take control and see how I responded.
ST: Your run split was actually officially tied with Brad Kahlefeldt for the fastest time, but when not counting the penalty you ran a 30:42. That should make you feel good about your running fitness.
Brendan: Yes of course! Over that course I’m over the moon with how I ran. It was windy and for the majority of the race I was able to keep out trouble. This, along with the small recovery section before 7.5km allowed me to finish stronger than I would have been capable of in the past.
ST: Between now and Sydney, what will you be up to?
Brendan: I will continue to plug away at the weekly format I’ve been following over the past few weeks. Jono will tweak it specifically for the race of course but at the moment it is about recovering fully from Saturday and repeating the process I went through last week.
ST: Any changes in your approach to the race in Sydney?
Brendan: It is more of a priority for me than Mooloolaba and it see out my Aussie summer block of training. The taper will be slightly more focused but the framework will stay the same.
ST: What is on the agenda after that?
Brendan: I’m looking at a few days off where I’ll have a chance to catch up with my family, who live quite close to Sydney, and then start preparing to head on to my second home: the road. I’ll be heading to our European base in Spain with a few stops in the States on the way. I really enjoyed my time over there at the end of last season. It put a huge positive spin on my year and I look forward to some U.S racing, kicking off with the St. Anthony’s leg of the 5150 series.
ST: So with your family so close to Sydney you should have a big fan base when you are racing there.
Brendan: I hope so! Most races I get to do in Australia are up in Queensland so it will be a nice change to have the locals on my side.
ST: That sounds great. Now where in Spain is your European base?
Brendan: My training group will spend most of the northern summer in Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque region of Northern Spain. It has a strong sporting community with great support for running and cycling along with triathlon as the Llanos brothers are from the area. It has everything we need for training and has easy access to the rest of Europe. I hope to spend some time in the traditional Aussie base in Aix les Bains, France leading into certain races also.
ST: We saw Eneko tweet about the new pool in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Are you ready to check it out?
Brendan: Yeah, very excited! The facilities in Vitoria-Gasteiz are top class and a new 50m pool just adds to the training options we have there. It's beginning to get a bit chilly here in Melbourne and a I'm getting itchy feet to get into the northern hemisphere summer and back on tour.
ST: What is going on for you on the sponsor front?
Brendan: At the moment I’ve got a small but loyal band of supporters. I obviously had a couple of years there where I struggled a lot with injuries and wasn’t really at the well-lit side of the triathlon community’s attention. In this time I was fortunate enough to have the support of Jono and my training group here in Melbourne, Oakley eyewear and the Victorian Institute of Sport with a great team there. In Mooloolaba I rode on a Parlee, graciously loaned to me for the race by Peter at Cycling Edge here in Melbourne. I’m hoping that now I’ve been able to actually train and race consistently I can pick up where I left off and initiate some more solid relationships to help me continue with what I have been able to achieve recently. I am in the market for long term partnerships if anyone out there needs a dashing Aussie athlete as a great ambassador for their product!
ST: It most likely comes quite of a surprise to some that you have to borrow a bike.
Brendan: It's not a great surprise due to the fact I didn't really ever break through to the noticeable ranks of the professional world. I was on the edge in 2008 and, as it would seem to most, just disappeared. Now I'm on track and have my problems sorted out I feel as though I can do more for a quality bike manufacturer than if I was just borrowing their gear.
ST: That seemingly hasn't stopped others from getting sponsorship.
Brendan: I want to ensure that I am a solid, long-term investment in any partnerships that I commit to. Had I entered into any agreements in 2008 it would have been short lived before I fell out of the circuit for close to two years. Not so solid. I was also caught up in a tight position with commitments to certain tri clubs and training groups that restricted my freedom.
When it boils down to be successful in this sport you need results. I realize to get the results you need good support and I have had a totally dedicated team behind me over the past few years. I just wanted to get a few more notches in the wood so people could see what I'm made of.
ST: On another note, your twitter handle has Kung Fu in it, is there something we should know about that?
Brendan: I’m not sure of the exact reason behind the name but it was first coined by my the man who made me realize I had potential to be half decent at triathlons and my coach as a junior, Jamie Turner. He’s got quite a habit of handing out nicknames and it probably had something to do with the fact I would spend more time watching Jet Li movies and doing back flips at the beach than training as a junior.
ST: Do you still like Jet Li movies and along those lines do you have any Kung Fu moves on your own?
Brendan: Haha no. I'm a very passive soul. The movies are a good psych up before racing but flying sidekicks aren't conducive to a successful triathlon career!
ST: Any special food fetishes?
Brendan: Chocolate. Good chocolate and lots of it, anytime of the day
ST: What was the last book you read?
Brendan: The talented Mr Ripley. I’m actually not quite finished, about 15 pages to go so don’t tell me the ending!
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Brendan: I tend to get bored of my hairstyle very frequently. Luckily I’ve cut my own hair since I left home and was living off the dust in my pocket so I’ve gotten used to getting a new ‘do’ every couple of weeks in the mirror.
You can follow Brendan Sexton on Twitter @kung_fu_sexton
