4-time Australian triathlon champion Courtney Atkinson is currently sitting in 3rd place of the Dextro Energy World Championship series. With round 4 in Hamburg only a couple days away, the Aussie sat down with slowtwitch to talk about racing, training and living in France.
Slowtwitch: Courtney we appreciate your time.
Courtney: Thanks, more than happy to contribute my thoughts here.
ST: How much do you enjoy being based in Aix-Les-Bains, France?
Courtney: To have settled into a home away from home has been awesome. Living in France with the family for the Northern Hemisphere summer is like being on a 4-month holiday. We are in summer all year between home on the Gold Coast in Australia and Aix-Les-Bains. Only downside is I don't get much of a chance to get to the snow for some boarding, which is my new sport substitute to a youth growing up surfing.
ST: Well, how good of a snow boarder are you?
Courtney: I like to think I am Shaun White, but only getting a chance to get to the snow for a week a year and having to be careful jumping, I am not quite going to be going to the Winter Olympics just yet.
ST: With the Tour De France in full flight nearby, can you even focus on the task at hand?
Courtney: Luckily my French is not the best so to watch 4-5 hours live a day of the Tour with French commentary isn't all that exciting. I am normally out doing my afternoon session around 5-6pm when the stages finish so often just watch the highlights after. The last 2 stages of the tour have come within 45mins of where we live and today’s stage started in the next town Chambery. I heard some of the other Aussie triathletes in town were out last night visiting some of the cycling team hotels to try and get some free gear. Sounds like 'Sky' were the most generous.
ST: Many of the Dextro Energy WCS races are in Europe this year, so it certainly helps to be based there.
Courtney: Yes definitely. After last season's ITU World Championship Series was run and won I knew that to really give the Series a realistic shot this year I would have to stay in Europe for the whole season. In 2009 I traveled way too much and had too many interruptions to race consistently which is most important to stay near the top of the WCS. Racing in a hot, hard Madrid WCS race one weekend and then traveling across the Atlantic and racing again in Des Moines WC 7 days later reminded me that I had made the correct decision to stay in Europe when the WCS is my priority.
ST: How would you rate your season so far?
Courtney: Things are going well, really well. Each time I have raced it has been a different man to beat me, but in hindsight my start to 2009 was not that dissimilar. I had won the first two World Cups of the season and placed 2nd in the Madrid WCS then things went belly-up from there. So I won't get to far ahead of myself just yet this year, but all good so far.
ST: Do you feel fit and ready for Hamburg?
Courtney: I am feeling refreshed and ready. The five weeks off racing after Des Moines was exactly what I needed. I had raced 4 weeks out of 6 finishing up at Hy-Vee World Cup. I managed to include both some R & R plus maintained the training over the break so I am looking forward to seeing how I now continue racing for the rest of the season.
ST: Tell us about your athletic background and how you got involved in triathlon.
Courtney: I grew up a typical Aussie kid and sport was always part of my life. My holidays at school were spent at the local surf club and through out high school I realized quickly that I seemed to do better on land running than I did in the water. There was a teacher at school named Greg Reddan who was one of the early Australian pioneers in Hawaii and I can recall him helping me out in my earlier days...one early memory was when he took me out riding one day and I turned up in track pants as I didn't have knicks. I was pure raw on the bike.
I consider myself very lucky in my development in Australian triathlon. I grew up learning from the best of the old school athletes and coaches...while I was a teenager I trained and raced with Brad Bevan, Greg Welch, Greg Bennett, Miles Stewart, Craig Walton. Then there were the Australian coaches...I started with Warren King had stints with Brett Sutton, Col Stewart and then was later guided by current Australian Head Coach Shaun Stephens. These days I look after myself but there is always plenty of coaching talent around Australia to pick the brains of when needed.
ST: Would you say it is London 2012 or bust?
Courtney: London is calling, but I do the sport these days because I love to race and love the challenge of finding ways to improve with the times. I spent too many years as a homeboy only racing sparingly in Australia and Asia to now concentrate on purely the Olympic Games. 3 years is a long time to wait. That's why the new format of the ITU's World Championship appeals to me so much. You get out there and just race hard and a lot.
ST: You are one of very few Red Bull triathletes. How did that come about?
Courtney: Yep very fortunate. I have been racing for RedBull now for nearly 10 years. It all started when triathlon had sprint distance racing on TV back in the Australian summer and was well known to the general public. After Brad Beven dominated the Australian Series for years I came along and emulated him as best I could and it coincided with RedBull Australia looking to add a triathlete to their brand. Being part the RedBull family is much more than just racing for them. I have had opportunities I would never have dreamed of doing...being involved with the company from team adventure racing along the beaches and mountains of Rio de Janeiro to getting scared shitless in an acrobatics plane flying only meters above the snow around the New Zealand Alps.
ST: What else is new in terms of sponsorships?
Courtney: I consider myself very fortunate over my career to have been involved with some of the largest companies in the world and more so from my interests had the chance to see what their businesses involved. Into the Beijing Olympics I was part of the FedEx team and this was an amazing insight into just how a company this size operates and the professional level that they deal with an endorsement.
At the moment there is exciting times ahead with the new Orbea Bikes / Orca Sportswear partnership. After endorsing Orca for the better part of the last four years along comes Orbea and created a great branding team. Look out for the new look Orbea Orca bike...looks pretty amazing.
ST: Do you follow any other sports?
Courtney: Its difficult trying to keep up to date with other sports when I leave Australia for Europe and vice versa in the middle of seasons. If I had a choice of sports TV it would be watching snowboarding, F1, cycling, surfing in that order.
ST: What about your food likes and dislikes?
Courtney: I hate salads! I do go to McDonalds probably more than is recommended, but generally I would say I am a healthy eater that likes treats on regular occasions. My big weakness is too many biscuits after dinner with tea or coffee.
ST: Is McDonalds common enough in Europe to tempt you?
Courtney: I let you in on a little secret. In town there is a great one only 200m from our apartment!
ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Courtney: Your guess is probably as good as mine. I do know that I won't be sitting in an office working the 9-5 job. I love my lifestyle as it is. I have had the greatest gift in the world of being able to work in and out of the house all day and spend the vital early years of my daughter Chloee's life with her and my wife enjoying what this amazing life as an athlete offers. They travel with me, go through the ups and downs with me, but in the end the most important thing is we are together all the time. This is the real reason why I love doing what I do so much. Doing triathlon enables this life, but comes a distant second!
ST: Does your wife enjoy the European vacation?
Courtney: It is always hard to leave such a great home on the Gold Coast, but once we are in France and summer arrives its easy for her say she doesn't want to go home yet when we realize that the season is coming to an end. There is a real endless holiday feel to life when we are in France.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Courtney: I have the luxury of living in Australia on a fresh water lake. There have been summers when I haven't been swimming in a pool for 5 months. I attained a Bachelor of Commerce degree before I was 20 but have never used it. One of my best memories of triathlon was running with Simon Lessing in his best days at the Hannover Triathlon for the first 3km of 10 at the age of 17 (my first year out of school)
For more about Courtney Atkinson you can visit courtneyatkinson.com.au
