In 2004 and 2006, Normann Stadler shook the Ironman world with his stunning tour de force bike splits that broke the old paradigms, set bike records, and earned the German two Ironman World Championships. In 2005, Stadler was frustrated and humbled by two flats, a bee sting and a DNF. Defending his title once again in 2007, Stadler was hit by a stomach virus which left him reeling to another DNF. Last year, Stadler recovered his equilibrium, led the race at the halfway mark of the run, then faded to 12th with minor maladies.
This year, Stadler seems wiser and happier with the birth of a son in June and marriage to former model Sonja. After an Ironman distance PR at Quelle Challenge Roth, completed with a 4:14 biker split, plus a good as ever preparation in San Diego, Stadler arrives at the scene of his greatest triumphs with his usual irrepressible confidence.
Slowtwitch: Your streak of great performances in even years seems to be over after your 12th place finish last year.
Normann Stadler I think it's nothing to do with the year. Last year I was having problems leading up to the race. It was not a good race for me. But it was good to have the lead for a while halfway through the marathon.
ST: After a full year of healthy training, you have your sights set on another win?
Normann: It is so difficult to win again.
ST: But you can?
Normann: I don't know that I still have everything left in the tank. But I have good training. And I had a good race in Roth. It was my personal best time for the Ironman distance. My swim was good. My bike is always not that bad (4:14, a few seconds off Jurgen Zack's course record) But before Roth I had trouble with my running. My running is well at the moment. But you know it's the World Championship and new guys are coming. The field is so deep.
ST: Such as?
Normann:
Terenzo (Bozzone). And the English guy, (Philip) Graves. He is a great swimmer and he has no fear. He said that he can break the bike record this year already. So he is going off the front.
ST: You like his style?
Normann: That's good. That's how I race. Maybe you win. Maybe you don't win.
ST: How will the race develop?
Normann: I think it's a fast race. Fast swimmers who can bike maker the speed high in the beginning. But maybe we have the winds like years before. The past few years we had mild conditions but I hear the wind is coming back. Maybe it's a rumor. Maybe not.
ST: The wind was your friend and multiplied your advantage in 2004.
Normann: Yeah. But if I have a bad day, the wind also hurts me.
ST: Your Commerzbank teammates Marino Vanhoenacker, Timo Bracht, Matthias Hecht are all, better this year.
Normann: That's how it works. Every year you get better and better because you have more experience.
ST: Unless you get sick or injured?
Normann:
If you get sick, you get sick. The year we all got sick, Faris (Al-Sultan) was living in the mountains, I was living in Kona, and Thomas Hellriegel got it too. Something was going on. But this year we are all healthy. We are strong.
ST: What happened last year with your Commerzbank teammate Marino Vanhoenacker? He came in a co-favorite but fell off the back?
Normann: I don't know. He did altitude training, and maybe it didn’t work for him. So this year he stayed in Belgium for the summer and he came here earlier. So maybe he is much better again.
ST: How do you rate your Roth performance?
Normann:
I did OK. A good swim, went to the lead on the bike, did 4:14, which is not that slow. But you saw the race. Sixteen guys chased me on the bike and it was not so legal riding. They all did 4:21 on the bike and they can’t go 4:30 by themselves. So that's how it was.
ST: You ran pretty well - about 2:55 - enough to win at Kona after such a bike.
Normann: Yeah but I had big problems before Roth.
ST: What?
Normann: I don’t tell. I had big problems. It's Ok now. But I was not 100 percent for the marathon.
ST: They still took 17 miles to catch you. OK. How has your training gone?
Normann: Good. I train mostly by myself. I train by the power meter. If you ride with the group, you ride with the group power. If you are in a big group, you can go long time at only 100 to 150 watts. So there is no training. I ride with a group maybe two times in five weeks in San Diego.
ST: It seems two opposites are the favorites - Macca and Crowie.
Normann: The main favorites. The big guys to beat.
ST: Like you in 2006, Macca must be motivated by his DNF last year?
Normann: I don't know. I think Macca is a strong athlete up here (points to his head). He is strong mentally and he is ready to race. I saw his results. I also saw Crowie's results and they are even stronger than before. It will be a great day of racing. Not only Crowie and Macca. There is Eneko, he is quiet and strong and who else… You don’t know about Cam Brown. He only did one Ironman (winning New Zealand) and he is fresh. And now Marino is back. I think the new ones are not afraid of the names.
ST: What do you think of the marshaling in Kona? Better than Roth?
Normann:
It is the best. It gets better and better. In the past, some names never got a card. Last year Timo got a card.
ST: Do you know why he didn't stop to serve his penalty and got DQ'd?
Normann: I don't know. I think he didn’t understand. He thought the race marshal said he takes the card back. So there is no correct communication. The problem was worse because he was arguing. If you argue with a race marshal it is over. Now I think he will never ever do that again.
ST: Is Timo a co-favorite at Kona after his big win at Frankfurt?
Normann: He beat Macca and Eneko there. It was one of then fastest race ever (7:59:15). Of course Frankfurt is Timo's favorite course. He is very motivated there. I don't know if he can win here, but for sure he will be very, very motivated.
ST: How has the birth of your son changed your life?
Normann: He is much bigger in my life than sport. Now triathlon is a job. Now I leave home to train and I worry that I might have an accident. I want to come home safe again. Now I have more responsibilities for my boy. After hard training, you come home and he smiles and all the pain goes away.
