Andy Potts and the A2 Wind Tunnel

One of my friends recently told me that my job must suck. Sarcasim aside, I really love my job. No, it’s not always perfect, but the fact that I get to wear running shoes (I own 53 pair and I don’t run), jeans and the occassional button down shirt, I think I have it fairly good.

This past week I spent Monday and Tuesday in the A2 Wind Tunnel with Andy Potts, Matty Reed, Herbert Krabel from Slowtwitch.com, Jeff Smith from Speedfil, Morgan Clark from All3sports.com, Chris Mesigian from Fuji, Eric Wynn, the best photographer I know, and Mike Girard from the A2 Tunnel.

I’ve been planning this trip since signing Andy Potts and since I also sponsor Matty Reed with Oval Concepts, I wanted him there as well. My boys from Speedfil also have a wicked cool product coming out and wanted them there to see how the bottle tested.

It was also cool hosting Herbert. He and I have a past that goes back to college days @ Temple University so it’s always fun catching up with him and hey, I think getting a bit of good press from Slowtwitch.com a bonus! Thanks Herbert for all your work last week! I’ll owe you a dinner in Kona this year!

And Morgan. Well, if you haven’t had the opportunity to meet her, do so. She’s one of the few female owners of a Triathlon Store (might be the only one) and she is wicked smart. Her store All3sports.com is one of the best in the industry and I’m fortunate to have her sponsor both Andy and Matt. All in all, she’s a rockstar with a kickass attitude. Now Morgan owes me dinner in Kona 🙂

OK, enough about the cool people. The A2 Tunnel is the shit. Yep, I went there. I love the place and having an aero expert in Mike Girard there is a huge bonus. Mike is able to offer advice from his many years in the tunnel and really helps me navigate my way to refining a fit that is both aero and powerful. This is always the key, combining aerodynamics with watts and making sure the athlete can maintain this position and then get off the bike and run.

With both Andy and Matt, we tested for over 4 hours each. It’s important to show them options. There is not a right or wrong, just options that can make you faster and each athlete has to be comfortable with the change in position and or products they use. I can make anyone fast in the tunnel but what I’m concerned with is learning the options of what if we did this or that. i.e. head down a bit, Speedfil bottle vs. Profile vs. standard bottle.

I can’t go into details but we came out of the tunnel saving them both some valuable time and learning a lot. I’m never satisfied thinking I know everything about aerodynamimcs but after many visits, I’m getting to be confident in my skills not just as a bike designer but also how the bike design and rider must work together.

If you want to see some of the pictures from our testing, visit slowtwitch.com. Pictures were taken courtesy of Herbert and I’ll be adding some more to the Kestrel Facebook page from both my Iphone and some from Eric Wynn.

As always, feel free to email me @ sharad@kestrelbicycles.com

Meet Belinda Harper

I am fortunate to work with some great athletes and one of my coaches Kristian Manietta, Charlotte Paul’s husband, has been instrumental in introducing me to some of his athletes from his coaching company, Trispecific.com.

I first saw Belinda in Kona last year and Kristian was cheering her on. He told me then that I was going to sponsor her. It wasn’t really an ask, more of a statement.

So, for 2011, Belinda will racing in New Zealand on her new Kestrel 4000 equipped with Sram Red and will be representing Kestrel and our Distributor. We are excited to have her onboard and look forward to a great season.

A bit about Belinda:

I was a competitive swimmer in my teenage years and won age group titles for the 200m breaststroke. At national level I consistently ranked in the top 3.
I retired from competitive sport and completed a Bachelor of Commerce, from there I travelled the world.
At age 30 I returned to Auckland and took up triathlons, I have slowly built up my triathlon skill set. In 2010 teamed with coach Kristian Manietta of Trispecific I achieved a break through year where I won the amateur division at the Kona Ironman World Championships, I set a new course record for the 35-39 age group and recorded the fastest time ever by an amateur athlete. Following this success I have turned to the professional ranks, I aim to be competitive in this field, my 2011 goals are outlined in my race schedule below.

My long term goal is to qualify for Kona 2012 as a professional athlete.

Resent results
*results beyond 2 years available on request

15 Jan 2011 Challenge Wanaka -5th Pro
10 Dec 2010 Taupo Half Ironman -1st overall
5 Dec 2010 Tinman Triathlon -4th overall
21 Nov 2010 Maraetai Peoples Tri -1st overall

5 March 2010 Ironman New Zealand 9hrs48mins
1st amateur athlete, 35-39 age group
6th place overall
Jan 2010 Tauranga Half Ironman -7th Elite
October 2009 ITU Longdistance World Championships, Perth Australia
3rd amateur, 2nd 30-34 age group
April 2009 Auckland Half Ironman -2nd overall

Media
http://www.3news.co.nz/Challenge-Wanaka-both-cruel-and-kind-to-the-Kiwis/tabid/317/articleID/194542/Default.aspx

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10699748

http://www.trispecific.com/_blog/The_TriSpecific_Musings/post/Checking_in_with_Age_Group_Ironman_World_Champ_Belinda_Harper/

Type A – Courtenay Brown

So, when I first chatted with Courtenay, I told her she had the most impressive resume I’ve seen! It’s almost not fair that she is this good at so many different things, including Triathlons. I especially like that she was a radio host. I think I’m going to have to use her for our podcasts that we will be doing live at some of the REV 3 events!

My name is Courtenay Brown. I was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and my childhood years were spent in Maryland, Hawaii, the Philippines, South Carolina, California, and on the back of a horse.

I graduated high school in 1996, and spent a year abroad working for various plant physiologists. During this time I learned that I didn’t want to be a natural or physical scientist. Then I went to the University of Virginia, so I could get a good education and also ride some nice horses. During my third year at U.Va. I started running, with the goal of competing in the Charlottesville 10-miler in 2000. I finished 6th overall female and couldn’t wait to run more, but poor training methods gave me stress fractures in both heels and tabled my running career. I graduated with honors in 2001 with a degree in Economics and History.

From 1999 to 2002, I worked at 91.9 WNRN-FM in Charlottesville, where I had my own weekday morning show, “Late for Work with Courtenay Brown.” Now it’s Late for Work with some dude. I also held your standard barista and waitress jobs, and I knew Dave Matthews. I moved to San Francisco in November of 2002, started cycling in 2003, racing locally in 2004, nationally in 2005 through 2007. In 2006 I started the ValueAct Capital Women’s Cycling Team. In late 2007, I learned how to swim. I started to run again. I did two triathlons and I won one of them.

In 2008 I raced triathlon almost exclusively, and loved it. Beginning in 2009 I joined the sport’s professional ranks. Meanwhile, as time ticked on and as part-time athlete-friendly jobs seemed to become more and more menial, I applied to graduate school.

I now reside in Boulder, Colorado, pursuing a PhD in Political Science (I finally found my “science”!) from the University of Colorado at Boulder. School complements my professional athletic career well, both pursuits encourage excellence and efficiency. I also write a regular column for Inside Triathlon magazine, entitled “Conviction”.

Oh, and I like to draw and paint!

South Africa to New Jersey? Really?

Jersey? Ok, how does a smart woman like Jacqui go from South Africa and end up in NJ? I’m not sure yet, I really need to get the whole story on this but of all the 50 states, I’m not sure I would end up there. And yes, I’m from Philly PA so I can bust on Jersey a bit here 🙂

This is Jacqui’s second year with Kestrel and the Trakkers/Rev3 team.

I am a wife and mother of two beautiful children Tanner and Sydney.We live in New Jersey but I am originally from South Africa. I was born in Port Elizabeth home of the Ironman SA and always look forward to going home to compete.
My lifestyle growing up was all about being outdoors and active. I, inspired by Zola Budd started running at the age of 5 and developed a lifelong passion for it. My days were spent swimming,playing hockey,competing for my state in Biathlon, Track and Field and Cross Country. I was further inspired by 4 x Olympian Colleen De Reuck who was my high school PE teacher.
My love for triathlon started in 1998 when I was encouraged to take part in a local sprint. Age group awards, led to winning local races. But triathlon was put on hold twice due to having my children. The passion was definitely there and in 2003 I started racing again. I qualified for Kona at my first Ironman in Lake Placid and once I got a taste for racing in Hawaii I announced to my table at the awards that the following year I would be up on the stage.
I lived up to that winning every 70.3 I entered and placing second in my age group in Kona.
The following year I was offered a spot on the Timex Team and decided that year that I wanted to give myself a chance to race with the best in the World as a professional. So in 2006 I turned professional.
I have raced 16 Ironman with 9 top ten finishes and have multiple top 5 finishes in both the Ironman and 70.3 distance.
I love to race and am so happy to be racing on the Trakkers Team for the second year. We are so lucky to be supported by a great group of sponsors and I look forward to another great year with Kestrel.

Meet Matt Sheeks

Matt is my newest pro signing and is part of the Trakkers/Rev3 triathlon team. I could tell you all these great stories about Matt but alas, I’m just meeting him and don’t have those stories to tell. I do know that Michael Lovato is singing his praises and I generally will follow Michael’s lead on athletes so here’s a bit about Matt.

Endurance sports junkie Matt Sheeks grew up in the bicycle racing world, riding the road and track in high school. Matt excelled in hilly road races and was a clever breakaway artist, reaching Cat 2 status on the track by age 16. He transitioned to distance running towards the end of high school, and later ran under Coach Rob Conner at the University of Portland. The Portland Pilots were 9th in the 2005 Division 1 National-Cross Country Championships when Matt was on the varsity team. His PRs on the track are 3:50 for 1500m, 14:04 for 5000m, and 29:14 for 10000m. Now he is combining his two greatest sporting passions, running and cycling, while adding swimming. Unsure if he would continue in multisport after a mediocre first year, he surprisingly won the 2009 Age-Group Duathlon World Championships, which propelled him to the next level. In 2010 he continued to show that he can run and bike with the best in the sport, winning the 2010 Elite Duathlon World Championships in Birmingham, as well as posting the fastest run split at two WTC events against some steep pro competition. He lives and trains in not-so-sunny Woodinville, Washington. Matt works for Campus Crusade for Christ, a spiritual resource for college students, and is also a personal triathlon coach.

Dede G and Sally

Dede is one of my favorites. She’s a badass chick who has more guts than most people I know. She left a “real” job to be a pro triathlete, and not just a wuss job, she worked on Wall Street as an equity trader playing with the big boys.

This takes guts and I like people who ignore the norm and go after what they want.

Dede is also the one and only athlete that I sponsor that calls me Sally more than she calls me Steven. Why you may ask? Dede and I have a disagreement on my drink of choice, the Long Island Iced Tea. I for some reason like this drink. I’ve maxed at four in a night which I think is quite impressive but Dede says it’s a chick drink, thus the name Sally for me. True or not, Dede has called me out on this which I kinda respect, I think. Keeping her opinions to herself is not what she does!

So, here’s a bit on Dede and when you see her, let her know that the Long Island is a wicked cool drink!

Who knew that when Dede retired from a long and successful swimming career in 1994, that her athletic career was far from over? As a swimmer, she’d been a 10-time NCAA All-American at Stanford University, 2-time NCAA Team Champion, was a Pan Pacific Games Gold medalist, a Pan American Games Gold medalist and competed twice in the US Olympic Swimming Trials, narrowly missing the team in 1992.

Following her retirement from swimming, she returned to graduate school and earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She worked on Wall Street for 8 years as an equity trader. Most recently, she was a Vice President at MFS Investment Management in Boston, MA.

In March, 2005, Dede set aside the Wall Street Journal and returned to a career in sports after just 2 years in the sport of triathlon.

Since turning pro in 2005, Dede has won 2 Ironmans. She won Ironman UK in 2006 and won Ironman Brazil in 2009. She has been in the top-10 in Kona 3 times, in three consecutive years from 2007-2009. In two of those years, she was the top American finisher.

Dede lives in Boston with her husband, Dave and their yellow lab, Riley.

The infamous Brian Fleischmann

You know this guy is committed when he takes his honeymoon and still ends up racing! Brian even managed to take 2nd place at the Roatan ITU race so he should have some extra $ to take the Mrs. out for a nice dinner.

Here’s a bit about Brian:

Brian Fleischmann competed in his first triathlon in 1997 after his senior year of high school and has been involved in triathlon ever since. During college at Florida State University, Brian swam his freshman year and ran Cross Country and Track and Field distance events his sophomore through senior year. After graduating from FSU in December of 2001, Brian decided to pursue a dream that he had developed throughout college of becoming a professional triathlete and represent the US on a global scale. Since moving out to Colorado Springs, Colorado in January of 2002 to peruse triathlon, Brian has represented the US in seven elite ITU World Championships, two Ironman 70.3 World Championships, one ITU Triathlon Team World Championships, and multiple ITU Triathlon World Cups.

Career highlights

1st place 2006 ITU Triathlon Team World Championships
2nd place USA Triathlon Elite Nationals 2001/2003/2008
6th place 2007 Vancouver ITU Triathlon World Cup
2 time Tri California Series Champion 2006/2007
10th place 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championships
2nd place 2010 Calgary Ironman 70.3
2nd place 2009 Austin Ironman 70.3
1st place 1998 USA Triathlon Junior National Championships

Brian currently lives and trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado and recently married Andrea Owen on January 1, 2011. Although Brian has competed at the elite level in triathlon for a decade, his best years are yet to come being that he is still young and has a tremendous passion for the sport which has carried him to where he is currently. Brian has other career aspirations for the future after competitive triathlon including running his own triathlon or endurance sports related business. With full time triathlon taking up most of his time, Brian still finds the energy and time to enjoy other interests including travel, reading, movies and mostly enjoying the company of his wife, friends, and family.

Team Lovato

Yes, they are a team in the best way. Not only are they husband and wife, but they support one another in their triumphs and hiccups.

Part of why there is the Team Trakkers/Rev 3, and why Kestrel is the sponsor is because of Michael. Here’s a guy who came to me late in the year asking if I can help him with a bike. It was May, well past the time for an athlete to come asking for some help. Michael had a hiccup with a sponsor and was in a pinch.

Later, he asked about Amanda and if she can race for Kestrel. Little does Michael know that really the only reason I sponsor him is to get to Amanda 🙂 Lets see, cute wife with a bit of an edge. OK, I’m in. So I put up with Michael so I can hang with Amanda and look great hanging with some cuties at races.

So, here’s Team Lovato.

Here is Amanda’s:

Growing up on a farm in Southern Maryland, Amanda started her athletic pursuits at an early age. The daughter of a jockey and an Olympic Trials equestrian rider, Amanda did her first training run at age four. That run was to keep up with her father, but soon thereafter she was running to keep ahead of her younger sister.

Two years her junior, Diana Gillam and Amanda pushed one another to win title after title in their high school region.

Excelling at the 1500- and 3000-meter races, Amanda earned a full athletic scholarship to Old Dominion University, where she was later named MVP. After two years in Virginia Beach, she transferred to the University of Tennessee, where she was captain of the Cross Country and Track teams.

In 1995, Amanda left Knoxville with a Bachelor of Science, and a strong desire to leave the intensity of college athletics behind her. Still a Lady Vol at heart, Amanda headed back to Maryland, where she reacquainted herself with an old passion: horseback riding.

After two years of moderate inactivity, Amanda embarked upon hertriathlon journey as a means to shed a few pounds, and to once again challenge herself. She took to the sport quickly, and one year later represented Team USA as an age grouper.

At her second Age Group World Championships in 1999, Amanda met her now husband Michael. She took home high honors in the race, but took home her best friend as well (BFF).

In 2001, Amanda and Michael moved from Baltimore (and Austin) to the triathlete’s paradise: Boulder, Colorado, where they currently reside with dogs, Luna and Blue, and cat, Frisco Burrito.

2002 was a banner year for Amanda, as she won nearly every amateur race she entered. A USA Triathlon All-American that year, as well as the Duathlon National Champion, Amanda’s season buoyed her confidence to race in the pro ranks in 2003.

The ensuing five years have yielded multiple Half Ironman wins, as well as four top-ten Ironman finishes, and a win at the venerable Boulder Peak Triathlon.

Amanda’s 2011 season goals are to compete in the REV3 Triathlon Series, to place top-five in competitive 70.3 races, to return to Ironman racing with a podium finish, and to bring a little style back to the women’s pro ranks, by representing color-coordinated outfits each time she toes the line.

And Michael:

Born in Wilmington, NC, but raised in Albuquerque, NM, Michael’s early roots were established in the southwestern town a mile above sea level. Immediately drawn to every sport that was offered, he dabbled in water polo, baseball, basketball and gymnastics, before settling on soccer, swimming and track as his favorites. A jack of all trades, master of none, Michael was driven to seek other athletic challenges upon his arrival at the University of Texas in fall of 1992. Soon after arriving–in full withdrawal from his involvement in team sports–Lovato entered the UT intramural sprint triathlon, his first multisport endeavor. Struggling, but enjoying every minute of the grueling hour-and-a-half race, Michael was forever hooked on the sport.

After seven seasons of amateur racing, culminating with a 1999 trip to the World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (where he met his beautiful and talented wife, Amanda), Michael joined the pro ranks. Having changed his focus from short course to Ironman racing, Michael’s first Ironman win came in 2003 at the inaugural Ironman Coeur d’Alene. A follow-up victory came in 2006 on the shores of Tempe Town Lake, as Michael was crowned champion of Ironman Arizona. Notching several top-three Ironman finishes, and three ninth-place finishes at the Hawaii Ironman World Championship (2003, 2007, 2008), Michael has established himself as one of America’s top Ironman athletes.

When not competing or training, Michael spends his spare time with Amanda and his two muscular and athletic dogs, Luna and Blue. He resides in Boulder, Colorado for much of the year. When temperatures drop below the comfort level, he packs his Subaru, his dogs, his belongings, and his wife, and heads south to Austin, Texas for warm weather training.

If the iPod is charged and functioning, expect to witness Michael rocking out to Led Zeppelin or bumping along to the Beastie Boys. When not in his “throw-back” mode, Michael enjoys listening to multiple types of music, from country to hip-hop to rock and roll.

While Michael’s formal education prepared him to teach Spanish at the high school level, his other talents have lead him to pursue a triathlon lifestyle. In addition to spending his days training and traveling to races, señor Lovato makes himself useful at North American Ironman Events by commentating, interviewing, and entertaining sponsors.

Big Sexy?

Yep, that’s the next athlete I’m introducing. Really his name is Chris McDonald and is our newest member to be representing Kestrel as part of the Trakkers/Rev3 team. I figure anyone who has Big Sexy as a nickname, had better be good! Or if not, he gets the ladies and I could learn a few tricks from him.

Chris grew up in Albury NSW, Chris is the youngest of 4 siblings – 2 of whom compete in Ironman as well (Daniel and David.) Chris lived at home in Australia until 1999 before moving to New Zealand to start a small construction business. Chris started competing in triathlon in November of 2002 with a sprint triathlon and then moved straight to Ironman with his first being Ironman Australia . At this time he was @45 pounds and found a love for the training required to be decent at triathlon .His first Ironman attempt was a long way from stellar but after 5 agegroup IM races he decided to begin his professional racing career in April 2004. Chris now splits his year between boulder Colorado / Tucson AZ in the USA and Albury, NSW in Australia.

Athletic Background

Field hockey at a provincial level in Australia and New Zealand
First triathlon — November 2002
First Ironman — December 2002
First professional race — Ironman France

Chris has now completed in 37 Ironmans and has 3 titles and 30 top 10 finishes .

Meet Hillary Biscay

So I’ve been watching Hillary for since 2002 when I saw her come out of the water in Kona. Girl has some guns on her and is an awesome swimmer. This year she’s going to rock the Trakker’s team and her new Kestrel 4000.

Plus, she’s one of the few women I know who thinks Ironman wasn’t enough and decided to do an Ultraman. Serious Type A girl here!

Here’s a bit about Hillary.

Career Highlights: 2008 Ironman Wisconsin Champion, 5x 2nd-place iron-distance finishes, 24x top-5 iron-distance finishes, 15x iron-distance podium (top-3) finishes

Hillary Biscay is the most prolific iron-distance competitor on the professional women’s racing circuit. In 2006, she set a standard in Ironman racing by becoming the first person to record six top-five Ironman finishes in one season. Hillary set another precedent in 2008 by winning her first ironman title at Ironman Wisconsin in a unique fashion: this was her eighth iron-distance race of the year, just one week after she placed fourth at Ironman Louisville. Additionally, this “double” followed just a few weeks after her first one, when she became the first professional woman to complete back-to-back iron-distance events. In that instance, she finished sixth at the Quelle Challenge Roth (Germany), and then followed this performance just a week later with a third-place finish at Ironman Lake Placid, after holding the overall lead of the race for over nine hours.

In 2010, after completing 8 ironmans during the season, Hillary took on a new challenge at the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii. She finished second and recorded the fastest women’s Ultraman debut in history, while also finishing over an hour under the 21-year-old course record time. Hillary also owns the women’s swim course record with a time of 2 hours 20 minutes for 6.2 miles.

Having competed in the 2000 US Olympic Swimming Trials (200-meter breaststroke), Hillary is known for her swimming prowess, and often leads out Ironman swims. She was the also the women’s swim winner at the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championships.

Hillary competed as an age-group triathlete for four years before turning pro. During this time, she was teaching at the University of Southern California and working on a Ph.D. in American Literature. She put this degree on hold to try to turn her triathlon hobby into a livelihood and hasn’t looked back!