Interviews

INTRO: Denmark's Torbjørn Sindballe is in the midst of a great year. He's traveled to the U.S. to race at Ralphs California Half-Ironman in May, which he won against a super-deep field that included Kona champ Tim DeBoom, and the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon, as well as racing at home and at other venues in Europe. Two weeks before the Ralphs race, Sindballe was in St. Croix, racing the half-Ironman there against another top international field. He finished ninth, turning in the day's seventh-fastest bike split.

He spent part of the winter at Club La Santa, where in January he won the Club La Santa International Duathlon against a top field of athletes also training and racing in the warmth of Lanzarote.

Sindballe, now just 25, came to triathlon from a varied background that ultimately landed him in swimming: "As a kid I jumped around between soccer, basketball, judo, badminton, etc. until I was around 12." he said.

At 12 he began swimming competitively, and in another two years, he found he had talent for the three-sport combination. He was hooked.

Sindballe said that those early years of his triathlon training he just had fun without taking things too seriously--but even then he managed to find his way to the podium at the Danish youth and junior championships.

In 1998, he said, he became serious about training. And the results started pouring in. "From 1997 to 1999 I went from just finishing inside the top 10 at Danish champs to winning silver at the ITU world long-distance champs in 1999 and setting the Danish IM record with 8:18:53. At that time I was only 22 and the results made me motivated to try the jump to being professional."

Sindballe then decided to cut down on his studies and focus on triathlon. "Unfortunately I ran in to a lot of injuries--hip problems and shin splints, which totally ruined my 2000 season," he said. "The only race I finished that year was the ITU long-distance champs in Nice where I was 10th after just six weeks of training. In 2001 I came back at a reasonable level, but it is not until this year that I really feel new improvements again."

That "reasonable level" in 2001 included a fifth place at the ITU long-course world championships in Fredericia, Denmark, a fifth at Powerman Austria (against such duathlon powerhouses as Belgium's Benny Vansteelant and Switzerland's Olivier Bernhard), a second at Powerman Luxembourg and a win at the Danish national duathlon championships.

"Going through so many bad periods in 2000 and 2001 was incredibly tough, but now, where everything is moving forward again, I just feel that I am a lot wiser and more confident about making it than I have ever been," he said.

In addition to his racing duties, Sindballe serves as the athlete's representative on the Danish national team--and he has put some thought into the politics of triathlon.

He believes the sport has reached "an organizational crisis."

"On the one side we find the International Triathlon Union with their draft races, Olympic approval, etc., and on the other side we have the more commercialized race scene with Ironmans, short course non-draft races in the U.S, etc.," he said. "You can couple this with draft events/non-draft events. This is a polarization which grows wider and wider and is threatening to divide our sport."

Sindballe said he believes the problem lies at the ITU's doorstep because the governing body "is not the unifying force it should be."

"In my opinion ITU should be an organization for all triathletes whether they are doing long-short-du-tri-draft or non-draft events," he said. "But at the moment it is not, and it is not even trying to be so. ITU only cares about one thing, and that is short-distance draft races. Which actually means that ITU is an organization for the 200 athletes who are doing the World Cup circuit."

"In my opinion a worldwide triathlon organization should be trying to create the best possible setting for athletes who wish to compete in any kind of triathlon or duathlon, taking care of the interests of the athletes as well as that of the race organizers," Sindballe said. "They should not take sides preferring or promoting one race-type from another, but embrace all the different elements in this wonderful sport."

Sindballe's family life is a rich one--he and his wife, Mette, have a son, 8-month-old Oskar. The arrival of Oskar has been a life-changer.

"Being a father is the absolute biggest experience in my life," he said. "It is incredible how your life and identity just changes overnight. My family obviously means a lot to me. Not only are they making my life richer, but they are also important in terms of motivation and in creating that special safe and comforting environment that I need to cope with all the pressure from the sport."

When his schedule allows, Sindballe also takes courses at the University of Copenhagen. He's current studying sociology but also has an education in exercise physiology.

We thought it would be interesting to hear more about Sindballe's life, his training, and the world-class Danish triathlon scene. And it was...

SLOWTWITCH: The Danish triathletes and duathletes really do seem to excel over all distances. What do you think is the key to the program's success? What has made the difference in your training?

TORBJØRN SINDBALLE: First of all, I believe that the single most important factor when we are talking success in triathlon and duathlon is physical talent. Without the right combinations of genes you can train and focus all you want, but you will not make it.

Coming after that I would say that the training environment in Denmark is another important factor. We have a training center just outside of Copenhagen where most of the national team trains together. This means that we are able to use each other to push our limits further and further. A Sunday bike ride in Copenhagen usually develops in to a bike race over 107 km with an average speed of 41-43 km/hr.

Another important factor is, of course, the training philosophy. The Danish long-distance and duathlon coach Gabor Kloczl is probably responsible for a lot of the Danish success, and I would say that he is building his training around two key elements. Of course there is a lot more to it, but this is probably what makes it special.

Generally the Danish concept at the longer distances is based around the bike, because your run is very much depending on how well you get through the bike segment. Being strong on the bike can be used both aggressively, like Peter Sandvang usually does, or it can be used conservatively to arrive at T2 with good legs for the run, as I did in California. The second element is intensity. No matter what distance you are doing, intensity is the single most important factor for being strong on the bike. And it is not just about intensity, it is about time-trial training. Most of our bike training is based around 35-45 minute time-trial sessions where we just ride with all we've got for that period. These are some of the ideas flowing around in Denmark, and of course we are constantly experimenting. So far I think we've got a near-ideal program for middle-distance races like Powermans, half-IM and the ITU long course. But we still have some work to do concerning the IM--but then again the physical/genetic element probably plays a role here.

SLOWTWITCH: You raced at the Danish Olympic-distance championships but unfortunately crashed out. How much ITU-style racing do you do in a year, and will you attempt to make the Danish Olympic team in two years?

TS: My appearance in the ITU points race in Copenhagen was sort of a one-off. It was the Danish champs and since it is an important race for my club I just thought I would try it out. If I could catch the leaders on the swim and then get away with Rasmus Henning on the bike (we are in the same club) so we could have a real Danish showdown on the run, then it would have been great. The week before I had just beaten Rasmus and Peter [Sandvang] by 1:54 and 1:15 in a 23 km time-trial, so I was pretty confident. And everything did go after the plan, but unfortunately I crashed when Rasmus and I had just opened up the decisive gap. Draft races can be fun if you are up there in the swim, but if you are not it is kind of gambling whether you can get up there for the run or not. When drafting is allowed, the swim gets to be some sort of selector of who is in the race and who is out. The run then decides who wins. I do not like the very small importance of the bike. I do this sport because I like all three disciplines and therefore I very rarely do draft races.

SLOWTWITCH: You had a great race at the half-Ironman in Oceanside, Calif. What was your view of the race? Do you think you will focus now on half-Ironman and Ironman racing, or will you continue to keep racing shorter courses as well? Would you like to do more racing in the U.S.?

TS: My race in California was just a fantastic experience. Not only was it my first big victory, it was also a relief after two years of stagnation finally seeing improvement again and getting the proof that I physically have what it takes to be a champion. I am only 25 now and most of the guys I am competing with are between 28 and 34, so I figure that I still have a lot of improvement to do and once that comes in to play, things start to get fun!

The race went perfect for me. Out of the swim in the first group behind [Aussie Craig] Walton, then a steady bike where I just conserved my energy for the run. On the run I quickly found a good rhythm and in the beginning I only made up very little on the leaders, but between mile 6-7 I caught Craig Walton and then [Aussie] Craig Alexander. From there on I just ran as if my butt was on fire (Danish expression) for the last five miles. I did not truly believe in it until hitting the finish line, where the thrill of saying goodbye to two years of frustration just felt soooo good.

The California race also put things straight for me. I think that I am not yet suited for Ironman distance racing because of my young age and my relatively short training age. I need some more years to build up the volume before I am going to go at it for real. It does not mean that I will not do IM races, but that I will focus on the shorter non-draft distance races: half-Ironman, ITU long course, etc., and also I would like to try out some of the short distance, non-draft races in the U.S. I find them really exciting because they in my eyes reflect what this sport is really about for the majority of the people who do it.

SLOWTWITCH: What are your plans for the rest of the season and, looking ahead, for next year?

TS: My next key races will be the Powerman World Championships in August and the Nice ITU world champs in September. Then maybe I will come to IM Florida, since it kind of owes me one from 2000 where I smashed the bike course record only to DNF because of injuries. Next year I will focus on ITU long-course and half-Ironmans in the spring and then possibly all the short non-draft races like Life Time Fitness, Mrs. T's, NYC, Los Angeles, etc. in the late summer. So you will probably see a lot of me in the U.S. I really enjoy it over there, since people are so much more enthusiastic about the sport and have a really positive perspective in general.

SLOWTWITCH: Finally, please tell us a little bit about a typical training week for you, and any unusual challenges that face top triathletes like you as you train in Denmark.

TS: A typical training week for me would be around 3-4 times in the pool doing around 15km in total [and] 300-450 km on the bike with two time-trial-like sessions of around 35 minutes and one longer, hard group ride. My run training would be around 50-70km including two hard sessions with longer (4-5 km) or shorter (1 km) intervals, and then a lot of middle range stuff in between.

The winter in Denmark is quite cold and windy/rainy/snowy so it is definitely not a triathlete's heaven for winter training. But since we do not have that much snow you can do almost all your base training outdoors and then the intensity stuff indoors. During the winter we also go on camps to, e.g., Lanzarote, where it is warm and hilly. It is often amazing how you can feel the difference in motivation and recovery when you go to warmer climates, but then again you also get tough from riding three hours in 20 mph wind and rain.