We Noticed: IRONMAN Hamburg Bike Course Sabotage, Brownlee Record, and More

Metal “Shards” on Hamburg Course

We mentioned in our recap of yesterday’s IRONMAN Hamburg race that a number of age group athletes got flats on the bike course. We reached out to IRONMAN, and the company provided the following statement about the incident:

IRONMAN is deeply disappointed that unknown third parties have acted with intent to cause deliberate disruption to a section of the Eastern part of the bike course by distributing metal shards on course, aimed at causing punctures to athlete’s bike tyres and disrupting their race.  

Prior to race start, the course was thoroughly checked and cleared by IRONMAN officials, as per standard safety protocols. The disruption was discovered by officials during the race around 09:30am, indicating the deliberate actions to affect the safety of athletes likely took place after the race had already started.  

IRONMAN and the local authorities (Police and Fire Brigade) are working together to clear this section of the course as quickly as possible and are monitoring the situation. To support athletes who are affected by these actions, additional resources have been deployed in these areas including bike mechanics. At this stage, the race will continue, and as always, we’re doing everything we can to ensure our athletes are safe and have a good race ahead. 

IRONMAN is supporting the Police in their formal investigation into the matter and will work with the city to help address the issue for future editions. 

In a note posted on the Slowtwitch Forum, @david222 pointed out that the number of athletes affected was much larger than had been originally thought.

It was way more than 150 athletes, I was unfortunately one of them and had 4 punctures (twice a double puncture). My guess is it was minimum 300 athletes if not more who had multiple flat tires. There were people with flat tires everywhere. In the end I couldn’t continue anymore so I helped about 20 athletes change their tires. People were even fixing their tires with duck tape just to get back to the event area. Im tech support tents also didn’t have any inner tires anymore.

According to a report on tri-mag.de, At today’s awards ceremony, Daniel Gottschall, IRONMAN’s regional director for Germany and Luxembourg, said “This was an attack by a small group and has nothing to do with the people who welcome us here every year.” Gottschall also said that IRONMAN is working on support for the athletes who were affected, “and the prospect that they could participate in another IRONMAN this year.”

According to tri-mag.de, many athletes and spectators did all they could to help, “sharing spare tubes, CO2 cartridges, while mechanics repaired old tubes and Hamburg residents improvised small repair stations on the side of the course.”

“Ohana means family,” Paul Kaye said at the awards ceremony. “The incident yesterday also showed the power of our community.”

Brownlee Sets Record: 10 Sprints in a Weekend

We mentioned that three-time Olympic medalist Jonathan Brownlee was going after a unique record over the weekend at the Supertri Blenheim Palace race, and now we get to report that he achieved his goal in impressive style. On Saturday the British star completed six sprint races (750 m swim, 20 km bike and a 5 km run), then did another four on Sunday. The complicating factor was that Brownlee had to complete all the events in time to head off in the various successive waves. Saturday’s swim closed at 15:40, while Sunday’s cut off was 14:20, which meant Brownlee had to turnaround each race in under 75 minutes.

“This challenge is what sport is all about,” Brownlee said. “If you had asked me ten years ago I would have said ‘it’s all about every second counts, am I missing training by being here, I can’t talk to people because I need to focus on my race.’ Now I realise sport is more than that. It’s great to see everyone over the weekend have their own challenges and goals and helping and inspiring each other along the way. I love seeing people be active and see people doing sport. I got inspiration from people as I went around.”

Here’s a breakdown of Brownlee’s times for all the races:

• Triathlon 1 — race time 1:06:57, followed by a 7:22 transition
• Triathlon 2 — race time 1:08:47, followed by a 6:43 transition
• Triathlon 3 — race time 1:07:57, followed by a 7:10 transition
• Triathlon 4 — race time 1:07:44, followed by a 6:17 transition
• Triathlon 5 — race time 1:12:27, followed by a 6:28 transition
• Triathlon 6 — race time 1:17:42 (end of day one)
• Triathlon 7 — race time 1:05:21, followed by a 5:36 transition
• Triathlon 8 — race time 1:06:47, followed by a 6:23 transition
• Triathlon 9 — race time 1:07:09, followed by a 6:19 transition
• Triathlon 10 — race time 1:11:16

His total time was 12:24:25 for the roughly 7.5 km of swimming, 200 km of cycling and 50 km of running.

Speaking of Blenheim Palace

She won her very first Supertri race in Toronto last year, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see Belgium’s Jolien Vermeylen dash to an impressive win in the Blenheim Palace Pro Series race on Sunday. After riding in the lead pack, Vermeylen ran her way to a 30-second victory over France’s Léonie Périault and Olivia Mathias (GBR).

“The power, for me, was the most I have ever done in a sprint distance, so I am very happy about that, and then I had to see what I had left on the run,” Vermeylen said after the race. “I had a pretty good swim and the first transition went very fast and on the bike we were in a group with four. The main horsepower on the bike was from Jess (Fullagar) and Olivia (Mathias) and I tried to take over and do good pulls. I really wanted in this race to bike as hard as I could. I am very excited for Jersey (the site of the Supertri Pro Series Final). I love being there and the swim course around the boats is very cool.”

Périault had to run her way to the podium after starting the run 35 seconds behind the lead pack, passing Mathias and Jessica Fullager to take the second spot on the podium. As Supertri “central” athletes, Vermeylen, Périault, Fullagar, Emma Lombardi and Zuzana Michaličková already have spots for the Series Final, so the qualifying spots for Jersey went to Mathias, Eve Whitaker and Lottie James.

Women’s Pro Series Results:

1. Jolien Vermeylen (BEL): 1:02:18
2. Léonie Périault (FRA): 1:02:48
3. Olivia Mathias (GBR): 1:02:59
4. Jessica Fullagar (GBR): 1:03:09
5. Emma Lombardi (FRA): 1:03:14
6. Eve Whitaker (GBR): 1:03:51
7. Zuzana Michaličková (SVK): 1:04:58
8. Lottie James (GBR): 1:05:48
9. Isla Hedley (GBR): 1:06:05
10. Isabella Hayes (GBR): 1:06:14

In the men’s race, last year’s U23 world champion, Ollie Conway (GBR), thrilled the local fans with a close win over Canadian Charles Paquet and Australia’s Luke Willian. Conway was the first into T2, leading a 10-deep bike pack, but the race quickly became a three-man affair as the eventual podium finishers pulled clear of the rest of the field.

“I grew up here essentially a couple of minutes away before going to Uni and I used to do my run sessions around here,” Conway said. “It’s such a nice location and course, technical and hilly … The run up from the swim mixed it up and I am not the greatest swimmer, so I can catch up a few positions there and the hills in the bike and the run suit me well.”

“I really wanted a spot in the Final,” Conway continued. “I raced Jersey last year and it was such a great course, just like this one, so I really wanted a spot. All the big hitters are going there. I know Alex (Yee) is in and Matt (Hauser). So many fast guys so I really want to get stuck in and see where I am.”

The Series Final spots went to the three men who topped the podium.

“The whole reason for me to come here in this stacked field was to get to Jersey,” Willian said. “I have never raced Supertri before and this event and the Pro Series last year got me here to the start line. I am really happy to have got my ticket to Jersey. There’s so many great guys going to race and it will be great to test myself against them.”

Men’s Pro Series Results:

1. Oliver Conway (GBR): 55:51
2. Charles Paquet (CAN): 55:55
3. Luke Willian (AUS): 56:02
4. Harry Leleu (GBR): 56:16
5. Fynn Batkin (GBR): 56:18
6. Mitch Kolkman (NED): 56:25
7. Hugo Milner (GBR): 56:33
8. Jack Willis (GBR): 56:42
9. Michael Gar (GBR): 56:59
10. Christopher Perham (GBR): 57:08

Anne Hed Develops Medical Device to Improve Mammograms

The Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal reports that Anne Hed, the woman best known as the owner and CEO of Hed Cycling Products, has developed “a medical device aimed at making mammograms more comfortable.”

The idea came to Hed, who started Hed Cycling Products with her husband Steve in 1984 and took over the helm of the business after he passed away in 2014, after a painful mammogram procedure in 2023. She couldn’t figure out why the design of the mammography plates was flat rather than curved to better fit with “the body’s natural shape.” Since the plates were made of carbon fibre, just like the bike wheels her company produces, she figured she could come up with a device that could attach to existing mammography machines that would provide a better fit, and be a lot more comfortable, for patients.

Hed has patented the design and trademarked the name “B-Rest.” The next step is a clinical trial and a submission to the FDA. If all that is successful, Hed plans to make the products in the Hed Cycling factory.

According to the Business Journal story, Hed is open to finding partners to help fund this new venture.

“I make bike wheels, not medical devices, so the right strategic partner or investor could be very valuable,” she said. “But it has to be the right fit.”

Mentrida Zamarra and Corachan Vaquera Take KOS Xtreme

We previewed the challenging KOS Xtreme Triathlon on Friday – the day was as tough as ever, including a 2 km open-water swim at Bajamar Beach, a 44 km bike that includes 2,281 m of elevation gain and a 10-km run with 490 m of climbing, finishing at the Roque de Los Muchachos at 2,426 m above sea level.. Here are the pro results from the weekend:

Driesen Takes 70.3 Alghero

There sure is a lot of triathlon action happening in Sardinia over the last few weeks. A week after the World Triathlon Championship Series Alghero race, the city hosted an IRONMAN 70.3 race, which had a pro men’s only event. (The race was the same day as the the IRONMAN Hamburg women’s European Championship. IRONMAN 70.3 Nice, which is the same day as the men’s European Championship in Frankfurt, will be a women’s only race.) There was US$15,000 up for grabs for the men competing.

Belgium’s Joran Driesen had the day’s fastest bike and followed that up with the day’s second-fastest run to take a 41-second win over Switzerland’s Simon Westermann, with France’s Pierre Dupuy rounding out the podium.

Kurikova and Muller Win in Obernai

There was 10,400 euros up for grabs at the Obernai triathlon in France, which was won by Czechia’s Petra Kuříková and France’s Dorian Muller. The race includes a 2.1 km swim with two Aussie exits, an 82 km bike that crosses the plain of Alsace before climbing to the Champ du Feu (1,100 m above sea level) and returning to Obernai via Mont Sainte Odile, all followed by a two-loop 18.6 km run in Obernia and surrounding vineyards.

Besperat and Stoll Capture Czechman Triathlon

The half-distance Czechman Triathlon offered 11,000 euros in prize money that went to the top six pro men and women. (The winner took home 2,000 euros.) The women’s race was dominated by Czechia’s Barbora Besperat, while Germany’s Jannik Stoll eked out a close win over Czechia’s Lukas Kocar.

Tags: