Brazil FAST

Knowing the forth biggest television channel in the world is filming your race live for 20million people is pretty crazy. It didn't make it feel any less hard, if you were wondering. The travel to Brazil was a really cool experience for me and one that I know i'll remember, a big thanks to AP and Matt for that. The jungle and the whole country had a very pleasant vibe to it but brazil seemed a little less bit hospitable when both AP and Matt became extremely ill before the race. The 3 man team that would complete 3 super sprint triathlons on TV for canada took a major blow. Both men were hospitalized and managed to finish the swim leg of each race but were forced to pull out with vomiting during the race etc. My luck had been considerably better than Matt and AP's and I wasn't phased by any illness. So I did the race solo. The first race was really exciting, not knowing what's going to come about during the race. I took the first bit of the swim very conservatively and only sprinted during the end to grab about at 5 second lead on the men following me out of the water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwxTWqzEgkU there is a link with some footage of the first race. Look for me at 51 secs and 1min.17secs!!! Then the bike. I rode hard and felt the affects of the heat just 3 laps into it, over paced it and got dropped, which was okay. Still stayed within reach for the first race heading onto the run, it was fast and hot, very hot. I can honestly say with the 100% humidity it was the hottest i've ever been while racing came in about 7th. I wasn't sure, was more concerned with grabbing my red polar-fleece blanket and soaking it in ice water to wear while i set up transition again. The second and third races became exponentially hard and I finished in the 8th place zone. ended up scoring 36 points with one guy finishing races for Canada so I guess i can't complain. Frustrating for AP and Matt but a good travel/race experience none the less. Until next time..
Cole

Misfortune in Vina Del Mar

    Just got back from the race site after disappointment at 6kms into the bike leg of my elite olympic distance debut. With the course riddled with glass next to the curb ( o and rocks and horse manure, don't forget those either) I was unfortunate enough to come upon 2 shards that took me out of the race. Had I been close to the wheel pit my race would have continued on probably still in the front pack (considering the lead established on chasepack 1), however I had just passed the transition site (and wheel pit) by about 1-1.5kms of a 5km loop. The rules of the race don't allow athletes to travel backwards on the course and so I would have had to ride 3.5-4kms on a flat carbon tubular rim = not an option (unless I wanted to break a $2000 wheel in the process). This is a very frustrating experience for me especially under these circumstances and the fact that I came 2nd out of the water with a group of 3 other athletes (Jenkins GBR - 5th, Wiltshire GBR - 6th and Varias ARG - 7th)  We were still with ahead of 10 or so other athletes in the first chase pack (later this merged and spread to a lead group of 10 going into T2). I got a great view of the run and bike from the sidelines and saw my fellow countrymen come through with some solid but somewhat difficult finishes (AP 17th and Matt V 21st, just missing the points cut) The race dynamic  presented a great opportunity with the strong British contingent present for the race. This made it less of running race, spreading out the feild (chase pack was 2.5mins - 3mins back going out of T2). From this race I learned the the swim leg is considerably easier than I had estimated (the water was choppy but pace was easy to maintain), speed through transition is crucial in order to maintain a strong lead out of the water and that bike fitness is weighted a lot heavier than in Jr. racing. Putting the flats behind me and getting on some training before the brazil FAST triathlon where the 3 amigos plan to crush some teams and cash in on the race. Until next time..
Peace

South American Tour

Quick update on the life and times of Cole Stewart. After a great early season prep and a nice holiday off my studies at UVic, I'll be heading to YVR on the 4th of January to meet up with AP and MattV on our trip down. First to Santiago Chile where we'll be racing the ITU Pan American Cup in Vina Del Mar (startlist link here - http://www.triathlon.org/events/start_list/2011_vina_del_mar_itu_triathlon_pan_american_cup/5765/ ). On the 12th the three amigos fly to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the Brazil Fast triathlon where we duke it out against 15 other men. Wish us luck!
peace