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

Brazil FAST Triathlon

In mid January I will be traveling to Brazil (location unknown) to rip it up with Matt Vierula and AP Baillargeon-Smith in a super sprint Race series! Go us! and go girls team! (not officially announced yet)

Worlds race rundown

So. Back in Ol' Vic now and settling into the swing of things with school and whatnot. My mom was gracious enough to come and cook for me and make my first few classes easy, getting errands off the checklist and so here I am.

The Race.
Our support staff was beyond incredible and so i got to the start line feeling like i was about to hop in the water for a workout. With two different transitions it made for some interesting pre race staging. Start list of 80(i think) and i was # 43 putting me dead centre on the pontoon. Everyone gets called down aaaaaaannnddd AIRHORN. 14 degree water gives you an adrenaline rush on top of your adrenaline rush and your off. The roughest toughest baddest raddest start of my life, i was dunked and kicked and pushed and my clear water escaped me until the first buoy at 300M. I'm used to getting free at about 150m so this made my brain go gaaahvldfjhvcljhvfcljahvlhjqgrrrrrrrrr. end up getting clear and chasing down the leader, the south african beats me out ( i think he got clear water early maybe i hope haha ) and it's go go go to T1. onto the bike feeling the rush and we head out onto the 5km stretch before the loops and T2. I was hoping for some more segregation between packs but with the wetsuit swim we were looking at about a 37 man lead pack if i'm not mistaken. sitting in was easy but risky, stayed near the front for the most part, took some pulls. The hard part about the riding though was jockeying into position for each corner. this was crucial because it was packed and sketchy. Through the chicane section on numerous accounts i was pushed onto my inside guys bars while cornering as the guy on my outside leaned on me. crazy. Stop go style ride and the stretch heading into T2 was scary. 12 guys wide it seemed like, and i ended up near the back. off onto the run and the first 1.5km felt terrible legs were just tanked from the ride and the swim and so i headed off trying to keep the tempo up. "this is worlds, this is it, go for it" and so i got out of the funk and picked it back up. running along the cobbles with everyone going nuts was awesome and it gave me a bit of a pick up. I got passed mostly in that first 1.5km and managed to fight some spots back came through in 21st. Not what i had hoped for but it was all i could have done on the day so I walk away happy.

Now it's school school school and gettin into the groove. Training starts back up on the 4th of October and I'm lookin forward to it!

Thanks for all the support from my parents, coaches (PK Carolyn), Sponsors, supporters and friends. The season was all i could have asked for and i'm stoked for my next season debut in Olympic distance U23

BUDAPEST

I'm here after an exhausting flight. settled down in this new land and will be going to bed soon, wake up in the morn adjusted to the 9 hour time change after staying up for an uncomfortable period of time. grocery stores are different to the likeness of mexican ones, need to hit up the downtown core for SIM card, swim and race prep. It set in that i'm in Europe and i'm ready to crush, but after i get some sleep first.
C

Worlds Team

I made it. I'm happy that all the work and time I put in this year has paid off and I will be able to represent Canada in Budapest, Hungary on September 12th. Thank you to all who have supported me ( mom, dad, PK, Carolyn, Leonard Hill, Anthony King, my training squad, the list goes on). Thanks to my competitors for the battle! Looking forward to another good Kelowna nationals and then to crush worlds.

p.s. congrats to paula in Kitzbuhel!

C

opportunity awaits!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010

Junior Training Weekend - August 28-29

The PTC Vancouver invites athletes ages 14-19 who have an interest in junior triathlon racing to a training camp/weekend open house on August 28-29.

Meet current PTC members and coach Mark Bates, learn about aspects of junior racing such as race tactics, open water swimming, bike drafting, transitions and more.

Saturday August 28
9:00-2:00 UBC Aquatic Centre
Swim, Bike, Transitions, Classroom session

Sunday August 29
9:00-2:00 Sasamat Lake
Swim, Entries/Exits, Run, Talk, Mini-Aquathlon races

Cost: $25

Contact Mark (email - mark "at" 321coaching "dot" com or  604-787-2715)  to register and for more information. As the schedule may change, athletes MUST pre-register.

******************************************************

I owe so much of my success to my coaches and Mark Bates has been one of the best I've had. If this interests you, go for it.  Mark helped get me to where I am now, the worlds team spot I made is partly his and in the future it could be you competing on the world stage if you want to make it!

- Cole