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Can Scrolling Screw Your Race?
How smartphones affect performance, a Ukrainian's difficult Olympic journey, and kiwi dominance in New Plymouth
Matthew Sharpe
March 28, 2023
Together With
Good morning everyone,
I hope you had a great weekend of racing, training, or just relaxing. Yesterday I was able to go see a bike fit expert and make some adjustments to my position. This had me super excited to ride, but the snow on the ground from the night before put a chill on that. Here’s to better (less snowy) days ahead!
In this edition we’ve got:
A weekend race recap including New Zealand dominance at home 🏁
Can you have a bad race from scrolling on your phone? 📵
And a study may show why triathletes love to exercise 😅
Thank you for being here.
-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor
Have a triathlete in your life who can't stop swimming, biking, or running? Fire this off to them. Forwarded from a friend? Sign-up for free.
MULTISPORT NUMBERS
👏 18: The number of years Andrea Hansen (née Hewitt) of New Zealand competed at the highest level of short course racing before retiring this year. [Team New Zealand]
🇵🇭 5000: The estimated number of security forces needed to work at Ironman 70.3 Davao this past weekend. [Sunstar.com.ph]
WEEKEND RACES
World Cup New Plymouth, Ironman 70.3 Geelong, Hell of the West, and Others
World Triathlon New Plymouth, New Zealand World Cup
Women: In the imposing shadow of Mt. Taranaki, the elite women hit the surf looking to summit the podium. Emma Jeffcoat (AUS) led the field out of the water with a tightly bunched group behind her.
Onto the bike there wasn’t much urgency from the front pack, and it looked like most of the field would catch. But Solveig Løvseth (NOR) had other ideas as she put in a massive effort to whittle the front pack down to 17.
Exiting T2, packs quickly formed on the run, and the lead trio included pre-race favourite Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZ), Ainsley Thorpe (NZ), and Løvseth.
VDK set the pace from the start, and with about half a mile to the finish she cranked into sixth gear and took the always-special home country win in front of family and friends.
🥇 Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZ)
🥈 Ainsley Thorpe (NZ)
🥉 Solveig Løvseth (NOR)
Tempo’s take: Van Der Kaay was the clear pre-race favorite, and she handled the pressure with ease, which can often be tough when adding in the home race factor. An overall great showing for the Kiwis with the 1-2 podium punch. 2016 Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen had a solid effort in her return to World Cup-level racing, finishing in 14th overall.
There is no doubt she was hoping for a better result, which means we may see her racing again in the very near future if she hopes to be on the start line later this summer at the Olympic test event in Paris.
Men: The swim shook the race out more than expected, with Nicolo Strada (ITA) leading the charge. A small group formed early, but they were simply keeping their heads up for a hard-charging Hayden Wilde. The Olympic silver medalist did some serious damage on the hilly course, and only a few men including Tayler Reid (NZ), Seth Rider (USA), and Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) would jump off the bike with him.
From the start of the run it was clear Wilde would be the winner. A group of three, including Reid, Ricardo Batista (POR), and Dylan McCullough (NZ) were fighting for the two remaining podium spots.
Reid and Batista came into the finish stretch in a two-up sprint. And in front of the rapturous home crowd, Reid was able to best Batista for second.
🥇 Hayden Wilde (NZ)
🥈 Tayler Reid (NZ)
🥉 Ricardo Batista (POR)
Tempo’s take: The hills of New Plymouth were alive with the sound of Hayden Wilde’s domination. He looked in control and a step above the rest on the bike and the run. He was even glancing at his GPS through the run, as if it was some training session 🤯
It was an incredible day for the home crowd, with a 1-2 in both races. A big signal for the rest of the world that team New Zealand is ready to roll in 2023.
Ironman 70.3 Geelong, Australia
Women: Grace Thek (AUS) used a very solid all-around effort in the swim and bike, and a crushing run to win in Geelong.
🥇 Grace Thek (AUS)
🥈 Radka Kahlefeldt (AUS)
🥉 Lotte Wilms (NED)
Men: Mike Phillips (NZ) took the risk on the bike and attacked the race. He was rewarded with a hard-fought win against some hard-charging runners
🥇 Mike Phillips (NZ)
🥈 Steve McKenna (AUS)
🥉 Caleb Noble (AUS)
Other Races
Hell of the West Triathlon, Goondiwindi, Australia
Ashleigh Gentle the PTO ranked #1 triathlete in the world easily took the win in the women’s race. Maz Neumann, 4th overall at last years Ironman World Championship, crushed the men’s event.
Ironman 70.3 Davao Philippines
World Triathlon African Cup Europe Swakopmund, Namibia
World Triathlon European Cup Quarteira, Portugal
TOGETHER WITH
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TRAINING THOUGHT
Want to Perform Better? Better Drop the Phone
Coach Nate Wilson on the watch.
TLDR of the study: Athletes that used smartphones pre-competition performed worse subjectively (coached assessed) and objectively via the Stroop Test (a test that measures mental fatigue) than control groups.
Athletes that were on a smartphone or played video games pre-competition were measured to have higher blood-lactate levels AND slower reaction times. Races can be won, lost, or DNF’d based on the quality of race-time decisions.
We asked World Tour cycling team performance manager and Olympic gold-medal-winning coach Nate Wilson his thoughts on how the findings of this study are related to triathlon performance.
Nate, can you think of Triathlon race scenarios where reduced decision-making could really impact an outcome?
Definitely! I think that within a race there are always decisions being made. There are decisions that are front of mind, like tactical decisions of whether to follow a breakaway group or not. However, I think there are also a lot of decisions being made all the time that are nearly subconscious to an athlete in race mode. In long-course racing, even though it could be playing out with a different dynamic than ITU racing I think athletes face a lot of these same scenarios,
🏁 Race scenario: Deciding on whether to go with that aggressive bike pack or stick more to their watts.
⛽ Fueling: I would even say the fueling strategy is sort of a decision, where athletes need to be really mentally aware of what's going on as the race unfolds (the time, where they are on course, what they have in their bottles, etc) to execute the fueling plan even if they've mapped it out well.
🌬️ Course dynamics: Some long-course races have mostly flat courses where the pace could be pretty constant and rhythmic, but on courses with more oscillating terrain or changing wind, there's a lot of decisions that need to be made on the go about where to push harder and where to focus a bit more on staying aero and picking up some free speed.
In all these scenarios I think reduced decision-making power or reduced reaction time could have a performance effect.
How scrolling on the phone can hurt your training,
Coach Nate’s advice for triathletes pre-race
How the study’s findings affect non-sporting endeavors.
Are you an expert and want to be featured in our newsletter? Fill out this form and we will get back to you ASAP
GIVEAWAY
Less than five days to win your favourite pair of racing shoes…
Feet sore from running? That’s beacuse you don’t have new trainers.
With the season quickly approaching, now’s the time to get into a new pair of shoes courtesy of The Tempo.
We’re giving away a free pair of racing shoes to one lucky winner. Entering is easy - just refer a friend to the giveaway.
Enter your email address, and then you’ll get your own personal sharing link. Every person you refer increases your odds of winning.
POLL
Does a pre-race scroll hurt your performance?Or are you immune to the algorithm? |
FAVOURITES
🚨 On patrol: The innovative draft-busting technology from Race Ranger will be used in the elite field at the 2023 World Triathlon Long Distance World Championships. This is yet another opportunity for the much-hyped system that will hopefully be widely used in all future championship events. [World Triathlon]
🇺🇦 Slava Vitalii: Ukraine’s Vitalii Vorontsov was at a training camp in Turkey when Russia invaded his country. Along with competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, his goal is to continue to shine a light on the devastation brought to his country by Russia’s war. Read on to see how Vitalii is making the most of his difficult circumstances on his challenging road to the Olympics. [Triathlete]
🙌 Go Donna: After becoming a triathlete, everything changed for Donna McConnell as she demanded more from herself and her life. Read the inspiring story of how the journalist found a newfound sense of confidence and community through her multisport community. [Woman and Home]
🐭 A gut feeling: A recent study has shown that in mice, the presence of a certain gut-dwelling bacteria helps increase the production of dopamine, which influences the desire to exercise. I’m sure if they put triathletes in human-sized mouse wheels, they’d come to the same conclusions! [National Geographic]
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ARCHIVE
Expert analysis: How to nail your Ironman training nutrition.
That Triathlon Life gives back to future pros.
How Kaylee Slade manages pro triathlon training and vet school.
Expert analysis: Are you making the four most common nutrition mistakes.
Expert analysis: Simple strength training for a breakthrough Ironman.
LATEST EDITIONS
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Who owns triathlon? And swim tips from an NCAA champion.
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