Outstanding Oceanside Kicks Off 2024 Season

Good morning everyone,

It was an eventful weekend in Oceanside for my first race of the season. A personal highlight was definitely hanging out with Tempo subscriber Reid S. before the race, and seeing a few other subscribers in action! It was also very uplifting to hear a few “Go Tempo!” while I was pushing myself on the run!

• A big shoutout to top pro subscribers Paula Findlay (CAN), Grace Thek (AUS), and Justin Riele (USA) for their incredible performances. It was a hard race out there and they absolutely crushed it!

In today’s edition: 

• 🏆 Outstanding Oceanside kicks off 2024 season.

• ⛽ How to fuel your best morning training.

• 🏁 And how do you know when you’re ready to race?

Thanks 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. 

ONE BIG THING

Outstanding Oceanside Kicks Off 2024 Triathlon Season

What is it: This past weekend, IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside unofficially kicked off the Northern Hemisphere triathlon season.

• Traditionally IRONMAN’s first North American event, Oceanside typically sees a sold out race of over 3000+ athletes.

• It also serves as a makeshift triathlon industry gathering, where major players can connect and help establish sport-defining relationships.

Pro series kickoff: It was also the inaugural race in the newly-developed Ironman Pro Series. First announced last October, the Pro Series is IRONMAN’s very own F1-style global race series that sees athletes compete over full distance IRONMAN and shorter half-IRONMAN races.

• In the Pro Series, points are distributed between the athletes based on finishing times. And with $1.7 million of bonus money available to the athletes at the end of the series, there are plenty of incentives to chase.

• The series creation is also very much a result of pressure from the Professional Triathletes Organization and their rival pro triathlon series, the T100 Triathlon World Tour.

The Sanders/Knibb show: In the men’s pro race, arguably the most well-known triathlete in the World, Lionel Sanders (CAN), had one of his most dominant performances in years. A career-best swim had him less than two minutes down from the leaders. On the bike he rode to the front incredibly quickly, and early on the run he distanced himself from rivals Sam Long (USA) and Jackson Laundry (CAN) to take a dominant win in an elite field.

• 🥇 Lionel Sanders (CAN)

• 🥈 Sam Long (USA)

• 🥉 Jackson Laundry (CAN)

In the women’s race, Taylor Knibb (USA) made it a one-women show as she rocketed into the lead after the swim and didn’t look back as she solo’d to take a huge 11-minute victory over second place. It was a statement performance that shows she is an absolute favorite for gold at this summer’s Olympics.

• 🥇 Taylor Knibb (USA)

• 🥈 Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR)

• 🥉 Paula Findlay (CAN)

Full results

Tempo’s take: I was on the ground in Oceanside and although there was a lot of hype leading into the event, I feel like it certainly lived up to it. I only wish someone had told me how hard the bike course was before hand! 😆💀

The energy in the lead up to the race was incredibly positive and it felt like their was a bit of extra weight to the event with the pro series kickoff and major industry executives who were in attendance.

• I was even able to get in a quick word with the new IRONMAN CEO, Scott Derue, who mentioned his excitement with the new pro series and further investments they would be making in pro competition (he didn’t elaborate further).

Marketing megatrend: The kickoff of the pro series also provided insight into IRONMAN’s potential pros-as-marketing strategy.

• Before the event IRONMAN was offering ALL pro athletes the opportunity to receive professional quality headshots and photos.

• And post-race, athletes were also provided with high-quality race images to share on social media.

In a fractured, algorithm-dominated media environment, having these pros provide (pretty much) free marketing and awareness to their events brings a ton of positive awareness and goodwill towards the brand.

The pro’s-as-marketing tools approach isn’t new, as World Triathlon and the T100 World Tour have been doing it for some time. But this new lever that is being pulled by IRONMAN to bring further attention to its series is a shrewd tactic that will siphon more attention away from its T100 rival.

• The T100 tour only has 40-50 pros to promote their events, while IRONMAN now has a roster of 1000+ “influencers” at its disposal.

FAVOURITES

⛽ Morning fuel: Fueling your body before your morning workout is good for your training, and can set you up for an exceptional day! Here’s how you can fuel your best morning sessions. [TrainingPeaks]

🌊 Open water advantage: For many, open water swim season is right around the corner. And although the water may be cold, these key tips can help you get in the open water a little earlier, and stay in a little a little longer. [220 Triathlon]

🏁 Race readiness: You’ve dedicated yourself to the grind and have been training incredibly hard for an important race. So how do you know if you’re ready? This Reddit thread has a few good answers, including maybe doing a race simulation workout! [Reddit]

🍷 Alcohol and sleep: We all now know alcohol isn’t exactly great for our sleep. Sure, it might help you fall asleep, but as this study shows, it can profoundly affect the different components of your sleep to the downside. The TLDR: consecutive nights of drinking alcohol negatively affects your critical deep sleep and REM sleep periods - not ideal for recovery! [Academic oup]

REEL TIME

“Please clap” 🤣

westmeath_ironman_irl

View more on Instagram

ONE GOOD TEXT

One Good Text With James Elvery: Race Ranger’s False Start at IRONMAN Pro Series

In a text to The Tempo, James Elvery, the Co-Founder and CEO of Race Ranger explained why their drafting detection technology wasn’t quite ready in time for the first IRONMAN Pro Series race in Oceanside.

WHAT YOU SAID

Here are Tempo readers’ thoughts on their favorite places to swim!

QUICK NEWS

Serious Springboks: South Africans Jamie Riddle and Vicky Van der Merwe were the big winners of this weekend’s African Cup event in Gqeberha. More solid results on their road to this Summer’s Olympics in Paris! [Herald Live]

Lapu competition: Top triathletes from the Philippines and around the world will gather again in Lapu-Lapu City on April 21st. It is the 10th edition of the IRONMAN 70.3 race. [Sports Inquirer]

Chapeau colleagues: A team of colleagues from Central Bedfordshire raised over £1,000 for Dementia UK after completing a grueling triathlon challenge! [Luton Today]

Seine-sanity: More bad news for Olympic organizers as a water charity has warned Paris Olympic swimmers could face “alarming” levels of bacteria in Seine River. [CBS]

TEMPO EXCLUSIVE ARCHIVE

• Strength training for your next breakthrough race!

• Simon Shi is a pro triathlete…and a rubiks cube champion!

• Why triathletes need to train faster! (not harder)

LATEST EDITIONS

• Key tips for open water swimming, running well with age, and the link between exercise and digestion.

• Multisport World Championships return to Pontevedra, hill run tips and an April Fools roundup. 

• IRONMAN releases pro series broadcast details, and a unique swim drill.