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- Sanders Surprises at Montreal Arena Games
Sanders Surprises at Montreal Arena Games
Plus: WTCS Abu Dhabi race preview, and how does alcohol affect your sleep?
Good morning everyone,
Big news - we’ve launched our first Tempo giveaway! With race season approaching, we’re giving away a free pair of racing shoes, your choice, up to $250 in value.
Current Tempo readers can enter by referring a new reader to the newsletter. They’ll also be entered. Every person you refer increases your odds of winning.
In today’s edition:
Drama at Super League Arena Games Montreal 🥵
World Triathlon Championship Series Abu Dhabi Preview 🏎️
How does alcohol impact your sleep? 😴 (This is clickbait you already know the answer, but, it is interesting!)
Thank you for being here.
-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor
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ONE BIG THING
McQueen and Sereno Master Montreal, Sanders Surprises in Short Course Debut
What is it: The Super League Arena Games Montreal kicked off the Arena games series in spectacular fashion over the weekend. Gina Sereno (USA) took a convincing win in the Women’s race, while Chase McQueen was solid across all three legs, winning his first professional race.
Multiple Ironman champion Lionel Sanders (CAN) silenced any pre-race doubts about his speed, finishing in 6th.
Watch: Chase McQueen takes the win at Arena Games Montreal.
Why it matters: Born from the pandemic, the Super League Arena Games has grown from a small showcase to become a fully-fledged part of the World Triathlon circuit. But could it eventually be its own Olympic sport?
In the fall of 2023, the International Olympic Committee will host its IOC Esports Week in Singapore. It’s part of a broader push to reach new audiences, and will eventually see Esports included in the Olympic program.
Rumor is that Super League Arena Games may be included in this flagship Esports event.
Tempo’s take: It’s a tale of two storylines from the races this past weekend/
1) Impressive women: All three women put in world-class efforts to be on the podium, but even more impressive is that they each have a thriving career/education outside of their professional racing career (which is exceeding rare).
🚀 Gina Sereno, the winner, currently works for NASA.
⌚ Sophie Linn (AUS), who finished second, is a UX/UI designer working for Wahoo Fitness.
👩⚕️ Dominika Jamnicky (CAN) is currently finishing her education to become a chiropractor.
A full round of applause for these hard-working women! 👏👏👏
Watch: Gina Sereno brings home the win in Montreal.
Sanders surprises: Many pre-race predictions did not have Sanders even making the final. But of course, he went ahead and broke the bike course record and even led the final for a brief period.
In the end, he finished 38 seconds back from first, but his gritty performance certainly gained the respect of the short-course athletes.
We’ll leave you with this video that captures one of the most intense/scary pain faces we’ve seen!
HERE COMES LIONEL
👉
#AGTMontreal 🇨🇦 @worldtriathlon
— Super League Triathlon (@SuperLeagueTri)
Feb 26, 2023
FAVOURITES
🏃♀️ Women’s series: USA Triathlon has announced the formation of its Women’s Series, and the 15 multisport events that are women-focused. The series has events across the U.S. and runs from April to October. USA Triathlon is also offering various incentives for events that want to be included in the series. [Endurance Sportswire]
🍷 Alcohol and sleep: Some people think having a drink before bed helps them sleep. But does it really? According to sleep expert Matthew Walker, definitely not. Walker sits down with neuroscientist Andrew Huberman to discuss how alcohol really affects sleep. After watching this, we may be skipping a nightcap before a big training day! [Huberman Lab Clips]
🌟 Inspiring students: High schoolers Ayana Williams, Leticia DoNascimento, and Jayda Costa are inspiring triathletes. Read about how these young women are working hard to bring more people of colour into the sport of triathlon. [Triathlete]
👏 Jorgensen returns: Nicole Van Der Kaay and Ainsley Thorpe of New Zealand took first and second in this past weekend’s World Triathlon Taupo Oceania Cup. Rounding out the podium was none other than 2016 Olympic Gold-Medalist, Gwen Jorgensen. It was her first triathlon since the Olympics and the first event in her Paris Olympic qualification journey. [World Triathlon]
RACE PREVIEW
World Triathlon Championship Series: Abu Dhabi
About 100 days ago the World Triathlon athletes were finishing their season in the UAE. Now they’re back, ready to rip up the F1 track and kick off a big 2023.
Women: With the race being a sprint distance, there will be less opportunity for the faster swimmers to get away. But the new course is entirely on the F1 track and looks to be fairly technical.
We could see a smattering of small groups, similar to the WTCS Grand Final in Abu Dhabi last November.
Although Flora Duffy will not be racing, there are a few notable athletes to consider:
Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) will hope to get a strong start in her World Series campaign after a close second to Duffy in 2022.
Katie Zaferes (USA) will be making her return to racing after giving birth to her son Kimble. She will undoubtedly have fierce competition from fellow Americans Spivey, Kasper, Rappaport, and Sereno.
Lena Meißner (GER) had an incredible podium finish in Abu Dhabi and she will look to build on that to open the season.
Race start is Friday, March 3rd: 12:00 PM local time, 9:00 AM CET, 3:00 AM EST, 12:00 AM PST.
Men: The full podium from the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Final is in attendance, and look for World Champion Leo Bergere (FRA) to want to drive away from the field on the F1 track.
The fields are so deep these days that it’s usually seconds separating first through tenth. Jelle Geens (BEL) and Morgan Pearson (USA) are both class on the run and should be knocking on the door for the win.
Olympic medalists Hayden Wilde (NZL) and Alex Yee (GBR) are both racing. Both are also incredible runners, but they’ll need solid swims to ensure they’re ready for a podium fight.
Former World Champion Vincent Luis (FRA) will also look for a strong start ahead of his Paris Olympics campaign. Given fellow fish Henri Schoeman is racing these two will be flying from the gun.
Race start is Friday, March 3rd: 2:00 PM local time, 11:00 AM CET, 5:00 AM EST, 2:00 AM PST.
Enter to win a pair of racing shoes
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AWESOME
Really awesome to see multiple Ironman Champion, Ben Hoffman, teaming up with fellow American Owen Cravens on his journey to the 2024 Paralympics. No doubt these two will be ones to watch on the Paratriathlon circuit!
EXCLUSIVE TEMPO EXPERT ANALYSIS
Scott Tindal on eating properly for Ironman training.
Simple strength training for a breakthrough Ironman.
The four most common nutrition mistakes with Registered Dietician Meghan Stock.
Performance psychologist Alex Auerbach on why you should celebrate the small wins.
Are you an expert and would like your thoughts to be featured in The Tempo? Fill out this form and we will be in touch shortly!
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