Shipping Fiasco Has Athletes Heading to Court

Good morning everyone,

On the weekend I had a bike/run training session that looked a bit scary on paper but I decided to just go for it and see what happened. It actually went slightly better than expected which was great. Definitely no records, but one of those workouts that you brings a little more confidence before the gun goes off.

In today’s edition:

• 😡 Shipping nightmare sees athletes lawyer up

• 🚶 Walk/run toward a new PB

• 🍮 And should you be taking gelatin?

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

TriBike Transport fiasco leaves athletes in brutal standoff

What is it: As reported by Triathlon Magazine Canada, shipping company Horizon Event Cargo is in possession of, and is refusing to release, 180 bicycles belonging to triathletes who competed in September’s World Triathlon World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.

• The issue comes down to a non-payment of US $319,731.27 from a long-time triathlon logistics company, TriBike Transport.

Horizon lawsuit: Within a lawsuit filed in California by the shipping company is the harsh reality that it could sell the bikes “at public or private sale or auction” unless it is paid by TriBike Transport.

Athlete’s agony: We spoke with an athlete who described the difficulty in dealing with this disaster.

• “Every day I have a pit in my stomach thinking about it sequestered away in that warehouse, likely rusting from the sweat, liquid nutrition dribble, salt water from the river swim. Then there’s the possibility of it hitting an auction house…”

A concerning development: In the past 24 hours, the athlete we spoke with said that the bikes have been moved from a warehouse in Chicago to Los Angeles - potentially to help provide leverage for the California lawsuit.

• For a full perspective of the TriBike Transport fiasco, check out our interview with an affected athlete below

How important is your bike to you, and how did you feel when realized it wasn’t coming back anytime soon?

I definitely don’t have the most expensive bike out there, but expense doesn’t directly equate with importance. I love my bike. I’ve had it for three years. I spend soooo many hours on it training, it feels like an extension of my body when I’m riding it. My fit is perfectly dialed, I have carefully chosen its modifications, and right before the race in Pontevedra, I got a really rad set of race wheels for it—my first set of race wheels that I’ve owned instead of renting or borrowing…

Obviously, when things started to take a turn, the initial feeling was like “oh, shit! This is actually really bad! We have to intervene!” and then we started to wrap our heads around what a mess things had become…

The sense of helplessness to really affect the situation right now contributes big-time. It’s not completely about the bike as an object. It’s also about the feeling of paralysis that comes with the legal complexity of the situation. It feels violating.

Read the rest of the interview and learn:

• When they first realized their bike was gone.

• How the athletes are fighting back.

• The brutal emotional toll of this experience.

FAVOURITES

🚴‍♂️ Cyclist to Ironman: Is the best male cyclist in the world - Mathieu van der Poel - about to compete in an Ironman? If he holds up the end of his bet with YouTuber Average Rob, then he’ll have to! [Global Cycling Network]

🛀 Chlorine-free hair and skin: Improving your swim requires many hours in the pool and, consequently, more potential damage. Let us take care of the health of your skin and hair while you put in the work in the water. Use TEMPO for 5% OFF on top of the 30% OFF TRIHARD sale.*

🧱 Solid foundation: Your extracellular matrix (ECM) is like steel bars that help reinforce your muscles, tendons, and bones. If it is strong, then you’re less likely to get injured. So will taking gelatin keep you healthy? You better believe it. [My Sports Science]

👟 Shoe savings: Your super shoes definitely make you faster. But for how long? According to a new study, after about 450km they’re no better than an un-supershoe! [Outside]

🚲 Elite equipment: Your bike might not be the latest model available, but that’s no excuse not to hit the start line as Britain’s Barry Marshall recently completed a half-Ironman on a 71-year-old steel-framed bicycle. His ride was definitely older than him! [Facebook]

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TRAINING THOUGHT

Run (and walk!) your way to better health and performance

What may seem to some athletes as compromising performance, the reality is adding walking to your run training can actually help improve your endurance, keep you injury-free, and might lead to your next PB.

What is it: The walk/run method is simply switching between running and walking at specific intervals. For example, instead of running for 45 minutes straight, it’s broken up into chunks alternating four minutes of running, and one minute of walking.

• It was popularized by marathoner Jeff Galloway, who, after dealing with chronic injuries started incorporating walking into his training. He went on to run a 2:16 marathon - while still taking walk breaks!

There are a number of key benefits of the walk/run method:

😃 Lower risk of injury - Alternating between running and walking distributes the workload across different muscle groups.

• This reduces the repetitive stress on specific joints and muscles and lowers the risk of overuse injuries.

💡 Reduced mental fatigue - Knowing you’ll be walking in a few minutes can provide a positive mental break and an opportunity to reset your focus and keep motivated.

🏃 Improved endurance - Run-walking can help you keep a more sustainable pace for a longer period of time and increasing endurance.

• By taking walk breaks, your body has the opportunity to clear metabolic waste which helps reduce fatigue and muscle soreness

🏇 It can improve race performance - Walking in a race might not sound right, but up steep hills, and during aid stations, it can actually be a performance enhancer, as explained in this video.

For beginners: For a beginner triathlete, incorporating the walk/run method can be an absolute game-changer in injury prevention and enjoyment. Beginning with a ratio of 2’/1’ as run/walk is a fine starting point. 

• You can then adjust based on how your body is feeling on that specific day. Feeling good? Run longer. Body not loving it? Run less!

A tool of the pros: It can be hard for the ego to allow us to stop and walk mid-run. But it’s a tool that pros have used for years to help them compete at the highest level!

• Here at the Tempo, we know Olympians, and World Triathlon Championship medalists, who’ve consistently incorporated walking into their training plans - with 8’ run/1’ walk being the standard.

• But 4’/1’ and 14’/1’ also make appearances depending on where they are at in the training cycle.

REEL TIME

Would be even funnier if it was his Zwift stream! 😆

irossman

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QUICK NEWS

Incredible Jade: Jade Kingdom is the fist woman with Down’s syndrome to complete a triathlon, and she’s raising money in the process. [220 Triathlon]

India triathlon: Accomplished triathlete Manmadh Rebba plans to set up a training center in Hyderabad. [Hans India]

Creating synergies: Synergy Wetsuits will be the exclusive wetsuit partner of USA Triathlon starting in 2024. [USA Triathlon]

European no-pen: As we reported recently, the PTO European Open will not be sanctioned as a European Championship. That honor will go to the European Triathlon Union event in Coimbra, Portugal. [Triathlon Today]

Surprise bill: USA Triathlon members may want to check their email, as a partnership with Outside ends they could be billed by surprise. [Slowtwitch]

Tragic loss: Our thoughts are with the family of Israeli triathlete Chen Yahalom who was tragically killed by a car while on a brief leave from active military service. [Israel National News]

WHAT YOU SAID

Here’s what Tempo readers said about whether they think pro triathletes are paid enough prize money.

RACE WEEKEND

Ironman Cozumel

The swim was cancelled due to rough seas, as Gurutze Frades Larrabe (ESP) took the women’s race while Leon Chevalier (FRA) rocked the bike/run to take the men’s win.

• Former Ironman Hawaii champion Sebastian Kienle finished fourth in hsi final race as a professional.

Full results

Ironman 70.3 Mossel Bay

Olympic medalist Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) continued his comeback tour with another win. Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) won her astonishing 20th 70.3 of her career.

Full results

Ironman 70.3 Fortaleza

Ellie Salthouse (AUS) and Martin van Riel (BEL) took home the trophies in Brazil.

Full results

LATEST EDITIONS

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• A false start for the PTO European Open, and are you getting enough protein?