Super League Hires Ahead of North American Expansion

Good morning everyone,

After this week’s earlier snow scare its nice to see most of it melted. Time to get outside on the bike and enjoy the decent weather while I can!

In today’s edition:

• 🚀 Super League Triathlon hires ahead of massive North American expansion

• 🍩 Scientific barriers of carb consumption are being destroyed.

• 👷 And a guide on how to build meals for hard training days.

Thanks for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

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ONE BIG THING

Super League Triathlon Hires Ahead of Massive North American Expansion

What is it: Super League Triathlon has announced the appointment of Scott Nilson as its first US General Manager to lead its upcoming American expansion.

• Mr. Nilson recently spent the last eight years at the endurance obstacle race company, Spartan. 

• He has been brought on board to help launch Super League’s mass participation series that will begin in 2024, as well as support Super League in its forthcoming brand update.

Big investment: He’ll be taking on the role amidst a significant investment by Super League into the US market.

• In 2020, Super League made its first US acquisition of the long-running Malibu Triathlon.

• This was followed up by the significant and symbolic purchase of the Chicago and New York City triathlons from Life Time Fitness earlier this year.

Around the time of the purchase, Super League Triathlon CEO Michael D’Hulst alluded to their desire to “deliver mass participation events…and make short course racing cool again in the US.”

Fighting headwinds: Scott and the team will be looking to make a splash in an extremely competitive North American triathlon market with Ironman continuing to make investments in it’s

• Ironman continues to grow their 70.3 race portfolio with recent additions in New York, Louisville, Washington Tri-Cities, and Pennsylvania.

• The Challenge Family of races is simultaneously making a North American push with the recent announcement of 2024’s Challenge Cap Quebec.

Structural challenges: Upstart sports like gravel cycling, trail running, and (ugh) pickleball are all attracting investment and athletes away from multisport. According to the New York Times, USA Triathlon’s membership in 2019 has been in decline for over five years, and its largest age group was in the 45-49 category (extrapolated to now, 50-54).

• At the Chicago Triathlon, race finishers over the past number have years have been flat.

• And, according to an article in Bicycle Retailer, Life Time made $3 million from the sale of Chicago and New York, which were described as “two non-profitable” triathlons.

Tempo’s take: It’s certainly an exciting time for Super League to be launching head-on into the North American market. But how exactly are they going to be making short course racing cool again?

Well, their recently redesigned website gives some insight,

• The Triathlon Majors - Malibu, Chicago, New York City. Not a bad line-up when you think about it. Although a fourth event would tie the room together nicely.

So clearly, Super League has some challenges to overcome. The reality is the Olympic distance was once the king of the triathlon in North America, but has since lost the throne to the Ironman monopoly.

• But I wouldn’t bet against the team that fought tooth and nail to make this year’s event in Malibu even happen, oversee the successful event on Saturday, and make the red eye to be in New York City early Sunday morning to shake the hand of a certain newsletter editor before his race.

FAVORITES

🍞 Crushing carbs: There’s a big change when it comes to athlete energy output and it comes down to what people put in their bodies. Gels have improved, packing more calories, allowing athletes to push themselves faster than before. [Outside Online]

🏃 Stay healthy, get faster: If you're new to the concept of Body Weight Support, here's your crash course. BWS reduces the load on your body, speeds up injury recovery time, and improves endurance performance. Learn more on IG here.*

🍽️ What’s on your plate: Speaking of food, United States Olympic Committee Sport Dietitians have a handy diagram breaking down how to structure your meals during different levels of training. Be sure to eat your potatoes and bread!

🩸 Wound protection: A little ol cut or big ol wound, you need to prepare it for prolonged exposure to the pool when swimming. Preventing infection is key and larger wounds need to be treated differently than smaller wounds. [220 Triathlon

🎵 Champion playlist: Looking for a playlist to get you through a tough workout, or the impending indoor trainer season? Here’s a playlist of 39 songs that Lucy Charles-Barclay listened to on repeat ahead of her recent Ironman World Championship win. “Lose Yourself” is always good for a 30 watt bump! [Spotify]

*Sponsored post

REEL TIME

How much does it actually cost to go to Kona? This athlete’s breakdown of her Ironman World Championships experience is eye-opening.

marathon.princess

View more on Instagram

QUICK NEW

Breaking barriers: Hilary Baude is breaking down barriers when it comes to donating organs and competing in Ironmans. Now she’s teamed up with another kidney donor to do the 1K12M challenge, which is 12 marathons in a year with one kidney. [People]

Winner winner: It’s the Tri-Mag annual triathlon awards. You can vote now for the best products, people, and races now until November 7. The winners will be awarded on December 2, 2023. [Tri-Mag]

Team battle: 10+ teams will take to the race course at 70.3 Puerto Princesa for the Asia TriClub and Relay Championship on November 12. [News ABS]

Triathlon prince: Watch out racers, you could soon be racing with a prince. Prince William apparently told Olympic triathlete Non Stanford that his son Prince George has been trying out triathlons. May we suggest the prince read The Tempo for all his training tips? [Irvine Times]

Indigenous triathlon: The world's biggest indigenous triathlon event kicks off this weekend in Ahuriri, New Zealand. Dubbed IronMāori, the event expects around 3,000 people to participate. One of those is 52-year-old Te Wao, who’s had to balance 12-hour work days with training. Good luck to all participants! [Te Ao Māori News]

From Kincardine to Saugeen: Big changes over in Ontario, Canada. The Lakeshore Triathlon, which has historically been in Kincardine, is now moving to Port Elgin at Saugeen Shores. The entire community is excited about the event and participants have noted that the swim portion will be more sheltered than in the past. [The Owen Sound Sun Times]

RACE WEEKEND

Ironman Florida

A late-season race without the ease of a late-season field. When Ironman Israel was cancelled due to the Hamas terrorist attacks, many pro athletes decided to compete this weekend at the 25th edition of Ironman Florida.

Women’s race: Skye Moench (USA) and Jocelyn McCauley (USA) are both coming off strong performances at the Ironman World Championships and are the heavy favorites for the win.

• Don’t sleep on Alice Alberts (USA) as she’s had two solid Ironman wins this year at Lake Placid, and more recently at Ironman Maryland.

• Watch for India Lee (GBR) and Lauren Brandon (USA) to get away at the beginning of the race and try to keep the chasers out of sight. Either one could come away with a sneaky podium.

Men’s race: Magnus Ditlev (DEN) is the clear favorite in this race as he has the ability to absolutely tear the legs off the competition in the flat and fast bike course. Rudy Von Berg (USA) is coming off a top-5 at the Ironman World Championships and will be looking to take the home-country win.

• Other podium threats include Matthew Marquardt (USA), Denis Chevrot (FRA), and Gregory Barnaby (ITA).

• There are a couple of significant wildcards, including pro-cyclist/triathlete Cameron Wurf (AUS) and debut Ironman, Martin Ulloa (CHI).

Full start lists

Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos

Women’s race: Paula Findlay (CAN) is definitely the favorite to take the win. Her biggest competition should come from Jackie Hering (USA)

• Watch for Sara Perez Sala (ESP) will be pushing the pace in the swim and try to stay away for the rest of the day.

Men’s race: Jason West (USA) is the classic choice to take the win here. But after focusing on Olympic qualification for the past months, has he got the strength to hang with a hard-charging Jackson Laundry (CAN) on the bike?

• Marc Dubrick (USA) will be looking to get away in the swim, especially when folks like Thomas Rodriguez Hernandez (MEX) will be hunting on the run…

• And the return of Eric Lagerstrom should make this hot race even spicier!

Full start lists 

Pan-American Games - Santiago, Chile

Women’s race: The win was wide-open for the taking, and Lizeth Rueda Santos (MEX) grabbed the opportunity and took the biggest win of her career.

• Columbia’s Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto picked up a strong silver, while Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal completed the podium in third.

Men’s race: Diego Moya (CHI) looked to be the home crowd hero as he led out of the swim and ran with the leaders for most of the run, but in the end Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) outsprinted Matt McElroy (USA) and Crisanto Grajales (MEX) to take the biggest win of his career.

The mixed team relay will be contested on Saturday.

Full results

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