What's on Tap at Challenge Roth

Good morning everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend, training, football watching, or otherwise. On Sunday I had a big run workout that I knew was going to hurt, but I wanted to challenge myself so I took out the first interval pretty hard. Suffering quickly ensued, but I tried to remind myself I was lucky to be out there training which helped shift my perspective. And although there was no Mahomes-esque comeback on the interval times, it was still a good workout.

In this edition we've got:

• A breakdown of the insane Challenge Roth start lists 🤯

• Science shows that fast food may be good for recovery 🥡

• And what does a crime triathlon look like? 🏴‍☠️

Thank you for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, Canadian Olympic triathlete, current long course racer, and now, a newsletter writer.

Have a triathlete in your life who can't stop swimming, biking or running? Fire this off to them. Did someone forward this to you? Join for free.

ONE BIG THING

World Championship-Quality Fields on Tap for Challenge Roth

What is it: The start lists for the men's and women's elite races at Challenge Roth were recently announced, and with a who's who of champion athletes, it is shaping up to be the race of the summer, and possibly all of 2023.

Previous Ironman World Champions who headline the race include:

• Chelsea Sodaro

• Anne Haug

• Daniela Ryf

• Patrick Lange

• Sebastian Kienle

Other notables are Ben Kanute, Magnus Ditlev, Joe Skipper, Sam Laidlow, Lisa Norden, Ruth Astle, and Laura Philipp.

Why it matters: Known for its festival atmosphere and incredible crowds with hundreds of thousands lining the course, there is no doubt that the Challenge Roth elite race will produce compelling drama. The women's race is essentially a World Championship-caliber event, and it will be notable if an athlete is able to break Haug's three-year Roth winning streak.

• The men's race will be an absolute battle and previous champion Ditlev will have to fight off slew of known athletes like Lange and relative unknowns like Kanute.

Tempo's take: We're just going to go right ahead and clear our calendars on June 25th. Looking at these start lists, it's clear that this race is going to be a classic. Given there is no shortage of races on the calendar, the fact that Challenge was able to get these athletes to commit early, is truly a gift for the fans.

• Anne Haug and Magnus Ditlev both received massive Professional Triathletes Organization (PTO) points from their wins at Challenge Roth in 2022.

• This resulted in a significant boost to their 2022 PTO bonus money.

No doubt these pros want to compete in an iconic event, but the incentive from the "Roth PTO points arbitrage" cannot be denied, and surely didn't hurt their decision to compete. Other athletes who won't be in attendance may lose out, but this race will certainly be a win for the fans.

NEWS

💵 Challenge cash: In a few days, the pro athletes will hit the start line at the incredibly beautiful, Challenge Wanaka. It is the first leg of the Challenge Family Pro Athlete World Bonus which will see $125,000 (USD) split between the top five overall men and women in the series. Athletes will count their six best Challenge/Clash races towards the bonus. [Challenge Family]

🏃‍♀️ Track attack: Steeplechase Olympian Colleen Quigley made her highly-anticipated triathlon debut over the weekend at the Tritonman Triathlon. After exiting the water in 19th position she was able to move through the field and took the win with a dominating run. Although she says she won't be competing in another triathlon till the fall, our bets are on a reappearance sooner rather than later. [Instagram]

📜 Coaching creds: World Triathlon has announced new coaching revalidation opportunities for those who wish to retain their credentials. The two opportunities include the revalidation of pre-2014 credentials and the revalidation of post-2014 credentials. Completion of revalidation will enable coaches to continue on the World Triathlon Coaching Pathway. [World Triathlon]

🌲 Maine event: Ironman 70.3 Maine will be returning to Augusta and the Kennebec River on Sunday, July 30th. Athletes will ride their way through the gorgeous Maine countryside and finish in front of the historic State Capitol building. The athletes will definitely deserve a lobster roll after this one! [B98.5]

TRAINING THOUGHT

Fast Food for Good Recovery?

As athletes, we always want to try to do our best to train hard and fuel our bodies right. The idealized, perfect-Instagram-photo version of training right looks like the timed post-run smoothie, with the optimized amount of micro, macro, and nano nutrients. But reality is actually hitting McDonald's in your sweaty bike gear and finishing your fries before exiting the drive-thru. We've all been there...

Thankfully, those bags of fries may be just as effective as a highly refined sports nutrition product. According to a study done in the Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, the findings suggest there is no difference between fast food and sports nutrition products for post-training glycogen recovery and overall exercise performance.

• 👉 11 male athletes completed two experimental trials.

• 🚲 They completed a 90-minute glycogen depletion ride followed by a 4-hour recovery period.

• 🍟 The athletes were given similar carb/protein/fats as either sports nutrition or fast food after the depletion.

• 🩸 Blood samples showed no difference in blood glucose or insulin responses. And there was no difference in glycogen recovery across the diets.

Essentially, the results found that if you need to recover quickly from racing/training, and fast food is your only option, then don't feel bad about taking down those quick calories!

• A caveat is that this study was conducted in 2015. There may also be more effective ways of measuring something like this.

• But for now, be sure to take down that post-workout shake, protein or otherwise.

If you're interested in fueling for performance. Check out our previous nutrition articles including:

• Scott Tindal on eating properly for Ironman training.

• Registered Dietician Meghan Stock on the four most-common nutrition mistakes.

Are you an expert and want your thoughts featured in The Tempo? Fill out this form and we'll get back to you ASAP.

FAVOURITES

☯️ Transformation Tuesday: Ian Clark used to spend all of his days at his desk, and spent 40 years as a smoker due to the high pressure of his occupation. But once he retired he made a complete 180 and at 75 he is living his best fitness life. Read more about how he pivoted from cigarettes to smoking personal bests. [Metro.co.uk]

👮 Crimeathlon: Northern California police had quite the chase on their hands when a suspect they arrested went into full multisport mode. Micheal Oyarzo first fled by vehicle, but it broke down and he ran away. After finding a (motor) bicycle he continued to flee until police found him. For his final effort, he swam across the Sacramento River before being apprehended. We can't wait to see this file on Strava! [97x]

🧪 Lactate city: In the latest episode of Chasing Triathlon, pro triathletes Andre Lopes and Rachel Olsen take us through their pre-season testing. The video is a great primer on the technical aspects of testing, the protocols, and the goals of metabolic and lactate testing. Some great learnings in this video and a unique perspective from pro triathletes!

Are you interested in reaching our triathlon and Ironman audience? Contact us today.

EXCLUSIVE TEMPO INTERVIEWS

• Strength training you NEED for a breakthrough Ironman.

• Performance psychologist Alex Auerbach on why you should celebrate the small wins.

• How Rod Mackinnon manages his startup life and triathlon goals.

• In 2023, what is the state of the sport? Good! According to race director, Mark Wilson.

COMMUNITY QUESTION

In keeping with our story on post-recovery, we want to hear from the Tempo community - what's one post-recovery food you can't live without? Let us know and we could feature it in the newsletter.

LATEST EDITIONS

• Inclusivity and shoe ban among new Ironman rules. Plus does the menstrual cycle affect performance?

• Triathlons top earners in 2022, and strength training for a breakthrough Ironman.

• All eyes on Jake Birtwhistle, and the four most common nutrition mistakes.