Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon 2010

Picture perfect day in Frankfurt. Great marathon conditions on Sunday had me hope for a sub 2:50 time untill I hit the 30km mark. You always here these stories about people hitting the wall at the 30k, or 35k mark, but of course... I didn't think this going to happen to me:

Split       Zeit        Diff   min/km km/h
5 km    00:19:13   19:13  03:51   15.62
10 km  00:38:59   19:46  03:58   15.18
15 km  00:58:48   19:49  03:58   15.13
20 km  01:18:45   19:57  04:00   15.04
Halb    01:23:09  04:24  04:01   14.97
25 km  01:38:59  15:50   04:04   14.79
30 km  02:00:28  21:29   04:18   13.96
35 km  02:23:25  22:57   04:36   13.08
40 km  02:47:48  24:23   04:53   12.30
Netto  02:58:25  10:37  04:51   12.41

As you can see, it did happen to me!

However, I am more then happy with a sub 3 hour time and looking back at a great season 2010.
Sprint Triathlon State Champion & North-German Team Champion  
The marathon story is over for now and will focus on the 2. Bundesliga as well as Half Ironman in 2011.

Countdown #6420

4 days left… till Frankfurt Marathon and my last race of the season. Not sure what I can accomplish, but outside factors seem to be okay. Last few weeks of training were very good with a peak week that included 115 km and a Marathon relay race. As the defending champions of the Stadtpark Marathon Relay we were able to defend our title and improve our finishing time by another 4 minutes.

Personally, I was capable to pick up the third fastest time overall, which gave me great feedback of my latest progress. To follow the race and myself on Sunday you’ll be able to find a Live Ticker on www.frankfurt-marathon.com

Hannover Triathlon 2010

This is it! Not a parody on Michael Jackson, but the finish of my triathlon season 2010. Of course, all was set up to finish this year’s season in Clearwater, but it wasn’t meant to be, so it had to be Hannover Triathlon. Just like last year, I participated at the triathlon in the capital of Lower Saxony. My home territory and therefore hoped for a strong finish.

Once again, just like last year the swim course was a tap longer, as hardly anybody was able to manage a swim time under 20 minutes. I personally left the water in 6th place, feeling very good with the performance as I managed to swim next to Enno the entire time.

Once on the bike I had to crush the first two of five laps to make my way up towards the leaders. This took lots of energy, especially seeing the guys up front drafting more “than usual”. This was quite frustrating, but almost normal in these huge city races. Once starting the last lap it was Hendrik Becker and me taking the guys apart and really cranking a big gear. We clocked a bike time of 1:04:13 and 1:04:14 the fastest times of the day on the 42.5km course.

Second transition, my favorite of the year, was perfect once again and moved me into second place starting the run. However, motivation and strength was gone coming down the long stretch next to Lake Maschsee. It has been a long season, with hardly any good training weeks during the last month. Shouldn’t be an excuse but it was tough to keep a good pace and at the end I didn’t manage more than a 37:31 on the 10k run. Still had me finish in second place, as Christoph Busche 3rd place, ran out of distance with his 34:27 run split.

http://results.mikatiming.de/2010/hannover_tria/index.php?pid=list

All in all, a happy ending with a solid second place finish at my home race. Season has been a total success with the Team Championship Title, State Championship Title and several Top 3 finishes. Looking forward to pick up my run mileage over the next few weeks and finish the year with a good Marathon in Frankfurt at the end of October.

2. Bundesliga Nord 2011

With a second place finish in Bad Zwischenahn, Tri Michels Hamburg were able to secure their first place in the Regionalliga Nord 2010. Thanks Michels, for an unbelievable season. Looking forward to rock the Bundesliga 2011 with you. http://www.triathlon.de/tri-michels-hamburg-steigen-in-die-2-triathlon-bundesliga-nord-auf-22263.html

Regionalliga Güstrow

What a fantastic 3rd league race last weekend in Güstrow. We arrived as one of three leading teams and left as sole leader. An unbelievable team effort as three of us finished the race in the Top 10.

 

Since I had a tough time on the run here last year, I planned on an easy bike and strong run finish.
Well, all turned out different as Andreas Raelert showed up for the race and had a good one minute lead after the swim. Once again I couldn’t ease on the bike and tried to catch Raelert (left). With this goal in mind we both arrived transition 2 together, fastest bike split and well motivated for a strong run.

Another fast transition put me in first place starting the flat 10k run. Of course, I couldn’t hold on to this position with Raelert coming from behind and taking over the lead with more than 9.5k left. At the end I had a tough time keeping the initial pace of 3:30 per kilometer, but still managed a 36 minute run and a solid 4th place finish.

With one race left in this year’s Regionalliga season, I feel confident that we have the power to win the team standing and move up to 2. Bundesliga for 2011. Individually, I have finished in 6th, 3rd and 4th place this Regionalliga season and hope for another podium finish in Bad Zwischenahn in two weeks.

Ironman 70.3 Antwerp

It's been exactly 2 weeks since Antwerp and it took me those 14 days, to realize and understand the outcome. I didn't achieve my anticipated goal, still had a great race and personal best.


All started with a chilly and rainy morning just outside of downtown Antwerp. As expected in all Ironman events, they found a cold spot in the lake and made the 1,9k swim wetsuit legal. Of course, not my personal preference, but that shouldn't really matter during a half ironman. So, started right at 11:05am with a super quick swim, but lost the first group of about 5 guys nearly minutes after the start. At the end, I formed my own chase group and tried to keep the time loss as small as possible. 25:03 seemed a good swim time for myself, but apparently not fast enough for the competition in my age group.

Finally, on the bike I felt more comfortable and tried to push towards the age group leaders. However, nobody insight during the first half on the bike, wasn't even sure if I was on the right course. Coming to the end of the second loop, which was flat but super windy and riding towards downtown Antwerp, I was able to catch the top women pros and a few male pros. At the end I clocked a 2:17:04, which equaled an average of 40km/h on this 92 kilometer long course.

Of course, I could’ve pushed it a little harder, but the tactic was more than clear before: “it’s all about the run” and a possible Clearwater spot can only be reached with a run time sub 1:25. Transition two seemed quit long before the race, but that was probably my best performance to that time, as I managed the second fastest transition of all 1,400 athletes.

Start of the 3 lap run felt very good and the atmosphere around the course was fantastic. I’ve to say this was probably the nicest and most excited Ironman 70.3 and especially run course that I have ever done. Very flat, lots of turns and a huge crowd made me find a good rhythm very quickly. For the first time I raced without a watch, solely listened to my body and I knew this was good as I managed to gain a few spots during loop two.

Last 5k seemed very much in control as I was able to catch a few more guys, as well as the women leader and another male pro. The finish was across the beautiful city hall in the middle of old downtown Antwerp. My run time of 1:23, personal best at a half ironman, placed me in 24th position overall. Well, you would have thought that this will be enough to catch a spot for Clearwater in the AG 25-29, but… that wasn’t the case today.

Only 6th place in my age group, with 3 spots up for grasp had me fail my initial goal today. However, a final time of 4:08:30, 6 minutes faster than Clearwater last year made me very happy and believe that I will come back even stronger next year. I was roughly 2:30 minutes short of a spot for Clearwater, I’ll jump that goal of Top 3 and look forward breaking 4:00 hours next.

Countdown to Ironman 70.3 Antwerp

Just 5 days left until Ironman 70.3 Antwerp and my only shot at a qualification spot to worlds in Clearwater this November. All work has been done and tapering has started last Sunday. All in all, preparation was great with a few wins earlier this season and a general improvement in every discipline.
As of right now the weather outlook for Antwerp looks perfect with a little rain and temperatures around 20c. Start will be on Sunday at 11am and as usual you can follow everything at ironman.com – Bib Number 207

Tour de Wendland 2010

Preparation for Antwerp couldn’t have been any better, with a 4th place finish at the Tour de Wendland last weekend. Special thanks goes to the organizers from IGAS Wendland who made this 3 Stage Road Race a unique and great experience. Tour started off with a 50 km, 25 lap Kriterium in the city of Lüchow. As this was my first Krit I took every advice from my coach and Horst to ride a successful, but safe race. Few laps into the race I felt good and took a chance with a rider from the Sakils Team for an escape, but this dint last long as the peloton kept us well in reach.

All in all, nobody had the guts or strength for a successful breakout. It came to a mass sprint where finished in 14. Place and a deficit of 6 seconds.

Second stage 140 km tour, 7 laps through the country side, along the Elbe, with two climbs per lap, a total of 14 ascents. However, it wasn’t the hills, more the weather that played a key role in this stage. 36c, blue sky and sun made this a dramatic heat battle and tough, very tough race on Saturday. It was my goal once again to stay in the peloton and keep my deficit at under 1 minute going into the time trial on Sunday. All worked out fine, going through 80 km I was still in the main peloton feeling fresh and confident. Coming to the last 50 km the heat got me and I had a tough time following the group, it was a real battle to get back in the peloton, after I lost them on pretty much every climb through the last two laps.
At the end, I got back into the lead group coming up to the final 1000m and final climb. I finished in 21st place, 7 seconds off the winner and stayed in 14th place overall, with an overall deficit of 8 seconds.

So, all called for a dramatic final stage as the top 20 riders were within 60 seconds after the second stage. The scene was set up for a 20 km Time Trial on this same course that we had to ride seven times on Saturday. Therefore, it wasn’t just an all out 20 km race, but also some tactic came into consideration, as you had two climbs at the 12 km and 19 km mark. They had the riders go off every 60 seconds, so I felt very confident as I managed to pass two guys half way through the race, as I knew they have started 1 and 2 minutes ahead of me. However, riding into the wind on the rolling terrain I wish I could’ve stroked another, just one harder gear. Coming into the hills, I felt strong and managed to push a good gear up the climbs. At the end I managed a 28:57, 8th fastest time of the day, which moved me into 4th place overall.
All in all, great organized event for any road racer and triathlete. This was a great motivational boost coming down to the last 3 weeks of preparation for Ironman 70.3 Antwerp.
http://www.igaswendland.de/2010/tdwgesamt10.html

2. GHI Itzehoe - Regionalliga Event

A great weekend came to an end with a 3rd place individual finish at the second Regionalliga Event in Itzehoe. All started with a Swim & Run on Saturday to determine the team times for a pursuit sprint triathlon on Sunday. This format called for a exciting and super fast race on both days.
We, Tri Michels Hamburg, did finish in third place on Saturday and had a time deficit of 56 seconds to Triabolos Hamburg and 25 seconds to Hannover 96 going into the Sprint on Sunday.

We arrived well rested and much better prepared in Itzehoe on Sunday morning, looking for a Top 3 finish. So, we waited anxiously on the beach while the first team and then the second team went off in the water. Finally, 56 seconds after the lead team we were allowed to jump into the water and chase the first two teams. It was Freddy taking the lead with Bruno and myself right behind to take advantage of the position in the back. Once we hit the turnaround buoy I went by Bruno to give him a breather and have him rest behind me. All worked out excellent as we three came to transition with only few second apart. Enno and Christian also stayed close by and managed about the same swim time.

So, once we left the water it was all over with the team competition – no drafting and no more team work was allowed. I managed a quick transition, best of the year, to jump a few spots before the bike leg and started the chase of the top swimmers of the other teams, as well as Jan Raphael from Hannover 96. First ride with my new Hawk Racing bottom bracket, so I was excited to see what it might do for me. Much quicker than usual I was able to find a good rhythm and push a big gear. Within the first of two laps I jumped into third position, just behind Winkler (North Germany’s Time Trial Champion) and Jan Raphael (Ironman Florida winner). Finishing the second lap, I lost a little ground to Winkler, but managed to keep about the same distance, even closed the gap by 11 seconds to Jan Raphael. Once I hit transition I was able to see Jan and Winkler just leaving. Therefore, I tried to focus on another quick transition, to be able to close the gap as soon as possible.

Of course, it was a little unrealistic to close the gap to Jan, but a second place was insight. Winkler was still 30 seconds in front as I passed by the first turnaround after 2 kilometers. His second place came to an end at the 3.5k mark as I managed to close the gap. However, it wasn’t just me, also Lukas Kampkötter from Hannover 96 came from behind. We ran and had a short fight for second which he won with about 700 meters to go. His run split of 16:35 was the fastest of the day and gave him a good second place finish behind Jan Raphael. I did hold on to the podium and finished in third with a 17:22.

All in all, this was probably my best performance of the year, 6 seconds behind Lukas and 1:23 behind Jan, who both started for Hannover 96 and therefore had an advantage of 25 seconds starting the swim. Coming up are four weeks of hard training for the 70.3 qualifier in Antwerp. During this training I will participate in the Tour de Wendland, 3 day road-race event and put a big focus on my run performance.

http://www.stgk.info/Ergebnisse/2010/13/rl-m.pdf

Stadtpark Triathlon Hamburg - State Championships

Just one week after the weak run performance in Vierlande, everything was set for the Sprint Triathlon State Championships in Hamburg. I felt much better the morning of the race then last week, maybe it had something to do with the 15c temperature change since then. We are back to standard summer temperatures here in northern Germany.

The swim consisting of two 250m loops with a steep climb back to the transition was key for a good placement today. Several good swimmers were in the field and I hoped for some fast feet. Well, it all came different once again, as I couldn’t hang on with a 60 second opening 100 m. Around the first buoy I’ve dropped about 20 meters, back in 5th place.

I managed a 5th position out of the water, but the distance increased to roughly 45 seconds to the leading group. My transition was a little better than last week, but still far away from excellence.

So, starting the 5 loop 20k bike in 5th position I felt pretty confident to reach at least the top 3 after the bike. It was a fast and super course, with each lap consisting of 2km head-wind and 2km down-wind. I pushed a hard gear and felt strong all the way through, as I managed to hold my aero position the entire time and hydrated much better than last week. Once again I clocked the fastest bike split and moved into third position coming off the bike. Still in transition I passed Mathias Heineke, who had a superb swim and controlled a good bike.

I started the flat and fast 5k run in second place, with Andre Stübs just 20 seconds in front. It helped mentally to have him right before me, but my run felt 100% changed to last week. I was able to push a pace of about 3:20 per kilometer and controlled the distance to Andre well. With 2k into the run I had managed to pick up Andre and ran right next to him. You could tell running side by side that we didn’t know each other and nobody wanted to push the pace to early. So, we cruised a long, with Mathias coming closer and closer, probably wondering what was going on in front of him. Once we reached the 3k mark I knew I could try to attack as I felt well rested and strong enough to push a 3:20 again for the last 2k. I accelerated around a corner and Andre was obviously surprised, or exhausted has he didn’t have anything to answer.

Winning this race and coming to the finish in 57 minutes with a controlled 17:40 run felt amazing! State Champion feels huge, but the run performance feels even better coming of the weak performance just a week before. This motivational boost should help myself, but also the entire team for this weekend’s Regionalliga Sprint Triathlon in Itzehoe.

Trionik Vierlande Triathlon - Regionalliga

Finally, after several months of training, training and more training it was time for the first triathlon of the season. Vierlande Triathlon, just outside of Hamburg, wasn’t only my first of the year, but also the start into the Regionalliga North for our team. Well prepared and with the goal in mind to start in the 2. Bundesliga next year, we were all ready to go.


Of course, Hamburg’s weather was once more a disaster, but we all could have expected that. Still cold temperatures leading up to the race made us believe of a shorter swim, or even a duathlon.
However, it all came different and we had the hottest day of the year with temperatures above 30c degrees.

So, it was all set for an Olympic Distance race with a 1,5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run. I found a good rhythm during the swim and was able to stick in the second swim group until the last buoy.
Somehow I lost the orientation just a little and got slightly of course. Not as bad as expected, but still dropped about 20 seconds to this group leaving the water in just over 20 minutes.

Still in transition I saw the swim group and knew that the race wasn’t lost yet.
Transition itself was a little rusty, hope this will get better as the season progresses. Just a few kilometers on the bike I was able to pick up Freddy and Bruno, who managed to finish the swim with this second group. Once I passed these guys I had a tough time getting away, as about 10 riders formed a group just behind. I stayed close to this pack almost to the 20 k mark, as I decided to try a breakaway.

It took about 10 hard kilometers to reach the second and third guy that were pushing a hard pace and working of each other. With a few kilometers to the transition I dropped these guys to give myself a good position for the run. Entering transition in second place, clocking the fastest bike split of the day, just 20 seconds behind Ulf Bartels gave me and our team a good position.

Starting the hot run I tried to focus on a good and solid pace, which I should’ve been able to hold during the run. However, it all came different and I couldn’t even hold this “controlled” pace, as the heat and conditions killed me. My pace dropped rapidly and I lost position by position. At the end it was a 7th place, definitely not the best start into the season as hydration was my weakest link.

Tri-Michels Hamburg finished this first Regionalliga Race in first place, with Freddy in 10th, Bruno 11th and Ben in 21st position. Next team race coming up on June 19th and 20th in Itzehoe.

1. Tri Michels Swim & Run State Championship

It’s been a while since my last update and I still owe you a race report from last week’s race in Oberursel.

I finished Duathlon Elite Nationals in 37th place, didn’t have a perfect race, but it was a great experience to race next to Norman Stadler, Hasi & Co. for at least a few miles.

This weekend was supposed to be a confident booster with the 1. Tri Michel Swim & Run over 800m swim and a 5k run. This race was also set to be the State Championship.

All started with a very cold swim in the 50 meter Poseidon Bad just a few miles from home. Temperatures around 3c degrees in the morning, with a max of roughly 10c degrees later made it a hard and slow(er) competition. Water temps at 19c degrees felt much better then air temperature, but still very cold without a wetsuit.

I started the swim with Hendrik and another competitor in lane 7, right next to our current State Champ and some very fast swimmers that were expected to swim sub 10 minutes this morning.
Once the gun went off my goggles fogged up so I had a tough time hitting the turns on the right spot from the get go. However, my swim felt great, especially the first 200m ;-) but all in all I found a good rhythm very quickly and was able to push a good pace through the 800m. I didn’t expect to be in the top 5 after the swim, really just hoped to keep the distance to leaders to less than two minutes.

At the end I finished the swim in 10:52, 6th place and 1:03 minutes behind the leader and less than 1 minute behind last year’s state champion. Everything still seemed possible after the swim and nothing was lost yet.

Just about one hour after the swim, organizers started the 5k run, which was set up as a pursuit, with the fastest swimmer leading the way. This had me starting in 6th position, looking good to finish on the podium, as this was a two loop run where you were able to see your competitors most of the time. Just in time for the run, we had a few rain drops coming down, really making this a cold, very cold race. 5k meant an all out run and therefore I clocked a 3:10 on the first 1000 meters. It felt very hard, but I was able to pick 4 spots on the first loop and cut the lead by half going into the last lap. Great support on the course pushed me even harder and I could see Hauke, last year’s champ, getting slower and slower. Once I hit the last turnaround, with 1,25k to go he had about a 20 second lead.

With less than 400 meters to the finish line I was able to reach Hauke, on top of the bridge and pass him right away on the run down. Once we hit the bottom of the bridge, with two more turns and less than 200 meters to go, he came up right next to me a started a huge sprint. I tried, but couldn’t answer his attack coming around the last corner. Unbelievable quickness and a very smart race by Hauke, being able to run on the inside lane in the last turn.

2nd place and second fastest run time in 16:17 was still a good result, coming of the weak performance at Duathlon Nationals.

http://www.tri-michels.de/joomla_1.5/images/sar/ergebnisse/2010_Standard_Gesamt.pdf

Congratulations two all finishers and the organization crew for a very successful first event. Looking forward to race here again in 2011. All in all, I feel very confident for the upcoming triathlon season in northern Germany, with my win at the Duathlon in Scheeßel and a 2nd place here at the Swim & Run. Looking at two more hard training weeks, with a 4 day bike camp and a run focus until we start of the Regional Liga season on June 6th in Hamburg.

4. Dodenhof Duathlon Scheeßel

1st place and a dramatic run over the last 5k made this a promising outlook for the upcoming season.

Never new that a sprint duathlon can be this exhausting, but it’s the morning after the race and I feel worse then Clearwater in November.

All started with a nervous warm up about an hour before the race, as this was the first ride on my new Quintana Roo and the new Hawk Racing wheels. With this long and hard winter I havent really had a chance to try the new ride, as all of the few training rides were on the road bike in preparation for German Nationals in three weeks. However, the first 15 minutes on the bike felt great, good position, awesome sound and my run performance over the last weeks improved regularly.

So, right at 2 pm started the race over 5k/20k/5k with a lap on the track, then turning more into a cross country course through and around the country side of Scheeßel. I placed myself in the lead group, next to Andreas Reinert, last year’s winner and most likely this year’s favorite. After the first two kilometers it was five of us in the lead group, with both, last year’s winner and runner up in the pack. We came back to transition and I was able to clock the fastest run split as none of the others seemed to be the one taking the lead on the following bike segment.

My transition was horrible and I had a tough time closing my helmet, felt like Chris McCormack at Ironman Hawaii 2007, so that I started the bike in fourth position. It didn’t take long to pick up the pace and charge for the lead on this short 20k, but windy and slow course. Just a few kilometers into the race it was Reinert, Reimann (last year’s runner up and 41st at Ironman Hawaii) and myself pushing for the lead. None of us were able to breakaway, even though Reimann pushed the pace on the second loop.

Therefore, it was three of us coming back into T2 chasing for the lead on the final 5k run. Reinert changed the quickest and pushed for the lead, followed by myself and Reimann. Once we passed the 1k mark it was only two of us left, as Reinert dropped the pace - settling for third place. Coming down to the last 3k it was Reimann and myself running shoulder on shoulder until I was able to get in front with about 500m to go. Reimann stayed right behind and it came to an exciting finish over the sandy last 100 meters. At end I was super exhausted, but very happy - finishing just 5 seconds in front!


Great motivational boost, which should help to focus on the upcoming Duathlon Nationals in 3 weeks!
http://www.stgk.info/Ergebnisse/2010/15/Duathlon-gesamt.pdf

XC Race & Giro Nortorf

An all in all successful weekend came to an end! After two great events and a good training session I've to label this the most effective training weekend of the year, so far. All started with a good 90km training ride through Hamburg's country side on Saturday morning . Every protagonist, or maybe just me, tried to ride a little more self-protective then usual to keep some energy for the upcoming 12km cross country race in the afternoon. However, we kept the pace to a good GA1 ride and even a little more on the final hill coming back into town.

After a good 2 hour break and a couple 1000 carbohydrates I was back on the starting line at the second of last Cross Country Race of the 2010 BSV Series. This time it was my goal to stay behind Hasi! No more wild efforts to chase the leaders, or any brainless attacks!

Just follow Hasi on this 12km race and finish strong in the Top 10. Following, not really my strength, but due to some motivational help I was able to stay behind the above mentioned athlete and "only" stroked him twice in his calf while following.

Yet, just before the last lap with about 3.5km to go I lost the group and dropped into fourth place. Strong rain and a muddy ground described my overall well being at this moment quite good. However, I was able to finish within field of vision to Hasi (2nd) and the 3rd place finisher in a good fourth place.

Just about 18 hours later – My first proper road race was scheduled in Nortorf, about an hour north of Hamburg. It was once again Hasi, who scheduled this event as well as our tactic. Placement shouldn’t matter to me, just a strong workout and good practice for the upcoming Duathlon Elite National Race on May 1st .

The race over 4 laps, each about 11km of length started quite hectic with many attacks and an all in all very chaotic field. To me all this was new, so I tried to stay out of trouble, but as close as possible to Hasi. We achieved a small breakaway with two other competitors, but couldn’t hold the lead as one of the riders wasn’t willing to work at all. This didn’t seem to bother me at all, because I was more than fine to stay in the mix of the large field. Just during the second loop it was Hasi one more time who was able to breakaway by himself and start the chase of the small lead group of three riders. He caught the guys within 3km and the peloton with a deficit of about 60 seconds wasn’t able to direct a pursue. At the end Hasi (2nd) vanished the sprint to a sluggish rider who hardly worked during the last lap and I managed a 19th place in the main peloton. Considering that we rode outdoors twice this year and didn’t visit a cycling camp in Spain or other warm destinations this year, this result was a great success for both of us!

So far for now, looking forward to 5 days im Schwabenland and some good strong hours on the bike. Next test coming up at the Duathlon in Schessel April 10th.

WASA Lauf Celle

First fitness test and team qualifier of the season at the 10k race in Celle. As we were all excited and motivated to get the season started, I couldnt help to overpace during the first 2k. Definatley strange to see Hasi start behind me, but everything was back in order when we crossed the finish line:
11. 34:18 min. Michael Haas
17. 35:04 min. Thilo Fiedler
23. 36:06 min. Frederick Tychsen
41. 37:42 min. Enno Houtrouw
All in all, a very good start with some fast times even though we havent had any speed workouts, with the long and hard winter in northern Germany.

New Ride 2010 - QROO CD 0.1

What a dream bike!!!

Thanks to the crew from Laufrad-Hannover - Dan, Matthias and Alexander. First pictures taken in the store this afternoon, after Alexander has done an amazing job of matching this years fastest frame with the best group on the market - check out the rear brake! Few more highlights, such as an original Team CSC Titan Speedplay pedale (red) and Sram Hawk-Racing bottom bracket (red) following later next week.  

New Sponsors 2010

I know - I've abandoned my blog for some time and I am truly sorry for such a huge delay!

Ok - to get you all up to speed, I'm very happy to have signed with a few sponsors for 2010. My biggest leap for this season came with an agreement with Hawk Racing and Laufrad Hannover. I am very happy and proud to be a part of those great companies -
Thanks to Sven at Hawk-Racing and Dan at Laufrad Hannover.

I will ride and race the new Hawk-Racing 85mm wheels and Hawk-Racing bottom bracket this season. Further on, I have had my inital fitting at Laufrad Hannover for my new Quintana Roo CD 0.1 last week. Its put together this week with a full Sram Red package, as well as the new and amazing R2C shifters. Ready for pick up and the first ride next week - if the weather turns friendly!

Coming up this weekend is the first 10km test of the season at the WASA Lauf in Celle - as this is a first qualifier for our Tri Michels Team its going to be a true battle!  Expect an update with pictures and results on Sunday. 

  

XC Race Sülldorf - Blankenese

You wouldn't call it perfect conditions to run on snow and ice in -8C degree weather, but it was time for the first XC Race of the new season, 5. Stage of Hamburg's XC Series. Lower back pain over the last 3 days didn't make the decision to run any easier, so I wasn't even sure about a start 20 minutes before. Three loops, each of 3,1km with some steep uphills and very slippery patches called for a dangerous, but exciting race.

I started the first loop in the third chase group to check my health and not overpace. With an 11:36 for the first loop and still lots of energy left, I tried to pick up a few spots and seconds during the second and third loop. Conditons didn't get any easier with more and more runners on the tight course. However, I managed to keep the same distance to the front group, with Hasi about 30 seconds ahead. At the end it was a 10th place in 35:01 and solid start into the running season. Hasi finished in 6th place with a 34:26 (1st runner without spikes) and Enno manged a quick 37:36 for a good 21st place.
I'm looking forward to figure out this back pain, as well as a little flatter XC course in 3 weeks!!!