Slowtwitch/Tri'live weekly newsletter
Dan Empfield
' L I V E 'N F A S T The Week of 18.09.00
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Bringing you highlights of what DID, and what's ABOUT to happen, in...
* triathlon-related news http://www.triathlonlive.com, and
* triathlon-related features http://www.slowtwitch.com.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: We'd like to welcome a few new partners to Slowtwitch
and Tri'live:
Carnac
GU
Profile
StarTrack
Kjerag.com
Eload
Ironman South Africa
Also, some of our partners are starting to send us splendid animated
banners that utilize Shockwave. If you get a funny note on your browser
that asks for a plug-in that your browser doesn't have, this is it.
You'll find it at http://www.shockwave.com. It's easy to install, very
turnkey (I did it without incident, that tells you how easy it must be).
Finally, we are off to Interbike tomorrow, and we'll be doing a little
coverage there, and much more expanded coverage upon our return. If
there's anything really cool at the bike industry's biggest trade show,
we'll tell you (and we do expect to see some cool stuff).
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********** NEWS **********
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YOU KNOW THE NEWS BY NOW: ONE SIMON WON, ANOTHER SIMON LOST
http://www.triathlonlive.com/thisweek.html#Anchor-Canada's-40038
If you couldn't pin down Canada's Simon Whitfield before the Men's
Olympic Triathlon -- but knew all about Britain's Simon Lessing --
you're not alone. You and 3 billion others got to watch the most
fantastic triathlon on earth -- ever.
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MEANWHILE, BACK HOME IN CANADA, EVERYONE's WOOING WHITFIELD
http://www.triathlonlive.com/today.html#Anchor-Back-63265
And you thought Lori Bowden and Peter Reid were big back in B.C. No,
Simon Whitfield has transformed triathlon in Canada, and the newspapers
can't write enough about this 25-year-old, fun-loving kid from Kingston.
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HOW SWITZERLAND'S MCMAHON SET THE OLYMPIC STANDARD FOR SURPRISES
http://www.triathlonlive.com/thisweek.html#Anchor-Brigitte-39010
The reason it was even possible for us fans to fathom an un-fancied
winner, when it came time for the men's race, was because Switzerland's
Brigitte McMahon had already done the unthinkable exactly 24 hours
before -- upset all the favorites.
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AS FOR THE AMERICANS IN SYDNEY -- "A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL"
http://www.triathlonlive.com/today.html#Anchor-American-42383
The women were fabulous: 4-6-13. The men were not so fabulous: 17-25-40.
The mixed results nonetheless made for plenty for everyone to write home
about. Ryan Bolton, for one, didn't have to -- he just made it on to the
Today Show with Katie.
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NOW FOR SOME KAREN SMYERS NEWS -- NO, SHE'S NOT RACING HAWAII
We only learned this yesterday, so you read it here first. Karen's got a
long road to recovery since her August 14 surgery for thyroid cancer --
and she had to make a decision about doing Hawaii. Answer: No. She'll
just have to come back and try to win that Isuzu (plus the 75,000 bucks
for first) next year.
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HEY -- WHO'S COACHING YOU NOW? KATHERINE WILLIAMS WANTS TO KNOW!
We've talked triathlon shops, we've talked tri clubs. Now it's time to
talk coaches. Who's coaching YOU? Katherine Williams wants to know, so
she doesn't miss any great tri coach who should be included in Triathlon
2001, a 500-page annual directory with 4,000 listings, all about the
sport. She'll take any answers, from anywhere in the world. E-mail
(mailto:kwil...@triathloncentral.com) -- and get some international
ink for your local (or Internet!) coach.
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********** FEATURES **********
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BUYING A BIKE
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/buyabike.html
This series on how to buy a bike continues with: "What about fit?"
"What parts are important," and "Frame materials."
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PALOMAR CHALLENGE
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/palomar.html
In the venerable IronSpirit of "Permit? I gotcher permit right
heeaaaah..." Slowtwitch/Tri'live did manage to cover the Olympics live,
but only because we got back in in the nick of time from the BIG race of
the day.
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SPASTIC GIRAFFE
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/swimcenter/masters.html
Face it, most new triathletes resemble a giraffe having a seizure once
they enter the water. The remedy? U.S. Masters Swimming.
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SNOW-SHOE THOMPSON
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/lifestyle/heroes.html#Anchor-snows
hoe
Our strange editor's odd list of long distance role models continues
with Snow-shoe Thompson.
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THE OLYMPICS AND TV VIEWERSHIP
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/opinion/viewers.html
Katherine Williams wrote this, Mark Allen wrote that, and dangit, we
just couldn't keep from throwing in our $.02 on the subject.
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RIVERS
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/opinion/mybackpage.html#Anchor-RIV
ERS-24324
Forget swimming in shark bay. Let's don our wetsuits and have a go at
that kayak water park.
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THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS, LINKS TO THEIR PAGES CAN BE FOUND ON MANY
TRI'LIVE AND SLOWTWITCH PAGES...
Cervelo
Aquaman
Seal Mask
Bicycle Sport
Primal Nutrition
Kal Kool Stuff
Computrainer
Inside Out Sports
Syntace
Kurt Kinetic
Carnac
GU
Profile
StarTrack
Kjerag.com
Eload
Ironman South Africa
...AND THANKS AS WELL TO THOSE WHO CARRY OUR NEWS ON THEIR SITES...
http://www.Kjerag.com.com
http://www.Triathletemag.com
http://www.RecSportTri.com
http://www.triathlete.com
http://www.trisite.com
http://www.yahoo.com
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Concerns, please contact either ...
Dan Empfield (mailto:slo...@slowtwitch.com) or
Katherine Williams (mailto:KWil...@triathloncentral.com) directly.
Larry Himmel
run-of-the-mill journalistic sensationalism but I had hoped the publisher was
above that. Very disappointing.
Larry
Dan Empfield wrote:
snip
>
> If you couldn't pin down Canada's Simon Whitfield before the Men's
> Olympic Triathlon -- but knew all about Britain's Simon Lessing --
> you're not alone. You and 3 billion others got to watch the most
> fantastic triathlon on earth -- ever.
snip
timhigdogspot1
>If you couldn't pin down Canada's Simon Whitfield before the Men's
>Olympic Triathlon -- but knew all about Britain's Simon Lessing --
>you're not alone. You and 3 billion others got to watch the most
>fantastic triathlon on earth -- ever.
Are you shitting me?
tim(dogspot1)
buaidh no bas
Dan Empfield
slater...@aol.comram2k (timhigdogspot1) wrote:
> Are you shitting me?
actually, i didn't write it. triathlonlive editor katherine williams
writes the "news" part of the newsletter, i write the "features" part.
now, as to whether i agree with her statement, i don't know. i'll have
to think it over. there are a few things going on all at the same time:
1. i don't much like the ITU, in general terms.
2. i don't like draft-legal racing, or, if a race was to be draft
legal, i'd prefer a 12% grade once every 4 laps, so that good cyclists
could have an actual chance to do something in the race.
3. i think that, in general terms, the hawaiian ironman is the feature
triathlon on the planet, and is so every year.
4. whatever i think about the ITU, it pales in comparison to the
contempt in which i hold the IOC.
5. yet, for all that, the olympic triathlon had the biggest viewing
audience ever, by a long, long way.
6. same thing when it comes to live spectators.
7. fabulous finish, unexpected surprise finish.
8. absolutely superb race direction/production.
9. the olympic organizers, and the ITU, regardless of what you and i
think of these two organizations, did a fabulous job of presenting
triathlon to the rest of the world -- and let's just forget about the
draft-legal thing for a minute; in all other ways it was a triathlon,
and these were triathletes.
if i -- as an insider -- was to pick a race that represents the best of
triathlon, the best of triathletes, the emblematic, archetypal, perfect
race, it was the '89 ironman. i watched the race in person, i followed
it on my bike, and i'll never forget that race.
but if you don't agree with katherine's assessment, i think the point is
at least arguable. what was "the most fantastic triathlon on earth --
ever"? i think it depends on how you measure it. race production?
athletic achievement? sheer scope? impact on the future of triathlon?
i'd have to say it's between the '82 IM with julie moss, '89 with mark
and dave, and this one. among these, it depends on your view. i think
i'd like to wait until john duke, tim carlson, and all those who've
followed all sides of the sport for a long time, get back from sydney,
and then ask them how this race stacks up historically against the other
races they've experienced.
slowman
timhigdogspot1
>> Are you shitting me?
>
>actually, i didn't write it. triathlonlive editor katherine williams
>writes the "news" part of the newsletter, i write the "features" part.
Katherine, are you shitting me?
<snip an interesting argument as to whether or not the olympic triathlon was
the most "fantastic" ever>
The fact that the olmpic tri was seen by many people (I question the 3 billion
#) and the fact that it was the first olympic tri ever give the argument some
merit I suppose. But then alot of people saw the match sprint also (also a
close come from behind race) and yet I can't imagine calling that the most
fantastic bike race ever. Of course the tri may have huge historical
implications (as far as Triathlon goes) but I do not consider this a good
thing). In 10 years if draft-legal racing has taken over the sport then
looking back on this race and calling it the most "fantastic" may be more
apropiate (this would be a very sad thing). Anyway I can see your argument but
very much disagree. Personally the first 3 races I considered where also 82
and 89, I also thought of the first IMH but not having seen it makes that a
difficult chioce.
tim(dogspot1)
buaidh no bas
Tom Henderson
> In 10 years if draft-legal racing has taken over the sport then
> looking back on this race and calling it the most "fantastic" may be more
> apropiate (this would be a very sad thing).
>
> tim(dogspot1)
> buaidh no bas
Does anybody really think draft legal could "take over?" We might see more of
these races, but IMHO they just aren't practical to replace the most common type
of race in our area, which is the sprint. The race I'm involved with has 800
participants, over a third of whom are doing their first tri. We start in 5-7
waves on a 1/3 mile swim, have an 18 mile out and back bike on a 2 lane (closed
for the race) road, and then a 5k run. If we converted this race to draft legal,
we'd probably kill somebody! I would think that's true for many races, so
non-drafting event will at least keep a foothold in the sprint distance events.
Whatcha think?
Tom
Dan Empfield
<hend...@pcola.gulf.net> wrote:
> Does anybody really think draft legal could "take over?"
i agree that it's not a likely threat. and, altho i now have no
financial interest in the matter, i still don't like the spectre of
draft-legal racing in our sport. we may be only 25-years-old, but a
tradition has developed, and we ought to take pride in it and keep it
going. that's in addition to the safety concerns.
although i don't break out in hives when i see a pro draft-legal event,
it also does not bother me to see people taking an over-the-top approach
in their vehemence against draft-legal racing. i might not always agree
with the sierra club's view, but i'm glad they're out there
counter-balancing big oil, big timber, big development, etc. i don't
know if we'd be quite as safe from draft-legal age-group racing if it
wasn't for the more ardent among us.
slowman