Last weekend the 21st edition of the Powerman World Championships took place in the Swiss town of Zofingen. This race was my main goal for the year and has the reputation of being extremely hard! Although this was the first I'd participated, my hopes were to win the event. The distances were 10 kilometres of running, followed by a 150 kilometre time trial and a last run of 30 kilometres. Because the very long distance is new to me, the preparation has been very different, and I didn’t feel as confident as I usually am pre-race. The field was very strong with amongst others the Swiss winner from last year, Andy Sutz, the New Zealand triathlete Richard Usscher, Jason Spong (RSA) and Anthony Leduey (FRA). The start was at 8.48am, exactly 48 minutes behind the womens start time because there is also the extra competition called 'the battle of the sexes'. This is an extra prize for the first male or female across the finish line.

The first run comprised of two 5 kilometre laps with a total of 250 metres of climbing, and this was considered a warming up for what was to come! Although I must say that I found the pace of the first run quite fast, so naturally let the other athletes do the work. We came into the first transition with a fairly big group and all the favourite athletes were present. On the bike there were three laps of 50 kilometres, each lap included three hills making a total of 1600 metres of climbing over the total distance covered. During the first bike lap no one wanted to take the initiative and we were not going very fast. Because of the very big group it was difficult to respect the 10 metre drafting rule. I was afraid to get a penalty, so I put myself in first position at the foot of the second hill of the day. I was riding my own pace and once over the top I could see that I had a small lead. I didn’t know what to do, because this was a bit earlier to take off alone than I had planned. But the legs felt very strong, so I decided to give it a try without over-exerting myself. I extended my lead continuously and meanwhile the group behind me fell apart. During the bike I didn’t have any weak moments and I came into the second transition with a lead of 9 minutes over Andy Sutz and Josh Beck (SUI).

Before the race it was the second run I was most apprehensive of. Not only because of the distance, but mainly the hard running course. More than 500 metres of height climbed, most of it off-road, spread over two laps of 15 kilometres. Loudly encouraged by the spectators I began the second run, and it went very smoothly. But I was still a little worried, wondering if I was running fast enough or not, and waiting for confirmation that the other competitors weren't gaining on me. After 5 kilometres I caught Erika Csomor, the first women, and halfway around the first lap I got the news that I had extended my lead. I also got to hear that I was running and biking record times, but I didn't occupy my mind with that. After one lap I was a few minutes under the old record time, but I was still afraid of hitting the wall during the last lap. I kept taking my nutrition, which my coaches handed out perfectly, and my energy level stayed up. The muscles started to feel very tired over the last 10 kilometres making it feel extremely hard, but I expected nothing less at that stage in the race.

The last few kilometres were downhill and I began to realise that I had produced an impressive performance. I crossed the finish line very very happy in a new record time of 6h11min35sec, more than 9 minutes faster than the old record. Last years winner, Andy Sutz, was second 16 minutes back, shortly followed by Anthony Leduey. This might just be the strongest and most impressive win of my career so far, so I will make the most of it and enjoy it!

Regards,

Joerie.

Last weekend the beautiful town of Weyer played host to Powerman Austria. This was the fourth time I competed in this race. The first three times were a succes and I hoped that I could win this time as well. After a not so great race two weeks ago at Powerman Belgium I hoped that I could show that my current form is good. This week I was a little bit worried because I have had some problems with my back, but this was solved by Friday. At the start there was a very strong field, with among others Andy Sutz (SUI), Jason Spong (RSA) Anthony Leduey (FRA), Karl Prungraber (AUT).

The first run was two laps, which made 15,6 kilometer in total. Leduey took the lead from the start and we were quickly seperated from the rest of the field together with Spong, Sutz and myself. Spong had to let us go after approximately five kilometres and a bit later Sutz was also dropped, after an acceleration from Leduey. It seemed that Leduey took off a little to fast because after eight kilometers I took the lead and he was not able to follow me. I continued at my own pace and came into the first transition with a 40 seconds lead on Leduey, shortly followed by Sutz and Spong.

The cycling course was changed this year, and this made the race quite a bit harder with the total distance longer at 82.4 kilometres spread over two laps, and more testing hills. Immediately after transition I felt really powerful and I used this to extend my lead. Shortly after transition there was a steep climb of a few kilometres with some parts at a gradient of 18%. Once over the top my lead was almost two minutes. The bike went very smoothly for me and I came into second transition with a very comfortable lead of 8 minutes.

I could afford to take the second run of 7.3 kilometres very easy and enjoy my win. I reached the finish very satisfied after 3h27min, 7 minutes before Anthony Leduey and Andy Sutz.

The next race is the Powerman World Championships in Zofingen on 6 September, and this is my main goal of the season. This will undoubtedly be a very hard and tough race because it is the first time that I will have competed over this kind of distance, which comprises of a 10 kilometre run, followed by 150 kilometeres on the bike, and a 30 kilometre run to finish. But I am ready to go for it!

Many regards,

Joerie.