I kicked off my season in Abu Dhabi with a 3rd place podium finish. It is a new competition hyped all over the triathlon world because of probably the strongest field outside of Hawaii, it was the first race of the season for many and in exotic surroundings and high temperatures, and the distance seemed to favour the strong cyclists (3km swim/200 km bike/20 km run). On top of that the first prize was USD 50,000 - i big prize in triathlon.

The über bikers never got into the game and no one had a big lead off the bike, so it ended up with three alround athletes on the podium = good swimmers, almost as good on the bike as the specialists and good runners. 1: Llanos, 2: Bockel, 3: Me.

I didn't have enough long bike rides in the legs before the competition, so even though I felt good during the race and had a solid chance of winning, I cramped up at the end of the bike and never found my rythm on the run. In all I'm satisfied with my performance and podium finish.

Hope to return next year

I hope to be able to return next year and step up a few steps on the podium. This is a very ambitious race in beautiful surroundings and riding on the Formula1 track on the bike was just fantastic and nicely spotted by the organizers. Even though the F1 circuit was empty of spectators you got a good impression on how the setup for a Formula1 race would be. You could even see the tire marks on the ground.

It is fascinating to be in the United Arab Emirates. Luxurious hotels and large constructions sites all over the place. They have big ambitions so of course the race and the course is too. I had a very positive experience with the locals as well - always smiling and happy to help.

Debut on 70.3

My next race is this Saturday where I will compete at my first 70.3 of my career. Ironman 70.3 California is pretty legendary and my former team mate on the national team, Torbjørn Sindballe, won the race in 2002 and 2005. I have been in the game for over 10 years but this is my first attempt at this distance and I think it will be a good distance for me. I should be able to bike with the best and if I run at my top level I should be the fastest in the field.

Normally I would have more recovery time between competitions than two weeks, especially after a long race like in Abu Dhabi. But it is still early season so hopefully I will be on top of it on Saturday. I have had tough training sessions after the race but it's been better since Saturday where I have had more normal sessions again.

It is difficult to predict what I can do on race day, because I have been told that the weather conditions are somewhat bad and the water cold. I have competed under conditions like these many times before but hotter weather is more to my advantage. I am confident that I can do a good race if I am on top Saturday.

Racing the world champion

I think that my biggest competition is the two Americans Andy Potts and Matt Reed who I have raced many times on the Olympic distance. They are both very strong swimmers and cyclists while they are a little heavier on the run. German Michael Raelert was a surprising world champion in Clearwater this November when he raced in world record time - 3:34:04 with and amazing run of 1:09:06. That is 3:16/km and a very, very good performance on the run so I will look out for him too.

Also the former Ironman World Champion Tim DeBoom (2001 and 2002) is one to look out for while Tim O'Donnell who I have raced many times in the Olympic distance days has developed into a very strong athlete on the 70.3 distance.

Here is a link for the results at the Ironman 70.3 world championships which have been held since 2006: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_70.3

I'm looking forward to the second race of the season!

Best,

Rasmus Henning

www.rasmushenning.com