KP and Freddie Win in Vietnam

Would I have ever visited Hoi An Vietnam if there wasn’t a Triathlon there? Possibly not but I’m glad I did. Living in this part of the world we have access to some very nice places to relax and or train and I have never really considered Vietnam. Why, because I often listen too much to what other people say or I get too busy to do my own research.  Having said that, I do try and approach each trip with an open mind, of course I still have all the preconceptions however it doesn't stop me from finding out for myself.  Trust me, I know people in the west who still think there are rickshaws in the streets of Shanghai - what you say, aren't there? I had a similar mis conception of Vietnam and I was completely wrong. Actually I have a friend who has traveled there several times recently and said he was a little sick of getting hassled in the streets so I had it in my head it would be like that. In fact, it was nothing like that at all. Of course I got asked to buy stuff but it wasn’t anything like the craziness of the Nanjing Xi Lu market or Xiangyang Nan Lu in Shanghai.

One of the first things I noticed about Vietnam, Hoi An at least, was how clean it was. The streets were immaculate, even if some of them were sand; they were clean of trash and junk. I was very impressed. Actually this sort of cleanliness gave us a lot of confidence to walk into a restaurant and order without fear of getting sick, something I do not do in smaller restaurants in China. Being able to order fresh vegetables and seafood and having it cooked with little or no oil was a dream for someone who lives in China. For me at least, eating in China is challenging, especially if you want fresh and steamed not fried and oily. The STRIC crew ate in a different restaurant every meal and it was great.

Hoi An is a developing seaside city, small and just south of its big brother Danang. Perfect location for a flat, fast Triathlon which is why the event promoter, Tribob from Singapore selected the location. Surrounded by beautiful mountains as we flew into the airport I started to doubt if the course was really flat. I got slightly caught out on this in Bali this year. I was told the Bali course was flat and fast, it was neither. The course was hilly and pretty slow but a lot of fun. At the baggage collection we ran into another Triathlete who had done the Vietnam event in 07 and he assured us it was flat and a lot of fun. Music to our ears since we train in Shanghai where the only climbing we do is in an out of bed.

Let me get the very few annoying things about Hoi An (Vietnam) out of the way. They love to burn off trash. I guess this is why it is so clean but there is a consistent smoky smell to the air and a lot of the locals wear masks. The other annoyance was charging in USD. I’m Australian living in China, racing in Vietnam and I have their local Dang or Dong currency and they want to charge in USD, or at least advertise in it. Apart from that, which we got over pretty quickly we had a great weekend.

Tribob Singapore presented this event. They are responsibly for several events in Asia, Bintan, Lombok, Vietnam and a number of race series in Singapore. They also run Triathlon training camps in some very cool, out of the way locations. We chose to try this event because it was a good hit out for some of the guys doing the Singapore 70.3 but also because it was a new and different place.

The event ran very smoothly. The briefing and workshop covered everything you needed to know. The transition area was well thought out and set up and there was ample room for the athletes, swim in, bike and run in and outs were well executed which as you know, if you are an athlete coming into transition can be a daunting experience if there are a few people coming and going and not enough signs.

The Olympic distance race started at 2.30pm. If you haven’t done an afternoon race it is pretty interesting in so much as if you have worked out your diet for race day it had to change quite a lot to accommodate breakfast and a light lunch. I had a big breakfast and a snack around 11.30am and raced slightly hungry which suits me as I digest the electrolyte quicker and get what I need to race on.

Transition opened at 1pm and it was hot. At 2.15pm all the athletes were on the sand behind the tape getting ready for the anti clockwise 750m swim with a 50m run back to the start and then another swim lap of 750m and an 80m run into transition. I’m not a fan of the run between swims but I have learnt that kicking in the water a little harder a few hundred meters out gets a bit more blood into my feet and makes it a little better to shuffle along the sand. The decision to make the swim anti clockwise was a good one since the afternoon current ran that way and the smarter; more experience athlete was able to use it to their advantage.

Into transition for the first time was a fast and easy experience for me. I felt good after the swim, it wasn’t my best but I knew I was in the top 30. I blew in an out in just over a minute, which is good for me as I like to have a gel, rinse my face with bottled water and get my gear on. I’ve been known to have the occasional 3 minutes transition from time to time, a habit I am trying to break.

The ride was flat and fast. The roads weren’t completely closed but I had been riding around town on the free Hotel bikes so I had some experience of what to expect from the other cyclists and motorists. Nobody really looks and they expect you to go around them or sound some sort of a horn. I felt right at home; actually riding in China is a lot worse so it was a normal day on the bike for the Shanghai crew and I expect others who live in Asia.

The sun was warm but there was a breeze blowing from the south which assisted us on the long beachside road. I had a rear disc wheel and felt the advantages. At the 20km mark of so there is an overhead bridge, under it I could see some sort of road works, a ditch across the length of the road, there was an intersection on the right so there was a lot to take in especially at 40 or so km per hour. The bridge was shadowing the ditch and I wasn’t sure how deep it was so I quickly came off the tri bars and grab the handlebars. Bang, I hit the ditch and thought this is it. My handlebars folded forward a few centimeters and I almost went over. I collected myself and made sure what I was holding onto was going to remain in place, I checked the front wheel (Zipp 404 with Continental Gatorskin Tires) and made sure I was ok to continue. I tried to bend the bar back but didn’t want to stop riding so I left them in their new place and make do with the position. At 21.5 km there was the turnaround and drink station. I was able to slow and take another look at the front of the bike to make sure it would get me back. I kept riding, overtaking where I could and knew, as I counted the riders as they came past after the turnaround that I was in 10th position. I saw Freddie Croneborg leading, he looked great, big gear grinding out a nice 75-80 cadence, and we gave each other a wave as we passed. He was at least a few minutes ahead of the 2nd placed rider and then a minute or so 3rd and a few others. I knew there was no stopping him unless he got a flat. Freddie with that sort of a lead, actually even with a flat can easily win the race. If he took 5 or even 7 minutes to change a tube he still would have won the event by 4 minutes. It’s a really good feeling to see one of your team mates doing well. It was a great day for STRIC as we had Ben and Miguel doing their first Triathlon and they were on fire. I knew they weren’t too far behind me as I know how well they perform on the bike.

At 34km a crack and my left arm moved on the bars. The elbow pad had broken off and I just managed to catch it before it fell onto the road. My shiny, expensive HED Tri bars have done this before so I ended up riding into the wind for the final 6km with my right arm on the tri bar and my left on the main bar. A little uncomfortable but it wasn’t for long.

Into transition 2 and as I got off the bike I heard Kim-Joo from Tribob tell me I was top 10 so I was pretty happy as I ran into change for the run. Another quick transition and out onto the flat run course. I felt a little sluggish after the ride but I had enough left to put in a reasonable effort. I knew Freddie might lap me on this 3.35km loop, he didn’t I managed to hold him off and he crossed the finish line just as I had turned for my 2nd lap. The run was flat, hot and not so fast for me. There were two aid stations which meant you past them 3 times giving you 6 chances to refuel and cool down. I used ice for the first time in a race and I found it to be very good in cooling my core temperature, in fact my last lap was the fastest by far as I had packed ice in the palms of my hands and was cooling my neck and top of my head. It worked well for me and I finished strong.

STRIC did very, very well at this event and it is an even that we hope will grow in continues in popularity. The location is great and it will only get better. It might get a little more expensive but it is still a third of what you would pay for the same Hotel in say, Bali or Phuket. Hoi An Vietnam is a very well priced location. Getting there was challenging for some but once you are there the wait at the airport for the connection is a faded memory. Put this one in your Triathlon calendar for 2009, you won’t regret it.

Full race results are available at http://www.vietnamtriathlon.com

A special thanks to all the Tribob crew who were so friendly and supportive. KP

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