K-Swiss/Trek Pro Triathlon Team - A Program to Benefit all Triathlon

Yesterday, Trek bikes announced a strategic partnership with Team K-Swiss. This was done mainly on the back of Chris Leito, who has raced on a Trek for years and recently became a K-Swiss athlete. The team consists of some serious athletes, including, Michael Raelert (70.3 World Champ) and Julie Dibens (70.3 and Xterra World Champ).

In my time at Wheelworks, there has been a movement towards sponsoring athletes with their "pro cards" and allowing them to have the equipment and support they need to win...and then get bigger and more lucrative sponsorships. I use this new program, as a feeder system for new pro triathletes up to the higher ranks...and hope when they are super successful, they come back and buy me lunch!

Getting back to the K-Swiss/Trek sponsorship, here are a few thoughts I had about pro triathlon "teams."

1) For starters, I call it a "team" in the loosest sense of the word. I fully expect Chris Leito and Michael Raelert to try to beat the snot out of each other in every race possible. Instead, I view this as an opportunity for the team to have support for each athlete at every race that individual pros would not have. For instance, team mechanics, masseuses and even managers. This will make the event more comfortable and ideally remove stress that might inhibit race performance.

2) On a completely different side, it brings marketability to the athletes. Brand recognition is so necessary in business, and triathletes are no different. Crowie, Macca & Chrissie are all brand names, and being associated with that name brings instant credibility to a sponsor. Having a team, allows the fans to see the race kits out on the course all day. The more the sponsors see this group of athletes performing, the more the group will benefit as a whole. Trek & K-Swiss view this as their opportunity to be competitive in the growing triathlon market.

3) For the age groupers, this will give more accessibility to the pros. Going off the marketing view, the team will have managers and people in charge of getting these athletes out in the public. How awesome would it be for you local Trek dealer to have Julie Dibens in for a meet & greet before she races over the weekend in your area! It is an opportunity to build a grassroots program that will benefit everyone in triathlon.

Needless to say, I am most excited by programs like these. This isn't a new idea, nor is K-Swiss/Trek the only one. But this one really has the potential to be a killer program because of the companies and the athletes involved.

Cheers,

Coach Jared

Vermont Training Camp (June 11-13, 2010)

Training Camps have been a a staple of pro athletes for years. Football players have "mini-camp" in May, well before the season. Baseball players have spring training just a month before the season.

Pro cycling teams have their camps in December in exotic, warm locations. Even pro triathletes go to race locations to prepare for the biggest events. Back in 2002, 3x World Champion, Peter Reid, lived up on a Hawaiian volcano leading up to the Ironman World Championships in Kona!

However, you don't have to be a pro athlete to benefit from a training camp, even if it is just for a weekend. This is why Competitive Instinct Multisport will be holding its first camp in Landgrove, Vermont this June.

http://cimultisport.com/camps/trainingweekend.html

The first factor as to why I chose this little village as the location is its proximity to amazing biking and running routes, as well as a pool and pond for swimming. Another reason, which I feel is overlooked, is how cell phone and internet is very limited.

Training camps should be just for that, Training. Landgrove is the perfect place to leave your phone, beeper, computer in their cases and just focus on getting in solid workouts. Over the 2+ days, there will be clinics on race strategy and nutrition, a killer 45+ mile base bike ride, with the option to climb Bromley Mountain for those who want extra bike training and an excellent 6 mile dirt road run loop. But the workouts are not limited to those. CI Multisport provides the base workouts and then directs and aids in continuing to train outside of the group.

If you want to ride 150 miles on Saturday, we have a loop. If you want to run 20 miles, we have a route. That is why Landgrove is an ideal spot.

We are also going to be based at the Landgrove Inn (www.landgroveinn.com) which is owned by Tom (a triathlete!) & Maureen. They have opened up their place, including their conference center to CI Multisport and will be providing all meals from their amazing restaurant.

With the Northeast triathlon season kicking off just a week prior, it is the perfect time to get that last big block in before prepping for Ironman Lake Placid, Providence 70.3 or whatever your race is.

Please contact CI Multisport at info@cimultisport.com if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Coach Jared