Nov 19, 2022
Thanks to last week's guest, Polar adventurer, Eric Larsen. This week Bill and I are outside of our 303 jurisdiction and getting geared up for El Tour de Tucson. That's right we are recording from the TdT Village. It's a big weekend of endurance events in Arizona with TdT on Saturday and Ironman Arizona in Tempe on Sunday.
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In Today's Show
Feature Discussion: El Tour de Tucson
University Medicine 39th El Tour De Tucson
Event date is Saturday, November 19, 2022.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT EL TOUR DE TUCSON
El Tour de Tucson is now preparing to host the 39th year for what we think is one of the premier bicycling events in the country. We hope you participate in this year’s event on November 19, 2022. You won’t be alone given that annually over 7,000 cyclists participate in the renowned and popular event with distances from 102 miles to family fun rides of 1 mile!
Did you know that El Tour de Tucson enables nonprofit, charitable agencies to raise funds for their respective organizations? Learn about their programs and sign up to ride on their teams here. Since 1983, Perimeter Bicycling events have raised over $100 million for local and international charitable organizations. This significant milestone – a target of ours for some time – was reached after we helped 35 non-profits raise a collective $5.8 million in 2019.
New Routes! New Start/Finish Lines! New Start Times!
Perimeter Bicycling and El tour de Tucson are thrilled to start 2022 with unveiling of exciting new ride routes. All Rides/Routes start and finish at the Tucson Convention Center and the surrounding area.
All events start and finish at the Tucson Convention Center in Downtown Tucson. The start line is located at 190 West Cushing Street near the DoubleTree Hotel at Cushing & Church Street. Enjoy the festivities of the Nova Home Loans Expo & Fiesta at the end of the ride featuring food and drink, live entertainment, awards ceremonies, and the Ten55 Finish Line Beer Garden.
Please note that all routes officially close at 4:00 pm.
The Century (7:00am start)
102 Mile
The Metric Century (9:00 am start)
62 Mile/100 Kilometer
The Half Metric Century (10:15 am start)
32 Mile/50 Kilometer
The FUN Rides! (8:00 am start)
10 Mile / 5 Mile / 1 Mile
The Nova Home Loans Expo & Fiesta will be at the newly renovated Historic Eckbo Plaza of the Tucson Convention Center. Most of the activities including the live music, food, beer garden and exhibitors will be outdoors!
Event Benefits for all Registered Cyclists
Event Benefits for all Registered Cyclists
Medallion to all finishers
Personalized Ride Bib Number (through October 1st)
Free admission to the Nova Home Loans El Tour Expo & Fiesta
Fruit, snacks and water at aid stations every 7-12 miles
SAG support
Opportunity to earn special Awards
Traffic control on route
First Aid support
Electronically timed finish
Results published on website
Bike Shipping
If you are looking to ship your bicycle to or from Tucson, find information about bike shipping through Bike Flights and receiving and assembling your bike through Bicycle Ranch Tucson. LEARN MORE
Bike Patrol
The mission of Perimeter Bicycling’s Bike Patrol program is to promote safety, provide assistance, encouragement, and support for the participants of Perimeter events.
Patrollers offer mechanical assistance, first aid as needed and encouragement to successfully finish the ride.
LEARN MORE
Platinum Designation
Platinum cyclists are those in the 102 mile distance with extensive experience in riding in a pack/peloton. Cyclists must meet specific criteria to earn platinum designation and must attend a special meeting. Visit the Platinum Designation link for full details, including meeting times, how to get the pass required to enter the platinum corral on ride day, etc.
Mark Allen's brother Gary and his wife Michelle Allen
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Endurance News:
Gearing up for 2022 Biostarks IRONMAN Arizona
The Valley of the Sun in Tempe and the greater Phoenix area are hosting the 2022 Biostarks IRONMAN Arizona triathlon on November 20th.
Part of the VinFast IRONMAN US Series, live coverage of IRONMAN Arizona will be broadcasted on IRONMAN Now on Facebook Watch, YouTube and Twitch. The event also sees Mike Reilly, aka the ‘Voice of IRONMAN’, calling his final North America event of his career.
Race day will see 55 age group qualifying slots, and an 100 extra slots for female athletes, for the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship taking place on October 12 & 14, 2023 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.
The course will take athletes along a 2.4-mile swim in Salt River, a 112-mile bike along the Beeline Highway, and a 26.2-mile run through Tempe and along the Salt River, finishing at Tempe Beach Park.
Ben Kanute (USA) will make his full-distance IRONMAN debut following a runner-up position at the 2022 Intermountain Healthcare IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission.
US athletes, Sam Long, Matt Hanson and Chris Leiferman, will challenge for a podium spot along with Great Britain’s Joe Skipper and South Africa’s Kyle Buckingham. A stacked field of pro females will include American athletes Sarah True, Skye Moench, and Lauren Brandon, who will go up against Canada’s Jen Annett, Australia’s Renee Kiley and many more.
IRONMAN Arizona 2022: Preview, start times and how to watch LIVE
14 Nov 2022 by John Levison
Last week we highlighted our top five races for the remainder of 2022, and the first event on that list comes up on Sunday, the Biostarks IRONMAN Arizona.
Start time and how to watch live
The Pro Men will kick-off their day with the 2.4-mile, single-loop swim in Salt River, Tempe, at 0640 local time, with the Pro Women starting five minutes later at 0645.
With Arizona on Mountain Standard Time, that means global race start times of: 1340 UK / 1440 CET / 0840 Eastern / 0540 Pacific.
The event will benefit from full live broadcast coverage, the final race of the 2022 IRONMAN long-distance season to be featured on their IRONMAN Now platforms via Facebook Watch and YouTube – and also embedded on this preview.
As always, the ever reliable IRONMAN Tracker is the perfect data addition to support your viewing. If you haven’t got it on your phone already, where have you been?!
IRONMAN Arizona
Pro Men
A dominant winner at IRONMAN Wales and a career-best fifth at the IRONMAN World Championship suggests that Great Britain’s Joe Skipper will arguably start as favourite, in what is a deep start list in Tempe. Big races in September, October and November might be considered sub-optimal for many, but based on history at least, there’s little reason to believe that the Brit won’t be physically and mentally ready to perform at his best, once again.
Looking back to 2019 for example, sixth in Kona was followed just over three weeks later by a fantastic victory at IRONMAN Florida, capped off with a 2:39 marathon. Success in back-to-back racing has proven to work for the six-time IRONMAN champion time after time. Even last year, he was totally dominant at IRONMAN Chattanooga, three weeks after second place IRONMAN Switzerland. He’s seemingly at home racing in the U.S., too.
Joe Skipper 2022 photo credit IRONMAN Wales
[Photo credit: IRONMAN Wales]
The USA’s Sam Long made plenty of headlines at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, but with that very contentious penalty on the bike, not the sort that he wanted. Winner in Gdynia, strong at the Collins Cup and a podium at the PTO US Open, the form is there – hopefully we’ll get to see it on Sunday.
Sam Long St George photo credit Tom Pennington Getty Images for IRONMAN
Sam Long at St George [Photo credit Tom Pennington/Getty Images for IRONMAN]
The full-distance debut of Ben Kanute will be of particular interest, especially having turned around what was a mid-season of relatively under-whelming results by his standards. He put on a brilliant show at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, taking a second silver medal at the championship. Strong across all disciplines, he should be at the front of the race for much of the day.
Ben Kanute 2nd at IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship 2022
Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images for IRONMAN
When you then add Matt Hanson, Chris Leiferman, Kristian Hogenhaug, Bart Aernouts, Justin Metzler and plenty more into the mix, then the way that racing has been going over the last few years, you have to think that the course record figures of Lionel Sanders (7:44:29 from 2016), will be under threat.
You can be sure that Great Britain’s Andrew Horsfall-Turner will be pushing the pace in the water from the get-go – and with Kanute likely wanting to be a part of that too, that would benefit the man from Wales too.
Pro Women
The USA’s Skye Moench (#10) is the PTO’s top-ranked female professional set to race in Tempe, a race where she has previously finished 11th (2016) and fourth (2018). Winner of three IRONMAN titles since then – and having finished fourth in St George, ninth in Kona this year – she will rightly start as favourite.
skye-moench-kona-2022-bike
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for IRONMAN)
Illness ruined her Kona prospects, but Sarah True still has the class to be a factor in Arizona. A winner this year at Eagleman 70.3 and IRONMAN Lake Placid, the two-time Olympian now juggles triathlon alongside being a mother and studying.
Entering Arizona with a, ‘one race, one win’ history over the distance after her debut performance at IRONMAN Lanzarote, Great Britain’s Lydia Dant has made rapid progress inside her first year in the Pro ranks. On the bike in particular – aided by her skills as a bike fitter – Lydia has excelled, and will be looking to make progress on that fast roads of the IRONMAN Arizona course towards the front of the race, once out of the water.
Lydia Dant - IRONMAN Lanzarote 2022 finish
Photo Credit: James Mitchell for Club La Santa
After finishing 10th (St George) and 12th (Kona), you can’t write off the podium prospects of the consistent Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN) either. The Dane is really consistent across all three disciplines. Jen Annett (CAN) has taken second place this year at both IRONMAN Des Moines and IRONMAN Mont Tremblant, and so is another athlete sure to be chasing the podium positions in the late stages.
You can find the full start list here.
Recent IRONMAN Arizona Pro winners
2019: Sara Crowley (AUS) – Pro women only race
2018: Eneko Llanos (ESP) / Heather Jackson (USA)
2017: Lionel Sanders (CAN) / Kaisa Sali (FIN)
2016: Lionel Sanders (CAN) / Meredith Kessler (USA)
2015: Lionel Sanders (CAN) / Meredith Kessler (USA)
Prize Money: What’s on the line?
The prize purse on offer this weekend is $100,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $15,000 share of that total.
In addition to money, there will be a total of four qualifying slots (two MPRO* / two FPRO) for the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii, 12 and 14 October 2023. A valuable opportunity to get the KQ box ticked well in advance.
(* Note – Joe Skipper is already qualified by virtue of his victory at IRONMAN Wales).
The total funds will be paid ten-deep, as follows:
$15,000
$9,000
$7,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
Of course, thanks to the formation of the Professional Triathletes Organisation, financial rewards from performance are not solely from on-the-day performances, and this is one of the few 2022 races remaining to improve your ranking.
The PTO World Rankings will see a total of $2million awarded at the end of 2022, based up on the final standings in those points tables. The rewards there can be substantial, with a move up or down the rankings system potentially earning you more than any individual event.
Odyssey Alcatraz Swim this Saturday
Have you always wanted to swim from Alcatraz? You’re not alone. Swimming from Alcatraz is one of the most famous, desirable, and enjoyable open water swims (wild swim) in the entire world. Despite lore that swimming from Alcatraz is dangerous, for experienced swimmers with proper support, swimming from Alcatraz can be safe and fun.
Odyssey Open Water Swimming offers a wide range of open water swims, including the world-famous Odyssey Alcatraz swim. Each swim is led by coaches and guides, and swim support is available on-hand to assist with exiting the water if needed.
2023 Alcatraz Swims: May 13, June 17, June 24, July 22, August 5, and November 4
Note: All swims are pending US Coast Guard approval. In the event that Coast Guard approval is not given for a swim, participants will be refunded in account credit.
Come join us for the ultimate Bay Area open water swim!
This event is not a race -- just a friendly swim in an exciting, safe, and comfortable environment. It is a great opportunity for those training for similar events, including the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, or people who just want an unforgettable, world-famous swimming experience!
The Alcatraz swim is an approximately 2-mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. We will occasionally swim to San Francisco’s Ferry Building, which takes the swimmers east instead of west, but is comparable in terms of difficulty. Check the registration site for specific course info. Regardless of course, this swim is for relatively strong swimmers. Before taking on Alcatraz, you should be able to do this distance in a pool (140 lengths of a 25-yard pool) or during our regular group open water swims in Berkeley without stopping. Feel free to contact us if you're not sure if you are up for it.
Alcatraz swims are $245 per event. There is a $50 late registration fee within one month of the swim. In addition to the swim itself, registration includes an event t-shirt, an Alcatraz Swim sticker, and a yellow silicone Alcatraz swim cap.
All Alcatraz swims will take place in the morning, usually meeting in San Francisco between 5 and 8am. The registration page shows an approximate check-in time, but swimmers will receive an email prior to the event with finalized details.
What's New in the 303:
Introducing Colorado's Ride - Bill
Invitation to TriDot Pre Season Project
The Preseason Project® is a triathlon research initiative that helps TriDot quantify and enhance the performance gains that TriDot's Optimized Training™ delivers over training alternatives.
Welcome to the 2023 TriDot Preseason Project (PSP) application.
Submit this 2-minute app to qualify for 2 FREE months of optimized triathlon training with the TriDot Mark Allen Edition.
PSP is an annual R&D initiative that helps triathletes reach their true performance potential through optimized preseason training. It also quantifies the substantial performance gains that TriDot's Optimized Training delivers over training alternatives.
You qualify for the FREE training if you meet the following criteria:
* Applications are reviewed and accepted on a first-come basis and must be fully completed to be considered.
Video of the week:
Alcatraz Swim: Understanding the Currents (Alcatraz to St. Francis Yacht Club/Crissy Field)
Closing:
Thanks again for listening in this week. Please be sure to follow us @303endurance and of course go to iTunes and give us a rating and a comment. We'd really appreciate it!
Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!