I'm now sponsored by COMPRESSPORT Veino-Muscular Compression

COMPRESSPORT Veino-Muscular Compression Leg and Quadriceps Support. COMPRESSPORT is ideal for everyone active! The COMPRESSPORT will be your best partner for your sport training sessions but as well during recovery phase.

What do I have to say about COMPRESSPORT Veino-Muscular Compression? - It’s all about the right compression levels on the right places... quite simple, very effective!

I particular like the Quads!

I announce proudly that I'm sponsored by Retül Bike fiting at Twenty3C

Retul is arguably the most accurate bike fit system on the market. Retul uses motion capture technology, i.e. you riding your bike whilst you’re attached to a computer that analyses your position and bike set-up. The data that is produced is sub millimetre accurate and void from human error. The system accurately assesses your position whilst in motion (pedalling your bike) and highlights positional changes that need to be made. This data enables us to set your bike up to achieve your optimal position. During the fit we use a power meter so that we can do 3 separate recordings using 3 incremental power loads. We do this on both sides of your body, so 6 assessments in total. From these 6 assessments we are be able to make the required adjustments to your position which will help with your comfort and performance. Once the adjustments have been made we do a further two assessments one from each side of your body to ensure the changes we have made give the required results.

Using eight (8) anatomical LED markers strategically placed on the wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and ball of the foot, the Retül sensor gathers information in real time and transmits it to the PC. In real time.

I do have my Retül fits taking care at Twenty3C and later on taking that data into the wind tunnel and have the most accurate as possible fit to my physiology and my bike frames geometries. Amazing stuff!

I'm proudly sponsored by Sport Space - Dacorum Sport Trust

About The Sport Space - Dacorum Sport Trust - United Kingdom

Sportspace is the operating name of Dacorum Sports Trust. The Sport Space commenced trading in April 2004 and are a company limited by guarantee, and a registered charity managed through a Board of Trustees. These are local people who have an interest and passion for providing local sports opportunities.

The Sport Space is the main provider of sports opportunities in North West Hertfordshire, the Sport Space currently manage sports centres in Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring, Kings Langley Sport and an extensive Sports Development programme. Together this totals over 1.6 million customers per year.

They are a non-profit distributing organisation, this means that all surpluses are reinvested back into the service and the local community.

Dacorum Sport Trust Mission Statement:

‘To provide sports, recreation and fitness services of the highest quality, that all the community can benefit from.’

Thank you Sport Space for providing me the right training environment, ranging from access to a great swimming pool, track field to gym facilities, an invaluable asset in my daily training as professional triathlete.

I'm happy to announce that I'm proudly sponsored by EPIC Action Sports Video Camera

Welcome to a digital renaissance…of jumping farther, launching higher and exploding out of the curl quicker and sharing the adventure before you get a chance to catch your next breath. Weighing only 2.5 oz. and measuring under 3 inches, the EPIC Action Sports Video Camera contians everything you need to become a YouTube action hero. Now you can easily broadcast your EPIC advantures for your friends, family, the entire world! You simply set it, shoot it, and share it with the exclusive YouTube Action Upload web link button. No matter your sport, land or sea, the EPC is available with multiple attachments to easily anchor, strap or mount to capture all the adventure from your point of view. The EPIC Action Sports Video Camera, full digital integration, complete adrenaline renovation.

I do have loads of fun with my EPIC Action Sports Video Camera, not to mention that it capture some important bits of my training! I never realized the strange faces that some of my buddy's do while training! :)

I do have the great pleasure to announce that I'm officially sponsored by Twenty3C Bike Shop;

I do have the great pleasure to announce that I'm officially sponsored by Twenty3C Bike Shop; The most brilliant bike shop you will come across, if you are looking into ultimate level of support and parts go no further, this is your last stop. High quality service capable of serve any professional weather triathlete or road cyclist.

The shop is a successful project, which likes to have supreme quality over bulky quantity.

About the Owners and skilful Team:


Alan Finch

Alan has worked in the cycle industry for over 14 years. He started off specializing in training, where he wrote and set up the first government funded NVQ which was subsequently introduced nationwide. He also developed bespoke cycle training courses for both manufacturers and enthusiasts, which meant he was responsible for the training of over 1500 cycle mechanics across the UK.

More recently Alan moved into the retail sector, where he specialised in road and triathlon custom builds. This involved fitting customers correctly to their new bikes and building them to a high standard to ensure customers got maximum enjoyment and performance from their new machines. Alan has also built race bikes for teams and individuals competing at National Premier Calendar level.

In his spare time Alan can often be spotted getting the miles in on his road bike. He has ridden Tour of Flanders sportive, and also the Marmotte (arguably the most difficult sportive around...)


Ceri Dipple

Ceri has worked in the cycle industry for 5 years. Whilst the majority of this time has been spent in retail, she has also spent time working for a bicycle manufacturer. During her time in the cycle industry, Ceri has travelled to Spain and Switzerland to visit the people who design and test the bikes and see the processes bikes go through before they are seen in a showroom.

Ceri rides both road and mountain bikes in her spare time, and has been known to race occasionally! She has completed the Tour of Flanders sportive as well as the Marmotte and has recently won Dusk till Dawn female pairs in terrible conditions! Something that she will never forget.

I do have all my bike concerns past into Twenty3C, they handle all sort of matters I came up with! What more could I asked for? I used to be sponsored by Brand Factory directly, with the best mechanics in the business, until I come across Allan and Ceri, highly recommended!

I'm glad to be sponsored by TrainingPeaks WKO+ analysis software.

TrainingPeaks is the ultimate training log and food diary developed by Peaksware, LLC to help motivated professionals like me to achieve peak performance.

TrainingPeaks WKO+ is the industry leading desktop analysis software to record and analyse my individual workouts as well as fitness progression over time. Track my speed, pace, elevation, distance and in WKO+, TrainingPeaks' trademarked metrics: Training Stress ScoreTM (TSS), Running Training Stress ScoreTM (rTSS), Normalized PowerTM (NP), Normalized Graded PaceTM (NGP) and Intesity FactorTM (IF). TrainingPeaks is compatible with my power meter hardware training device and GPS unit and heart rate monitor from Garmin, Suunto and Power Tap.

I do have loads of data from several devices all congregated into a single point of analyse with very advanced features, so advanced that took me a while to get used to it! :)

I'm delighted to announce that I'll be sponsored by Synergy wetsuits for the 2010 Season !

I'm delighted to announce that I'll be sponsored by Synergy wetsuits for the 2010 Season; Synergy is the product of a team that lives and breathes swimming, cycling and running. It all came together at what they see as a turning point in the triathlon clothing industry. In spite of booming growth and exciting advances in technology, a disconnect remained between designer, dealer and athlete. That's where they stepped in. Having worked on the distribution side for years, they already knew the ins and outs of the industry. And so it became clear that, to get the product that they demanded as athletes, they would have to create it themselves.

The Synergy goal: to serve athlete, dealer and distributor at the highest level. Design the best product. Choose manufacturing that supports the design. And, most importantly, work on behalf of their fellow athletes to bring them something that embodies pure intention and premium quality. A product that brings it all together as a triathlete does with swimming, cycling and running. This was the birth of Synergy.

Synergy is all about: Pure intention, integrity and precision!

What I think about Synergy is rather simple: "Synergy wetsuits are the Armani of wetsuits".

I'll be swimming in the Hybrid Full for the 2010 season and in the Syn-Skin that is specifically designed for non-wetsuit swims.

I'm currently working close with Synergy in the development of the most advanced triathlon wear kit ever. New product fabrics, fully loaded with technological features and extraordinary cuts and fittings.

More information regarding the Synergy Tri Wear range, soon to be disclosure, you be aware as some very cool stuff is being produced! :) Way to go!

I'm very happy to announce that I'll be sponsored by Suunto for the 2010 season.

I'm very happy to announce that I'll be sponsored by Suunto for the 2010 season.

The suunto is a very well known adventure and sports watch manufacture from Finland.

I'll be using the Suunto t6c Triathlon Pack and the Suunto t3.

The t6c I'll Provide me with accurate speed, distance and altitude for running and cycling, cadence for cycling, chest belt with in-built memory for recording heart rate in swimming, as well as detailed physiological analyses on my PC. I'll cross that data with the Tanita data and the data from the Altitude trainer. Quite important for my training it will be the EPOC reading provided by the Suunto t6C.

I'm now sponsored by Human Performance Labs™ PureSport Products

Human Performance Labs™ develops superior nutritional performance sports drinks with protein for athletes of all types, from world class professionals to club sport amateurs and weekend warriors. Created by Dr. John Ivy, renowned Chairman of Health and Kinesiology at the University of Texas at Austin, PureSport Workout and PureSport Recovery formulas (patent pending) nutritionally enhance the human body’s performance during and after strenuous athletic activity.

PureSport complies with and exceeds the specifications and guidelines of all worldwide sports governing bodies. PureSport is manufactured at National Science Foundation (NSF) certified and Dallas, Texas based Custom Nutrition Labs. PureSport products are tested for WADA banned substances by HFL, the world's largest sports drug surveillance and research laboratory, with more than 40 years of leadership in doping control in sport.

I'll be using PureSport™ Workout and PureSport™ Recovery for the 2010 season, although I have my reserves that will put me swimming as Michael Phelps fellow athlete sponsored by Human Performance Labs™ PureSport . :)

I'm happy to announce that I'm officially sponsored by Rotor Bike USA; I'll be using the IQ-Rings in the 2010 season, either on my road bike, mountain bike and ultimately TT killer machine. The Aero IQ-Rings increase my power by emulating a Rotor System crank set in the power stroke and by minimizing the intensity of the "dead spot" zones, by extending the time I spend in the power stroke (where 90% of all power is produced) and smoothly accelerating my legs through the critically weak "dead spots". A 53T Q-Ring, around the upper dead-spot is equivalent to a 51T, but as the pedal goes down and more strength is applied, the equivalent chairing tooth size reaches 56T. This will allow me to drop my previous 56/42 crank set, and thus I become more efficient! Briliant Spaniard engineering for great crank sets.

I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially sponsored by Asics

I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially sponsored by Asics; What can I say about this sponsorship? I've been a runner most of my life, the first serious running shoes back when I was 12 years old were a pair of Asics Tiger (in yellow colour, don't laugh they were hot at that time!). Through out the years I've been training and competing in Asics and other brands, but I must confess, Asics have something special that difficult to find in other shoes. I also use the whole range of kit and apparel for training! Very technical and rather cool stuff! Anima sana in corporeo Sano, that is all that needs to be said!

I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially sponsored by Lake Cycling Shoes

I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially sponsored by Lake Cycling Shoes; I must confess that before being officially sponsored I was already riding Lake shoes, they are just the business, the best shoes I've ridden so far, especially the new Lake CX401 full carbon heated shoe for a prefect customized fit, just brilliant!

I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially sponsored by FFWD

I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially sponsored by FFWD; I do believe that training and competing with FFWD hand made wheels will make a great difference this season. I'll be using the Power Disc and the FR90 - 190's Hub, and a set of FR90 - 190's Hub's and will have a set of FR50's - 190's Hubs to train and compete under very windy conditions. The wheels are superb and great looking as well! Thank you Roland and Rick for all your support!

I'm proud to announce that I'm now officially sponsored by Higher Peaks Altitude Training System

I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially sponsored by Higher Peaks Altitude Training System; I do believe that training under the HiLo protocol will enable me to reach a better performance for this season. I’ll be monitoring quite close the results and will publish some conclusive data in the near future. Thank you Mark for all your support!

I’m proud to announce that I’m officially sponsored by Motor Tabs

I’m rather happy as I’m now a Gold Team Athlete with Motor Tabs, I’ll rely upon Motor Tabs to hydrate during training and competition during the 2010 season. So far I’ve been testing the products and I do love them! They do taste good and they do not mess with my stomach during long and heavy training conditions that sometimes I do endure. The flavours are original and easy to take on the bike and run, I even use them during the swim sessions on a daily basis. Very good stuff! Finally, I’ve joined Michellie Jones' team for hydration! Friends of mine, please feel welcome to ask me for some samples, I will more than happily give them away for you to try! :)

Me and the man in the pool

One night, not so long ago, when I was swimming my second workout of the day in a busy 25 meter pool at the Club that I regularly swim (most of the time on a different schedule!), all 6 lanes where rather crowded with two or more swimmers, except for one which had only one swimmer. I kindly asked the gentlemen if I could join him and we agreed to swim side by side rather than anti-clockwise as indicated for that lane. I jumped in the lane and started my warm-up as planned for that session by my coach, very soon I was starting to lap the good fellow. I carried on and started swimming my main set, until I noticed that I was actually swimming on my own, cool I thought to my self!

Guess what? The gentlemen stopped me at one of my turns as he had been observing me, and said to me, I can see straight away that you are a triathlete! I was surprised, not by the statement, but for the fact that he actually stopped me to say such! I was so surprised that I just kept looking at him, he kept talking and talking, saying that he used to be a swimming coach at Club La Santa in Lanzarote, Spain. He asked if I knew where that was? He then continued to tell me that he had been counting my stroke average and that they were quite good, but I needed to improve! I looked amazed to my friend, pool mate watch at my wrist and started to click on my log statistics for that workout and I was within an average stroke count of 11 and an efficiency rate of 41, I was warming-up after all, building into my main set! After almost three minutes of swimming rhetoric and a geographic lesson about the Canary Islands in Spain, I was told by the old gentlemen that if I continue improving I could make it to the top! PERIOD! I only had words to say thank you for your advice, and have a good night as he walked away! While I returned into my training bit, I was thinking to my self... gosh, the purpose of me being there in that crowed pool with all level of abilities mixed, was, is and it will be always with the purpose of improve, no matter what! I'm kind of used to these kind of comments every so often! One time I was even told by some one, acting ignorant (but not that ignorant!) that I would never make it to the pro ranks! How funny is that when actually I have been a pro now for quite awhile! Morale of the story is anyway: Always keep smiling and being polite, as it doesn't hurt listen to people , even if they do not have the slightest idea about what they are talking about! :)

The True Ironman Spirit

This is a short post just to update you fellows on what is some piece of Winter and the build up of base mileage for the up coming 2010 season! See for your self 's! Do you fancy an early morning run in the lovely English Weather? :)

I'm proud to anounce that I'm Officially Sponsored by Tanita Corporation

Hi,

I'm in a hurry to go running, but I can not wait until I return to proudly announce Tanita Corporation as my latest addition to my sponsors grid.

Yes I'll be testing the new Tanita BC-1000 the foremost advanced scale to date featuring ANT + technology and a very sophisticated body measurement assessment, all bundled with a software that integrates all very close to perfection!

Thank you very much Tanita Corporation! Check my web site soon as I will have some technical articles about my use of the Tanita BC-1000 and the way it is monitoring my fitness progression as a long distance triathlete.

My wife challenges the Roth Circuit on the bike! :)

Hi there every one, just a quick post as instead of just punishing myself I decided to throw a challenge to my wifey, she happily attacked the Roth bike circuit with a smile into her face, for a couple of minutes, until Ivonne Van Vlerken showed up in the circuit as a virtual rider, giving her a quite ruff time in our VR turbo Trainer. In the end it was a fabulous training session for my wife along some of the best in the Roth Scenario. Well done honey!

Weatherman got it right!!

My second post on the 16th January 2010

Yes!! The BBC weatherman got it bang on right, the sun came out at last and the snow went bye bye! Hurrah! I was able to go on a freezing ride on the road. I´m not going to say it was the perfect day or the perfect workout but it was a nice health break outdoors away from the trusty turbo trainer. I road for close to 1 hour 45 min and guess what? Yes..it was COLD, rather VERY COLD & WINDY! On the way home just five minutes in fact from my cozy nest I was surprised after a nasty hill to find a snow block literally at the top of the lane which meant I had to dismount with my best pair of carbon cycling shoes ´(´oh shit´!), although I was wearing neoprene shoe covers. I literally had to trudge through the slushy stuff carrying my bike. I was so surprised as all the snow around home had completely disappeared! After crossing what felt like a glacier in no man´s land I had an opportunity to a warm bath in a puddle to clean my shoes and cleats. I must confess I was quite pleased to be able to see those cleats again! :) Time to clip on and finally head home feeling like a snowman or rather more like vanilla ice cream. Upon arriving home I dropped off my bike through on a pair of running shoes and hopped on to the old railway behind my house for a run with my wife who was wondering where I disappeared to! Off we trotted for a nice 30 minuter. Thank goodness it was time to finally stretch, clean up, refuel and relax.

1st post of 2010

Today it's D day, I decided to write my first post of 2010. I'm waiting for next Thursday badly, as I'm expecting a totally new revised plan from my coaches for the new season, with all the preparation stages and micro cycles I'll have to endure.

I'm looking forward as well to the weather in the UK to get better, it has been snowing and miserable now for weeks without end. Tomorrow, Sunday, it's promised by the BBC weather forecast website to be a great increase in day temperature to 8º Celsius positive, still rather miserable, but compared to the last couple of weeks it's kind of a summer day! If so, I'll hit the road for a bike ride followed by a run, actually managing a brick session!

Today I did some core work, some endurance work and had a full body massage. Rest of the day dedicated to my family, according to my wife the version should be "dedicated to my laptop!" :)

Hope to have some more exciting news tomorrow.