Posts Tagged ‘specialized renegade 2.3’

Caveman’s specialized equipment choices in quest for 7th World title

Conrad Stoltz Caveman ITU Corss Triathlon Worlds 2013 World Champion Specialized Sworks Epic 29er Specialized Evade helmet beach racing

#aeroiseverything #soisfattyres #dittohorsepower

Conrad Stoltz Caveman 2013 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships youtube

ITU Cross Triathlon Worlds 2013 Long version

Cross Tri Worlds Highlights. (Short version- 2.40)

Racing through the dunes, stairs and sidewalks of Holland proved a fertile ground for innovative equipment choices.  From the video you can get a feel for the course- but the real test was the long sections of deep, soft sand.

I enjoy thinking about equipment and how to make it better while training, and have been doing the obvious tire reaserch for almost a year.

Conrad Stoltz Specialized Sworks 29er Epic Evade helmet beach racing Caveman ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships

Big was my surprise when I opened a “special box for sand racing” from Jason Chamberlain at Specialized. The biggest widest rims I have ever seen. Really wide. And light. Mounted with our biggest tire- Renegade 2.3- but more like 2.5 or 2.6 on this rim.

Conrad Stoltz Caveman ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships Den Haag beach sand racing

The dark sand is the easy part. There were 3 of these sections on each of 4 laps. Try picking a straight (existing) line, balance perfectly in it while deliverying seemingly a million Watts, WHILE being totally relaxed, BARELY holding onto the bars, ready to jump off and run the moment the front wheel digs in…

The Basics skills for sand riding: The tires need to float on top of the sand. The moment the front wheel sinks in, it snakes

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Caveman does hatrick at ITU Cross Triathlon World Champs, Den Haag 2013

Conrad Stoltz caveman ITU Cross Triathlon Worlds 2013 finish

Above foto by Jeroen Tibbe.

My 7th World title. It didnt sink in till the last kilometer. So proud. Happy. More like exstatic. I’m blessed with an amazing career. Wonderfully supportive sponsors. Genes- I’m turning 40 in October and still winning. (thanks Mom and Dad) Rocket scientist coach Ian Rodger. My wife Liezel. So much goes into this job/life/career, its hard to phantom and acknowledge all in a paragraph or even a blog. It really reaches deep.

For example- the guy in the purple shirt with the big smile- his name is Andre de Beer from Pretoria, South Africa. (raced AG earlier in the day) From when I was 14 and onwards, (thats 1988) my dad and I did douzens of triathlons in Verwoerdburg (now Centurion) organized by Andre de Beer. We also raced together back then. (I still remember pacing advice he once gave me.) He is one of the many many people who helped form my career. Seeing his smile and shaking his hand in thanks afterwards is just one of the many things which give me shivers and makes me realize the intricacy of  life, never mind success.

Conrad Stoltz ITU Cross Triathlopn Worlds 2013 beach bike Specialized

A quick race recap- full blog coming soon:

Thanks to some “specialized” equipment, (pun intended) #aeroiseverything Specialized Evade helmet,  TT bars (on a mountain bike?!) crazy wheel/tire setup, a few clever lines, some skills, some luck and a lot of hard pedaling and serious suffering, I caught the leaders (Ben Allen in pic above) on the 1st lap of 4 and made some good time on almost everyone.

Beach racing is much tougher than I expected. My legs were broken towards the end of the bike, and looking at the bike splits behind me, everyone was broken.

More pix on Beach Challenge.

Conrad Stoltz Caveman ITU Cross Triathlon World Champs 2013 Specialized bike stairs

Barging into the long soft, deep, sandy sections, you need all the speed you can get off the stairs. With 12 psi in the tires, it becomes a circus act. Remember Caveman-ism, “Speed is your friend…”

I did have to keep my eye on 2008 XTERRA World Champ, Ruben Ruzafa, who was 1.15 down going into the 9km sandy slog through the dunes. Also referred to as “the run leg.” After one lap (of 3) I only gave up 5 seconds on the lighter Spaniard, and knew I had the race in the bag. The last few km I made sure to enjoy the people and especially the emotions. I thought of Burry Stander (his mom, Mandie sent a special message “remember Burry is there with you” the night before) I thought of my dad who would have LOVED my 7th World title. I thought of my Creator and the way He has blessed my life, and I thought about my wife Liezel who often puts even more into my career than I do…

Conrad Stoltz Liezel Stoltz Specialized Renegade 2.3 cutting tires

Like this pic above. More about my equipment and “how many knobbies on a 2.3 Specialized Renegade tire?”,  tire cutting and strategy in the next blog….

In the meantime, hats off to Ruben, Brice and everyone who did battle on the dunes of Kijkduin, Holland.

Conrad Stoltz ITU Cross Triathlopn Worlds 2013 podium

Interesting how the podium is a mixing pot of athletes from various disciplines:

From L to R: 2nd- Ruben Ruzafa- long time professional Mountain Bike racer, now 70.3 and off road triathlete. 1st long time Caveman from Duathlon, ITU Olympic dist, Olympic non drafting, off road triathlon and some MTB background. 3rd Brice Daubord– ITU Olympic dist athlete.

Pos First Name Last Name Country Time Swim T1 Bike T2 Run
1 Conrad Stoltz RSA 02:01:38 00:10:05 00:01:03 01:11:08 00:00:29 00:38:54
2 Ruben Ruzafa ESP 02:01:52 00:10:21 00:01:07 01:11:56 00:00:29 00:38:02
3 Brice Daubord FRA 02:02:37 00:09:48 00:00:57 01:14:43 00:00:25 00:36:46
4 Kris Coddens BEL 02:03:04 00:11:36 00:01:13 01:12:32 00:00:25 00:37:20
5 Gonzalo Raul Tellechea ARG 02:03:15 00:10:10 00:01:03 01:15:20 00:00:32 00:36:11
6 Tomas Jurkovic SVK 02:03:30 00:10:20 00:01:10 01:13:50 00:00:24 00:37:48
7 Victor Manuel Del Corral Morales ESP 02:03:53 00:10:51 00:01:04 01:15:06 00:00:25 00:36:30
8 Ben Allen AUS 02:05:18 00:09:22 00:00:50 01:14:15 00:00:31 00:40:22
\9 Paul Embrechts BEL 02:07:06 00:10:44 00:01:06 01:14:49 00:00:31 00:39:58
10 Diederik Scheltinga NED 02:07:15 00:10:38 00:01:03 01:14:51 00:00:32 00:40:13

 

Click here for full results.

Liezel Stoltz Traveling Caveman style

I’m writing this from Rome. I’m racing XTERRA Italy this weekend. We traveled somewhat Caveman style last night- Princess Hotstuff caught some winks in Zurich- with the podium flowers refreshing in a ClifBar water bottle on the side.

More adventures (and a proper Cross Tri blog) to come…

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Cavegirl on the way!!!

Cavegirl on the way!!!
Liezel and I are happy to announce our baby girl on the way! We are 23 weeks in, #PrincessHotstuff is fit and trim, and for me, time is not moving fast enough!  Due date 15-5-15. Suuuuper excited prix viagra en pharmacie! With these genes, she’ll be shooting hoops while wheelie-ing at the age of 3. […]
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Being the Caveman is hard work- have been busy…

Being the Caveman is hard work- have been busy…
As you all know, its easy to overindulge and pack on the pounds during the festive season, so Cross Training is a key ingredient to keeping the Caveman fit and flexable. Gotta keep on top of skills training too. Breakfast sure wasnt pretty. But its all part of the food chain… Like I said, being […]
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Caveman wins in mountain region of Scanno at XTERRA Italy

Caveman wins in mountain region of Scanno at XTERRA Italy
XTERRA Italy has the most amazing course! Parts through the old mountain town of Scanno. To the tune of "eye of the tiger" (thanks DJ Jack!) Caveman wins XTERRA Italy by 4 minutes. XTERRA Italy made is debut in the idyllic mountain town of Scanno, in the province of Abruzzo. In terms of the culture […]
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Caveman’s specialized equipment choices in quest for 7th World title

Caveman’s specialized equipment choices in quest for 7th World title
#aeroiseverything #soisfattyres #dittohorsepower ITU Cross Triathlon Worlds 2013 Long version Cross Tri Worlds Highlights. (Short version- 2.40) Racing through the dunes, stairs and sidewalks of Holland proved a fertile ground for innovative equipment choices.  From the video you can get a feel for the course- but the real test was the long sections of deep, […]
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a Caveman car for a Caveman situation…

a Caveman car for a Caveman situation…
Caveman’s Stellenbosch Kelfords Ford Fietsta Ambiente 1.4 [Open letter to friend and owner of Kelfords Ford and Mazda in Somerset West, South Africa] Dear Tristan, Thank you very much for the use of your wonderful little Ford Fiesta. We love the fuel economy, (5.9L per 100km) the nippy handling, the voice activated, hands free phone […]
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Cheers to a remarkable 2012

Cheers to a remarkable 2012
18 races, 1 World Title (ITU Cross Tri), my 10th XTERRA USA Series title, 10 victories, 16 podiums and many many special memories. My sporting highlight was winning my 2nd ITU Cross Triathlon World Title in Pelham Alabama, USA. a Personal highlight was sharing the entire year and all the remarkable experiences with my gorgeous […]
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