Sportief nieuws

Boston marathon

On April 21st I participated for the 2nd time to the Boston marathon. Initially I was going to pace my friend Ethan Michaels to a new PB 2h59 but unfortunately Ethan could not start the race. The event was magnificent as usual and I finished in 2h41’47” without digging too deep (despite hitting the deck pretty hard right after the start). Very happy with this result and a confirmation that the hard work with Roland at ESP and Ulli during yoga are a great addition to the workouts from coach Loic! Time to bike now!

Trainingsblog

Great weekend in Gerardmer

The first weekend of each September, Gerardmer in France is the place to be for one of the best triathlon events in Europe. It is a wonderful and very challenging course with superb organization. As usual I participated in the half distance on Saturday which consists of a 1.9k swim in a beautiful lake, a 94k bike ride (including 1900m of climbing) and an almost 22k run around that same beautiful lake. This was a last test before Kona and I am happy with the outcome: agegroup win and 20th overall on a course that is not so well suited for heavy guys like me [Read more…]

Summer in brief – Victory in Mont-Tremblant

Lots of work, lots of travel and lots of training doesn’t leave that much time for blogging! Anyway, summer is almost over and it was a great season overall. First of all, I’d like to express lots of gratitude toward all people who have been very supportive this season: my girlfriend Karen, family, friends and gear and nutrition sponsors! The latter I will put in the spotlight during the weeks leading up to the important race this year. First a little recap!  [Read more…]

On track

Kona is still 5 months away so to keep myself in shape in the meantime I have done a few little races while keeping training routine as consistent as possible. Weather in Europe has been very crappy so most workouts are done indoors. In that respect it is nice to do a race now and then to check whether my indoor feeling great during training also translates to outdoor speed. So far I can’t complain [Read more…]

Boston marathon

It started off as a wonderful day. The goal was pacing my friend Ethan to a 3h marathon and that went really well. We finished in 3h00’53”. The celebration of this accomplishment only lasted for a short time. A bomb went off about an hour after our finish right at the finish area. A location were families and volunteers are cheering for their loved ones. All my sympathy goes to everybody who is affected by this drama. This is beyond words…

Things are going great!

2012 was a strange year in many ways. There were some ups and downs and I got injured a few times which normally never happens to me. But in the end things turned out great with a second AG title in Kona and more balance in my life in general. 2013 promises to be a ‘grand cru’ year. Training feels great and my life couldn’t be better. [Read more…]

Kona 2013

Post Kona media coverage

There was some good post Kona press exposure which is nice for me but also for my gear sponsors who make it possible for me to be at my best while having access to the best material! [Read more…]

Kona age group worldchampion – part 3!

3 weeks pass by so quickly when having a good time! In short: I won the amateur world title in Kona for the third consecutive time, had a new personal best, broke the course record and biked faster than I believed I was capable to. This really is the icing on the great cake 2013 already was before heading out to Kona! A recap follows soon, as well as some reflection on my prerace preparation and my future in triathlon. In the mean time there is always facebook

Product reviews

Powercranks!

I am a hardcore powercranker since the beginning of 2011. Powercranks are for me the number one trainingstool to take off for the next level. They improve balance, make you stronger and boost your running and cycling endurance. Sure they are controversial. But they work for me and thousands of other athletes. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you want to know more about them or give them a try.

Rotor Q Rings

Sinds 2012 heb ik Rotor Q rings aan mijn wapen arsenaal toegevoegd. In het verleden had ik al eens met een ander type ovalen kettingblad geëxperimenteerd maar was toen niet overtuigd. We zijn echter enkele jaren verder en mijn fietstechniek is ondertussen grondig geëvolueerd door gebruik te maken van mijn andere favoriete trainingstool.  [Read more…]

Gaerne fietsschoenen

Wat materiaal betreft experimenteer ik graag. Eén uitzondering echter: fietsschoenen… Sinds het begin van mijn triathlon carrière rijd ik met dezelfde schoenen. Een paar Carnacs en een paar Specialized schoenen. Na 9 jaar hebben die schoenen het echter een beetje gehad en het werd tijd voor iets nieuws. De schoenenmarkt is echter redelijk uitgebreid tegenwoordig…  [Read more…]

Rudy Project Wingspan

De dag voor mijn vertrek naar Kona gaf mijn Spiuk Kronos helm de geest bij het ontstickeren. Ik had me er al mee verzoend om de wedstrijd met een gewone helm af te werken. Chrissy doet dat ook. Dat was echter buiten de actie van Rudy Project gerekend! Zij hebben in Kona 200 atleten van een helm voorzien! [Read more…]

Review: SRM vermogensmeter

Mijn SRM vermogensmeter is altijd één van mijn meest gewaardeerde trainingshulpjes geweest, omdat het in tegenstelling tot hartslag en snelheid exacte feedback geeft over wat je eigenlijk aan het uitrichten bent op de fiets.

Het is ook een ideaal middel om je progressie op te volgen, aan je fietspositie te sleutelen en het effect van allerlei andere hebbedingen zoals carbon wielen, aero helm etc te meten (of eerder: om te beseffen dat de tijdswinst die zulke zaken opleveren eigenlijk maar marginaal zijn voor de meesten). [Read more…]