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David Kennedy Thompson |
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Copyright David Thompson 2006 |
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70.3, Clearwater FL, VA (November 10, 2007) In reference to my race at Clearwater 70.3, I want to state that I’m against drafting and ride as hard as I can to avoid groups of riders where drafting can occur. When I race, I go flat out from start to finish. On Saturday, I was able to stay ahead of the “peloton” and lead 17 out of 30 miles on the bike course until I was involve in a drafting call I disagree with. At no point in the race do I believe I was drafting. I decided to not the finish the race as a sign of protest. Frankly, I’m stunned that my season end in such a manner. That said, I do recognize that officials perform a difficult and thankless job, and I appreciated those officials that are working to make races fair for all athletes. As an athlete who supports non-drafting races, I would like to be a part of increasing the fairness of this sport by reducing the epidemic of penalty-free drafting, and the apparent distribution of unwarranted “token” drafting penalties. ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championship, Richmond, VA (October 21, 2007) This will be short and sweet. The LC Duathlon World Championship race is a 15k run, 80k bike, and 7.5 k run. The bike is supposed to be non-drafting, however, the International Triathlon Union decided to implement a draft legal 7 meter rule. That is, bikes are supposed to be spaced 7 meters from front wheel to front wheel with only 5 meters of open space. I know it is difficult to be an official, but once the race unfolds it’s pretty easy to know who is going to be drafting. Just ride by the lead group or chase group and don’t just give a token penalty to one unlucky guy. Bust the whole lot. The big Belgian received the token penalty, but from everyone else’s point of view he wasn’t the only one in the group who deserved a penalty. As for my race, I was chasing the group and being chased by another group. Fortunately for me I was riding faster than everyone until I got a flat about halfway through lap 3. The course was made up of 4 laps, each just under 20k. I made it to the wheel pit at the start of lap 4 and made a rear wheel change, but was passed by the chase group of 6. I took off in pursuit, but was able to maintain speed and was passed by another group of riders. I just figured I was getting tired until I noticed a pile of tire dust on my left chain stay. My new rear wheel had been rubbing for the last 10 k. The fist mechanical took me out a potential podium finish and the second mechanical failure took me out of the money. The copious amount of glass on the course also ruined the race for USA teammate Tom Jeffery. At least I’ve got my flat tires out of the way for the year, and I should have smooth sailing at Clearwater 70.3. Toyota US Open - Life Time Fitness Series Championship (October 14, 2007) Simply put I had a good race considering everything worked against me. I knew I wasn’t going to swim well being out the water for a week during Interbike, pool maintenance, and other travel requirements. I rode well posting the 3rd fastest bike split. I ran a solid 33 min run split for my non-drafting race. The factors out of my control that worked against me were the false swim start that was allowed to go, giving most of the field a head start. Secondly, the legal or allowed lead draft pack partially caused by the limited road allowance. Thirdly, there were so many cones on the bike and run course that you didn’t know which way you were going. Were the cones for the cars or for the racers? The cones actually promoted cutting the course and acted as obstacles when cars knocked them over into the course. However, I would like to praise the Life Time Fitness crew for bringing this big money series to reality and for the great job they did with their race in Minneapolis. I’d also like to thank Toyota for their support of triathlon. In closing, Greg Bennett did the unthinkable this year and from what I can tell deserves my congratulations. Cancun 70.3 (September 8, 2007) This was the last race to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, FL. I had not planned on racing either Cancun or Clearwater, but the One O One series championship was canceled. The 70.3 World Championship and One O One Championship were scheduled for the same weekend. So, I made the trip to Cancun, accompanied by my younger brother Brent, aka BT. Before and after the race, BT and I had a good time body surfing on the beach in front of our hotel. The rain storms that passed through everyday provided some good sized surf.
As for the race, it was expected to be a drafting, non-drafting race if that makes sense. Mexican Triathlon rules only require 5 or 7 meters between bikes, which is quite close. Two other factors that also contributed to a liberal non-drafting race is that the rules were not talked about at the pre-race meeting, and the penalty for drafting is only a stopping penalty. Meaning, as soon as you come to a stop and pick up your bike with both hands you can proceed. There is no time penalty as I understand.
Here's how the race shook out. According to splits from the crowd, I came out with Chris Leigh and Matt Leito about 1:25 down. Within 3 miles on the bike, I caught Paul A, some other guy, and Richie C. Chris Leigh followed me all the way up to them and all the way across the gap to Simon Lessing and Luke McKenzie. We didn't catch them until about 15 miles in. Oscar actually passed me just before the junction was made to the 2 leaders. I made a move shortly after the junction was made, but it only strung things out for a mile. When Simon passed me. he kindly informed me that with a 5 or 7 meter draft rule he was still free wheeling when I just rode 450 plus watts for the last 2 min. There were two officials with us the entire time, but with a 5 or 7 meter rule, there was no use in trying another move on the bike. I sat in the rest of the way. However, Oscar made a move on the second lap. If I hadn't followed him, he might have rode away. He was riding well. He actually spent a good portion of time in the front. Pacific Grove (September 8, 2007) The biggest news from Pacific Grove is that every swimmer made it out of water without incident. Earlier in the week, a local surfer was attacked by a 12 foot Great White Shark in Monterey Bay. The surfer was sitting on his board facing the ocean in about 6 ft of water 50 ft from shore. He survive with the help out fellow surfers and a pod of dolphins slapping the water according to second accounts. The shark was still assumed to be in the area because a dead seal washed up on shore later in the week. The good news for my fellow competitors and me was that the kelp would hopefully provide a barrier. As for the actual race, most of the men came out of the swim in a large group, around 20. There were 3 or 4 attempts at a breakaway before one suck. John Dahlz, Brandon Rikta, Brian Lavelle, and Luke McKenzie made up the break. They held the main pack to a 30 second deficit going into transition. I made no attempt to go with any break. I wanted to see how fast I could run, and I tore out of T2 making up all 30 seconds on the four leader in the 1st mile. Riding on the front takes a lot of you running legs. However, I still excited to take the lead before mile 1 with Victor Plata and Matt Charbot in tow. As we finished mile 2, I made a surge to try and drop Victor and Matt. Matt closed the gap and Victor smartly countered my attack. Matt hung on to Victor for a bit, but I slowly reeled him in. Then the two of us worked together to hold Victor even around 20 to 30 sec ahead. I made two attempts to lose Matt before the finish, but I think he was actually the strongest on the day. If he could have hung onto Victor him might have won. Anyway, our sprint for 2nd came down to the final 200 m. I had forced him to the front, hoping to get the jump. Matt was snaking across the road to try and force me out of hiding. I made a good move about 150 m from the line, but Matt had a great sprint. He took second and I competed the podium. Chicago (August 26, 2007) The men’s podium went Greg Bennett, Craig Walton, and David Thompson. I was excited to be on the podium at one of the Life Time Fitness Series races. I had to put forth a red-line effort from start to finish to take third. The unique event at Chicago this year was the false start that actually got called back. Someone said they heard a cow bell. I find it hard to hear anything with water in my ears. I go when I see movement. You have to go at this level. I was surprise they actually call us back. Walton smacked his head the boat that pulled across the swim lane to stop us. There were some explicative shouted and high tensions at that point, which wasn’t good for anyone. When the race officially starting, my swim and bike abilities were feeling the effects of hard training, but my running legs felt awesome after coming off a maximal effort to catch Craig Walton and Greg Bennett on the bike. With the 3rd fastest run, I managed to hold onto 3rd place behind Craig. Pigman Half (August 19, 2007) Pigman is always a fun race for me. I’ve set the course record at the Pigman Half 5 times. As Kevin O’Connor will tell you it is not an easy race but it is actually a scenic event. Bike course is rolling in and out of the Cedar River Valley. The run starts and ends on the highest point in the area, so you can actually get a nice view. However, the race is in August in the Midwest, so high humidity is normal. Even with temperatures in the 80’s, my body was still hot because there’s not evaporation. In the end, I went 3:58:17 (24:42 swim, 2:12:29 bike, and 1:18:45 run). Jeremy Sartain was 2nd, but Kevin O’Connor had the best race of the day finishing only 1:03 behind Jeremy in 4:12:48. 5430 Long Course Triathlon (August 12, 2007) The inevitable happened this weekend. The airline lost my luggage for the second time this season. By 10 PM the night before the race, I still didn’t have any luggage, so the plan was to borrow a bike and everything else for Lars and Emily Finanger. Just as I was leaving at 5:30 AM for the race, guess what shows up? Magically, my bike and suit case, which were supposed to by back in MN show up - great hustle NWA. What else could I do? Logically, I had to try and assemble by bike and repack for the race in 30 min. Then, I just had to ride to the race in 15 min, dump my bike and gear in transition in 10 min, use the port-a-john in 5, and get to the start with before the gun when off. With only 100 yard warm up, I wasn’t expecting to swim well. However, I was pleasantly surprised to come out of the water 6th in a group of 4 lead by Paul Ambrose. On the bike, I managed to pull into the lead by mile 4 or 5 and was rolling along quite well. Unofficially, I rode the 56 mile course in 2:02 (27.5 mph). At least I think it was a solid ride, and it gave me a 3:20 cushion going into the run. However, Chris Leigh is a good runner, but if I’m running in my own shoes, I’m not too bad either. I held off Chris and am going home with winner ‘s check is today. However, if the airlines lose my luggage again, I don’t expect matter to end on such a good note. Insidetri.com coverage Daily Camera coverage Daily Camera Photos Fire House 50 TTT & Brew House Tri (Aug 4 & 5, 2007) This was a fun double header. Kevin (my boss) and I team up to break the old two man time trial record set in 1992 at the Fire House 50 in Grand View, WI. The 50 mile course actually has some elevation change. The start is below the North/South Continental divide - water on the northsdie flows into Canada and water South flows osI, it’s worth the trip. The swim venue Spirit of Racine Half (July 22, 2007) If you haven’t been to Racine, WI, it’s worth the trip. The swim venue is great. You get an ocean swim without the salt water. It’s a point to point swim along beautiful North Beach, which is fine soft sand. Spectators can watch the start, and then watch the race as they walk back to the swim exist and T1. I came out of the water with Will Smith and Richie Cunningham is toe. It’s a long run on sand to T1 from the water, and I was hoping to get a gap going onto the bike. I wanted to ride as fast as I did last year (2:06 for 56 miles). This year I powered through the course in 2:06:20 or 26.6 mph. Going onto the run, I rolled my ankle running along the edge of the new bike path. The TV moto-bike was to my left, so I was trying to stay as far away from the exhaust as possible. I was able to keep running, but right-hand corners were especially difficult after that. Fortunately for me, I still came away with the win, a course record and $5000. Life Time Fitness Triathlon (July 14, 2007) First of all, congratulations to the Gear West Corporate Challenge Relay Team of Kevin O’Connor, Todd King, and Eric Ellingson who meet the challenge by over 12 minutes and won $50,000 for Overall it was a great day for Gear West, Cathy Yndestad took the elite amateur series championship, Curt Wood was 2nd in the elite amateur men’s race, and hundreds of tri club members and gear west customers showed up to race. The support on the race course during the pro race was incredible and I’m sure that it helped me bike and run faster than any previous year. Now we just need to get a few more of you out on the swim course, scuba gear anyone? Actually, I was in an okay position out of the water this year. With Craig Walton in the race, I was hoping to emerge from T1 less than 1:30 down from him. Heading out onto the bike course, I heard someone called out 1:20 down on the leaders. Matt Reed left T1 just ahead of Peter Robertson (Robo), TJ Tollakson, and me. Riding up West River Road, I overtook Matty, Phillip Ospaly, and Volodymyr Polikarpenko. one by one before reaching the Franklin Bridge (mile 6). Coming off the bridge, with the wind at my back, I was able to grind away in my 53x11 (30-33mph) down East River Road closing on a pack of six riders and a motorbike official. As I made the pass on the pack at mile10, Craig Alexander and Stephen Hackett were out in front riding hard. I planned on using the 270 degree corner going onto the Ford Bridge and the pave corner heading back onto Minnehaha to create separation form the group. However, Rasmus Henning must have shot the corners cleanly as he tried to go we me as the course headed west passed by Nokomis and the crowds of spectators. I Kept the “hammer down” down knowing I needed to ride fast and could see Bruno Pias in 2nd and Craig Walton in 1st just 20 to 30 seconds up the road. I passed Craig Walton for the lead just after Minnehaha and Lindale (mile 16) and form what I could tell before he broke his bike. Coming into T2 alone was a great feeling especially in front of the home town crowd. Now, I just had to put together a decent run. In the end, four riders from the pack caught me. The exception was Bruno Pias, who only trailed me by 30 seconds into T2. Pias deserves some praise for working hard throughout the race. Greg Bennett ran a 30:59 10k for the win. I had a solid 33 something run. I needed to run 32 low to hold off Greg, but I’m $4000 richer. Next year, I’m thinking $60,000 sounds good. One O One Clear Lake (June 10, 2007) Clear Lake, CA is probably one of the best venues for a race. The town got behind the event; the roads were scenic and covered varying terrain; and the lake is beautiful. As for the race, I had confidence going into the race stemming from good workouts and my pervious win at the inaugural One O One in Bradenton, FL. During the swim, I got on Brian Lavelle’s feet and hung on to come out of the water in second with a gap behind us. My plan was to build a lead right out of T1, and I did. At the end of lap 1 of the 3 lap bike course. Time checks had me 2 minutes up on Brian. Ending lap 2, I was 3 minutes up on Brian with Jordan Rap chasing us both down. Brain and Jordan both road well to closed the gap to me to just under 2 minutes coming into T2. However, I was thinking the hilly run course would help me increase my lead. At mile 17, the best guess had me 6 minutes up on Jordan, so I was able to cruise into the finish. That run course was a monster; it had you constantly going up and down hills. My legs were screaming at me when I crossed the line, but a $10,000 winner’s check made the pain more bearable. Insidetri.com post race interview ( video) Inside Triathlon race coverage Escape from Alcatraz (June 3, 2007) I escaped from the rock yesterday, which is an accomplishment in itself. In typical San Francisco fashion, race day started out foggy and cool (52 degrees) but with slightly more wind than in previous years. Transition opened at 4:15 in Marina Park. I racked my bike and boarded a bus from transition to the Horn Blower terminal near Pier 1 by 5:00 AM. Still dark the, San Francisco Belle departed with a boat load of trigeeks for Alcatraz Island at 6:15. A tight schedule is important in order to catch the right tide. You don’t want to be swept out underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean. The question to ponder before the horn is to dive to get a fast start or to jump to minimize the risk of loosing your goggle. At the sound of a muffled horn, all the pros were hanging for over the side wonder if that was the signal. Someone to the right half-heartedly jumped, but I wasn’t going to wait around for everyone else to make up their minds. I dove in next in hopes of escaping the tugs and elbows that come with 50 pros starting at once. At 57 degrees, the water numbs everything not cover by neoprene, which is a good thing when start running on rocky asphalt from the swim exit to T1. As the swim ended, I tailed Brandon Rikta leading the chase behind a breakaway of around 10 with Andy Potts 30 seconds in the lead of them. After the long run in a wetsuit and bare feet, I started pushing my pedals as hard as I could to catch everyone in front of me. By the turn into Golden Gate Park, I was in 6th with Greg Remaly, Bevin Docherty, and Greg Bennett in sight. As the halfway point on the bike passes, the road begins a long gradual descent back towards the Pacific. On this descent, I bombed by Bevin and Greg Bennett just before making a 90 degree right hand turn back on the GGG highway. With momentum in hand, I passed Greg Remaly and could see Matt Reed and a moto-cam just ahead. After cresting the climb at the Legion of Honor, I passed Matt for second on the downhill section to Baker Beach. With my stomach on the saddle and my chin on the aerobars, I flew down the last downhill section from Golden Gate Bridge to Crissy Field, hoping to close the last 30 seconds to Andy. As I left the bike rack, Andy was running out of transition, and for the first 800 meters, I thought I was going to catch him. No dice, I hung on to Bevin as he passed for 200 meters, and then Greg Bennett and Matt Reed blew by. My calves were cramping and Ramely, who was 20 seconds back could taste blood in the water. I held him off until mile 3, and as the six of us made our way along Baker Beach, I could see from the turn around that we had a huge gap behind us. Sixth was a lock if I could make it up the sand ladder. I wish my legs where in better shape, but that’s what happens when you miss workouts. Congratulations to all the finishers of the 2007 Escape from Alcatraz. Apple Duathon (May 27, 2007) Tom Jeffrey flew in to make an already super-competitive local race a lung buster. Hannah and I hosted Tom during his visit to Minnesota, and we had a great time while he stayed with us. As for the race, Neil Miller, Tom, Ryan G, and I went out in 4:50 for the first mile of the 5k run, which is just what I needed. Ryan finish the first run just ahead of Tom and I. We swooped into T1 in 15:32 and stormed out just ahead of Ryan. Tom held a 10 second gap for about 3 miles. I made a strong pass and through all the coal on the fire to try and put a gap between us. Tom is a strong rider; earlier in the year Tom put more than 2 minutes on me on the bike course at the Richmond Duathlon. So, I was happy my pass held and the gap grew to about a 1:30 going into T2. From here, I was able to hold the gap into the finish, beating my old course record by more than a minute. Top Five: David T, Tom Jeffrey, Ryan G, Dan Cohen, Neil Miller Gear West Duathlon (May 20, 2007) Curt Wood had the most impressive performance of the Day. If Curt had a running background instead of swimming, he would have probable taken the win from me. Curt out split me on the bike by around 2 minutes in less than 18 miles, and I consider myself one of the best riders on the pro circuit. Curt finished 3rd overall holding off the runners, who were in hot pursuit. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Gear West Duathlon, it’s a 5k run on a cross-course, followed by a on-road 17 to 18 mile bike course, and complete on a slight shorter version of the first run course. Bradenton (May 6, 2007) I liked my chances, but as I learned more about the international field that showed up at the pro meeting Saturday evening, I knew I would have to race well. It was the ladies putting the hurt on after the mass swim start. Ashley Carusone came out of the water 1st leaving me 3:10 back with Ironman champ Marino Vanhoenacker (Belgium). Ashley is a University of Florida swimmer, which means she’s fast. The water was over 82 degree, and I feel cooler once I got out of the water and moving on the bike course even though the air was 85 degrees and 90% humidity. After two steady laps of 13 plus miles, I over took Stephen Bayliss (Grb) for the lead only to have Marino catch me during lap 4. As we started lap 5 (55 miles in), I still felt good and decided to try and drop the Belgian – success. Coming in to T2, eye witnesses had me anywhere from 3 to 5 minute up. Fortunately, my legs felt okay, and to my surprise, I increased the gap behind me to 10 minutes. My longest run ever is 14 miles, which was back in college. So, by mile 13, I wanted to call it a day, but for $10,000, I decided to just keep running. At the finish, Stephen Bayliss cut my lead to 9 min. Congratulations to him and to Nathan Korteum for running himself into third. Nathan swam at Mankato State in Minnesota with Curt Wood, who finish second in the St. Anthony’s elite amateur race two weeks earlier. Highlights: lots of $$$ for a triathlete, first class upgrade on the outbound and return flight, only one bike box charge, awesome home-stay at Steve Bulter’s place in Venice, FL Link to Slowtwitch live race coverage Link to Inside Triathlon coverage Link to Pictures by Timothy Carlson St. Anthony’s Triathlon (April 29, 2007) A beautiful day for a race. Four thousand plus racers and I showed up to race Sunday. I awoke at 5 am (4am my time) to temperatures in the 70’s, a clear sky, and a light breeze. I thought my overall fitness would give me the capability of top 5 finish. However, my fractured wrist did hinder my swimming and to a lesser degree my bike performance. I came out of the water a disappointing 1:18 down from the back of the lead pack, swimming 19:18 for 1500 m. I then proceeded to bungle T1 while I was still within striking distance by leave the rack without my helmet. I had to run back and put it on to avoid a DQ. On the upside, I kept my head in the race and managed to pass 8 guys on the bike course, and then get off and run and additional 4 places down. Three of which were out of sight leaving T1. Overall, I’m not rating St Anthony’s as a success, but I did make a promising showing considering the circumstances. On another note, my Gear West team mate, Curt Wood, finished 2nd in the amateur race, posting the fastest amateur bike split. Highlights: I stepped on a open safety pin on walk from transition to the swim start; My tetanus shot is good until 2012; First class upgrade on flight to Tampa; A nice agent didn’t charge me a $80 bike box charge on the return flight, which would have really cut into profit margin. Powerman Alabama (April 15, 2007) A outstanding result for David Thompson of Gear West Bike & Triathlon, David pulls out the victory over Tom Jeffrey in the last mile of the run after a hard bike ride in 40 degree and rain. It is a day for the true hard men of the sport - a classic battle to be remembered throughout the ages. Or, at least that is what I imagine Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen commentating. The gang is all there: Tom Jeffrey, Greg Krause, Josiah Middaugh, Josh Beck, and some foreigners. Tom, Greg, and I come into T2 together as the lead contingent. Tom gets out quick, but I reel him just passed mile 1 during the second run of 8k. From here, we run neck and neck (Dave Scott and Mark Allen style), until I get a gap with about a mile to go and stretch into 7 seconds running downhill to the finish. It’s a hard way to win a race – much more enjoyable to cruise in. Highlights: A big victory; A spot on the US team for Worlds; No bike box charge on the return flight Richmond Duathlon (April 7, 2007) Snowing and 32 degree is not what I or everyone in Richmond expect for a race in April. But, we raced anyway – run 5.8, bike 36, run 5.8. Tom Jeffrey and family hosted Hannah and I. We had a great time hanging out with their children Jack and Ellie. Jack loves NASCAR and Ellie loves to talk. In the race, I surmounted a late charge to take 3rd over Jason Sponge from South Africa, who now resides in Richmond. However, the day belonged to Josh Beck, former pro bike racer and part polar bear. Tom had a great race too, putting 10 seconds on me in each of 8 laps during the bike, and held onto second. Highlights: My wife, Hannah, came with; No bike box charge on the outbound or return flight - $160 left in my pocket; a long training ride on the LC Duathlon World Championship bike course in Richmond, VA California 70.3 (March 31, 2007) The purpose of flying all for way to sunny San Diego was to get in a good hard effort, a training race. I ended up with finishing 12th, a good result. I had a relatively fast ride and swim. I came out the water in the first chase group behind Andy Potts, and rode myself into second passed Luke Bell by about mile 20. From here, second place went back and forth until I made a break for it at mile 40. I held a gap for about 5 miles until Louis Elliot bridged up to me and brought along a friend. At mile 48, I started to lose a bit of power and the duo slip away from me and the gang behind caught up. But, I managed a late charge to enter transition in 4th with small gap behind me. The plan for the run was to avoid blowing-up and to have fun. Running felt slow, but I ran as top guy not to have spend the winter training in the Southern Hemisphere until Michael Lovato and Jasper Blake passed me at mile 8. Shortly, before I took a pee-break at a pot-a-pot, which made the last 5 miles much more enjoyable. There was quite a few people on the boardwalk and no bushes. Highlights: Tested out wind shoe covers on the bike; Awesome homestay with Janet and Dan Polder; 69 degree air temp; First class upgrade on the outbound and return flight |
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2007 Race Reports |