Sorry we are a bit late on the WiR this week. The team spent the weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida both racing and checking out the action at the St. Anthony’s triathlon. But after a good night’s rest, the team is back at AG headquarters getting our latest reviews ready for you!
This past week was action packed with five new articles. We kicked off the week with our thoughts on Rudy Project’s Wing57. Up next was the back-to-back introduction of the Omega X and Alpha X by TriRig. And finally, we finished up the week with our Final Thoughts on ENVE’s SES Aero bar and Giant’s introduction of their new Rivet and Rivet TT helmets. Talk about a great week!
For those visiting for the first time—welcome! One of our favorite ways to showcase our readers is our Readers’ Rides album on Facebook. You can check it out at http://on.fb.me/12jEqE3. If you would like to have your bike featured in our album just tweet us at @AeroGeeks, Facebook message us, or email us at info@AeroGeeks.com.
This Week’s Posts
Monday – Rudy Project Wing57 – Review
Tuesday – TriRig Omega X – First Look, TriRig Alpha X – First Look
Thursday – ENVE SES Aero Bar – Final Thoughts
Friday – Giant Rivet and Rivet TT – First Look
St. Anthony’s Triathlon
Traditionally, St. Anthony’s tends to be one of the best-attended races in Florida. Between a pro prize purse of well over $50,000 and a regional qualifier USA Triathlon Olympic Distance Championship, you get the best of the pro and aero age group fields.
Saturday Swim Practice
The AG team was hanging around the race pavilion on Saturday and bumped into a few fans who happened to recognize our distinctive AG shirts. Great to see everyone who said hello! We also had a chance to meet up with ISM (one of the major race sponsors) and talk a little about their lineup for 2015. We first started seeing the lineup at Interbike with their new PN (Performance Narrow) 1.1.
The ISM team is making some changes to their product naming conventions. For example, rather than using specific product names (Road, Podium, etc.), they’re using acronyms. In terms of saddle shape, this means that ISM will now have the Performance Narrow (PN), Performance Long (PL), Performance Short (PS), and Performance Recreation (PR). Additionally, there will be multiple padding options available for each shape (1.1, 2.0. 4.0).
We also met up up with T1Pro to check out their magnetic Race Belt. For anyone who has fumbled with clipping their race belt as they run out of T2, the T1Pro may be an option worth considering. The buckle is completely magnetic, and on first inspection, seems plenty strong enough to last the entirety of a race. Currently offered with or without gel loops, the T1Pro looks like a very interesting option for those among us who routinely rely on a gel or race number belt. We should get one for more comprehensive testing soon.
Sunday came race day, and unfortunately the winds made for very challenging conditions for the pros and age groupers alike. On the men’s pro side, Cameron Dye made it his race to lose almost from the start. While Tommy Zafares led out of the water he was followed closely by Eric Lagerstrom and Dye. But by the time Dye got out of T2 he had already built quite a lead. Dye finished in 1:47:59, 37 seconds ahead of Kaleb VanOrt who finished in 1:48:36. Lagerstrom rounded out the men’s podium at 1:50:03.
Cameron Dye crossing the finish line
On the women’s side, Alicia Kaye won the overall in 2:00:30 – beating Magali Tisseyre, who clocked in at 2:03:03. In her first year as a pro, Heather Lendway placed third with a time of 2:07:04.
Alicia Kaye crossing the line
Readers’ Rides
In last week’s WiR, we asked for readers to show off their rides, and both James and Ricky stepped up. Ricky showed off his Cannondale Slice and James (who now has two bikes in our Readers’ Rides gallery) showed us his new Emonda.
You can check out the full gallery at http://on.fb.me/12jEqE3. If you would like to have your bike featured in our album just tweet us at @AeroGeeks, Facebook message us, or email us at info@AeroGeeks.com.
Pros and their Cars
While triathlon is the primary topic around AG headquarters, cars come in at a very close second. That’s why we got such a kick out of SlowTwitch.com’s Pro Triathletes and their Cars. Our personal favorite was how Leanda Cave has managed to turn a Gallardo into a reliable bike transport. Though a close runner up was the fact that Rinny waited for her second Ironman World Championship to invest in a TT. And finally, we have Conrad Stoltz in his pickup and Gwen Jorgensen in her Honda Odyssey. If you have 5 minutes, this is definitely a fun read.
[UPDATED 4/29 – We incorrectly printed Dye was first out of the water but he was in fact third]