Simon And Brad In Salon
I bought the August and September 1993 issues of Triathlete (FR) when I was over there on a family holiday and racing at Miramont de Guyenne.
The race was a round of the Grand Prix and the French Junior Championships. Not sure how I did. But seeing the speed of the juniors gave me plenty of motivation to train hard through the deep Slough winter.
Although I couldn’t read French at the time, I was intrigued by this article about Simon lessing and Brad Beven sharing a house. Like The Monkees. Or the Beatles in Help! I also thought the photos of Brad stabbing Simon in the back and then pulling his shorts up were pretty funny.
If I have time I’ll do a full translation tomorrow.
Images: Triathlete (FR) Septembre 1993
Who Is Doing Triathlon History? 1: Kuko
This is the first in a series of posts highlighting other people that are presenting triathlon history in a researched, mainly long-form way.
Here’s Kuko. A triathlon magazine in the now-popular quarterly-style. It’s published by Niclas Bock. Kuko is the Hawaiian word for passion. Niclas also does a pay-walled podcast and live speaking tours.
There’s been 4 issues of Kuko so far. Unfortunately they’re not available in WH Smith’s on Slough High Street. Only via Niclas’s website.
In Issue 1 they look at the Allgau Triathlon. First organised in 1983. And in Issue 3 there’s an article about iconic points in triathlon history from a mainly German point of view. Maybe they are aiming to include a history article in every other magazine. I hope so.
I’ve always wanted a J-Disc
Last year I picked up a Spengle disc wheel. And from 1991 or 1992. It’s on the vintage tri-bike that I assembled. Here’s a video.
The first production discs appeared in triathlon in 1984. Mainly the Campagnolo Ghibli and the Mavic Comete. Steve Hed was also down in his basement in St. Paul working on something back then.
Here’s a photo of Mark Allen riding a Comete at the 1985 Avignon Triathlon. All my vintage next tri-bike build aspirations right there.
And here’s Scott Tinley talking about the Ghiblis. Check out all his kit and equipment photos at the Triathlon History Museum.
“The Campagnolo Ghibli 700c rear disc wheel was perhaps the first highly coveted (and largely unavailable) piece of cycling equipment in triathlon. There were precious few coming out of Campy Europe and the price in 1984 was between $2500--$3000. The wheels were re-cycled from European pro teams that used them in time trials. To show up on race day with one of these was a badge of accomplishment, skill, money, or connections. They were noisy and heavy but on a mostly flat course, much faster than a spoked-wheel. One of the many nuanced challenges was inflating them. This required a specially-fabricated L-shaped device to be fit onto the pump hose. It looked like a 70s hash pipe and there were times when customs agents had some hard questions for those of us who traveled with the adapter.”
But when I started pimping my Dave Russell in the early-1990s I wanted a colourful J-Disc. Like Mike Pigg. They weren’t carbon. Like the Spengles, Campags, Mavics and HEDs. Instead a taught mylar film was bonded to a spoked wheel. So it was super-light and you could true it.
I even had a friend who made one in his dining room. Using a hair dryer.
I Bought A 1986 Le Coq Sportif Vest
I got this on eBay. I wrote about Le Coq Sportif shoes and tri-suits here. It fits perfectly! So I’ll do a few races in it next year.
The quality is superb. There’s three large and two small pockets in the rear. And reinforced parts for pinning numbers on the front.
Images: Tri-Athlete (FR) Septembre 1986
Dirk Aschmoneit is wearing one at Embrun in 1986 above. And Glenn Cook at St. Croix in 1988. Below. Is he walking up The Beast?
Images: Tri-Athlete (FR) Juin 1988
1986 Triathletes Of The Year
I’ve already looked at the 1988 Triathletes Of The Year. Here’s 1986. Beautiful shell-suits. Both Linda Buchanan and Mark Allen were sponsored by Nike. I love the polo shirt Mark is wearing.
Linda Buchanan had a pretty short career. 1983-1988. But she won Nice twice (1983 and 1986) and a Hilton Head (1985) in that time. See Triathlon’s Triple Crown 1985. She lists injuries and the loss of the Nike sponsorship as her reason to retire. Buchanana also dated Dave Scott.
Mark Allen’s 1986 season included a win at Nice. His 5th. And 2nd in Hawaii. His best result there so far. After 3rd in 1983. Allen also won in Avignon. Which was growing towards being a significant international rendezvous. I’ve already blogged about the 1985 and 1986 editions.
Images: Triathlete (USA) March 1987
1988 Triathletes Of The Year
I love these Triathletes Of The Year articles. I’ve got a few.
Winners were decided on a full season’s body of work. Performances at the 11 biggest races. Short and long. There was also a Readers’ Poll. And then the editors of Triathlete magazine had their say.
Both Erin Baker and Mike Pigg finished 2nd in Hawaii in 1988. And both won Kelowna. Another Unofficial World Short Course Championships. After Perth the year before. I spoke about that race in TSP11. Baker also won Nice and Pigg won Hilton Head. These races were a big deal back then.
If there had been an Olympic triathlon in Seoul in 1988. I think we can assume Baker and Pigg would have won the gold medals.
Images: Triathlete (USA) February 1989
Freestyle and Molina: Cross Training Specialists
I’m fully back to using just a Timex Triathlon now. No more GPS.
But I’d totally be into getting a Freestyle Shark or Competitor. Sharks are still available here. And I wrote some Molina stuff yesterday.
1987 Triple Crown Preview
Here’s the preview to the 1987 Triple Crown that appeared in the October 1987 issue of Triathlete. I like the We Pick The Winners! Triathlete Magazine’s Triple Crown Predictions article.
Their picks were pretty much spot on for Hilton Head and Kona. Season trends pointed to those. But neither Terry Mulgannon nor C.J. Olivares Jr. even mentioned Rick Wells and Kirsten Hanssen as Nice contenders.
The rest of the preview is also pretty comprehensive. There’s course maps, prize money breakdowns, spectator tips, past winners, how to qualify, travel advice, accommodation options and ideas of other things to do.
The 1987 season really was a cool one. The first with aerobars. And I’ve got plenty of resources to regale you with more tales later.
Images: Triathlete (USA) October 1987
Triple Crown Report 1987
Here’s the 1987 Triple Crown. USTS Nationals in Hilton Head, Hawaii and Nice. Over a four week period. I’ve already looked at 1985 and 1986.
In 1986 monetary incentives payed by Ironman encouraged the pro-athletes to miss Nice and focus on Hawaii. But in 1987 Nice and Hawaii swapped race dates. 1987 was also the first season with aerobars.
Images: Triathlete (USA) January 1988
Hilton Head was won by Kirsten Hanssen and Mike Pigg. They were also the first winners of the Coke Red Jersey as overall USTS winners.
Note that British triathlete, and one of the San Diego training pioneers, Rick Kiddle finished second in the 20-24 age-group.
In Hawaii, Dave Scott won his 6th and final Ironman title. Erin Baker won her first of two. She would go on to win again in 1990.
Note that Britain’s Sarah Springman finished 5th. In 1991 Sarah Coope became the first British athlete to finish on the podium in Hawaii.
1987 was the first year that Mark Allen decided to focus purely on Hawaii and not go to Nice. He was helped in that decision by the date switch. The whole 1987 season is documented in his book, Total Triathlete.
Kirsten Hanssen and Rick Wells won the races in Nice. Video below. Note that Herve Nicquet got France’s first podium at the event.
So. Who had the most sucessful Triple Crown campaigns? Here are my picks:
Kirsten Hanssen (1st in Hilton Head, 1st in Nice)
Greg Stewart (3rd in Hawaii, 5th in Nice)
Paula Newby-Fraser (3rd in Hawaii, 3rd in Nice)
Scott Tinley (5th in Hilton Head, 6th in Hawaii, 2nd in Nice)
Mike Pigg (1st in Hilton Head, 5th in Hawaii)
Ken Glah (3rd in Hilton Head, 5th in Hawaii, 10th in Nice)
The Terminator
By the late 1980s Mark Allen had become my favourite US triathlete. I’d read his book and been regaled with tales from Avignon. I was also already working on my own Grip Of Death on my Peugeot Elan.
I admired Mike Pigg but knew I’d never be as brave as him on the bike. I also liked to think that I ran like Steve Jones. Smooth, light, low to the ground. Pigg was a fast runner. But not textbook.
But the triathlon career I wanted to eventually have was Scott Molina’s. The 1984 Triathlete of the Year. Like me, he came from a running background but he was also super-strong in all three sports.
Molina was also famous for huge mileage. I was sixteen when I started triathlon, but whenever the school holidays rolled around I was out in Slough creating my own Molina-style training programme.
He raced often, 23 times in 1984, everywhere, and across all distances. He travelled to the races with the best prize purses because he wanted to win races and earn money. He was The Terminator!
Scott is also a super-nice guy and took the time recently to help me with TSP3 about Scott DHs. And TSP8 about the France Irontour.
The article above, Terminator 2, is from the November 1994 issue of Triathlete (USA). The piece was written just before the Irontour. Scott explained that he was having a great season even though he’d taken the whole of 1993 off to deal with some back issues.
He’d finished well up in some competitive races. 4th in Cleveland. 2nd at Boulder Peak. And was pretty much back in full training. With a new focus on quality, especially on the bike, over quantity. Below.
Images: Triathlete (USA) November 1994
Also. In the late William R. Katovsky’s editorial piece we get the story of how Scott got his famous nickname.
I have a confession to make. Almost a decade ago, when I wrote a magazine profile on this month’s cover subject, Scott Molina, I had just seen the film The Terminator. The similarities between the futuristic indestructible cyborg killing machine and the indestructible pro triathlete were hard to ignore. Hence I came up with the name Terminator as the title of my article. Funny isn’t it, how some nicknames stick.
Such is my legacy to triathlon.
Pleasingly. Scott Molina is still truckin’ into his sixties. Training and racing near his home in Christchurch, New Zealand.
I also love this story he told on Babbitville about explaining to his first father-in-law that he was going to quit his job and move to San Diego to be a professional triathlete. A job that didn’t exist in 1982.
My First Helmet
This is the Vetta Corsa. Here it’s being worn by Mark Marabini at the 1988 Warburton’s Big Bread Triathlon in Southport. Nice MB bars too!
I bought mine in 1988 from Stowes Cycles at the end of Slough High Street. They were known for their friendly service. Said nobody ever.
It might not have been lightweight. Or aero. But it was safe. As it was made from military grade, bullet-proof kevlar.
I wore it proudly through the 1989 and 1990 triathlons seasons.
Image: Triathlete (USA) May 1987
The Rest Of 1990
My plan for the 1990 triathlon season was to take my Skoda Estelle on tour and do the Carlsberg Grand Prix. The BTA released plans to restructure the series. But unfortunately it never went ahead.
However, I still did my first Olympic Distance race in Swindon and focused the rest of the season on local events such as the BTS Gravel Pit races and the monthly Harry Kitchener Series in Biggleswade.
Preparation for the season started in November 1989 by attending a training camp in Reading (below). I met other people hooked on the sport and rode the velodrome at Palmer Park. This would become a regular training venue until I left the country forever in 1996.
To further prove my growing tri-nerd creditials I also got a letter published in the February issue of 220 magazine.
At Christmas I got my first turbo trainer from Geoffrey Butler cycles in Croydon. It was a Tacx, front wheel off, fan-flywheel model.
On cold nights I’d crank the Genesis in my parents’ garage and follow sessions from Advanced Turbo Training by Peter Read. I destroyed the fan piece numerous times before retiring the trainer in the late 90s.
As I was planning to study Sports Science at university I wrote to Robin Brew to see if I could help out at one of his training camps. He said yes. Top bloke. And I attended the May novice course below.
Image: 220 (UK) January 1990
Ever since I got a road bike, maybe in 1987, and started doing longer rides out of Slough, I had been doing my own wrenching. Learning by trial and error and getting the occasional tip from Dave Russell.
So it’s surprising to me that it took until the middle of 1990 to have a self-inflicted, race-ending mechanical. It happened at the Farmer Giles Super Sprint Triathlon in Aylesbury. Race report below.
Images: 220 (UK) August 1990
In the week before the race I carried out my first cassette removal and clean. But I clearly didn’t re-tighten the lock-nut enough. So mid-race all the sprockets moved right, off the free-hub. Lesson learnt.
As a fan I was psyched to follow the 220 Marathon Triathlon. This was the ironman distance event organised out of Cotswold Water Park by the 220 Magazine crew. Entry fee was only £2:20 for subscribers.
Images: 220 (UK) May 1990. 220 (UK) July 1990.
A race report is below. I’d actually considered entering. But I found out that I was too young. It would have been a complete disaster. In 1991 they moved the event to Ironbridge and even had Kona slots.
Images: 220 (UK) August 1990. Triathlete (UK) August 1990.
I was hoping to end my season at the Portsmouth International Triathlon. It was the race organised by Tri-Athlete Magazine. In 1988 and 1989 the event was held in Southport. And in 1989 it was covered by the BBC.
But my entry was returned because I wasn’t 18. I remember writing back to say that Spencer Smith also wasn’t 18 yet but they’d accepted his entry anyway. I guess they thought he was going to be a big deal.
Again. Full blog post on that event coming soon.
Image: 220 (UK) August 1990
I ended my junior career by gettting a drafting penalty at the national championships at Holme Pierrepont. My brother, pictured in the race report below, got the crowd pumped by ripping a 10m skid into T2.
The next day I took part in the national relay championships with Berkshire Tri Squad for the second time. The event is still truckin’ with essentially the same format. I’d love to go back one day.
Images: 220 (UK) September 1990
1987 L. Ron Hubbard Triathlon
Image: Tri-Athlete (UK) May 1987
I’m not a member of any religion. But this race intrigues me. Maybe the sponsorship was a recruitment or PR move. I could have done it. As it took place only 10 miles from my home. Two days? Yikes. And I’m assuming the three sports would be done in the fitness centre. The hotel is now the Holiday Inn. And the 1970s-era foyer gets some attention online.
The UK Scientology Headquarters are in East Grinstead. And L.Ron actually lived there from 1959 until 1967. He should have sponsored the local East Grinstead pool triathlon. It was a cult race on the calendar in the late-80s and early-90s. It’s where you went to get schooled by Jessica Harrison or the Herbert Brothers. And was my second ever triathlon in 1989.
Triathlete Magazine 1990 Kona Special Edition
When I was at Upton Grammar I used to stop at WH Smith every Thursday on the way to the bus stop to buy a copy of the old A5* Athletics Weekly. If Running Magazine or Today's Runner was there I'd get that too. Sometimes I'd pick up an imported copy of Runner's World.
The dream was always to find the latest Triathlete Magazine. There was the US edition with a UK supplement. Then a UK only edition. And finally back to the US / UK combo. I made a podcast about magazines here.
But one day there was this! A special issue about the 1990 Ironman.
Erin Baker wins on a super-cool bike. Paula Newby-Fraser is second and Terry Scheider surprises in third. Allen caught Kiuru on the run as Tinley has a renaissance race and charges through for second.
“There were also re-caps and photos from all the previous editions of the Hawaii Ironman. Including new shots from the 1989 Ironwar. Although we didn’t call it that back then.”
A real piece of pre-internet treasure that somehow has survived multiple magazine purges. What a school-day. I probably missed my bus.
*Athletics Weekly went A4 in 1987.
220 Magazine February 1990 Ironman Special
I got pretty excited about the 220 February 1990 Ironman Special issue. I think it was also the first one that I bought in a newsagent.
The ironman is not speciality. I’ve done a few. And enjoyed them. But never really trained with purpose. I like to race. Gun to tape.
In 1990 literature about triathlon, especially the US stuff, was hard to come by. WH Smith in Slough would have Tri-Athlete. Often only one copy. And I wasn’t always quick enough to get it.
But I was making trips to Total Fitness in Swindon by then. They stocked the UK and import magazines as well as books like Mark Allen’s Total Triathlete, Scott Tinley’s Winning Triathlon, Dave Scott’s Triathlon Training and Triathloning For Ordinary Mortals.
A Tale Of Two Races by Phil Dade is definitely my favourite article in this themed issue. It tells the story of Phil qualifying for Hawaii at Ironman Germany in Roth. And then his experience in Kona.
“I started plotting how I could do the same thing as a 17 year old.”
There’s also the 220 British Ironman Rankings. Record holders then were Sarah Coope (9:33 in Rodekro 1989) and Nick Price (9:18 in Roth 1988).
Oh. And 220 had decided to organise their own ironman distance event in 1990. In Cirencester. The entry fee was £2.20 for subscribers and £22.20 for non-subscribers. Blog post coming soon.
When I re-bought this issue from ebay in 2020 I didn’t expect to find the letter below. I guess I wrote it in late-1989.
WTS, ITU, the Olympics, French Grand Prix, Super League, Formula One. You’re welcome. I invented triathlon for you.
Images: 220 (UK) February 1990
1993 Ironbridge Triathlon
In the early-90s the Ironbridge Triathlon was a big deal. It was organised by the 220 magazine crew. I raced every year from 1992 to 1995.
1991 was an ironman distance event. It even had Kona slots. Every year after that was kind of middle distance (2500m/80km/20km).
Ironbridge in 1992 also introduced the afternoon start. Normal in France. But I’d never experienced it before in the UK. The last finisher was greeted by fireworks. And post-race beers could be had in the High Street. While a live band, I think made up of triathletes, played.
Images: 220 (UK) September 1993
This article is from 1993. Bianca Van Woesik and Eimert Vanderbosch won. Greg Welch stopped at a pub on the run course to buy a sandwich.
The race was also part of the ITP Tour. A kind of an independant World Cup Series that intended to preserve historic drafting-free events. As draft-legal racing was certainly the near-future goal of the ITU.
I finished in the mid-20s in 1993. Before pushing into the top-10 in 1994 and onto the podium in 1995. More Ironbridge reports coming soon.
You get a pretty good idea of the course and atmosphere at Ironbridge from the video below. Starting from 18:55.
Tallington Lakes 1991: My First Middle Distance Triathlon
Firstly, half an ironman wasn’t a thing back then. We did middle distance. Which was 2500m / 80km / 20Km. Much better ratios IMO.
I was as badly prepared for this one as I was for my first Olympic Distance race in Swindon the year before. But I absolutely had to be there. To be part of the scene at a now classic triple effort venue.
I drove up the day before. Probably the last road trip for the Skoda Estelle before I sold it to go to Brighton Polytechnic.
I gave a lift to a club-mate and we camped. Which surprises me now. As I wasn’t really into it back then. Pretty sure I didn’t have any of the equipment either. We went to a local pub for dinner though.
Images: 220 (UK) September 1991
Exiting the swim fairly well up tricked me into riding too hard too soon. And my Dave Russell was starting to be too small, causing back pain.
I had plenty of walk breaks on the run. Which gave me time to consider the future as my A-Level results were due to arrive the following week.
The race was on 21st July. But it seems to have been hastily arranged. As it didn’t appear in the 220 race calendar until June. It doesn’t surprise me then that 220 pointed out some organisational shortcomings.
Honestly, I was just happy to be going gun to tape with some of my triathlon heroes. And didn’t regret paying the £20 entry fee.
1986 Avignon Triathlon
“I don’t like running.” Curious quote from a triathlete who has just run 21km at 17 km/hr with a sprint over the last 300 m to win a world class event. Mark Allen is tongue-tied and slurping on a drink as he walks like a puppet around the transition area.
“I don’t like running so fast.” He says later on the massage table. To make his earlier point more clear. “That was probably the hardest run test of my career.” Three camp beds away Scott Tinley is slumped on his stomach. Arms dangling. And face stuck to the canvas that smells of massage ointment.
Tinley seems to be sleeping. Mark Allen and Scott Tinley raced together the whole day. And even now, after an impossibly hard race finale, they’re side by side. Both suffering from painful cramping.
They don’t do race reports like that anymore.
Images: Tri-Athlete (FR) Mars-Avril 1986
I’ve already written about the 1985 Avignon Triathlon. So here’s the 1986 race. There was substantial prize money. 150,000 FF. About €23,000. Put up by the event sponsors Quick. A kind of French Wimpy. I also like how they describe the distance as “Half Hawaii”.
The event was also now part of the re-vamped French Championships Series. Unlike in 1984. 20 races. And 1985. 12 races. The 1986 French Championships now had over 50 counting races. Yes. More than one very weekend. This required a complicated points system. Involving coefficients based on the number of finishers a race has and the strength of the field.
This system wasn’t reformed until 1990. And probably caused plenty of over-racing by the top French athletes. And subsequently getting poorer results in international competitions than they probably deserved.
The Americans were back. Allen, Tinley and Moss. Along with some tasty Germans. Aschmoneit, Morath, Blaschke and Schuler. The Belgians. Meeuws, Huys and Paulus. The established French talents. Lagarde, Reuze, Capogna, Cordier, Cauchois and Belaubre. And the up and comers. Roland Bertrand. Rodolphe Retrain. Dany Foucault and Philippe Methion. We also shouldn’t forget Kevin O’Neill, the British pioneer of the French scene.
There’s another swim kerfuffle. Like in 1985. Lock gates are opened just as the race starts. And although there’s only 100m upstream to be swum. Most of the 600 athletes can’t make it. So they’re fished out. And the race is started 5 minutes later. Only 1000m and all downstream now.
Probably the top swimmer, Yves Cordier, misses the start and then abandons early in the bike with back pain. There’s a bit of drafting. Age group men mixing with elite women. And Lydie Reuze gets disqualified. After leading into T2. This allows Julie Moss to win again in Avignon.
Allen and Tinley are off the bike together. On the run they hear that Aschmoneit is at 8 minutes. So it’s just them going toe to toe for the win. Again. The pace keeps increasing until the last 300m. With a sharp downhill. Allen sprints hard and takes it. Tinley finishes 1 second later. Very disappointed. The 1985 positions are reversed.
The article finishes by trying to analyse why the Americains are better. It’s not that they’ve been in the sport longer. Or where they’re from. or their professionalism. It’s about the extraordinary chance that 4 talented athletes like Scott Molina, Dave Scott, Scott Tinley and Mark Allen fell into the sport of triathlon. I wrote a bit about that here.
Images:
Tri-Athlete (FR) Juin 1986
Raleigh Triathlon
I found out about triathlon in 1987. After a neighbour lent me some copies of Tri-Athlete magazine. I planned to do a race in 1988. But probably couldn’t find a local one that I was old enough to do. I was 15.
My first road bike was a 24” wheeled Halfords model. Great for getting around Cippenham. But I knew I needed something better if I was going to get into triathlon. So using saved up pocket money and birthday present credits I bought a Peugeot Elan at the end of 1987.
I think it cost £120. Again from Halfords. And I’d finally joined the world of 700C. Powder blue frame. Miche components. Shiny wheels. Gum-wall tyres. And totally did the job for increasing the distance of my rides in 1988. And then most of my first triathlon season in 1989.
Image: Tri-Athlete (UK). July 1987.
What I really wanted though was the Raleigh Triathlon. I used to visit the one they had in Stowes Cycles on my way to catch the bus home from school. 531 tubes. A Shimano 105 groupset with aero brakes. And a “triathlon specific” saddle. But at over £300. It was way out of my price range.
Here’s the other bikes that Raleigh were offering in 1987. Definitely more on those in a later blog post. And a peak inside my shed.
Images: 1987 Raleigh Catalogue
In 1989 I did find a race to do. The Wokingham Try-A-Tri. See TSP2. And by August I was so obsessed by the sport I’d used money earnt from a summer job to order a Dave Russell. See ad below. More on that later.
Eyeshades!
I’ve never been into sunglasses. But I need to get some before my eyes get even worse. In TSP13 I mentioned that athlete 703 on one of the postcards was maybe wearing Oakley Factory Pilot sunglasses.
A keen listener, Doug, picked me up on my use of the word sunglasses. He was right. Oakley stated in their magazine ads that sunglasses were good for nightclubs and press conferences. But for triathlon you need eyeshades.
The Factory Pilot Eyeshades were released in 1984. Based on the design of their motocross goggles. Jim Jannard had started the company in 1975 to market his sticky rubber motocross handlebar grips.
The French ad below is quite funny. “Today the majority of sunglasses are designed for La Frime. Posing! And sadly too many manufacturers tend to neglect the most important thing. Your eyes!”
And check out Gregoire Millet’s hat. Bottom of the page on the right.
Image: Tri-Athlete (FR) Juni 1987.
