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Simon Billeau's Abu Dhabi Race Report

2010-03-21T02:54:00.000-07:00

(This race report was translated from French by an online translation engine)

International triathlon of Abu Dhabi.

Saturday April 13 took place the inaugural triathlon Long distance of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is with honor that I belonged to this prestigious adventure. Unfortunately for me, I am French and French does not have good reputation abroad (in term of tourist prospective customers. It should well be acknowledged, we are a little skinflint on the edges…). So that I was not likely to be invited by the organizer.

In what relates to me, this triathlon consisted of a diagnostive evaluation of the efforts authorized since the recovery and for the IRONMAN of South Africa on April 25. This last constitutes my primary goal of the season. Concretely, I hope to take down there my qualification for Hawaii by a podium but more especially to obtain my first victory at the mythical distance.

To acclimatize me to heat, I had opportunity of carrying out a training course in Spain under the aegis of the GM-Tri-Org company of Gaël Mainard. The softer temperatures on the Iberian side enabled me to carry out a progressive passage towards canicular temperatures in the Middle East (my shoulders will still remember it a moment, for those which saw them!). Thus, just time to pose the luggage of Callela, which I embarked Tuesday morning for London Heathrow with British Airways. Large a mercy besides with Daniel and Pascaline for their hospitality on Paris. And yes, some can criticize Abu Dhabi for their élitiste tariff practised on the level of hotel trade (101€ the night in what relates to me) whereas the night in Roissy in a poor Formula 1 would have cost me the moderate amount of 180€.

J-4: Upright with 3:45 ', presence with the airport 3:00 before takeoff obliges with a bicycle out of compartment…
The tour starts badly with a look of deja vu with the airport of Roissy CDG. One hour of delay on the takeoff and the price of a crossing to the step of race (and it is an euphemism), I thread before the closing of the door of the plane the made-to-order of a celebrity slipping under the door of Fort Boyard not to be made devour by the Charente-native tigers… 45 ' 'later and the plane left without me! I stressed all the journey time to the airport of Abu Dhabi as for the mean probability that my bicycle followed me. Happy surprised with the landing by noting the presence of my Ceepo Katana. Still 45 ' of taxi and I pose my luggage in International Rotana.

J-3: Lifting with the dawns by me to give at once of the weak jet lag (+3h). Then large meeting with foot on the famous Cornice, their Walk of the English Arab way is 2 times longer and 1000 times more flowered and composed of watery jets to no one another similar. The afternoon is devoted to the shrinking of the numbers via an escapade in the city with my cycle. After on the occasion to lose ten time the life on their (car) roads, I decide to return bredouille (and unfortunately, that will not be the single time…).

J-2: Lifting even morning to prepare me with the alarm clock of Saturday morning, D-day. I spring towards the beach where place will have swimming and the first park with bicycle. It is about the private beach of Emirates Palace. In the passing, the monument is sumptuous. At side, the Elysium and the White House do not appear… Water is turquoise and much to my regret already hot in spite of the winter which prevails in the Persian Gulf (32° in the shade!).

Small a 1500m to go back in the bath… with the Torpedo made by Kiwami. The afternoon is again devoted to the attempt at shrinking of the numbers. This time, I manage to join Park Rotana Complex, a kind of hotel for millionaire (4000 Dhs the night is 550€). It is here that the whole of the athletes of reputation invited by the vent organizer was based.

I find there charming it Juliana de Trimag, Thierry Deketelaere de Triathlete, my friend Jacky Evraerdt media for Triathlon Hebdo, Olivier Marceau our Swiss pet preferred. I benefit from the occasion to throw an eye with the start list. Hoouuuu, I would not have had. I put myself the moral one in the socks… Northwave…

14:00, departure of drunk towards the swimming pool of the officers of the Army. A small watermark by athlete, small a 2500m and a salad fried later, we turn over to the HQ.
16:00: One leaves to discovered Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to make some photographs of this religious temple.
18:00, briefing for the “Pros” with 5 ' minute of questions/answers at the end of the intervention of the organizer and the director of the referees. I adore these 5 ' where my “friends” (adversaries) resemble imbeciles of mercenaries… (the 2 only questions which worry highly developed brain of a triathlète elite are not other than the prize money and drafting regulates it. To believe that some of best of our planet are neophytes or have a red fish memory concerning the distances between 2 individuals).

J-1: I turn over to check the temperature of water: Eh not of miracle, always with 24°, that feels prohibition to swim in combination…
Deposit of the bicycles and the bags transition as on a traditional IRONMAN.
Return to the hotel and small meeting of recall VMA the afternoon, history not to be fresh.
D-day: After the breakfast containing energy cake GO 2, I join the starting surface. After the traditional inflation of the bowels and the installation of the gel on my tube of framework, I intend the arbitration body to announce the prohibition of the port of the combination. No the chance, my europium will remain in the bag. I leave to the heating.

With 6:45 ', the departure is given for 3000m in 2 rectangular loops with exit to the Australian one. I spring relatively quickly. And I am in contact with a group of 5 competitors. I carry out the 1st turn in their company. I make the effort not to eject of this group. The exit with Australian is not fatal. The second turn is harder. I find myself esseulé.

I extirpate myself water in 41 ' 15 ' 'with the 33e place is some 3 ' of delay on the head, which confirms my progress in swimming. Because those of front are in particular Philip Graves and Bryan Rhodos, the first quoted having left at the head to the championship the World in Hawaii.

I make as with accustomed fast transition and enfourche my bicycle for the 2 return tickets and half proposed is 200km CLM in nozzle of saddle. The course is composed of long straight lines with a half-turn on Yas Marina Formula 1 Grand Prix. Imposing!!!

I note much to my regret that a group (group) of 19 units is with the outposts. Signal 10 will be difficult.

I finish some with strolls with bicycle with 41,2km/h of average is 4:51 ' 09 of saddle SMP and 15 boys re-installed with the passage.

The park for T2 is located on the family beach of the Cornice. My 2nd transition is harder.

The pedestrian course of 20km consists of 2 return tickets to the “Heritage Village”.

Contrary to the cyclist part, the public is massed along the course and the local population is more cordial than I would have imagined it just like the sun which at this hour of the day recalls you with the order.

I am carried out in 1:13 very round as envisaged. I crossed the line in 11th position. In front of, the victory was played between Eneko Llanos, Dirk Bockel and Rasmus Henning in the order of arrival.

For my part, I finish in 6:47 ' 22 to some 12 ' of the winner. I put in the order of disciplines 3/6 and 3 ' moreover than the Spanish champion. It remains still much of work before reaching the top hawaiien.

I am rather satisfied with my service and my management of race. I think that they is good omens for the African objective. By then, there to date remain to me still 15 days of keen drive and a week of training course again in Spain to try to breathe the same air that Eneko… and I bring back for you a charm of South Africa. It is necessary well that French undertakes some because they are not our footballers who go décarcasser for that…

For information, the race east retransmisse on www.ironmanlive.com on line. As Africa is almost under the same latitude (+1h), you will be able to follow the race in real-time for the early risers. Departure of the race at 6:30, local time of Elizabeth Port. If not, there will be a remote retransmission on Sport +.

Ceepo's Belinda Granger Won Ironman 70.3 China 2010!

2010-03-14T03:53:00.000-07:00

Belinda does it again! Belinda Granger had just won Ironman Malaysia two weeks ago, and now she has another crown to add to her collection. She is a racing machine on her red Ceepo Katana! Belinda won 70.3 China today in Haikou, Hainan Island, China. Her race report to follow soon. Big congratulations Belinda!!!
http://www.ironmanchina.com/

Ceepo's Dirk Bockel gets 2nd in Abu Dhabi International Triathlon 2010

2010-03-13T03:55:00.000-08:00

Ceepo's Dirk Bockel from Luxembourg finished 2nd in Abu Dhabi International Triathlon today! Congratulations!!
Above is Dirk on Ceepo Viper in white. Dirk's race report to follow soon.

http://www.abudhabitriathlon.com/

Belinda Granger's Ironman Malaysia 2010 Race Report

2010-03-10T05:04:00.000-08:00

IM Malaysia 2010

Well this was my 4th trip to Langkawi and IM Malaysia. I ﬁrst raced there in 2003 and ﬁnished 2nd in what was the hardest race I had ever entered at that stage of my career. Move forward seven years and it is deﬁnitely still one of the hardest races on my calendar. It is not the course that makes it difﬁcult, it is purely the conditions- the heat and humidity are like no other- not even the big one in Kona compares with this race. But funnily enough, it is the reason I continue to return to this beautiful island- the tougher the better for me.

I really wanted to win the race this year as it would be my ﬁrst 'hat trick'. I had never won three IM races back to back. I have won three IM Koreas but not consecutively. I also wanted to notch up my 12th IM Distance win of my career. Well I am happy to report that I was able to win and I am very happy with the way the day panned out for me.

Justin and I arrived on Langkawi on the Monday before the race- I like to get to this race a little early just so I am settled and 'semi-acclimatised' to the conditions if that is at all possible. I am from Noosa in Queensland so the weather isn't dissimilar but I am not sure if anything really gets you used to the extreme weather. I also get to stay at the Westin hotel and they look after me like no other place in the world.

The week leading into the race went really quickly. I was so happy to see my good friend and fellow K-Swiss athlete- Hillary Biscay. I got to do some great little training sessions with her and of course got up to speed with everything that had been going on in her world. We used to train together every day, but now I only get to see her every few months so that ﬁrst ride together turns into a hypoxic session as we barely take a breath between sentences.

Race day came and I woke up feeling calm and ready to race hard all day…..and I say all day because we don't start until 7.30- a late start as far as Ironman goes but it is too dark to start any earlier. My last IM race was Kona and it was nothing short of a disaster so I was eager to get out there and make amends. In fact the whole of my 2009 season was a roller-coaster ride. I would have one great race followed by one horror race. After my surgery back in March last year I just could not ﬁnd the consistency that I am renown for so I was eager to start my 2010 campaign on the right foot.

I had a great swim. I knew things were looking good when Hillary and Justin swam past me at around the 200m mark. I jumped on their feet and thought to myself 'now you just have to stay here'. Well I did manage to stay there but I was red-lining it for most of the swim. I exited the water right behind them and quickly made my way through transition. I jumped on my bike and remembered thinking to myself 'ok now it is time to go hard'. I love my Ceepo Katana- it really is the perfect bike for me- so small and compact and it had been decked out with a brand new SRAM Red group-set. It was my ﬁrst race using SRAM and it was just perfect. I am just so comfortable on this bike and it loves going fast. I was controlled for the ﬁrst 20kms and then I decided to start picking things up a bit. After about 45mins I really started to feel good and concentrated on putting as much time as I could between myself and the other girls.

It is a four loop bike course with some fairly challenging hills thrown in there on every loop. They feel ﬁne for the ﬁrst couple of loops but by loop four they feel like mountains from the Swiss Alps. I deﬁnitely felt them on my last loop and suffered through the last 40kms but entered T2 with a good lead- around 17 minutes, and it really is a nice way to start the marathon. By no means did I think that I 'had it in the bag'- I still had to get through the entire marathon and in this heat it is easier said than done. I have seen athletes literally melt in this heat and it is not a pretty sight.

The marathon is a 5 loop course- it almost does your head in but it also makes it very easy to keep pace and to see where your competition is. I took the ﬁrst lap out nice and steady and concentrated on getting in a much liquid as I could. The aid stations are great and the water is icy cold- it makes such a difference. I was pouring water over my head from the get go . The most important thing is to try and keep your body temperature down as much as you can. Honestly I expected my shoes to ﬁll with water and feel like cement bricks but I was wearing the new KOna C's and they are by far the best IM shoe I have ever worn- not one blister and they were as light as a feather as they have this amazing drainage system that gets ride of the water as quickly as you pour it on. I wasn't feeling great but then I didn't expect to have 'that fresh out of the shower' feeling happening-it is Malaysia and it is the middle of the day= crazy hot!

By lap two I was feeling better and started to get a great rhythm going. Edith, who was in 2nd place was not making up much time on me and I was actually happy to see that we were crossing in the same position. That spurred me on and lap 3 was also solid. By the 4th lap I was deﬁnitely staring to feel the effects of the heat and humidity. You know this feeling is only just around the corner but you just try and hold it off for as long as possible. I think by the time I turned to complete lap 4 I had really started to slow. But this marathon is not about running super fast times, it is all about maintaining a good rhythm throughout and trying to stay cool and hydrated for as long as you can. I knew the last lap was going to hurt but I also knew it was only 8kms- I could do that in my sleep so I set out on the last loop and just concentrated on making it to each aid station. It is amazing just how good cold water feels on your head and shoulders and how it can bring you back to life even if it is only for a couple of kms. I continued to do this all the way to the last turn-a-round and then I knew that I was on my way home to the ﬁnish.

I started to relax and soak up the atmosphere with about 3kms to go. I still felt in control and I knew that I could take some time and really enjoy this ﬁnish. I ran back past the host hotel and there were so many people there and the music was pumping- it was a really satisfying feeling. I had a about 1km to go until the ﬁnish and I couldn't wait to get there. I wanted to put the horror of Hawaii 09 behind me and move forward. Winning this race was like a new beginning and hopefully the start of a successful 2010.

Whit Raymond was there at the ﬁnish calling me in- just like he was back in 2003 when I ﬁrst did this race. He has called me across the ﬁnish line of so many IM races now. He gives off so much positive energy.

I crossed the ﬁnish line in 9hrs23 and was just so happy and relieved to have made it and couldn't wait to see Justin as I knew he had had a fantastic race as well and I was eager to see where he had ﬁnished. He was there waiting for me and when he told me he had placed 4th, it made my win even better still- it was a great day out for both of us.

Next up is China 70.3 this weekend. I am looking forward to the shorter distance that is for sure. Lets hope I can make it two from two.

Thanks to all of my wonderful sponsors, friends and supporters- 2010 is going to be a good year.

Gina Crawford's 2010 IM New Zealand Race Report

2010-03-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

I raced Ironman New Zealand on the weekend. Being the defending champion I really wanted to win this race again and I knew my main competition Jo Lawn (7 time champion of the race) would be tough. I therefore increased my training significantly in the months leading up to the race. I usually train 25-30 hours per week but I increased this to 35-40 hours per week. Of course I now know that was a mistake and the load was just too much for me. 2.5 weeks prior to the race I developed a compressed nerve in my toe which meant it was too painful to run or even walk, and cycling was not helping either, so it was swimming and aqua-jogging for me only, which of course was not ideal for my build-up, but it was the only thing I could do if I wanted the nerve to settle down enough for me to be able to run a marathon.

So after a very good swim, I was out onto my Ceepo TT killer in front. At the 30km mark I was joined by Jo Lawn and we stayed together until 100km swapping the lead and staying the legal distance apart. She then increased her pace and I was feeling too tired to go with her. I then came off the bike 2.5 minutes behind and I believed I would make up the time as I have always been the faster runner, but unfortunately I felt tired, heavy and flat. I guess the lack of training in the 2 weeks before made me lose some of my speed and fitness, and I had to settle for 2nd place. Jo went on to win the race in a course record in tough conditions putting up an amazing performance. So although of course I wanted to win, I know that I learnt a hugely valuable lesson that I am sure will help me with my races in the future.

The race ends my season here in the Southern hemisphere and I can't complain with 1st places at both Ironman Western Australia and Challenge Wanaka and a 2nd place at Ironman New Zealand. So next up for me is 2 ironman races in the States. Ironman St George (May 1st) and Ironman Coeur D 'Alene (June 27th)!!

Gina Crawford gets 2nd in Ironman New Zealand 2010

2010-03-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

CEEPO's Gina Crawford keeps on going! After her recent two wins from Ironman Western Australia and Ironman distance Challenge Wanaka, Gina finished strong, getting the 2nd place in 9:28.26. Congratulations, Gina! Her race report coming soon.

Video of Nina Kraft's winning ride on her CEEPO Stinger

2010-03-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

You can Check out Nina's winning ride on her Ceepo Stinger at around 2:50 in the video below:

Ivan Raña confirms start at 2010 Rohto Ironman 70.3 Miami

2010-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

Ivan Raña with his CEEPO Mamba in black

For the first time ever, he will take part in a Ironman 70.3 event. In 2002 Raña won the ITU World Championship, and he took fifth place at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics games.

About Iván Raña:

Raña participated in the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics. He took fifth place with a total time of 1:49:10.88.

In 2002 when he won world, European and national titles. His world championship win in Cancún, Mexico, was Spain’s first gold medal in the event.

In 2003 he came home second at the world championships behind Australia’s Peter Robertson and he had to settle for silver earlier this year as well.

In 2004 in Madeira world champs, Raña came home less than a second behind Kiwi Docherty and at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, Raña dropped to a disappointing twenty-third place with a time of 1:55:44.27.

He finished fifth at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and in December 2008 he signed a one-year-deal with the professional cycling team Xacobeo-Galicia but he still has the idea ambition to compete in the triatlhon at the London Olympics in 2012.

Article from:
http://www.ironmanmiami.com/?p=571

Ironman Malaysia, Belinda Granger's 12th Ironman Win!

2010-03-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

Belinda dominated 2010 IM Malaysia on March 28th, where she won for the third time, making it her 12th Ironman win in her career. More race report to come from Belinda soon. Big congrats!!

Nina Kraft Wins 2010 International Triathlon Santos Brazil

2010-02-28T00:13:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Nina Kraft, who flew on her CEEPO Stinger in the 2010 International Triathlon Santos, Brazil. We have received a race report from her agent:

"Nina Kraft has won the International Triathlon in Santos / Brazil. With a time of 1h59min12sec Nina said she had her race of her life.

She has beaten the 2nd Female by 10min and this is thanks to her new bike, parts and wheel supplier. She enjoyed racing the new bicycles with the setup of Profile Design, Ceepo Frame and Hawk Racing wheels.

She was really happy with her bike time, since she was having trouble going fast, but not last weekend.

Please also visit the link of the Event if you want more information: http://www.internacionaldesantos.com

Race Distance was 1.5k / 40k / 10k and doing it in SUB 2 hours is really fast for a girl, I am sure you can agree."

Gina Crawford Wins Challenge Wanaka 2010 for the 3rd time!

2010-01-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Gina's strong will in wanting to win has made her the 3rd consecutive champion of Challenge Wanaka. Congratulations!!! Here's her comment from the race:

"I completed Challenge Wanaka on the weekend and managed to win the race for the 3rd consecutive year. It is a really honest, tough course in a beautiful location and this year it was a real battle between myself and Rebekah Keat. Rebekah is a world class athlete who last year posted a time of 8.36 in Roth going underneath the world record. I led the race from start to finish but all day my lead kept diminishing and increasing I had a lead coming out of the swim of around 3 minutes but I really couldn't get into my rhythm on the bike for the first 90km and by the half way point this was down to less than 2 minutes. I then came right and picked up the pace and by the end of the bike I had a lead of 5 minutes. I felt great going onto the run and maintained the 5 minute lead to the half-way mark. Around that point I had a few stomach issues and had to start visiting the toilet every 3km wasting around 40sec to a minute each time, so by 32km my lead was back to under 2 minutes again. I then had to pull myself together as I really, really wanted to win, and I managed to stick in there to the end."

Gina Crawford defends her title in Ironman Western Australia 2009!

2009-12-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Gina Crawford (formerly Ferguson) has won 2009 Ironman Western Australia on December 5! She was a tough champion on her yellow CEEPO, and we are so proud of her. Congratulations!!

Here's a note from Gina:

"I am so happy to have a good race in Ironman Western Australia, to win and to defend my title. I was flying on my Ceepo bike in the first 60km and was building a big lead, but started to struggle just at the end with the very hot temperatures in the mid thirties. It has been a very abnormally cold spring in Christchurch, New Zealand which wasn't the best of buildups for this hot race. I came off the bike in front with a 4-5 minute lead which I maintained to the end. I had a very limited run build up for this race coming back from my ankle injury, so I struggled much more than usual, but am very happy to win another Ironman title in Australia and will now be working very hard to regain my running form for 2010."

You can also read the article on ironman.com.

Laurent Lambert, Ceepo's age group triathlete, heading to Kona!

2009-09-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

CEEPO's strongest age group French triathlete, Laurent Lambert, is qualified for Kona.
Laurent has set some impressive results in this year's races as below, and is looking forward to the championship race in October.

- Triathlon du Sud HIM in France: 4th overall and 1st in age group @ 4:11
- IM Quelle Challenge Roth: 26th overall and 3rd in age group @ 8:37:11
- 70.3 MONACO: 22nd overall and 2nd in age group @ 4:35

Ceepo in Eurobike 2009

2009-09-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

CEEPO attended in Eurobike 09 with our new line of models and have received positive feedbacks from the press and many who visited our booth. Triathlon Magazine in Germany has reported on us. Click here to view the video on their site.

Belinda Granger gets 2nd in Ironman Canada 2009

2009-09-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Belinda for her 2nd place in Ironman Canada!
She has sent us a nice race report and here it is:

Ironman Canada 2009

Ironman Canada 2009 was my 34th Ironman-distance race and my third time to the beautiful town of Penticton. This time I would be sharing the town with my parents which made it even more special. This was their first time to Canada and they were not disappointed- they loved it!

I arrived on the thursday and my parents arrived on the friday. I had organised a wonderful homestay for them out at OK Falls (the run turnaround)- I don't think they quite new how wonderful it was going to be. Doug and Di Corbishley have the most amazing house right on Skaha Lake and it is to die for. My parents were in heaven.

I stayed right in town on Lakeshore Drive with the same homestay I have had the past two times here- Wilma is an absolute darling and I love staying with her. As far as I am concerned homestay is the best way to stay and you get a true feel for a place.

Well arriving on the thursday meant there was not much time for sight-seeing or socialising pre-race. I like doing it this way as there is less chance of me 'stuffing' things up. I am a creature of habit so it is best to keep me in my normal routine as long as possible. Before I knew it race day was upon us and it was exciting to get up nice and early on sunday morning ready for a long day of racing. Of course I had high expectations- as athletes we are all high-achievers and we expect only the best from ourselves- no excuses! I wanted to win the IMC title for a third time. I wanted to join amazing athletes like Lisa Bentley and Lori Bowden in winning three from three. I was happy with the way I had been training in Boulder- I had really enjoyed all of my training sessions and most of them had been going to plan. However, I had not had the smooth year I had hoped for. My surgery in March took the wind out of me and just when I thought I was getting back on track, I got hit by a car while training in Germany. But at the end of the day I have been racing as a professional for 10 years now and really have not had any major hiccups so I was just going to have to suck it up and move forward. My motto has always been that when you toe the start line of a race you give it all that you have got on that particular day- no excuses, no regrets. It was Ironman Canada and I love this race so I was going to give it all I had.

The swim was great- the lake is just beautiful- clean, crisp and one huge loop so not a lot of pushing and shoving going on, although I still managed to cop it in both eyes and have two nice scratch marks underneath both eyes to show for it. I exited only two minutes back on Tereza Marcel. I was very happy as she is a great swimmer and I expected her to have a lot more time on me. Onto the bike and for the first 15 kms I was slowly cutting snippets of time on Tereza. Everything was going to plan and I just assumed it would only be a matter of time before we were riding together. This was the scenario that had played out in my head pre-race (note to all athletes- have several different race day scenarios planned out). At around the 30km mark I was given another split of 3minutes. I automatically thought they had it wrong- I was making up time not losing time. Unfortunately Tereza had stepped it up a notch and I was not riding as strongly as I had hoped. I spent the next 100km getting splits of 5mins, 7 mins, 12mins, 15mins........ then I was like 'ok, no more splits. You need to start concentrating on you and you only'. It is really difficult when you have set yourself a goal and all of a sudden it is totally unachievable. You are out there going as hard as you can and then you have to try and change your mind set and your goals- not an easy or fun thing to do. But this is why we race- the thrill of overcoming all of the obstacles thrown at us on the day is a great feeling. Rarely do things go exactly as you have imagined or dreamed. We can prepare perfectly but race day is never perfect- not even for the eventual winners.

Into T2 I was 14 minute back. It had been a very tough bike ride- hot, dry, windy and smokey from fires that had started close by. How was I going to approach this? Last year I was Tereza, I was the girl with the insurmountable lead. Now I was the girl chasing, chasing the leader who was kilometers up the road.

I got to see my parents right at the beginning of the run- this made my day. I knew from then on that no matter what the end result, they were going to be proud. So I soldiered on and ran as best I could. I concentrated on looking after myself- hydrating, refueling and staying positive. I really did struggle with the smoke on the run. I had picked up a mild sinus infection during the week which normally would not bother me but it was giving me grief on the day.

It was a good feeling getting to the the turn around at 21km. I knew that getting to the finish was never going to be a problem for me. It was wonderful to see Lisa Bentley out on the course- she could see that I was doing it tough and her words of encouragement really helped pick my spirits up.

Once back in town, running down Main Street is always a treat. I don't think it would matter how bad I was feeling, you cannot help but smile from ear to ear. The crowd support is awesome- it is almost addictive- you kind of want to turn around and run through there again (don't worry I didn't do it). I got to then see my parents and my homestay, Wilma again and I gave them a smile and just shrugged my shoulders to my dad- he understood. He knows me inside out. He knew that even though I was so happy to finish, it wasn't a great day of racing for me. But I crossed the finish line with a smile and it was genuine. I love to race no matter what the outcome. I know how lucky I am to live the life of an elite athlete. I gave Tez a big hug- she had an amazing race and thoroughly deserved the win.

At he end of the day I achieved two of my three pre-race goals- I got my spot to Kona and I finished with a smile on my face.

A huge THANKYOU to Graeme, Joe and the entire race team and also to the wonderful volunteers who help make the race so special. This is one of the greatest and fairest IM races in the world.

Now it is back to Boulder and preparations will soon begin for the big day in Kona. It will be my 8th time there and I am looking forward to it as if it were my first.

Bjarne Moller gets 3rd in the Open Australian Champs (Ironman distance)

2009-09-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Bjarne Moller, finishing 3rd in Open Australian Champs!
Below is his race report:

"On August 29th I finished 3rd in the Open Austrian Champs on the ironman distance. Due to extremely bad weather I
had no chance of setting a new personal record. Though I am satisfied as I finished faster than to guys who have gone really fast: 8:17 and 8:11 respectively. There are results, videos and interview on www.austria-triathlon.at

Now my focus is already set on Ironman Florida where I want to qualify for Hawaii - and hopefully break the 8h 20min barrier."

Bjarne Moller gets 3rd in the Danish Long Course Championships 2009 (half Ironman distance)

2009-08-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

CEEPO's Danish triathlete, Bjarne Moller, has sent us his race report from his last race on his white Viper!

"Eventhough my main objective is to excel on the ironman distance I managed to do quite well in our national championships on the half ironman distance on August 9th.

I have been training really hard to improve my bike ride this year and with my brand new white Ceepo Viper I was confident that I could do well.

My swim is usually my weakest thing but I did not loose too much time.

The bike course was quite hard. We had a total ascent of approx. 1000m during the 90km bike course so you had to pace yourself well.

I paced it perfectly doing just around 300 watts all the way and still I had some power left for the run. Unfortunately I lost two bottles during the ride as they popped out of the cage as I hit some rough roads. That did not influence my bike much but I would pay for the lost energy and water late on the run.

I did the 2nd fastest bike split of the day. Just 50 sec off the winner: Martin Jensen. Last year Martin finished 3rd at the World Long Course Championships with the fastest bike split of the day. SoI guess I am to be satisfied that I am so close to his level at the moment.

On the run I started out well. I did the first 15km in about 55 minutes. Then someone switched off the lights…: I could not keep up the pace and started to suffer. Usually I am able to finish strong but this time I paid for loosing my bottles of energy during the bike leg.

Anyway I managed to keep my 3rd spot but at the finish line I was totally empty. I was only 30 sec from the 2nd place but I did my best. I just wish that the course was twice as long…

I am really happy with my new Ceepo Viper. I can actually feel that I am much more aerodynamic than on any other bike I have ever ridden. Furthermore it is really light and responsive. I is my best bike ever!"

Congratulations, Bjarne!!
We look forward to your exciting future races!

Tatiana Vertiz joins CEEPO

2009-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Ceepo welcomes another excellent triathlete, Tatiana Vertiz, to its team.

Tatiana Vertiz is originally from Mexico City. She currently lives in California where she does most of her training.
At the early age of 19 she qualified for and participated in the 2007 Ironman World Championships in Kona finishing 4th in her age group. In 2008 she finished 1st in her age group in the Ironman Arizona where she qualified for her second Ironman World Championships next October. Tati graduated from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas in December of 2008 earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration: Marketing. She is a young athlete with great potential and has a great personality. She plans to become a Pro triathlete shortly. CEEPO is proud to sponsor her and looks forward to supporting her along her triathletic career.

Ceepo swept Team Time Trial in the UK

2009-07-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

Mike Trees:

In Team Time Trial on 12 July 2009 held by Human race, Team Thames Turbo on Ceepo bikes won in both mens and womens category! Congratulations!
http://www.humanrace.co.uk/result-detail-bananaman-triathlon-t986-343.html

Ceepo UK's Mike Trees raced there as well (unplanned and his 3rd race in 1 week!). Despite his struggle, team Berkshire Tri Squad got the second place. Well done teams!

Ceepo's Hans Mühlbauer gets his Hawaii slot in Ironman Germany!

2009-07-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Hans on Ceepo's Ironman Viper

Despite having problems with his left leg, Ceepo's Hans Mühlbauer finished Ironman Germany in 8 hours and 34 minutes, 10th place overall, and grabbed his slot for Kona! Congratulations, Hans! He is now in hard training for the October 10th Championship along with the rest of our qualified athletes.

Ceepo CEO Joe Tanaka & UK's Mike Trees at the Ceepo booth with red Katana

Ceepo Starring in Korea

2009-07-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oh YoungHwan on Ceepo Venom
Ham YeonSik on Ceepo Stinger

We had a very happy race report from Kim HyungSik, Ceepo's distributor in Korea. Ceepo had some good presence in their Ironman distance race in Jeju, Korea over the weekend.

Oh YoungHwan, finished 2nd on his Ceepo Venom, and the 3rd was Ham YeonSik who rode Ceepo Stinger in his first Ironman distance race. Ham is also an exceptional runner, holding 2:19 marathon record. These two are expected to be the next generation triathlon leaders in Korea.

Check out many other athletes riding Ceepo bikes in this race:
http://picasaweb.google.co.kr/GEOCYCLE/TeamCeepoPhotoOfJejuTriathlon

Ceepo's Simon Billeau finishes 3rd in Ironman France, Nice

2009-07-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Team Ceepo is going strong! Our French triathlete, Simon Billeau, finished 3rd in Ironman France Nice on June 28, 2009. Simon grabbed his slot for Hawaii with a very strong ride on his Ceepo Venom, making his bike time the second in all (4:45:40), finishing the day at 8:46:30.

Congratulations Simon to your phenomenal race, and best wishes with your hard training for the World Championship!

Ceepo in Ironman Lanzarote

2009-06-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Ceepo bikes are making their presence around the world. On May 23, 2009, UK's Team Ceepo was in Ironman Lanzarote:

Belinda Granger WINS Ironman 70.3 Hawaii 2009, Tim Marr finishes 4th

2009-05-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our Belinda Granger for winning Ironman 70.3 Hawaii today! (Swim: 27:08, Bike: 2:27:18, run 1:34:57, finishing @ 4:33:16)

Ceepo's Tim Marr finishes 4th @4:14:11!

Great job, Team Ceepo!
Here's a quote from the article on Ironman's website:

... In the women's field, two-year running Ironman 70.3 Hawaii champion Samantha McGlone was bested by 11-time Ironman-distance champion Belinda Granger. Granger came out of the water second behind the Big Island's Bree Wee, who posted the best swim time of the day in 26:36.

But Granger scorched the bike course in 2:27:18, with McGlone fighting back with a 2:30:05 split. Wee was third off the bike but dropped out shortly after the beginning of the run.

Granger took off onto the run course and never looked back, finishing the day in 4:33:16, with a run split of 1:34:57.

Belinda Granger joins CEEPO!

2009-04-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce another addition to Team Ceepo - Belinda Granger!

Belinda is 11 x Iron Distance Triathlon Champion, and she will make her debut on the Ceepo Venom at the upcoming Hawaii Ironman 70.3 on May 30th. Joining her in the switch to Ceepo is husband and training partner, Justin Granger. He will be riding the newly released Katana at the Hawaii event.

Yesterday, Belinda released this statement through ABM Sports Management:

“I am extremely excited to announce my new partnership with Ceepo. What has impressed me most about Ceepo is the fact that their bikes are pure triathlon bikes, having being developed entirely by triathlete’s for triathlete’s. The range of Ceepo frames have been designed specifically for the demands of my sport, IRONMAN! Riding is not only my weapon in Ironman racing but also my passion. It is essential for me to have a bike that not only fits me perfectly but also feels good to ride. This enables me to be the best and fastest that I can be. Ceepo ticks all of these boxes for us.”

Here's a comment from CEEPO's Nobuyuki "Joe" Tanaka:

“I am very happy to have an athletes the caliber of Belinda and Justin racing on Ceepo bikes. Belinda has proved she is one of the fastest female cyclists in the sport today and I hope now she is aboard Ceepo bikes she can ride even faster! With 11 Ironman Distance victories and 24 podiums at Ironman Distance in her career, not to mention a personal best 180km bike split of 4hrs 50 minutes, Belinda is definitely an exciting athlete to have riding our bikes. Both Belinda and Justin are very approachable and well liked people in the triathlon community making them the perfect ambassadors for Ceepo."

Welcome Belinda & Justin! We look forward to exciting races to come!

Another nice Email from a CEEPO athlete!

2009-04-24T00:37:00.000-07:00

We have received another very nice email from Johnathan Hotchkiss on April 23, 2009:

"Just wanted to drop you a quick email about the Ceepo. I’ve been here in Boulder for just over a week now, having picked up the bike just before I left. I’ve had 5 rides on it now so plenty of time to get a feel for it and I’ve got to say that I’m REALLY impressed.

Its an awesome bike when the wind picks up. I can’t believe how good it feels when riding into the wind, you can really feel like its cutting through the air as you push it. I love the stiffness too and dropping down onto the aero-bars I can just cruise so easily pushing a nice big gear and bike just keeps rolling at a good speed.

Thanks again for all you support with the bike."

We were so happy when we hear how satisfied the new CEEPO owners are after they receive their new bikes. If you are one of them, please drop us a line on how you are liking your own CEEPO:)

Thank you Alex for the nice letter to Ceepo!

2009-04-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

Alex sent a nice emial to Ceepo head office.
He purchased a Viper in the UK

Dear Mr Tanaka,

I met you briefly in England at the Triathlon show in February, and ordered one of your Ceepo Viper bikes. It arrived last week, and I am writing to you to tell you how pleased I am with it.........

I tried it out on my local sprint triathlon course, and was very happy indeed. I was 3:20 faster than a ride two weeks ago on my old race bike. This is not all though - it was quite windy, so I was riding without my rear disc wheel, and without an aero helmet. Also, because I am not used to the position on the bike and the handling yet, I did not ride very aggressively, and sat up once or twice for a break from the aero position.

My overall impression on the ride was that the bike felt very fast. On the straights and downhill, it feels really quick. Uphill, I'm blasting over small hills without slowing down, and even bigger hills are easier to climb - hills I would be out of the saddle on my old bike I span up quite easily on the Viper. By the time I got to the halfway point I knew I was going to have a fast time - the only question was, how fast?

Did I also say it looks great? I've had a lot of admiring glances from everyone who has seen it this week.

I love it!

Alex

........ Thanks Alex!

Here are some features about the Viper frame.

CEEPO has 3 special points in its geometry.
1. Longer Front Center length.(Front wheel center to BB center)
This long lenghth allows you to maintain a high cycing speed.
2. Chain stay length.(Best length for energy transfer and comfort)
You can transfer pedaling power to wheel effectively, and you yet save power for your running, resulting faster running time.
3. Lower BB position.
You do not feel any stress while riding long distances.

Material and structure of carbon production.
1. 100% 40T HM carbon.
2. Special carbon layup production system.
3. New carbon moulding system that can reduce weight and keep higher stiffness.
The stiffness level of VIPER BB area is particularlyhigh.
This kind of aero frame weight often becomes very heavy, however the Viper is only 1.5kg.

Holly Tomlinson made the fastest time of the day on Ceepo Venom!

2009-04-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

At National Duathlon Championships on April 5th, Holly Tomlinson made the fastest time of the day on her Ceepo venom bike (1:07:49 /40km)! Congratulations to Holly!

Holly's comment:
“Thank you so much for the bike, I did such a good time, the bike is the best I have ever ridden!”

CEEPO's UK distributor Triathlon Consultants Ltd. (TCL) is proud to sponsor The Thames Turbo Triathlon Racing team. Also check out the TCL's News here.

Sarah Groff got the 2nd place in Ironman California 70.3!

2009-04-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

It was an exciting race to the finish today on the women's as the top 3 women finished less than 41 seconds apart. Team Ceepo's new addition, Sarah Groff, rode on her brand new black CEEPO Ironman VIPER and finished at 4:25:23 - a great start of her 2009 season! Great job Sarah!! We are all so excited and looking forward to her next race. Go Sarah, Go Ceepo:)

Gina Ferguson won Ironman New Zealand 2009!

2009-03-07T05:08:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to our Gina!
Another truly amazing accomplishment.
Gina zoomed on her Ceepo bike and conquered Ironman NZ. (9:18:26)

Here's the quote from article on Ironman.com:

Ferguson pinpointed one aspect of her race and training that she felt made the difference today. "I’ve been working hard on my cycling, and I’m pleased it is coming along nicely. I came off the bike six or seven minutes down on Jo last year, but this year was a 1:45. So I think that was the difference today, I didn’t have to chase her down so much on the run.”

Gina Ferguson in NZ Sunday Newspaper!

2009-03-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

Our Gina Ferguson was in New Zealand's largest sunday newspaper as she prepares for the up and coming Ironman New Zealand on March 7th, 2009.

Here's another website posting her win in the Wanaka Challenge January 17, 2009 in Wanaka, New Zealand:
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/CF9HVCAlzux/Challenge+Wanaka/OPbb5MUoQ2K/Gina+Ferguson

Gina won Challenge Wanaka Iron Distance!!

2009-01-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

Hi All,
great news has arrived.
here is her comment!

"I have just won the Challenge Wanaka Iron Distance event on the weekend for the second time and I broke my own course record and won by 35 minutes. I swam well coming out first women and second person overall and then I biked really well breaking Belinda Granger's bike course record by 6 minutes. I had a big lead going onto the run which I was able to maintain. I have a full story on my website www.ginaferguson.comNow I will train very hard for Ironman New Zealand in march."

Congraturations Gina!

Gina won IM Western Australia!

2008-12-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

Gina FERGUSON won IM Western Australia on 8th December in 2008!
She did the fastest bike split of the day 4:58:12 !

The bike she rides is the Ceepo KILLER 650C.
Here is her comment!

"I am so happy to win Ironman Western Australia and this completes a great year for me, with two ironman distance victories both in course records (Ironman Western Australia and Challenge Wanaka), a top 10 finish in Hawaii, and two sub 9 hour performances (at Ironman Western Australia and at Challenge Roth). I was so happy to win this race despite having to deal with several problems including being stung by a jellyfish just before the start of the race and racing for 100km with a broken aero bar. This may have stopped me racing a PB but not from winning the race. I have been working very hard at my cycling the last month and I won this race with my fast bike split. Thank-you Ceepo for giving me the best bike in the sport to enable me to win."

also, congratulations to Simon BILLEAU (France) who finished 5th.
it was his first ever IM!
His bike time is 04:27:08. He rides the Ceepo Venom !

Taichung Airport Time Trial report

2008-11-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Mr. Michael Richter

He did the fastest time of the day across all catagories including Elite and Elite Masters in Taichung Airport Time Trial report!

Hawaii Ironman Team Ceepo!!

2008-11-05T10:25:00.001-08:00

IRONMAN HAWAII

total 3 Elite and 21 Agegrouper used Ceepo bikes!

WELL DONE all Athletes!!

Tim Marr

(Hawaii : 16th )

Hans Muehlbauer

(Germany)

Gina Ferguson

(NZ :8th)

Gina Fergason placed 2nd in singapore 70.3

2008-09-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!

Kiwi professional Triathlete, Gina came 2nd in Singapore Ironman 70.3.

Here is her comment!

The Ceepo was very good to ride and there were many other Ceepo's on the course which was great to see.

Unfortunately I got a puncture while I was leading the race at 85km which may have lost me the race but I was still happy to get second... ...I felt very good on the bike and had a brilliant start. After 40km I looked at my time and it was 1.01 which is the fastest I have ever gone by far and I felt very comfortable and aero on my Ceepo bike.

for more report... go on www.ginaferguson.com/

Ani 's Challenge in Hawaii

2008-09-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

Her name is Ani de Leon, the first philipino Hawaii ironman is going to challenge Hawaii this October, She rides KILLER in RED Size Small.

Good Luck Ani !

CEEPO UK Special FREE TEST RIDE !!

2008-08-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

Sigma sport in Kingston and Openwaterswim.co.uk are holding a CEEPO FREE TEST RIDE days on Sat 30th Aug, Sunday 31st Aug, Sat 6th Sept, Sunday 7th Sept at Liquid leisure in Datchet, near Heathrow airport.
We will have all of the size of VENOM and STINGER available.

All of the test riders will get nice gift from the organizers.
For more information, please click here or

call Mike on 07920-480440.
Please bring your helmet , pedals and bike shoes if you want to join!

Andrea

2008-08-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you for sending the message, Andre,

He was the one of the Ceepo riders in IM Austria!

He did 9:03:42!

Check his details on

http://www.andrestuebs.de/

Ceepo Rider Sarah Grunner Won in Pleasant Prairie Sprint Tri

2008-08-19T01:21:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!
Ceepo Rider Sarah Grunner in USA won Pleasant Prairie Sprint Triathlon on 17th Aug.
She rides a White Venom!
Her details are on http://sarahgrunner.blogspot.com/

Ironman Austria : Ceepo Rider Hans 7th!

2008-07-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!

German Ceepo rider, Hans was 7th with his PB. (time :Bike split 4:44:33/ Run Split 2:53:43, total 8:31:27 :7th)

Ceepo Frames are designed for Triathlon, so that athletes can still run after the bike.

p.s.

Standing guy is Mr.Ceepo Tanaka, look at his calves!

Fraser Cartmell won Ironman 70.3 UK

2008-07-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! UK Triathlete Fraser Cartmell Won Ironman 70.3 UK on 15th June

Tim Marr, 3rd in Ironman 70.3 Hawaii Triathlon 08

2008-06-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Tim Marr!!

Style : VENOM BLK/WHT Size L

Customer sent us a nice email !

2008-06-10T01:58:00.000-07:00

"Rode great at the new forest middle distance"

by S.

Style :

Frame : Ceepo Venom in White,

Tri bar: CKT Concord bar

Good Ceepo Stinger Feature on 220 Triathlon in May issue

2008-04-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

Ceepo Stinger got an excellent review from 220 test rider!!

"The ride clip in and drive down the pedals and the Stinger accelerates up to speed fast.....the super-still monocoque frame economically converts all your energy into forward motion...... We barely got any flex out of the frame despite our best muscle-popping efforts- a full cow's worth of beef wouldn't shift the bullish bottom bracket off centre"....

For more details, please read 220 in May 2008 issue.

Ceepo Fever at TCR

2008-02-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Ceepo Venom and Stinger attracted a lot of attention at the TCR show.

As you can see from our dealer listings, we already have a national network of shops keen to sell our bikes!

Don't hesitate to ask your local retailer, or email us, for more information

Tom Lowe to ride Ceepo Venom

2008-02-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Tom Lowe has been nominated for "UK male performance of the year" in the 220 Triathlon awards. His third place at the European Duathlon Championships in 2007 warrents this nomination, but here at Ceepo UK we were not satisfied with third place, so we have offered him a Ceepo Venom to help him go even better this year.

As you can see from the wetsuit, Tom will also be turning his hand to triathlon in 2008, in particular 70.3

His bike is being specially built up and race prepared by Royles Bike shop.

With the 2XU V1 wetsuit and the Ceepo Venom, Tom has a lethal combination!!

Tom has not forgotten his roots, and is also aiming to get a medal at the World Duathlon Championships this September in Rimini Italy. He has automatic selection thanks to last year's bronze medal at the European Championships, in Edinburgh.

We're on Tri247.com! TCR Show

2008-02-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

UK's major tri website www.Tri247.com has posted an article about Ceepo's UK launch. Please check out the article and the good things they had to say about our bikes:)

Our Official UK launch is at TCR show this weekend, 9th & 10th Feb, 2008. Come and see us at Sigma, TFN stand!

Ceepo UK is launched

2008-02-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

Ceepo UK's website http://www.ceepo.co.uk is finally launched as well as this blog to post news and information about our triathlon products. We hope you enjoy!