Evolution of 2011

It seems too early to be writing retrospective pieces about 2011, however I think this year has (already) seen an evolution in endurance sports in terms of how races have played out, the role that specific athletes have had in this, and the trend I believe they are setting for the future. The intriguiging thing is that this has been apparent across at least three sports - cycling, running and triathlons - which are the ones I'm going to particularly focus on.

A couple of things to note at this point in what I'm writing about is that, firstly, it only relates to the very top level performances, and secondly, is mostly apparent in mens competition. In time I can see the evolution of 2011 filtering down to lower levels of performance, and into female performances as their competition gets increasingly closer and more competitive, scenarios where the motivation for evolution is higher.

Think for a moment about the amazing successes this year of Cadel Evans, the Brownlee brothers, Craig Alexander and any of several Kenyan marathon runners, but particularly Abel Kirui, Patrick Makau and Geoffrey Mutai. Think further about the events they were successful in - the Tour de France, triathlon World Championship Series, Hawaii IM and the marathon - and how these events have typically played out in the past. I'll go through them one by one and make some observations about the evolution that I feel has been building, and which really shone through this year.

Cadel Evans has been a phenomenal cyclist for years across a number of disciplines, but twice fallen short at the TdF. You could say he's had somewhat of a chink in his armour - acceleration in the mountains - to really be able to dominate other riders and make a tour winning break. Jan Ulrich was perhaps similar. All of Australia agonised in Cadel's pain and frustration until 2011 when he achieved a famous tour victory. But it is how he did it that I feel represents an evolution in the sport, not so much that he addressed his weaknesses, but more so that he built on his strengths, because after all your strength is your strength, whether it is Rafael Nadal repeatedly running around his backhand to slam a forehand winner or Cadel showing his is a true strong man's cyclist. His performance has shown that being a mountain goat is not necessarily a pre-requisite to succeed in the TdF, which I think will evolve the view and approach of many cyclists in seeking success in the TdF (or other events).

Then we have the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonathan, who are dominating the triathlon WCS races at will and seem to have the 2012 Olympic goal medal to lose. They can win from wire-to-wire, by making breaks on the bike leg, or running away from the field. No longer is triathlon a "wet run", it is a race where in order to win you need to be a complete athlete across three disciplines, and then to have the courage and tactical ability to break a race up. Sure, the Brownlees are very talented, but they have also trained themselves to be all rounders with a capability to dictate races, and demanded that other athletes lift their game if they are going to be able to match - or exceed - their strategies. They are evolving triathlons and making it interesting to watch the whole event to see what happens, and not just wait until the (deciding) run leg.

Craig Alexander has been World Champion several times before 2011, but this year took two more titles in dominating, and some would say, uncharacteristic fashion by using his bike leg as a strength rather than (just) his run. In achieving success in 2011 his approach was to meet the challenge of the event and his competitors head on and build the strength and ability to dominate proceedings, and reduce the effect of tactics on the race...which by contrast had been the key to Chris McCormack's success in Kona in 2010. In doing so, Crowie turned the race into his own event rather than playing off, and responding to others...which is masterful play of tactics in itself.

Look now to men's international marathoning. 2011 has been an incredible year with the world record broken (arguably "twice"), a near miss, and not to mention other sublime performances filling the top 10 rankings in the world, all of which as been led by the Kenyans. It used to be the marathon was a race of attrition, where the strongest at the end won. Now marathons resemble cycling races, with surges mid-race to break up the field, a gradual wind-up of pace towards the end to filter out the remnants of the field and if necessary, a sprint finish. To see Kirui drop in successive 14:20 min 5km splits mid-race in the World Championships, Makau break the legend Haile Gebrselassie in a similar way at Berlin (and break the WR), and Mutai sprint to win Boston (also a **WR**) was to witness an evolution in how athletes approach the marathon event. There is an aggression that hasn't previously been seen, and an associated level of confidence and risk taking that is lifting mens marathoning to a new level - 2:04 is the new 2:08 marathon.

Each of these examples have occurred at the very top level of performance, where the difference between winning and top-10 is more about race approach and strategy than it is about the physical abilities of the athletes. But in order to perform in this way, the athletes are preparing in a similarly evolutionary way that focuses specifically on the skills and capabilities they need to succeed. A generalist approach won't cut it any more - you need to have a point of difference in the things you do to have breakthroughs, and this is the lesson for mere mortals like us from the elites. Never has the adage "do the same thing, get the same results" been more true. You need to think outside the square and look to what and how you can change things to improve - and evolve - your performance.