Ironman Melbourne Pro Notes

I was fortunate to have a front row seat to a lot of the action during IM Melbourne, courtesy of a media pass and scooter that allowed me (and a photographer on the back) to go well out onto Eastlink to get close-up and side-by-side with all the top pros during the bike, and not to mention tracking Crowie & Brown up the run course. It was fantastic for a fan of the sport like I am, especially with the class of athletes racing.

Here are some notes from my observations of the pros and some of the things they do...many you might expect, but interesting to observe nonetheless:

Bike

• Hardly any pros carried a spare tyre, perhaps because of the low chance of flat on the freeway surface, or perhaps for competitive reasons.
• Almost all the pros - men and women - sit well forward on the nose of their saddle, bringing them right over the crank.
• Perhaps a consequence of this is that many of them also ride with what I'd call a "toey" pedal technique, ie, toes pointed & heel lifted.
• They ride low and aero, with little change/movement in their position.
• They have simple set-ups, clean set-ups with generally only 2 water bottles - hardly any bike streams between aero bars, but many with bidons clipped between aero bar handles. Also, hardly any bento boxes with nutrition generally in back pockets or a bidon.
• Cadence was generally in 85-90 range, with only a couple of outliers at both lower and higher cadences.
• The two chase groups both had a Technical Official accompany them, and rode legally, however there is definite benefit from being in a group compared to solo. 
• Interestingly, during bike Crowie was frequently checking movement in the group behind him, even though he was near the front (in 4th wheel) at the time. This contrasts with the run where he never checked behind.

Run

• In the early stages, they looked like they were holding back despite having 7 guys within 15 sec.
• The fastest runners *looked* like the best runners - they had the best form. Crowie has gold standard run form, and Cam Brown is close.
• Even big guys can run well with good form, eg, Freddie van Lierde, who has good form and cadence.
• The road camber from 5-20km was real and hard to escape. High up the road was the preferred position.
• Crowie & Brown mostly ran in line rather than side by side, but this depended on the road width/surface.
• The better the runner, the more resistant they were to losing technique under fatigue, ie, hips sinking back, heel strike, shortening stride. Crowie & Brown ran the same at the end as the start, just a little slower.
• Crowie & Brown each used a Fuelbelt for their nutrition, relying on aid stations only for drinks, which included Coke from before halfway. They each used special needs.
• Neither Crowie or Brown even so much as looked sideways, but made some nice gestures like offering drinks to each other.
• Surges were only subtle rather than overpowering, having more psychological effect than physical. 
• Their running was defined by their smoothness and economy of motion in their whole body.
• Notably, when Llanos & van Lierde dropped off, by 13km mark, they didn't lose much time over the next 10-15km, or at least, only gradually. This indicated they were racing in control rather than being blown.
• Also notably, David Dellow started slowly, barely inside the top-10 after 5km and a good way behind behind the runners ahead, but moved steadily through the field to 5th place.