Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast · Rob Wilby

Coach's Diary: A New & Brilliant Triathlon Race Format! | Ep 563

·21 min·1 clip

Rain turned the bike course slippery, and Rob says over a dozen riders came down on corners.

1. Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast Ep 563 is a coach's diary about Team Oxygen Addict's trip to Porto Maio, Portugal, for a Triton Race Series weekend. 2. Coach Rob Wilby is the host, the Team Oxygen Addict Triathlon Coaching head coach, and the person describing the team's racing and travel. 3. The episode is for explaining why the Triton 3 format, with swim on Friday, bike on Saturday, and run on Sunday, worked as both a race and a training weekend. 4. Rob says Jane Hansen introduced him to Paulo Liete, who spent over 20 years as race director of the Lisbon 70.3 and later Challenge Lisboa. 5. Paulo Liete set up the Triton Race Series, which Rob says has run events in Portugal and Brazil and aims to expand globally. 6. Rob and his athletes travelled to Porto Maio after Paolo offered free and heavily discounted entries for the event. 7. The Triton weekend used three swim options of 1 km, 2 km, or 3 km, three bike options of about 40 km, 80 km, or 120 km, and three run options of about 7 km, 14 km, or 21 km. 8. Rob says the longest combination reaches roughly half-Ironman to Ironman distance across the weekend. 9. He also says the scoring system gave 1 point to first place, 2 points to second place, and the lowest aggregate total won the event. 10. Rob notes that the field included athletes racing for overall wins, athletes racing each other, and athletes treating the weekend as a relaxed end-of-season break. 11. He says the swim took place inside the harbour walls of Porto Maio, with a lighthouse turn and protection from swell. 12. Rob swims a little over 1 km in a shade over 20 minutes and says that was his longest continuous swim in a good few years. 13. The bike day began before sunrise with a 10 km neutralized ride through the city and a police escort to the circuit. 14. Rob compares the start to the Tour de France because the organizer waved the starter's flag from a car sunroof. 15. He describes the bike race as hard, rolling, and full of attacks on every climb and gap closure over the tops. 16. The mood changed when light drizzle turned the roads slippery, and Rob says packs were coming down on corners. 17. Rob reports that over a dozen people crashed, Andy was taken to hospital with a broken collarbone, and another athlete fractured her pelvis. 18. He says the run took place around Porto Maio harbour and along the boardwalk in warm, humid conditions. 19. Rob's tone is conversational and diary-like, with race detail, first-person observations, and a practical coaching angle. 20. Listeners who like triathlon race formats, training camps, and event logistics will get the most from it, while people wanting a pure competition recap may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast