The Canadian athlete finished the race in 4 hours, 28 minutes and 12 seconds, 5 minutes before the runner-up, Mary Beth Ellis from the US, and nearly 20 ahead of Canada’s Sara Gross.

It seems that Naeth is determined to have an extraordinary season; she climbed on the podium in all the races she has competed in so far. She won the Leadman Tri Epic 125 Las Vegas in April, was the runner-up at the Abu Dhabi Triathlon in March and took Ironman 70.3 Panama in February.

‘Simply beautiful! Love St. Croix!,’ Angela posted on her Twitter account after the race. The member of BH Team added in a smiley way, ‘Congrats back to Lance Armstrong. I should hang with you more. I seem to win in your presence.’

St. Croix Ironman 70.3 results

1 NAETH, ANGELA 4:28:12
2 ELLIS, MARY BETH 4:33:34
3 GROSS, SARA 4:46:43
4 KRAFT, NINA 4:47:44
5 KOZULINA, TAMARA 4:47:51
6 LOEFFLER, KIM 4:49:24
7 FLETCHER, JENNY 4:59:40
8 JONES, STEPHANIE 5:01:01
9 DANAIS, MARIE 5:01:50
10 SMYERS, KAREN 5:08:07

- You’re the second best triathletes in terms of European Championships won. This sound even more special this year, ahead of the Olympic Games. Has this victory been a morale booster?

I’m definitely very very happy about that third European Championship title! It has been a big dream of me to win the Europeans a third time this year, and it’s great to have been able to actually do it! Winning Europeans in the Olympic Year shows that I’m on the right way towards London and definitely gives me some confidence and a good feeling.

- What are the races on your calendar before the Olympic Games? What are your major challenges before going to London?

Winning Europeans was definitely one of the major challenges before going to London. With the results of my first three races this year (2^nd at the World Cup in Mooloolaba, 5^th at the World series race in Sydney and 1^st at the Europeans), I qualified for the Olympics. Now the immediate preparation for London is starting, and I will concentrate on training and becoming the best athlete I can be over the next three months. I will go to the races which will suit my training schedule. Planned are a few Swiss races, the World Series race in Madrid and the World Series race in Kitzbühel, but I will definitely decide shortly before the races which ones I will compete in.

- Are you familiar with the Olympic course? What do you know about it? Which do you believe are the characteristics that best suit you and which are less suitable to your skills?

Yes I’m familiar with the Olympic course. I won the race in London 2009, got 2^nd in 2010 and fulfilled the first qualifying criterion of my country for the Olympic Games there last year on the original course. So I have very good memories concerning the course and the place where the Olympic Games will take place! The course is pretty flat but technical, especially in the rain. I think the course will suit me as the former results show and am looking forward to racing on it in August!

- Who will be your strongest rivals in London?

I think there are a lot of athletes who can race very strong in London. At the moment, I don’t see a clear favourite for the women’s race at the Olympics, but I know about 10 to 15 athletes who can actually win a medal if they are having a good day on the 4^th of Augsut. So it will be a very interesting race.

- There are a few months left for the Olympic Games, but still we’d like to know what your greatest Olympic ambitions are.

I got 6^th at the Olympics 4 years ago, and as a professional athlete I always want to get better and so naturally would like to win a medal. This is a very high goal, but I will do my best to reach it.

- Do you have any main focus in your training for the Olympic Games?

No, I will work hard in all three disciplines and will hopefully go there very very fit and strong!

- How was your meeting with the other BH triathletes in Lanzarote? What are your memories from those days? What did you talk about, triathlon or anything but triathlon?

It was great to meet the other BH triathletes in Lanzarote! Of course se talked a bit about triathlon, which is only natural with triathlon being a big part of our live. But we also talked about the new BH bikes which are amazingly light, or how we all spent the winter and so on. Was certainly a fun day

After a tough race, I usually go swimming in the sea, 30 or 40 minutes at a slow pace so that my body can regenerate itself. I go swimming again on the following day and ride my bike a little.

When I have to get a plane back home after a race, I wear compression flight socks or tights to maximise speed of recovery. I say ‘yes’ to whatever helps with recovery. I try to stretch and walk around on the airplane and at the airport. These are my own ‘little tricks.’

How do I sleep after a race? Well, it depends on the time of day when the race takes place. If it’s held in the morning, I usually sleep well, but when it’s an afternoon race I’m so excited – normally I take some caffeine before the race – that I can’t get to sleep that easily.

Physiotherapy

Following a tough event like the European Championships, I have some physical therapy sessions but I do nothing I wouldn’t do in any other training week. I do exercises for the calves, thighs, hamstrings – hamstring injuries are common among triathletes – and peroneal muscles. I try to work on my waist too, so I do isometric exercises and abs with a ball. This kind of work is important for the swim and run, and it helps prevent low back injury, which I’ve sustained in the past.

When I get on my bike again after a race, I try to pedal undergeared and with a higher cadence, that is, taking speed over strength. Sometimes I add some strength for a short time. I ride for about an hour and a half, then I swim for the same time and run for an hour or so. Not very hard training, you see?

To conclude, I’d like to say there’s no objective method to measure recovery. Each body is a world of its own, so you have to plan your training and recovery depending on how you feel after a race. You can’t write a training or recovery manual that works for everyone; what works for me might not work for you, so you have to find your own method.

Hope it helps!

Mario Mola

Before having it at home, I used it during a photo session for BH Fitness in Lanzarote earlier this year. What I like most about it (and what made me choose it as a training machine) is that you can adjust both position and geometry. I can adjust it so that the angles and measurements are just like those of the GC Aero, or I can make it look like the G5 in just a few seconds.

In addition, the bottom bracket axle is much narrower than in other indoor bikes, so it feels more like a traditional bike.

I’m going to use the BT Aero in all kinds of trainings, from recovery sessions to short yet intense training sessions. And if the weather is bad out there, I can stay home and don’t need to mount one of my bikes on roller, which is a time waster.

Fitness machines like the BT Aero are a very good choice for a triathlete, because you can control what you’re doing, especially in tests or special types of training.

I’m using it a lot these days, about four days a week, for I can’t go out with my bike yet. When I get well again, I’ll use it two days a week or so, depending on my weekly training plans.

For now, with the BT Aero I can train in the right position, with the intensity I need and without the risk of setbacks in my rehab process. This is very important now, before I can begin to get on my bike and hit the road again. When I get well, this machine will be the perfect complement to my outdoor training. Thank you so much BH Fitness!

Nicholas Ward

So what do I do? I have to say I don’t do specific recovery work apart from the regular exercises or training sessions. Actually, I take this kind of events as ‘hard training.’ Of course, they’re physically exacting in a way a regular training session is not. But, basically, they’re sort of more intense training.

My goal is to try and recover as soon as possible, but I never set tight deadlines because each athlete has their own pace. Besides, competing in Australia is not the same as competing in, say, Madrid. Travelling abroad affects recovery work.

Generally, I do light recovery work for five or six days – increased volume and lower intensity. I also do some swimming in the recovery period because it isn’t that tiring, and I eat well. If you burn off 5,000-6,000 calories, you can eat almost everything you want. I follow a low saturated fat diet, though, but working out like I do, I can eat what I want.

The Israeli race was really tough. Since it took place on a hot day, you had to drink plenty of water and eat well. The return trip wasn’t an easy one. I departed at 5 a.m. and arrived in Madrid at 11 p.m. I didn’t even think of training or doing recovery work, I just remained seated on the plane and then queued up in the migration line at the airport…

Then for two or three days you have to see how you feel. If I’m fine, I try to train more intensely. During racing periods, there’s little time to train and many adjustments to make. Recovery work, on the other hand, is crucial.

I’ll tell you more about all this next week. I’ll write about how to recover when you travel by plane, physiotherapy, going to the gym… In sum, about what I do following a very tough race.

Mario Mola.

‘Yesterday was a big day. I’ll never forget it. I’m extremely happy; this is a dream come true. It’s amazing,’ the Swiss triathlete posted on her website. ‘The European Championships have always been a special race to me, especially since I took the Junior title in 1999 in Madeira. Besides, I’m deeply impressed by Reto Hug’s Elite title.’

Ten years later, Spirig won her first European title in Holten, Netherlands, and the following year the BH-sponsored triathlete was crowned European queen in Athlone, Ireland. However, she could not defend her title in 2011, so this year’s championships were among her primary goals. Now she has her eyes set on London 2012.

‘Of course, the Olympic Games are my main goal, but when I was planning this season I marked the European Championships as my second target. I sustained an injury that forced me out of them last year,’ Nicola said.

A flawless race

Nicola Spirig showed in Eilat that she had been training hard since the start of this season. ‘My training has been going amazingly well and that’s how it should feel in a race, so I’m just extremely happy. I was able to make the right tactical decisions too. I knew training was going well, but it was great to be able to show it in a race. I think I’m on the right track,’ she remarked.

Now she has to focus on her main goal. ‘This victory is a good sign, leading me to the Olympic Games in London,’ she added.

Spirig had shown she was in full form being the runner-up in Mooloolaba and fifth in Sydney, and now she reclaimed the same title she had lifted back in 2010.

It was not that easy. The triathlete of BH Team won on a very hot day, with temperatures over 25 ºC/77 ºF, against such strong rivals as Emmie Charayron and Jessica Harrison (France), or Murua herself (Spain).

The Swiss athlete was on the lead throughout the race. In fact, she was part of the breakaway that formed in the second lap and marked the six-lap bike section. The leading pack included Murua, Charayron, Harrison, Lucy Hall and Camilla Pedersen.

Harrison was the first to get off her bike and she actually led the footrace up to the 5 km mark, when Spirig and Murua chased after her and reeled her in to fight side by side for victory. In the end, it was the athlete of BH Team who won. Murua and Charayron completed the podium.

Eilat, Israel, is hosting the Triathlon European Championships for the first time and, granting two places for the Olympic Games to the countries of the winning triathletes, the race will surely be really exciting. The race will see these BH riders: Nicola Spirig, João Silva, Mario Mola and Fernando Alarza… four real aces!

Nicola is in good shape after finishing second in Mooloolaba and fifth in Sydney. The two-time European champ wants to lift again this year the title she lifted in 2009 and 2010, which she missed last year when she did not take part in the race. She will have tough rivals, such as reigning champion Emmie Charayron (France) or Ainhoa Murua (Spain), who won the Quarteira European Cup and will fight to get a ticket to London in Eilat.

On the men’s side, João, Mario and Fernando will face Francisco Javier Gómez Noya in his first ITU race this year, Russians Alexander Bryukhankov and Dmitry Polyansky, and Swiss Sven Riederer. Silva is determined to finish within the top riders, especially because he was crowned U23 European Champion in Eilat last year.

Fernando and Mario want to put up a good show in Eilat too. They have hopes and are motivated, as they posted on Twitter. They consider that the key to doing well in Eilat is making no mistakes… ‘In this level, the key to success is a flawless performance. We hope it’ll be a good weekend for us all.’ Good luck to them!

It was a tough race. At the finish line, some riders said that it was even tougher than the Ironman Hawaii, especially because the wind added to a challenging course including a 2.5-km swim starting on Boulder Beach, a 109.5-km bike ride along desert roads outside Las Vegas and a 13-km run that climbed the River Mountain Trail to Boulder City.

Naeth took victory with amazing ease, finishing in 5 hours, 7 minutes and 41 seconds. She was followed by Jackie Arendt, who crossed the finish line no less than 16 minutes later (5:23:49). Christine Anderson rounded out the podium, coming in 25 minutes after the winner.

Thanks to this podium finish, the Swiss triathlete secured a place in the Olympic Games in August this year. Nicola is blissfully happy to have booked her ticket to London. So from now on, London will be her prime target this season.

The triathlete of BH Team did really well in the race, dominating the bike leg at times. The footrace was decisive. American Laura Bennett and Rachel Klamer of the Netherlands led out of the cycling leg heading into the 10-km run section, but Australian Erin Densham powered away and learned at Km. 8 that she would not be neutralised, so she enjoyed the final metres of the race.

Spirig came in second, only 52 seconds behind the Australian woman. Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand was third.