The triathlete sponsored by BH has answered ten questions picked from the many more you have posted on Facebook, Twitter and bhtriathlon.com. As a King of Triathlon, Eneko is coming with a Three Kings Day gift for one of you.

-José Ramón Lillo: Hi, Eneko. You’re a long-distance and Xterra crack. How do you manage to pay attention to MTB throughout the year as you’re training for long-distance triathlons?

During the season, I go mountain biking once a week at least. This way I don’t miss the sensations on the mountain bike and then it’s easier to ride in competitions. When I’m training for a particular long-distance event, I leave it aside, and in training periods or easier competitions, I use it more regularly.

-Jon Onandia: Congratulations for your record time in Arizona. How do you deal with feeding in races? Do you always eat the same stuff on the saddle? By the way, good luck in Hawaii 2012!

The best way to put nutrition for the triathlon into practice is to train hard as you would do for a race and eat and drink what you’re planning to have during the event. Actually, I know what I need, so I always take the same. If I want to change something in my diet plan, I try it during my training sessions to make sure it’ll be alright.

-Forn Frias: Hi, Eneko! First of all, congratulations on your impressive season and for your time in Arizona. Now, my question is, Is the bike model key for cutting down time? I’m asking this because when Craig Alexander changed brands, he said this made him faster on the bike in Hawaii. What can you say about BH for everybody to understand that it can stand alongside the best bike brands in the world, which some consider to be more glamorous? Here in Spain you don’t see many amateurs using BHs but pros do use them, mainly thanks to the big bet the company is making on triathlon. Thank you!

Yes, there’re more glamorous brands that haven’t been on the market for long. BH, instead, has been manufacturing bikes for more than 100 years. When I look at a bike I don’t look at the brand but at the geometry, structure, stiffness, finish… I want a low-maintenance bike that meets my needs and goes well with my pedal stroke. This is what I look for in a bike, and then I look at how it looks, I mean, whether it’s a nice bike to look at or not. BH’s construction technology is at the cutting edge, and the firm has a long experience in competition bicycles. The BH bikes are perfect for what I need so they don’t need me to defend them at all. They can defend themselves day by day.

-Vicent Beltrán: Do you believe power and pulse meters are useful to improve performance or do you rather rely on your sensations on the bike? Congratulations for your results!

Well, they are useful devices to check your performance and training loads, but you must trust your sensations too and don’t get obsessed with measurements. You just need to strike a balance between the two.

-Enric Rota: If you don’t have much time to go out riding, would you bet on long or short series, or both? Thank you.

Well, it depends on what your training is aimed at, but if you don’t have much time you should focus on quality, spend less time in the warm-up and cool-down, and work harder. Leave the long, easy rides for days when you have more time. One hour and a half can do in most cases. If you can work out for longer, you can engage in time trial for an hour or so. For shorter sessions, there are lots of possible combinations, two of 20’, 8 of 3’ or 5’, and so on; so one hour or one hour and a half will be enough.

-Alma López Roses: I’d like to ask you, what’s your secret for being so focused?

I believe mental prep is as important as physical training. During training sessions, I do psychological work and I fancy myself in difficult racing situations and try to solve them. Sometimes I train on my own, because in a race you’re alone and you need to learn what to do in such cases.

-Raúl Hernández: Hi, my question is, what do you think about drafting? Many people believe that riding in the slipstream close behind someone’s rear wheel is so unlike the essence of triathlon.

To be honest, if it hadn’t been for drafting, triathlon wouldn’t have become an Olympic sport, so it’s OK. To me, there’re two different types of triathlon, with and without drafting, but both are triathlons, each one with its own characteristics. Basically, there’s room for the two of them. For sure, I oppose drafting in long distance triathlon.

-Sergei Lomu: Can an Ironman world championship be based on the Dextro world series system, that is, with several events awarding points and qualification criteria based on regularity?

I don’t think so, because you can’t take part in so many Ironman events in a single year. With shorter distances, yes, but in an Ironman, which has traditionally been a one-day race, I think the charm would fade away.

-Pedro San Martín Rodríguez: Your running technique has always caught my attention. It seems like you use the front end of your feet. Is it a natural technique you’ve acquired after so many years training or is it something you need to practise? What kind of exercises should I do to start running like you? Thank you very much, Eneko! You’re an example to me.

It’s a natural adaptation. I was looking for an efficient and power-saving way of running and I ended up running like I do. I don’t usually train to improve my running technique, so I can’t give you advice on specific exercises. Each one has their own way of running; some things you can improve and others you do naturally and are difficult to change, or you don’t need to change at all.

-Luis López Velázquez: When you’re training and a heavy rain falls, or when you go out running and cold gets into your bones, do you say to yourself, ‘I’ll put it off until tomorrow’?

Yes, many times. But you have to persevere and go ahead. Training sessions are a good preparation for real situations. In training sessions you grow stronger and get ready to overcome hurdles that may arise in a race or even in your daily life. The tougher the situation, the greater the satisfaction.

And the winner of the jersey signed by the BH Triathlon team is… Forn Frias. Congratulations!