TSP25: The Summer Of Ben

TSP25: The Summer Of Ben

Here’s something loooong overdue. A breakdown of the rest of Ben Bright's 1992 season. I promised this episode when Luke and I did TSP14. About the 1992 Nice Triathlon. Ben was a role model for me. As I was also planning to have a triathlon adventure in France. Then I'd come back to the UK and regale my BTS team-mates with how epic it was. And how epic I was.  I think Ben raced 13 times in Europe in 1992. Not a huge schedule. Most triathletes based in France do more. Maybe up to 20 races. But I might have missed one or two that the mags don’t show.  And this was also a time when we raced often and all distances. Peaking and tapering wasn’t so much of a thing. We raced near-weekly and built fitness from race to race. But this is also a story of an adventure of a young athlete in a far away land. A subject that I debate at the end of the episode. Is this still an experience that young triathletes dream of? https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/25 [https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/25]

The 1995 FIT. As It Happened. Part 5.

Stage 3 of the 1995 France Irontour was the Team Time Trial in Vichy. As an athlete, this is my absolute favourite format. I love the hard effort, working out a strategy and ultimately the team work involved to do well. On paper Assystem, with Pigg, Riccitello and Metters showing good form on Stages 1 and 2, were probably stronger than St. Quentin. But don’t count out the Fit For Fun Germans. They were a solid bike team and with 6 athletes from the same nation, maybe they’d trained a lot together. But paper isn’t the road. And St.Quentin were the reigning french national TTT champions. The Vichy stage ended up being close. Very close! https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened [https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened]

The 1995 FIT. As It Happened. Part 4.

Stage 2 of the 1995 France Irontour was in Bescancon on Monday 21st August. Simon Lessing was leading after Stage One. Of course.  But this stage was an opportunity for the attackers and the bike daredevils to put Lessing under pressure. Mike Pigg was certainly planning something. And an on-form again Ben Bright would surely be happy to help. Let’s hear what happened! https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened [https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened]

The 1995 FIT. As It Happened. Part 3.

Stage 1 of the 1995 France Irontour took place in Strasbourg, in the east of France on Sunday 20th August.  The questions the pundits were asking were: Will Simon Lessing be as dominant as in 1994? Or will multiple contenders show themselves? The distances were: a 1500m swim in the Baggersee lake. A 40km draft-legal bike into town and back twice. And a 3 lap 10km mixed-surface run. Here’s how it went. https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened [https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened]

The 1995 FIT. As It Happened. Part 2.

Yesterday I did a podcast about the 1993 and 1994 editions. So here’s a preview of the 1995 race. It’s a quick translation of an article that appeared in the August 1995 issue of Triathlete (FR).  The main body of the article is an interview with Carole Gally. The FIT organiser. Then there’s side bars showing the jerseys on offer, the details of the stages and the composition of the 10 teams. Even though some of the line-ups changed before race day. https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened [https://thestreakpodcast.com/podcast/the-1995-france-irontour-as-it-happened]