Pro Gear: Ironman 70.3 California

Pro gear from the Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside transition area.

Published Mar 29, 2014

Aaron Hersh

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Pro — Racked and ready.

Pro — Defending champ Andy Potts returns to Oceanside with his Kestrel 4000 equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9000.

Pro — Potts uses the direct mount TriRig Omega front brake, which is designed to minimize aero drag for an externally mounted brake.

Pro — Baby powder in the shoes for Potts.

Pro — Sebastian Kienle, the reigning 70.3 world champion, has his Scott Plasma lined up on the transition rack. The German is riding the Pro Missile EVO aerobar with what appears to be a taller stack of spacers below his elbow pads and extensions than in the past. He’s racing the same Plasma 3 frame that has been around for several years.

Pro — Matty Reed recently went to the LA Velodrome to undergo aero testing with the Alphamantis Track Aero System. Surprisingly, his low hand position proved to be as fast as any other position for the tall American.

Pro — A tightly wrapped rubber band around the heel loop and quick release suspends the shoe horizontally for an easier flying mount.

Pro — Most pros rack their bikes by the saddle, but Jordan Rapp positioned his Specialized Shiv with the aerobars facing the rack with his helmet hanging from the saddle.

Pro — Rapp carries his flat repair supplies in a compact SciCon saddle bag suspended from the saddle rails.

Pro — CycleOps Joule computer mounted between the hands on a Profile Design UCM.

Pro — 2012 Ironman world champ Pete Jacobs is riding this Boardman AiR/TTE with a tubular Zipp 808/Super 9 wheelset.

Pro — Steve Kilshaw is racing the Specialized Shiv TT, one of the few triathletes racing this sleek bike that was originally designed for time trialing.

Pro — Lightweight Autobahn Disc.

Pro — Matt Lieto’s Trek Speed Concept 9 Series.

Pro — Lieto is taking full advantage of his front bottle bosses, with two round bottles, a computer and a 5 Hour Energy bottle all mounted between his aerobars.

Pro — Gels strapped to an aerobar spacer stack with rubber bands.

Pro — Now that the aerobars have become a popular storage location, many athletes are coming up with creative solutions to carry as much as possible in that location. Rear-facing round bottles are a popular choice, leaving enough space for a computer or nutrition up front.

Pro — American Kevin Collington broke through last year and is an athlete on the rise. His BMC TM01 is built with a Shimano Dura-Ace C75 tubular wheel with Pro Missile EVO aerobars. He attaches several gels to his top tube and a Vittoria PitStop canister to his top tube.

Pro — Collington races with a Speedfil A2 Aero Bottle mounted to a zip tie-suspended cage. He uses a Garmin 910XT as a bike computer mounted on top of his bottle.

Pro — While there are several good options for carrying a bottle behind the saddle, some pros continue to use zip ties to mount a cage.

Pro — One of the drawbacks to racing tubular tires is the size of a spare. This extra tubular is carried in a rear-mounted hydration system.

Pro — Defending champ Heather Jackson is racing a Cannondale Slice with custom paint.

Pro — Jackson is racing Reynolds Aero 72 wheels with Continental GP 4000S tires.

Pro — Cait Snow’s Quintana Roo Illicito. She will be switching over to the PR Six, just released this week, in the near future.

Pro — The Garmin Vector power meter is starting to show up in the pro transition area.

Pro — Not every piece of gear on the pro racks is the highest-end, most expensive option. The Flo 90 front wheel on this pro bike is an aero wheel priced under $500.

Pro — Garmin 310XT, a triathlon GPS watch, mounted to an aerobar extension serving as a bike computer.

Pro — After a prolonged time away from the sport spent recovering from both foot and knee surgery, Julie Dibens made her re-debut at Ironman 70.3 California.

Pro — Dibens, known as one of the fastest riders in the sport, is racing a Bontrager Aeolus D3 5 with tubular tires.

Pro — Charisa Wernick carries a Vittoria PitStop flat repair tube in a rear-mounted bottle cage.

Pro — Rotor Flow aero crank with ovalized QXL rings.

Pro — Meredith Kessler’s Boardman has a XLab Torpedo System front-mounted bottle with a neoprene cover called the Vestito.

Pro — Kessler races a Rudy Project Syton Open aero helmet, which is a discontinued model.

Pro — Vittoria PitStop flat repair canisters are a popular choice for athletes racing tubular tires. One pro even carries a canister with Scotch tape.

Pro — Bontrager only produces spoked wheels. The Trek-sponsored pros racing Bontrager wheels use a Hed Stinger disc labeled Bontrager.

Pro — A bottle cage mounted with a zip tie to a TriRig Alpha aerobar on the bike of James Seear.

Pro — Andrew Starykowicz rests his Lazer Tardiz aero helmet on his aerobar, with his race number at the ready.

Pro — Starykowicz has a quick release piece in line with his rear brake to make wheel swaps easier.

Pro — Albert Moreno, 23-year-old Spanish pro, is racing the immortal Hed 3.

Pro — A few chews (Honey Stinger?) stuck directly to the bars.

Pro — The Cervelo P3 Six of Hector Guerra is built without the fairing over the front brake. Cervelo says the entire integrated apparatus saves a modest amount of drag, so racing without this piece is probably a very small aero penalty compared to the fully built version.

Photos by Aaron Hersh