check the new incarnation below. Pass it around!

I rode for an hour with the opposition leader this morning- an interesting little chat! More to follow.

see you on the road,

Mitch

it’s been a fascinating year…and despite the many pitfalls, I feel like I’m making progress towards racing in this second semester! After all those years of school and Uni, it’s hard not to think in semesters still!

I’m 5 weeks post op and doing some regular jog/walking and cycling. Plus the strength work and swimming means I’m getting back into shape again. Long process. Check on Rudderfish.com (Drew Ginn’s blog) about the long way back from surgery…if you don’t know who he is, then surf on over (and shame on you). He’s an icon of the Goulbourn Valley!!!

I’ve been active on many fronts, despite my injuries and surgeries. I’m surgical assisting an old mate from school (who is now an orthopaedic surgeon) half a day a month. It’s great to be reminded of anatomy and what’s going on inside hips, knees and more. The magazine has been copping my rage about all things WTC- their latest tinkerings with the professional sport of Ironman is demonstrative of a corporation that has little regard for non-US athletes and more importantly, the grass roots of the sport. Watch this space, and Australian Triathlete magazines for comments from all the Pro’s. And a little of my ‘hulk’ impersonation!

And while I’m mad, I’m also sad. Vale David Baxter- he died almost a fortnight ago in Stockholm, after a four year battle with melanoma at the age of 33. I studied all though Uni with Dave (literally, we did Science Hons at the same time and spent countless hours studying and in the same groups at various Hospitals in medicine). He was a cracker- feisty and talented. He jettisoned a successful running career for his medical pursuits- after he won a bronze medal in the 4*100 at the Commonwealth Games and excelled at both the 100/200 for many years. Up til the last, he was giving me advice on what I should be doing with my hammy! Thanks Dave, you will be missed. (Check here http://www.athsvic.org.au/ for Dave’s memorial and more musings on what a terrific fellow he was).

Finally, I’ve been at it again with Phil Wrochna- we’re playing hard on SEN 11-12 midnight, talking all things Tour de France. You can stream it online or listen on 1166.

See you on the track,

Mitch

It’s another battle. After the poorly thought through changes of the 5% and 8% rules…the WTC are looking to lump us with a whole new set. Here’s the summary:

Overview/Rationale
1) creating a points based World Championship qualifying system for pros
2) assure that the most deserving athletes qualify
3) limit the number of athletes in order to assure fair and exciting racing

Qualifying
1) Accrue points from maximum 5 races
2) At least one race must be an Ironman, max three 70.3
3) No points carry over, aside from Kona (but an athlete must complete another full Ironman)
4) Top 50 male, top 30 female offered slots after the final race late august (Sept 1 deadline)
5) Wild cards to be offered at WTC discretion
6) 70.3 will count towards Kona, but IM not counting towards 70.3 qualifying

Points/Prize Money
Points will be accrued according to size of race/purse (as per table below):
1) Championship Events: Both Ironman ($100,000+ paying through 10th) and 70.3 ($75,000+ paying through 10th).
Including Asia Pacific 70.3, U.S. 70.3, European 70.3 and regional Ironman championships to be announced.

2) Ironman Series Events: Ironman Series events will offer total prize purses in either:
$25,000 (Paying through 5th) or $75,000 (Paying through 8th)

3) 70.3 Series Events: Ironman 70.3 Series events will offer total prize purses in either:
$15,000 (Paying through 5th) or $50,000 (Paying through 8th)

Additional
1) A one day licence (US $500 for full, $250 for half)
2) Licence waiver scholarship program

Hre’s my thoughts:

To the WTC team,

I feel there are many issues with the current proposal.

1. Not enough time has been given to Pro athletes to comment and discuss this proposal.
2. One week should not be enough time to go through and change this scheme. I would be surprised if you could announce a new scheme that has been changed tangibly by July 9th.
3. 50 slots for the Pro men is nowhere near enough under the current scheme- the women’s filed has been cut by 40% (50 to 30), so there should be at least 60 male slots.
4. If an athlete can podium an IM (regional or US/Europe) they should be good enough to get a start at IM Hawaii.
5. There is too much disadvantage for regional athletes (i.e Australia) under the proposed scheme.
6. There is too much advantage for 70.3 athletes. IM should qualify IM and 70.3 should qualify for 70.3. They are totally different races. You cannot qualify for the world marathon champs by running a half- why should we make the qualifying a joke when the whole purpose is to make it a serious world championship?
7. The should be a nationality skew- i.e. a minimum number of competitors from each country
8. Why the big push to cut and tighten the pro field, when there are still a slew of places available to the US public via the lottery, CEO challenge and even ebay? If there is going to be an improved standard of qualifying, it should be that way across the board.
9. The new system does not support younger athletes and allow them to move through the ranks easily. This move simply increases the gap in the haves and have nots.

I’d like to support Chrissie Wellington’s statement and most of the points she made, aside from the numbers of athletes as above.

I applaud the move to consult and to increase prize money.

regards
Mitchell Anderson

Finally, here are the links to some excellent comments:

http://www.dede-griesbauer.com/updates_news/

http://www.firstoffthebike.com/features/1478-chrissie-wellington-weighs-in-on-the-draft-wtc-rules

More to come in this months mag…then next months.

see you on the road,

Mitch

Phil and I are at it again. See below. We’ll be publishing a regular monthly edition. UNLESS we can sign a title sponsor…let us know if you’re interested or have some feedback.

Additionally, I’m going under the knife (don’t slip on my sciatic nerve DY) to have this hamstring tendon fixed for good today. Hopefully I’ll be back on the track and racing in the second half of this year. It’s been rough.

And speaking of rough, we’ve got a new housemate at Anderson Street. Or as it’s otherwise known- the ASIS (Anderson Street Institute of Sport). He’s settling in nicely…though I don’t like it that he’s done more than twice the Ironman that I have!

see you on the road or in cotton underpants on a gurney

Mitch

Exciting times. Training again. Hammy is behaving. Shoulder is better. Short sentences prevail.

See you on the road,

Mitch