TIM REED - IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion. No guessing who gets title billing, with a simply outstanding display. Well done mate, thoroughly deserved. Read my in-depth take below.

Sam Appleton: 5th Male Pro. A great performance closed with a 1.12 run split, that took Sam a large step forward into his journey of becoming World Class. A massive performance in a great race.

Laura Siddall: 12th Female Pro. Another step forward. Just a couple of seasons ago Laura was racing as an amateur, but her breakout year continues with a solid 12th this weekend.

Laurence Delisle: 2nd Age Group F25-29. In only her third year in the sport, and second season of 70.3 racing, Laurence hits the podium with a great second place finish.

Jordan Ouida: 1st Place IRONMAN XC Division: Managing immense travel, high-pressure work and family, Jordan continues his remarkable first season with Purple Patch with his best IRONMAN 70.3 finish ever.

Add many more Top 10 Age Group finishes and best performances, it made for a special day. Well done to all Purple Patch athletes.  

Tim Reed Deep Dive

A massive congratulations to Tim Reed, for his entire journey of development and brave race-day performance that left him crowned the 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion. His performance was a simple expression of his preparation and development over the last seasons, and to have him take the title in such thrilling fashion made it all the more special. I have received lots of questions about his performance this week, so rather than recounting his development over the last seasons, I will simply answer these questions and aim to provide insight into the journey that led to a World Champion.

Q1: What was special about this season that allowed such a jump in his performance? I don't believe that there has been a massive 'jump' in Tim's performance. Since meeting Tim four years ago he has been on an almost linear progression of improvement and development toward World Class. In fact, if there is any special sauce this year it is primarily based on the fact that we committed to keeping things really simple and executing the basics really really well. With Tim's life (husband, father of two, etc) we have to be fluid and pragmatic in our weekly approach, and I felt it critical that Tim really nail down the simple and repeatable components of elite performance, and not get dragged into too much 'peripheral' areas of focus.

Q2: Did the race play out exactly as you expected, and did Tim's race plan exactly mirror what happened on the day? I don't think we could plan for running side by side with a highly impressive (and gracious) Sebastian Kienle, and trying to hold off repeated attacks from the strong German! I think some perspective and insight into our coaching relationship is important here, before answering. Tim is an incredibly smart athlete, with a keen and strong racing mindset. He is very savvy and certainly a tough racer. Rather than try and guess the actions and flow of a race like this, with so many tough competitors, we simply discussed various scenarios that may happen, as well as opportunities that the course may provide. It is impossible for Tim to frame a specific do or die plan, but this is a part of his weapon as a racer. He has the capacity to ride with almost any athlete in the race, and has a race-closing run. He has also worked very hard in the swim to transition from a 'just off the back' swimmer to a front pack swimmer. This makes a big difference in championship races.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see Tim aim to make attacks on the bike, or look to ride smart and steady and bank on the run. The key is to 'read the race' and go with how his body is feeling in each part of the race. This is challenging to 'teach', but Tim is a master.  

Q3: Front pack swimmer, front pack rider, front pack runner. What do you see Tim's biggest strengths? I don't isolate each discipline too much, as a total race performance is never comprised of mutually exclusive swim-bike-run performances. It is triathlon, hence SWIMBIKERUN. I believe strongly in ensuring that every one of the Purple Patch athletes is very strong on the bike, and has a huge platform of swim resilience and fitness. Tim is no different. I see Tim as a triathlete, and while he does plenty of specific running training, his run performance will still be built off the back of a very strong bike. This approach is highlighted in this year's development of Tim's teammate, Sam Appleton. Sam ran a very good 1.12 run split this weekend, but I feel that mostly arrived out of the huge effort we put transforming his bike resilience and output from strong to very strong. Ironically, Tim was Sam's coach for a couple of years before he transferred to Purple Patch this season, so Sam enjoyed a running start with this style and approach.

I would add that the mission of cycling development in all our athletes is truly assisted by our own Paul Buick. Paul is my coaching side-kick and is a great mind in fit, skills and coaching methodology. While never one to seek the limelight, his contribution to the process and approach has been massive.

Q4: It seems you have a highly collaborative relationship with Tim, and others in your pro squad. Do you find that a challenge or helpful? It is true, I think by nature I tend to thrive in collaborative relationships, although I am not shy of providing my opinion on the best path. It really depends on the specific athlete, as some excel with stronger direction straight from the coach, while others enjoy some back and forth. I prefer to go about coaching by coaching each individual athlete, instead of forcing all athletes to adhere to my style (which, I guess, in itself is a style!). In regards to Tim, he could only be coached successfully by someone willing to truly collaborate and listen to the athlete. Tim is, in his own right, a well-respected coach. He is also a great student of the sport and enjoys maintaining a certain degree of ownership over his own path. When we began working with one another, Tim told me 'I may be quite uncoachable, I don't think many would want to coach me'. It didn't take me long to understand what he meant. In that regard, I think that our styles and personalities fit well.

I think my role is part consultant, part long-term plan development, as well as helping Tim begin to understand his own potential and possibilities. While I write the daily plan, I also encourage Tim to contribute to the process. The only key is that once the plan is settled, we follow-through and maintain a clear feedback loop. It makes it non-emotional and pragmatic.  

Q5: What did you tell Tim before the race? Outside of a few details, my strongest message was similar to what I would say to anyone else. Enjoy it. It is special to have a World Championships on your home soil, and great performances could easily be left behind by placing too much stress and focus on outcomes or results. As mentioned above, I trust Tim's racing instinct and knew that his preparation and form were excellent. The one thing he could control was his mindset on the day. Ensuring the occasion and location provides a lift, and is fun, is the best route to his best performance. That is something that he can control. Then we would see where the chips fall.

I hope that helps provide some insight into the approach and relationship. It is now back to work, as while this was a massive day, the season and career is not over. It takes a team, but today we take our hats off and bow to a simply stunning performance by a wonderful athlete.

Well done Tim. World Champion doesn't sound too bad.

Cheers

Matt Dixon