Dirk Bockel, our profile athlete gave us a little summary on his base building period and his thoughts about Abu Dhabi International Triathlon on the 13th of March.Dirk finished 7th in Kona Hawaii last year and as one of the best cyclist of triathlon pro field has great chances to win Abu Dhabi International triathlon.We wish him good luck saturday!!!
Dirk flew into Florida just after Christmas as the winter has been very rough in Europe (as I am sure your readers know)!
Actually the winter in Florida was not great this year but still there was no snow so he could ride his bike without any danger. Dirk has been training with a marathon runner in St. Augustine, FL in order to improve his run, and with a pro cyclist in order to maintain his cycling abilities. He has been swimming on his own most of the time. Dirk is at a level now where it is not very easy to find training partners that are also triathletes. The best way for him to improve is to train with people at his level or above. The great thing about triathlon is that athletes can train with single discipline sport athletes and get in a great workout!
Dirk believes his is in great shape at this point in the season, "I have the feeling that I am getting in great shape this season already. Last year I was injured so could not run very much before my first race of the season--so this year has been the first time racing long distance where I feel like I am ready--and it is great."
The race in Abu Dhabi is very bike focused and there are lots of uber-bikers here to try to grab the prize--it will just come down to who is best on race day--and that is the person who will walk away with the cash. Dirk has the advantage that he has no real weakness in either of the three disciplines--so this is actually his strength!
Abu Dhabi has a large top-field, and Dirk was prepared for that. "Anytime there is a large prize purse involved, top athletes flock to those races--it is almost like a Championship race--so it is going to be a long day at the office on Saturday.Previous interview with dirk Bockel
Written by Alicia Bockel
Tags:Dirk Bockel of Luxembourg,Kona hawaii 2009,Abu Dhabi International Triathlon
