Next attack for a Kona ticket in Upstate New York

Training and recovery went very well after IRONMAN Austria. At the beginning of this week, Michi traveled to the Adirondack Mountains together with his long-time supervisor, friend and mental coach Wolfgang Seidl.

Idyll & tradition

Lake Placid is located at about 500m above sea level and has emerged as an idyllic place. Swimming does not take place directly in Lake Placid, but in Mirror Lake. With water temperatures of  around 24 degrees, the first discipline will take place without wetsuits, which means Michi will be unpacking his Blueseventy PZ4TX swim-skin and finding the right group for the first split on Sunday.

After that, a hilly and challenging cycling route awaits the athletes with approx. 2000 meters of climbing over 2 laps. After a climb at the beginning with a fast descent, it goes uphill towards the end of the round at about 400 meters above sea level, but it’s  never really very steep.

Running is also 2 laps with many meters of climbing to contend with, it begins with a downhill passage from T2. Then it goes out and back along the Riverroad with a sharp climb up to the Olympic Oval.

The weather forecast for Sunday calls for very warm temperatures in the area at 28/29 degrees, which can be very hard, but the American aid stations are always well equipped with ice. The route also demands everything from you in terms of muscle power. However Michi is well prepared for this!

Last attack before the ring ceremony in the place of the five rings

The Gumpoldskirchen athlete faces strong competition from North America. With Cody Beals from Canada as well as Justin Metzler and Matt Russell from the USA, it will be an exciting battle for the Hawaii slots. The swimming pace will probably be dictated  by the friendly Hungarian Balasz Csoke.

There are two Kona PRO slots on offer in Upstate New York. Michi will give everything for the Schuller Pro Tri team and also soak up the great atmosphere at this traditional North American race!

After that, tranquillity and family time is very much on the agenda, as the wedding of Chrissie and Michi is now just around the corner. He is already looking forward to seeing his kids again, whom Michi missed from the very first second of this trip and about whom he will think during those very hard moments during the race.

Race start: Sunday, 12:25 PM Austrian time (06:25AM EDT) - LIVE ON IRONMAN NOW STARTING FROM 4PM CET