Australian Chris McCormack or Macca as he is affectionately known, most affable athletes in the sport of triathlon. Chris entered the professional triathlon circuit in 1996, as an inexperienced rookie, but rapidly rose to success only eight months after his debut, taking the World No. 1 position and destroying arguably the greatest field ever assembled in triathlon history, to win both the 1997 Triathlon World Championships and the 1997 ITU World Cup Series.
Chris has won a slew of victories on the tough US Circuit including the San Diego International Triathlon, New York City International Triathlon and LA International Triathlon . He also became the first triathlete in a decade to capture the US Triple Crown. In 2001, Chris was again crowned Global Triathlete Of The Year and Competitor Of The Year and became the only triathlete to ever hold the USA Professional Championship Title and the USA Sprint Course Title in one season.
Well I just kicked off my 2007 racing season with a great win in the Dubai International Triathlon at Dubai Creek in the United Arab Emirates yesterday. This is the biggest race in the world now at this time of year and I had the great opportuntiy to race many of the europeans and asian athletes who flew in for the event. The race had almost 900 athletes competing and is set in the most amazing city I have ever seen. This place is incredible and everything they do here is just amazing. We raced across the Golf course where Tiger Woods owns a condo and helped design and rode the bike around the worlds tallest building. It was an absolutely incredible event and drew some great athletes. World Ironman Champion from 2005, Faris Al Sultan came out to try and win this race as did a hoarde of German, Belgium and English athletes. I flew into Dubai 5 days before the race and took some time to take in this remarkable city.
The press conference was impressive with live Television and over 70 magazines and newspapers from around the gulf region. This is the Asain and Gulf Championships so it is the biggest race in Asia and his part of the World now. It also representatives from Triathlon life magazine in Austria and also Triathlete Magazine in Germany. The race was really set up as a showdown between myself and Faris Al sultan after our disagreements last year in Kona. He was very pumped to win this race and really went out on a limb and said he was going to be very difficult to beat here. He arrived in the Emirates 2 weeks before the race, and as it was the Gulf Championships and the Regional Championships for many of the Asian nations he was very eager to win the title. I must admit I was a little nervous as I had just started training and had no idea this race would be as big as it was until I arrived here. The event was huge in a place where everything is done bigger and better and money is not an obstacle. You have to see this place to understand how big they are here. The press conference was the biggest I have ever been too in my entire triathlon career.
The race was a sprint distance event and it was non drafting. The course was very tight and i knew this would suit my aggressive riding and racing tactics. I was also rubbed the wrong way after Hawaii last year when Faris and Norman attacked me and claimed I was just a runner, so on race morning I really tried to work myself up and harness the anger from there comments and tell myself this was my first chance of the season to put into effect what I had claimed after Hawaii last year. I said I would never let Faris or Norman beat me again in any triathlon I ever did. This was my chance to do this and i really got myself in the right frame of mind to execute this. I stood on the race line ready to go and more so to prove to Faris and the rest of the athletes that I could dominate an event like this and be the best at all the disciplines in the race. I moved across to Ironman racing in 2002 as the best short course triathlete in the World and these guys forget this. I really wanted to show them that no matter what the distance is i can mix it up. With the fast ITU guys also in the race I knew this would be tough, but the non drafting bike would suit me and Faris and I knew if we could be aggressive on the bike this would set up our showdown. I set myself the goal to be the best swimmer, biker and runner in the race despite the Germans claiming I could only run. Faris was very cocky and ready to race me and I was very much determined to smash him.
I got an incredible start and led to the first swim can. Faris was on my feet with about 7 other athletes. He started to move up next to me as we rounded the halfway point of the 750 metre swim and I thought to myself, no way. I am going to win this swim out if it kills me. I really put my foot down in the swim and swam away from Faris and the pack. I lead out of the water by about 5 seconds from Faris who claims to be the best swimmer in the sport at present. After his Hawaii comments when he said I could not swim, I turned to him as we ran out of the water with me having led the whole swim and exiting with the fastest time and said, "Not bad for a guy who cant swim hey Faris." I sprinted up the beach and we both entered transition together. I immediately jumped on my bike and ran out of transition with Faris and Wener from Austria close by. We had about 10 seconds on a huge chase pack with all the fast Asian guys from China, Japan and Thailand.
My whole race strategy was to really smash the bike. This was the leg that the Germans claim to be the best in the world at and also the leg that Faris claimed that I sat on him in Hawaii at. Both he and Norman agreed that I was a weak cyclist depsite years of dominating triathlon races around the world with stellar bike rides. It was also satisfying as Faris had claimed in the press conference that the bike was where he would show his authority on this race and set up his race. He said in the press conference and I quote "The bike is where I see my strength over the rest of the field. I am strong on the bike and will really push hard tomorrow to win the race with the fastest bike ride. This is a sprint race so it will be very close on the bike, but as long as there is no drafting I think I can maybe ride 30 seconds faster than everyone here and this is important with only a 5km run." I was really determined with the non drafting bike ride to smash him on this leg. I dont think I have riden a bike as hard as I did today for a few years but in the 20km bike portion of this sprint race I rode 4 minutes into Faris Al Sultan. That is not a typo I rode 4 minutes into him. The self proclaimed strongman on the bike got his butt handed to him as I put my head down and buried myself for 20km. I rode the 20km in 25:16 which even impressed myself. I was really focused and determined to teach him a lesson and I did that today. I got off the bike 4 minutes ahead of Faris and began the 5km run. It was exactly how I used to race the short course events a few years ago by hammering the bike. This is what amazed me with the statements that the Germans had said about me in Kona. Todays ride was one of the most satisfying bike performances of my career from a personal perspective and I really unleashed some bottled up emotion to ride the bike like a man possessed.
It was a nice run for me and the people who lined the course were really cheering hard. I got the opportunity to see Faris at 2 times on the run and never looked up at him or smiled. I wanted to show him that this was an easy victory for me. I ended up running 1 minute faster than Faris who was pushed heavily by ITU star Daniel Werner from Austria and another young Germn for the 2nd place. I crossed the line in 54:14 and waited exactly 5minutes and 11 seconds for Faris to cross the line in 2nd place to edge out the Austrian by 12 seconds.
I was very happy with myself yesterday and I hope this email does not sound too cocky as it is not meant to be. It was very satisfying for me to race Faris in this event. It is the biggest race in the United Arab Emirates and a race that Faris was determined to win. I am in nowhere near 100 percent fitness as it is early season for me and the fact that I belted the entire field in swim, bike and run was very satisfying. I could see in the eyes of Faris that he too was impressed with what I had just done to him and maybe he was silly to say the things he had said. It was also satisfying that the entire German contingent of writters and magazines that had come down to support the race and watch the first showdown of the year got to see what I did and will write about it. The hype in the press conference was all around this showdown and I was very cool and calm in all my answers to them. I told them in the press conference that I was so much looking forward to this event as it was my first chance to silence Faris with actions rather than words. What made it the most satisfying was that Faris had stated he was more than ready for the challenge. The way I destroyed him today in this race was just perfect and I am so proud of myself. I also walked away with some huge press over here and a regional title which is bigger than any National title. This would be the equivalent of winning the North American Title. Faris has won this title for the past 3 years and holds this very dear to him. It was a nice day for me. I hope this does not sound to much but I am really content today. It feels good after all the hype after Kona. It is only the start of the season and we have a long season to go but it is a great start to the season, which is always nice.
Now i am relaxing and enjoying my time here in Dubai. My friend Jason is the personal traininer to Shiekh Fallah Bin Zayed Al Nayan who is the son of the president. It has been an incredible experince hanging out with him. We got to see the Golf today that is being played in Abu Dhabi and get an incredible tour of this remarkable region of the world. It really is incredible. I have really enjoyed my stay here. I am doing a small race this Friday in Oman before flying up to Germany and then onto San Diego for the Competitor Awards. I look forward to catching up with you all again very soon. I again apoligise if this email sounds a little big headed but I am very pround of myself. Just to have seen with my own eyes the look on Faris Al Sultans face when he crossed the line yesterday and had to look at me staring right at him, waiting for him to cross the line, after all he has said about me, was enough for me. Maybe thats the competitor in me but no amount of money in the world was more satsifying than that. The next one I want is Norman Stadler. Maybe I will have to wait until Kona to get my chance at him, but his time is coming aswell.
