Spencer Powlison on Winter Tri Worlds
As we reached the crest of the Black Forest highway, driving to the International Triathlon Union winter triathlon world championship in Kniebis, Germany, our worst fears were confirmed. As I looked through the fog and mist with my teammates, Mike Kloser, Brian Smith and Heather Best, and our wax technician, Peter Abraham, I realized there was not a patch of snow to be found. Mike was particularly concerned, and, like him, I recalled last year’s world championship in Flassin, Italy, where we were similarly cursed with a blight of snow. This year seemed no different.
When we arrived at Hotel Maichelle in Kniebis, our only solace was a scrappy path of ungroomed snow running past the doorstep of our hotel. The best we could hope for was a marginal ski course and a bike and run on pavement and dirt. Despite the grim situation, there was nothing to do but make the best of things. The next morning was still foggy and damp, but we were cheered up by our gracious hostess, Beate. I’m already a big fan of breakfast, but Europe always knocks my socks off with the most important meal of the day. We were treated to lots of fresh bread, eggs, muesli, meat, cheese and, of course, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Best of all, in the following days, Beate remembered what we liked to drink and would have it waiting when we came down in the morning.
Nevertheless, the loveliest breakfasts in the world couldn’t postpone the impending races, as inevitable as the truckloads of snow the organizers brought down from the hills to make the ski course. Before I knew it, I was at the line Saturday morning, set to go head-to-head with the best in the world. The run was a scrum, as usual—and on pavement and dirt instead of snow, which was unusual—but I survived, thanks to my front-row start position. I settled in to a marginally comfortable pace on the course. By the end of three 3.5-kilometer laps, I felt pretty shelled. The 12km bike was also a speed-fest and on part pavement, part dirt, but I was fortunate to hang on with an Italian and Slovakian and use the draft to my full advantage. The 10km ski on the man-made track was sloppy and nasty, but I did pretty well, despite numerous clods of dirt dotting the course and extended sections of two-way traffic on trail barely suited for one.
I’m not sure what surprised me more about Sunday’s team relay event—that the snow survived the 60 degree weather, that our aching legs could even get us out of bed or that when Brian tagged off to me for the second leg of our three-person relay, our team was sitting in second place behind only the Germans. It’s a rush to be in the hunt for a medal, and knowing that your teammates are counting on your performance only adds to the excitement.
When the big Austrian, Heinz Planitzer, caught me on the 2.5km run of the relay, I knew that my best chance was to go with him until the bike and try to catch the draft. I put together one of the strongest runs of my life and made it onto the bike with him and Italian Alessandro Di Gasperi. Although I couldn’t hang with them on the 3km bike course’s primary climb, I rode and skied strong to keep our team in fourth overall. By the end of the race we had dropped back to sixth. It was a bit of a heartbreaker, as top-five was only about 20 seconds away, but nevertheless, it was Team USA’s best finish ever in the relay.
After two days of hard racing, it was evident that we needed to treat ourselves. Our wizened team captain, Mike, knew exactly what to do. We headed down to Baden-Baden to partake in the authentic Roman bathhouses. Three hours of relaxation did wonders. Better still, after two one-liter steins of Lowenbrau pilsner, the weekend was looking pretty good in retrospect. Sure, the weather was too warm and the snow was artificial and rotten, but no regardless, we were able to race hard and have a good time. At the end of the day, that’s enough to keep me happy.
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Spencer Powlison is a three-time member of the USAT National Team for Winter Triathlon. He is also an XTERRA pro and a semi-pro mountain biker on the Mafia Racing Team. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, and works for the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).
