firstoffthebike.com - Features

Triathlete of the Year - 2011

firstoffthebike.com's Triathlete of the Year

Craig Alexander - It's obvious for sure but when you add the numbers andwhen you look at what he achieved over the course of this season the choice, we think, is simple.

An early trip to Abu Dhabi was an eye opener but then the wheels fell off a little. When he finally got his season going Crowie was simply outstanding. His well documented struggles with an early season virus put a lot of his races on hold as he tried to get on top of his ailments. But when he did the Alexander juggernaut took some stopping. His first order of business was to validate his Kona spot which he did at IM Coeur D'Alene. Crowie let Maik Twelsiek get some 8 minutes up the road before reeling him in with a stunning 2:46 marathon to signal he was back in town in a big way. The pros pro was en route to Vegas.

Once at Vegas Crowie went through in one of the most impressive performances of the year. His 1:11 run time was minutes ahead of anyone and once again showed his versatility over that distance. His 3 minute win, about a kilometre ahead of the rest, said everything without saying anything. The 70.3 World Title was pure Crowie, a regulation swim bike and commanding run. Surely once again in Kona the uber crew of bike mafia would once again figure out the right time to assassinate Alexander's dream of being the number one Ironman athlete in the world. The so called method was there but this year would not be a repeat of 2010's misadventure.

Pre Kona the try world was ensconced in Crowie's ride. His turnout in Vegas on a Cervelo P4 put paid to the rumours he was off the Orbea wagon. But what he would ride on the Big Island was a hot debate. But then this would hardly matter as Alexander was 'soft' on the bike. The achillies heel had been found. Whack him after the turn at Hawi and you can un hook him.The pundits who knew all agreed that if the same game plan was run again then Crowie would be thereabouts but maybe not on top.

In true Crowie fashion he played the diplomat, refusing to throw his former bike sponsor under the bus but calmly turned out to ride on a Specialized. He did the media rounds explaining how he was on this new bike etc etc but he was clearly over talking about it. A coup of sorts for the bike manufacturer to secure his signature. Did they all know something the rest didn't? It helped that they were launching a new bike. And what better person to jump aboard than Alexander. If nothing else he would be seen on the road in the famous Hawi Express. But what unfolded race day would have blown their socks off and stamped Craig Alexander as a great.

And turn out he did. Crowie's 2011 Kona effort might be one of the finest races in the last decade. And this was so for a number of reasons. The first is the overall time. An 8:03:56 was the fastest since 1996 (Luc Van Lierde) and showed how clearly he was primed for this event. A course record. The two punch combination of Vegas and Kona was well dialled in. The other side of this race was the Crowie bike ride. He now owns the 5th fastest ride in Kona of all time (4:24:05). There is no doubt his new bike sponsors were punching the air but there was a bit of a 'Good Will Hunting' moment when Crowie got ask the doubters whether they liked apples as he biked his way into the record books. The ghosts of the season past well and truly banished to the naughty corner.

It was quite possibly the best case scenario for Alexander who is once again on top of the Ironman pile. The delayed start to the season seems to have only sharpened him for his late season execution. He is a sponsors dream and continues to simply just get it done. There is not a lot of fanfare about how he prepares or what he gets up to off the bike. He only recently joined the twitteratti but generally planet Crowie is fairly low key. What we do know is that he pays it forward. Go out for a ride with him and pick his brain about IM racing and whether you are a rival pro or a age grouper he will give you the information. There is no mystique about Crowie, no facinating aura, no buddha on the mountain side histrionics. Other than a superb work ethic, a balnced life and single mindedness when in the heat of battle. He rarely panics.

The performances however are anything but low key as two world titles six weeks apart over two separate distances and that demonstration in Coeur D'Alene makes Craig Alexander our triathlete of the year.