TIMO PHILOSOPHICAL ON STRONG KONA IRONMAN FINISH

 Riding his Giant Trinity Advanced SL to one of the fastest bike splits of any competitor, Timo Bracht ended up placing 6th overall in the toughest competition on a professional triathletes’ calendar – The Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Big Island, Hawaii.

It was a strong top-10 performance in the world’s most grueling triathlon. Still, the 34-year-old German can’t help being a bit disappointed. He was planning on being in the top 3.

Right at the start, in the swim portion of the race, Timo said he lost valuable time because there was “…a lot of fighting in the water. The swim was very difficult for me this time around and I struggled to get any sort of rhythm out there; there was a lot of turbulence and I guess nervous energy being expended."

Even so, once he got out of the water and began pedaling his Trinity Advanced SL, Timo made up precious time. “Once on the bike I come into my own,” he said. “I concentrated well and kept focused and patient, making sure the bike worked for me, and I was very satisfied by the time I got back into transition".

Once out on the run stage, Timo really showed his toughness as he ran a very fast time to finally finish 6th. "I was very happy with my run,” he said. “As the kilometers passed by my confidence grew and I finished very strong.” Timo is philosophical about his best finish so far in Kona—and already planning for 2010. “6th was great, though deep down I now know I can certainly finish on the podium next time around.”