Dirk Bockel: On giving up my Kona Slot.

Challenge Roth: Preparation, Predictions, and Tactics

Things here in the Bockelsphere have been going well over the last few months.  I had a great training block in Lucca in Tuscany throughout May, then spent June working hard at home in Luxembourg, and now I am in Fuschl-am-See in Austria where I have been hammering some late-game brick workouts and getting mentally prepared for what lies ahead of me in Roth, where I will head in a few days time.

After my win in Melbourne I had some time to recover and take care of injuries that sprung up, and then raced the Prolog of the Tour de Luxembourg, which was a lot of fun and nice for a change.

I am in good form right now and have been able to max out my training and I feel very confident.  My post-Melboure hip injury isn’t bothering me too bad, although I wasn’t able to prepare perfectly for the run, but I guess we all have a few things that aren’t 100%, and after considering my Melbourne preparation, I think that running a little less might not be so bad.

There are a few things this year’s Roth preparation that vary slightly from last year’s Continue reading →

Let the Summer Begin – The Bockel 2014 Race lineup

Summer Season: On Racing in Roth in 2014

I am excited to announce that I will be back in Roth this summer to defend my title!  I was able to fulfill my childhood dream of winning this European classic race last year, and I am really glad to be able to make this race a priority in my calendar again this year.  Competing in Roth is an experience that cannot be compared to any other.  There are a lot of emotions that come up when I think about pushing up that crowd-filled Solarer Berg, or entering the epic finish area, completely surrounded by spectators in the triathlon stadium.  This year is bound to be even more impressive, as the folks at Challenge are pulling out all of the stops for the race’s 30th birthday.

Right now, I have been spending some time back home in Luxembourg, in order to get myself back in working order after the race in Melbourne.  Although I had initially planned to do some cross country skiing at the beginning of the month,  plans have change slightly.  Winning in Australia took it’s toll on my hip, which I have been working to get sorted.  I have multiple treatments booked in every day, and am slowly getting back into some minor training.  I will be spending Easter here in Lux, and then heading off to Mallorca for a Uplace-BMC team camp shortly thereafter.  More updates to come soon.