Brad wins NSW MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR!

Hi All

Last night I won the 'NSW Male athlete of the year' presented by Allan Jones and Phil Coles in front of 700 people at Town Hall in Sydney. It is an honour to win this award as many great athletes like Ian Thorpe have won it in past years.

It topped off a good year for me also ending the year as ITU World Number 1 and World Cup number 4.

I am back into training again after a 7 week break. I am abit of a beef cake at the moment but will shead the extra pounds in the coming weeks.

Regards

Brad

Brad finalist for '2006 NSW male athlete of the year'

Brad for the second time is a finalist for male athlete of the year.The awards night is being held on Thursday November 30th at Sydney’s impressive Town Hall.

SEASONS END 2006

Hi Everyone

Well just an update to let you know what I am up to. I have been back home a few weeks after 5 months on the road and it feels great to be back. Well it may come to you a shock but I have decided with my coach to end the season now and not compete in the final World Cup races in Cancun and New Plymouth in a couple weeks time. It was hard to swallow but a decision that I will hopefully benefit from later on down the track. It has been a long season with my first race in February in Perth and cumulating in Beijing China a month ago. I had the best season in my career thus far with 10 wins, 2 second places and one third including Commonwealth Games Gold, 4 World Cup wins, Australian/Oceania Champion, 2 wins in the French Grand Prix series and 2 wins Australian Triathlon series from 16 races.

I am currently 2nd in the World series and sitting on $30 000USD but unfortunately with the ITU changing the athletes best 7 World Cup results to best 8 results it gets a little too much to chase and after a year of a lot of travel and competing in order to improve, an athlete I believe has to take the time to rest the body and the mind something I think is imperative. After a year of spending most of the season in the number one spot it will be hard to watch the ranking drop back to 6th or 7th. But I guess you just got to walk away and suck it up and get on with performing next year and up to the Olympic Games.

Thanks for all the support this year to make it the season it was. Many thanks to all your emails and SMS of support.

And I will add some pictures from my holidays in Thailand and Fiji in the 7 weeks that I have off training.

Regards

Bonjour A Tous

Well the fun continues on the West Coast of France last weekend with the final race of the French Grand Prix. It was quite a trip over from Paris to La Baule, but it nice to spend the weekend on the beach.

The GP field was as strong as ever. The Atlantic was quite choppy so the swim was strung out after the first lap. I was out in 10th spot and rode the first two laps with team mate Maik and Don. Unfortunatly we got reeled in by another 15 lead by Poissy team in which were keen on bringing in the lead pack of 6. We were unable and dismounted the bike just over 1min off. This meant it had to be a fast pace in the run if I wanted the win. So Tim Don and Maiki and myself set off at a fast tempo. I got away from them and caught everyone except Poulat on the last 1km and had a 3 way sprint finish for 2nd and to win the overall series.

Next stop is Beijing China for the World Cup this Sunday then heading back to Wagga Yee!

Cheers
BK

Grand Prix FFtri de La Baule, finale
La Baule, France
Samedi 16 septembre 2006
Top 10 masculin :
1 POULAT Stephane FRA BEAUVAIS TRI 1:42:44.61
2 KAHLEFELDT Brad AUS RACING CLUB DE FRANCE 1:42:49.61
3 FRODENO Jan ALL EC SARTROUVILLE 1:42:51.56
4 BELAUBRE Frederic FRA EC SARTROUVILLE 1:42:55.71
5 POLIKARPENKO Vladimir UKR POISSY TRI DUATHLON CLUB 1:43:04.41
6 PETZOLD Maik ALL RACING CLUB DE FRANCE 1:43:20.31
7 DON Tim GBR BEAUVAIS TRI 1:43:30.61
8 WILTSHIRE Harry ECO MONTPELLIER AGGLO TRI 1:43:32.71
9 MOULAI Tony FRA POISSY TRI DUATHLON CLUB 1:43:52.61
10 ELLICE Clarck FRA MONTLUCON TRI 1:43:54.46

Hi Everyone

Greatings from sunny Paris!

After a dissapointing World Champs I bounced back to get on the podium last weekend in Hamburg World Cup.

The World Cup was live on TV throughout Germany and the field was the strongest this year as 12 of the top 15 from Worlds travelled up to compete in Hamburg over the course of next years World Champs.

I was out of the water in a good spot and we rode hard to catch the small breakaway group on the first lap of the technical bike course, the pace was quite high throughout the 8 lap bike and I was 2nd out of transition running behind my German mate Maiki. I sat in until Gomez attacked on the 2nd lap, I went with him but unfortuantly didn't have the legs to finish with him. I dropped back to Sven Riderer and Bevan Docherty. Both Sven and myself got away from Bevan in the last lap and sprinted for 2nd place.

I am happy how things are going. I have held onto my Number 1 World Ranking. Next race will be in La Baule on the West Coast of France then onto Beijing for the World Cup.

I really do enjoy racing in Hamburg infront of 70 000 screaming Germans. I can't wait until World Champs next September.

I also had a photoshoot in Hamburg and some of the shots will be on my website later this week. There is pics from the race below and also video highlights on www.triathlon.org

ciao

Sticksy

2006 Hamburg BG Triathlon World Cup - Elite Men
GOMEZ, Javier (ESP) 1:43:01
RIEDERER, Sven (SUI) 1:43:15
KAHLEFELDT, Brad (AUS) 1:43:21
DOCHERTY, Bevan (NZL) 1:43:24
POTTS, Andy (USA) 1:43:25
KEMPER, Hunter (USA) 1:43:26
CLARKE, William (GBR) 1:43:27
POLIKARPENKO, Volodymyr (UKR) 1:43:29
UNGER, Daniel (GER) 1:43:32
MOULAI, Tony (FRA) 1:43:37

Hi Guys

Well the World Championships In Lausanne wasn't one of my best races this year. I was out of the water in contention and made my way up to the first pack on the 2nd lap with Marceau and rode towards the front feeling good and relaxed, just waiting. On the 5th lap going up the steep climb I positioned myself about 8th wheel when the attack went and I got stuck on the inside unable to get out. Once I got out I chased hard with Andrew Johns to try to bridge it back but with no helpers the pack rode away to a 1min15 advantage at the end of the bike on the main pack.

I got off and had stomach cramps after 100m on the run, I stopped and walked at about the 500m mark but things didn't get better. Unfortunately I had to pull out. If I didn't have any problems with the stomach I would of been off the podium as the lead breakaway pack had too much of a lead with some strong runners.

It is dissapointing after going into the race knowing I had a good chance beforehand. It has made me determined to perform next Saturday in Hamburg World Cup.

Until then
BK

Hi Everyone
Well I have exceeded all my World Cup expectations that I set myself at the start of the year to try and focus on winning 2 World Cups for 2006, a goal which I would be 'over the moon' with. Well yesterday I won my 4th in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary and moving into lead of the World rankings.

I was out of the Tisza river swim just behind the 5 leaders in the first chase pack and we rode hard to catch the leaders after 2 laps and then the main group caught up with a few laps to go. I had a good transition and was 2nd out and opened up a gap with Jan Frodeno, Dimitry Gaag and Hendrik de Villiers. I surged a couple of times until Gaag and de Villers dropped off and ran head to head with Frodo until the final 80m where I just got away from the bigman. It was a great atmosphere with 10 000 people on the streets cheering for us. So It was one of the best World Cup races to win.

Afterwards the presentation was on the town square and again the big crowd where great. The party moved into the famous Camelot Nightclub but unforutuntly I couldn't stay for too long as there is something bigger coming up in a few weeks.

I will stay in the Tri Australia camp here in France and travel to Lausanne Thursday before the race.

Speak with you all later. Press release is below and pictures attached.. also the race video highlights are on www.triathlon.org

Bk

www.bradkahlefeldt.com

2006 Tiszaujvaros BG Triathlon World Cup results – Elite Men
1. KAHLEFELDT, Brad (AUS) 1:44:07
2. FRODENO, Jan (GER) 1:44:11
3. GAAG, Dmitriy (KAZ) 1:44:20
4. DE VILLIERS, Hendrik (RSA) 1:44:20
5. DEHMER, Sebastian (GER) 1:44:40
6. TURBAYIVSKYY, Volodymyr (UKR) 1:44:44
7. JASKOLKA, Marek (POL) 1:44:48
8. JUSTUS, Steffen (GER) 1:44:55
9. SYSOEV, Igor (RUS) 1:44:58
10. QUIRK, Bryce (AUS) 1:45:03


Kahlefeldt tops ahead of world titles

Monday Aug 14 15:24 AEST
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Brad Kahlefeldt has given himself "a huge booster" for the triathlon world championships by winning another World Cup round.

The Queenslander outsprinted German Jan Frodeno to win in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary three weeks out from the world titles in Lausanne, Switzerland.

It was Kahlefeldt's fourth win in the World Cup series this year and his 10th win from 12 races.

Kahlefeldt also took the lead in the Cup standings.

"On the last lap (of the run) I was thinking to go earlier but decided to leave it to a sprint finish," Kahlefeldt said.

"I wanted to see how my sprinting was going, I waited and it paid off.

"This is a huge booster going into world champs in three weeks."

Kahlefeldt had surged for the lead halfway through the 10km run and only Frodeno could go with him.

He won the 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run in an hour 44 minutes and seven seconds, four seconds ahead of Frodeno.

Countryman Bryce Quirk finished 10th, while Matt Hopper was 12th.

Australian Erin Densham was eighth in the women's race, won by German Joelle Franzmann.

Kahlefeldt continues fine run
Nicole Jeffery
August 01, 2006

COMMONWEALTH GAMES gold medallist Brad Kahlefeldt is firming as the favourite to win his first world title next month after claiming his third World Cup race of the year, at Salford in northern England on Sunday. Kahlefeldt, 26, beat triple world champion Peter Robertson by 13 seconds for an Australian quinella.

Before this year, Kahlefeldt had never won a major international race. But he has turned that around emphatically, taking the World Cup races at Doha and Richards Bay, South Africa, as well as the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. He has lost just one race since January.

Even Robertson, who has not finished outside the top two at the world championships since 2000, said Kahlefeldt had raised the sport to a new level this year with his sensational running.

That was his weapon again on Sunday as he surged away from Robertson 3km from home.

He won in 1hr54min31sec, from Robertson (1:54.44) and promising 21-year-old Briton William Clarke (1:54.46).

Kahlefeldt was pleased with his first race in two months, coming off a gruelling training block in France that included altitude work in the Pyrenees.

"I got into the lead group and really pushed the pace," he said. "This is my fourth visit to Salford and I have never made the podium, so to finally win is fantastic."

He is second in the World Cup standings, two points behind US competitor Hunter Kemper, who has contested more rounds this year but has yet to win a race.

Hi,

I'm finally here in the AIS camp in Aix Les Bains France. I had another win on the weekend in race 3 of the French Grand Prix series in Lorient. After a day of travel with Bill from Font Romeu we finally made it in sunny Lorient which is situated on the west coast.

The swim was one of the roughest I have done with a M shape course and the first turn boey just a couple hundreds meters from shore. I was out in the chase pack behind the leading 6. We rode hard on the 3 lap undulating bike loop and caught them on the 2nd lap. I was out of transition 2nd and opened up a gap on Gomez Noya and Will Clarke and held it to the end of the 5k to win by about 10secs.

After the race (10pm) we quickly packed up the van and headed east for Paris. We finally made it at 3.30am. So it was quite an adventure.

Training has been going well and will continue to work on the speed for the coming races in Salford and Hungary WCups.

Sorry for the lack of updates/emails but I have been limited with internet use over the past month.

Until then

Sticksy

Gday Gday,

Sunday was the 2nd race of the French Grand Prix series in Beauvais. It was a bit of an experiment to see how I handled the altitude training as I have been training in Font Romeu which is at 1800m ALT in the French Pyrenees.

I had a good swim and was in the first pack of 7 guys and rode hard to hold off the main group throughout the 20k undulating bike leg. We had 20sec at the end of the bike and I was first out of transition and Tim Don and myself opened up the gap from the start and ran together until Tim got away the final 1km to win by 8 seconds.

I was pleased how things are going. I start my speed work now to get ready for Salford WCup then Hungary WCup then onto Laussane World Champs.

So I am back in Font Romeu sucking in the thin air after a long trip back up the mountain but looking forward to the next couple weeks up here with my german friends Maiki, Rene and Weimi.

I have decided to pull out of Life Time fitness Triathlon in the US to focus on this years World Championships.

There will be some Font Romeu pics on my site soon.

A Bientot

Sticksy

RESULTS:

2006 Beauvais Grand Prix 2/7/06
1. DON TIM
2. KAHLEFELDT BRAD
3. GOMEZ NOYA JAVIER
4. BELAUBRE FREDERIC
5. CLARKE WILL
6. POLIKARPENKO VLADIMIR
7. FLEURETON CEDRIC
8. VASSILIEV IVAN
9. RIEDERER SVEN
10. MOULAY TONY

Hi Everyone

Well it was a last minute decision last Tuesday to book my flight and race in the ITU World Cup in Richards Bay South Africa. I didn’t plan on doing the event as I have had time off to let my form drop off and then work towards my second peak of the season for the World Championships later in the year. I thought I might as well go down as the weather in Germany last week was terrible with cold weather and rain. So I thought a trip to sunny South Africa and work towards getting a top 10 placing was where I was at right now.

It didn’t get off to a good start in the swim. I got knocked around abit at the start and never felt great and my lack of training was out there for everyone to see. I got out not too far behind the main first pack and rode hard to bridge them back on the first lap of the bike. I was suffering at this stage and just thought the possibility of a podium was over with the way I was feeling. With about 15k to go on the bike I started to feel better and pushed the up the front to dismount for the start of the run. I ran out hard and was away with Reto Hug and training partner Jan Frodeno I hurt a lot until about 6k into it when I started get my running legs back and started to feel good. At the 7k mark I made a move on the hill and Reto and myself pushed each other until I made my final move with 1k to go to make it 7 wins out of 8 for this year and my second World Cup victory. I moved up to number 1 in the overall World rankings.

So I am back in Germany now. And they told me as soon as I left for SA the weather turned and has been sunny since, so not too worry, I’m very happy I went, it was a well organised event.

Monday after the race I went on a Safari. We did manage to see many animals including 4 out of the BIG 5 (everything except the cheetah) I will work on the tan now and get back to building that base. I will be heading to Font Remou in the French Pyrenees on the 22nd June for some altitude training for 3 weeks. Then onto the AIS camp in Aix Les Bains.

Below is the press release and pictures.

Until next time

Brad

Kahlefeldt and Snowsill win in South Africa

As the tide rolled in for the start of the men’s race, a full field of 75 men ran into the Indian Ocean for the start of the 2006 Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup.

Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Brad Kahlefeldt from Australia was the victor in a time of 1:52:59. He was followed closely by Reto Hug (SUI) and Jan Frodeno (GER), who used to live and train in South Africa. The two athletes finished second and third in times of 1:53:08 and 1:53:15.

“I’m surprised,” commented Kahlefeldt. “I haven’t been training since the Australian championships, and I didn’t sign up until Tuesday.”
The day began as expected with Australian powerhouse Craig Walton quickly moving to the front of the swim, creating a gap of 20 seconds heading onto the bike. From there, the Aussie rode on his own for the entire 40km.
Eventual winner Kahlefeldt was over one minute back from Walton and 30 seconds behind the first chase pack after a poor swim.

“That was the worst swim I’ve ever had,” stated Kahlefeldt. “At the start of the bike I was really hurting and I thought it just wasn’t my day.”
He and Mark Fretta (USA) worked hard to bridge the 30-second gap to eventually bring both groups together. Fretta was badly hurt, however, in a crash on the last lap of the course. He bravely rode back to transition and was immediately taken to hospital with what seemed like a broken collarbone.

Walton was able to increase his lead to over 1:20 by the end of the bike and headed out on the run knowing some of triathlon’s top runners were close on his heels. It didn’t take long for the sports fleet-footed to catch Walton, and quickly it was down to a lead pack of three as Kahlefeldt, Hug and Frodeno ran away from the rest of the field.

It was not until the last hill that Kahlefeldt made his move, dropping Hug and Frodeno and running to his second World Cup victory of 2006. Hug pulled away from Frodeno over the last few hundred meters to take second.

“We were lucky Walton didn’t get more then a minute ahead,” said Hug. “I was happy to stay with Brad and Jan and in the end, Brad was just too strong.”
Local hero Hendrik DeVilliers (RSA) had the race of his life to finish fifth in a three-way sprint with Dmitriy Gaag (KAZ) and Daniil Sapunov (KAZ). Craig Walton finished 35th.

2006 Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup
Richards Bay, South Africa
June 11, 2006

Men:
1. KAHLEFELDT, Brad (AUS) 1:52:58
2. HUG, Reto (SUI) 1:53:07
3. FRODENO, Jan (GER) 1:53:14
4. GAAG, Dmitriy (KAZ) 1:53:19
5. DE VILLIERS, Hendrik (RSA) 1:53:20
6. SAPUNOV, Daniil (KAZ) 1:53:20
7. WEIMER, Christian (GER) 1:53:29
8. FONTANA, Daniel (ITA) 1:53:58
9. SMUROV, Dmitriy (KAZ) 1:53:43
10. FRIMAN, Doug (USA) 1:53:45

Bonjour A Tous

It was a great start to my European season with a win in the first round of the French Grand Prix in Jard Sur Mer on the West Coast. After a disappointing 12th place in Mexico the week before I was pretty focused for a good performance in Jard. I was out in the first pack in 8th place out of the swim and placed myself towards the front of the bike. The pace was on for most of the bike and being a critrium style course with rough roads made it a very difficult bike leg and just trying to stay upright and not crash!! I managed to head off onto the 5k run leg out of T2 in the top 3 and went with the leaders feeling comfortable on the first two laps on the run. Tim Don made his move with 500m remaining and I managed to come around him in the sprint with 200m to go. It was my biggest win in Europe and was great to win my first Grand Prix for my team Racing Club De France with the strongest GP with 9 past World Cup winners present.

Results Grand Prix Jard Sur Mer

1. Brad Kahlefeldt
2.Tim Don
3.Cedric Fleureton
4.William Clarke
5.Kris Gemmell
6.Fred Belaubre
7.Vladamir Polikarpenko
8.Maik Petzold
9.Rasmus Henning
10.Sam Pierreclaud

I have my scheduled week off now from training. I arrived in sunny old Dublin today to see friend Mr triathlon.org man himself Brian. I will go and see my sister in London in a few days then back to Saarbrucken Germany to resume training.

Regards

Sticksy

Hi All

Well I’m finally back in Europe again for the season after some trouble getting over here from Mexico. My flight was delayed from Mazatlan to Mexico City so I missed my connection to London and then onto Paris. We finally got Aero Mexico to put us on a flight to Europe and after 4hrs at the airport arranging this with a Mexican guy (named Jesus) who was a little slow, we had to stay the night in a hotel in the “Bronx” area in Meixico city. I managed to escape alive and got a directo flighto to Paris. Yeh It was a good feeling to get on that flight out of there!! I eventually arrived into Paris this morning only to be ripped off by a taxi driver who charged me 100 Euro for the trip to my apartment. Enough said!!

Well Mazatlan World Cup on the weekend wasn’t the best for me. I finished up 12th . There was a pack of 10 guys out of the water that got away on the bike and built their lead up to 2.30 at T2. So there was no chance of me stepping on the podium. Our packed worked didn’t work well together as it was too big. Unfortunately that’s racing! I was a little disappointed I had the 5th fastest run leg but felt a bit tired and in the need of a rest after the hard start to the year in OZ. I have the French Grand Prix in Jard Sur Mer this weekend. I will take a week and head up to Dublin for a few days after this weekend and then build up a base. I will spend a month in Saarbruken Germany then up to Font Remou in the French Pyrenees for an Altitude camp. So should be great. I will aim to be back in peak shape August through to World Champs.

Speak with you all later.

Happy Days

Sticksy

Hi Everyone.

Well I’m happy to write to you as the new Australian and Oceania Champion. I won the title down In Geelong on the weekend to make it 5 wins in a row.

The swim was freezing and it took me about 1k to feel my arms. I was out in the first pack and onto the bike towards the front. The first pack had most of the bigs names in it so a lot of us were just keeping a close eye on each other throughout the undulating bike course. The main pack caught up and it was a pack of 30 guys coming into transition. I was first out with Pete Robbo and opened up a gap on the field at the first turn around on the run. Robbo surged a lot and I stayed close to him and made my move up the hill with a lap remaining and pulling away to win by 24secs. I was nice to finally win the Australian Championships and was also my second time as the Oceania Champion.

My next race is Mazatlan World Cup May 7 then over to Europe for a French Grand Prix in Jard Sur Mer on May 14. I will make a decision on wether I will compete in Madrid and/or South Africa World Cups in June.

Until then.

Sticksy

p.s Pics from the national champs will be on the site soon.

Kahlefeldt hot streak has rivals on the run
Nicole Jeffery - April 17, 2006

SO dominant was Commonwealth Games champion Brad Kahlefeldt in yesterday's national triathlon championship at Geelong, that he left Australia's most decorated male triathlete, Peter Robertson, grasping for answers.
After he was comprehensively beaten by Kahlefeldt for the second time in a month in a championship race, triple world champion Robertson said he would have to find new inspiration to get back on even terms with the new pacesetter.
"He's at another level at the moment and I need to go back to the drawing board to get up to that," Robertson, 29, said.

"He's taking the run to a new level. I have hurt before but never like that. He just took off and I had no response, absolutely none. Brad is in a league of his own at the moment."

After sitting in the pack for the swim and cycle, Kahlefeldt and Robertson ran shoulder-to-shoulder for the first 7km of the 10km run to the finish line on Geelong's waterfront, before Kahlefeldt put in an irresistible surge and gained a 50m lead in a matter of a few hundred metres.

He then ran comfortably to the line to win his first national title in 1hr51min12sec, 24sec clear of Robertson, with defending champion Bryce Quirk third in 1:51.46.

Robertson said Kahlefeldt's Games victory in Melbourne last month had convinced him that he needed to refresh his training regime and he had taken on a new running coach.

"My running has been a bit stale," he said. "I need to work on it to get back on top of him."

After serving one of the sport's longest apprenticeships, late-blooming Kahlefeldt, 26, from Wagga Wagga, has emerged as a fully formed champion this year.

Before this season, Kahlefeldt had performed consistently internationally, winning the bronze medal behind Robertson at last year's world titles, but had yet to win a major race.

Since January, he is undefeated after winning five consecutive national or international races -- the Perth and Hobart rounds of the national series, the Doha World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and now the national title.

He has no intention of letting go of the hot streak as he looks towards the world titles in Lausanne, Switzerland, in September.

"I gained a lot of confidence from (the Commonwealth gold medal)," he said. "I want to get it going for the World Cups and my major goal is to win the world championship."

He will prepare for his next World Cup appearance, in Mazatlan, Mexico, on May 7.

Brad Wins Commonwelath Games!!!

Hi Everyone

Well what can I say, as most of you know (well for the ones that live in the Commonwealth Countries) that I won the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne on Saturday. There has been quite a lot of coverage pre/ post race throughout Australia so most know how the race unfolded. So I will not get into it too much. All I can say is that it was an unbelievable race and something that I will remember well after I retire from the sport. It is a career highlight thus far. To win infront of a 100 000 home crowd is the stuff that you dream about.

I would just like to thank all the ‘GO BRAD’ supporters from Wagga that lined the St Kilda course and screemed (and cryed) their guts out until they could no longer speak to see me win. It was an incredible feeling the support I had from the crowd as soon as I broke away from the others at the 5km mark and went for home. The way that I won was how I pictured it in my head the months leading into the race and worked my training around that with my coach to emulate this. Simon Thompson worked for Robbo and myself to ensure that we had the best possible chance of winning. All credit to him and he was apart of my Gold Medal !

With Aussie Emma Snowsill winning the womens race 2 hrs before and Pete Robbo taking home the bronze it was the result triathlon Aust. Was hoping for DOUBLE GOLD!

Cya later

Also there will be Pictures from Comm games on my website soon.

Brad

1. KAHLEFELDT, Brad (AUS) 1:49:16
2. DOCHERTY, Bevan (NZL) 1:49:26
3. ROBERTSON, Peter (AUS) 1:49:32
4. DON, Tim (ENG) 1:49:38
5. GEMMELL, Kris (AUS) 1:50:10
6. CARTER, Hamish (NZL) 1:50:35

Nice guy Kahlefeldt learns to finish first
Nicole Jeffery
March 20, 2006

AUSTRALIAN head coach Bill Davoren knew that somewhere inside Brad Kahlefeldt, easy going nice guy from Wagga Wagga, there was a winner. He just had to find a way to draw it out.

By last December, Kahlefelt was 95 per cent of the way there. He had been on the World Cup podium and won the bronze medal at the world championships in Japan in September. But he still hadn't won a big race and Davoren was fed up with that.

He thought Kahlefelt, 26, needed more fire in his belly -- and went about giving it to him.

He phoned a specialist triathlon magazine and gave an interview in which he cast deliberate doubt on Kahlefeldt's ability to win.

"A month later, he walked into a coffee shop (where they were meeting) and he had the magazine with him. He sat down and read it and I watched his eyes and he fired right up," Davoren recounted with glee after Saturday's event.

Kahlefeldt hasn't lost a race since. He won the first two national races in Perth and Hobart, then went to Doha for his first World Cup race, before becoming the first Australian man to win the Commonwealth Games gold.

It was a high-standard race, given the presence of reigning Olympic champion Hamish Carter of New Zealand and the past two world champions Kiwi Bevan Docherty (who won the silver medal) and Australia's Peter Robertson (who won the bronze).

Kahlefelt is not convinced that Davoren's psychological ploy made the difference but he does remember how much it stung.

"He was pretty hard on me. He said: 'He's a great athlete but he can't win races at the moment'. I read it and said 'That's a bit harsh'. I had a bit of a go at him. But, after a while, you do get sick of thirds and fourths and fifths.

"Today he said to me: 'This is it. You have to win today'."

The Australian men had gone into the race with team tactics for the first time in their history. At a team meeting two days before the race Olympian Simon Thompson, a late replacement in the team who had had scant time to prepare for the event, volunteered to sacrifice his race for his team-mates Kahlefeldt and Robertson.

In the individualistic sport of triathlon, this was akin to a revolution.

"Thommo put his hand up -- he changed the face of triathlon today," Davoren said later.

Thompson agreed to control the race during the 40km cycling leg, chasing down any breakaways and making sure his team-mates, both outstanding runners, were protected so they could begin the final 10km run to the finish line with fresh legs.

He did his job perfectly and Kahlefeldt and Robertson duly delivered.

The exhausted unsung hero Thompson staggered across the finish line in 11th but his smile was as big as those of the medallists.

"It went like a script," he said.

"No one would ever have expected three Australians to sit down before the race and work it out like that but we knew we had strength in numbers. We sat down and said 'How are we going to win the gold medal?'.

"It was a real opportunity for this event, with a small field that was easier to control. We caught everyone on the hop, they didn't expect it at all.

"I didn't have the form to win but there was an opportunity to make sure the team won the gold. I am really proud to play a little role in that. It's something that's going to be forgotten by other people. Everyone will remember the medallists and not me, but everyone will also remember how it happened."

Emma Snowsill's victory in the women's race was as utterly convincing as it could be. Dual world champion Snowsill, 24, has lost only three races in the past two years.

BRAD WINS DOHA WORLD CUP

Hi All

Well the dirty little monkey is finally off my back after winning the first round of the World Cup series in Doha Qatar on the weekend. I must say I was really happy to win and also to win my third straight race in a row.

The swim course was in the famous clear blue waters of the conrinsh. I was out a few seconds down on the first pack but rode up to them and was in the first pack of around 15 athletes after a couple km on the bike. The race broke up with mate David Dellow and French athletes Dodet and Moulai of France broke away. Unfortunately our pack was too big and unorganised due to the strong winds and Olympic bronze medallist Sven Reiderer and Mark Fretta also got away with 2 laps remaining. The main pack in which I was in was 1:20 behind the first three athletes so I knew I had to push the run hard if I wanted a podium. I was first out of transition and began chase on the 5 in front. So with one lap to go I was placed 3rd closing in on Dellow and Moulai and finally catching the gusty Dellow with 1km to go and had some time in the last 200m to celebrate. Run time was 29:55. I moved up to number 1 ITU World Ranking. I am currently on camp on the Gold Coast before heading down to Melbourne for the Comm Games next Monday.

Also I have a feature story in this months 'Australian Triathlete' Magazine and also will be in next weeks 'New Idea' Magazine.

Brad

BRAD WINS ITU HOBART

Hey Everyone

I'm back up to the lovely sunshine on the Gold Coast after another win on the weekend in the second race of the national series ITU Hobart Oceania Cup Triathlon.

I had a good swim and was 6th out of the water. On the bike the pace was up and down. The bike had 2 hills per lap and we competed 8 laps so it was a solid bike course.. World Champ Peter Robertson broke away with another Canadian Tichelaar and NZ Kris Gemmell about 20k on the bike before Kris Unfortuntly punctured. We worked the last couple of laps to bring them back to about 35secs going into bike/run transition. I was second out of transition behind Courtney Atkinson. I went out hard on the run and opened up a lead on our group and began to close the two out in front. I picked them up about 4 km mark and went on from there opening the lead up to 40secs on Courtney at the 7k mark and back off a little bit the last lap to enjoy my second win in 2 weeks. Run time was 30.34. I felt strong in all 3 on Sunday. So happy with how everything is going.

Results
1.Brad Kahlefeldt
2.Courtney Atkinson
3. Stuart Hayes GB
4.Simon Thomson
5. Peter Robertson

I leave for Doha World Cup this Sunday.

Best wishes
Sticksy

PRESS RELEASE

Kahlefeldt Snowsill win In Hobart

Brad Kahlefeldt showed just why he could be a very good selection for the Australians at the Commonwealth Games after he closed out the men’s race with a scintillating run in field that included some of the fastest men in triathlon.

The transition area after the men’s swim was a very crowded place with almost an all up field taking to the technically demanding and at times hilly Hobart course. For most of the ride a break away group comprised of Kris Gemmell, Peter Robertson Paul Tichelaar and Clayton Fettell made every effort to get an advantage over the main bunch which included Kahlefeldt Courtney Atkinson, Simon Thompson and Britain’s Stuart Hayes.

Kris Gemmell punctured and he lost contact with both the lead group and the main bunch. To his credit he rode alone for last couple of laps and then ran the race right out which left everyone wondering what might have been. Paul Tichelaar also left some unanswered questions, he shared the lead early with Peter Robertson only to withdraw when he looked set to cause an upset.

Robertson ran aggressively however as the race unfolded it was clear those in the second group had the leg speed. Kahlefeldt feet seemed to hardly touch the ground as he moved swiftly and confidently to the lead. Robertson faded as the race drew to a close where as Courtney Atkinson did the opposite. For the second year in a row Atkinson would be runner up to a fellow Australian. In 2005 he was behind Simon Thompson this time it would be Kahlefeldt who showed he has the tactical ability and the leg speed to be a real threat in any company.

Stuart Hayes was very satisfied with his first hard hit out in the lead up to Melbourne. He emerged from the main bunch to stake a claim for a podium finish and held his speed and nerve in the company of athletes like Robertson and Thompson to secure an impressive third place with the defending champion Thompson and world champion Robertson rounding out the top 5.

The second ITU Hobart Triathlon was an outstanding success. This picturesque capital city has embraced the event with huge crowds assembling on the waterfront and within the city’s historic centre to give the race a special feeling. This is an event to watch with strong local and state government support there is a real opportunity to grow the status and profile of the race in coming years.

BRAD WINS RACE ONE OF THE NATIONAL TRIATHLON SERIES IN PERTH

Hi everyone

I'm back on the Gold Coast after my first race of the season in Perth on the weekend. It was the first race in the National Triathlon Series.

The race was sprint distance 750/20/5. I had a good swim and was second out of the Swan River with Bryce Quirk and Simon Thompson. We had a small break on the rest of the field. And pushed the pace on the bike with Dave Dellow, Thommo, Quirky and myself working together to open the gap up to 45 sec at the end of the bike. I started the run with Thommo and Quirky the first 1km then picked up the pace a little to win my first big race this year by about 25sec.

It was nice to get a win under my belt with Commonwealth games only 6 weeks away.

Results:
1. Brad Kahlefeldt
2. Simon Thomson
3. Bryce Quirk
4. Peter Robertson
5. David Dellow

My next race will be ITU Hobart International on the 19th Feb. I have decided after speaking with my coach Bill I will also race the first round of the ITU World Cup series in Doha Qatar on Friday the 3 March. The race I believe will be beneficial for being in peak race shape for the Comm. Games 2 weeks later being a Olympic distance with good competion.

The pictures on the right are from Perth.

Best wishes
Brad