Cody Beals had a great start of the season with a 4th place at 70.3 New Orleans, a 3rd place at 70.3 Texas, your first Pro win at 70.3 Eagleman and a 6th place at 70.3 Tremblant.
pictures from Julien Heon
How does it feel to get your first Pro win?
My first pro win was the highlight of my triathlon career so far. I’ve finished 70.3s in every position from second to sixth, but nothing prepared me for the emotion of breaking the tape.
As a relatively young, inexperienced pro, I’ve often felt out of place among more seasoned competitors. My first win went a long way toward convincing me that I belong in pro triathlon.
Would you say that this was your best race ever and the race you are the most proud of?
I’ll forever be chasing the perfect race, but Eagleman came the closest so far. I swam well, set the bike course record and backed it up with the fastest run split to win by over ten minutes. I’m proud of my execution and the outcome it produced, but I’m more proud of the shift in my mindset leading into the race that primed me to win. On race morning, I was finally ready to look in the mirror, tell myself I would win and truly believe it.
70.3 Texas was only one week after 70.3 New Orleans and 70.3 Tremblant was also only one week after 70.3 Eagleman. I believe it was your first time doing two 70.3s back-to-back. Why did you decide to go with this race plan?
I see back-to-back races as a sort of two-for-one deal. One build and one taper buy you two opportunities to race at peak fitness. My ideal triathlon season would probably be divided into a few mini-seasons consisting of 6-12 week cycles building into a couple closely spaced races, recovering and repeating.
I can race at close to my best on consecutive weekends, but I’ve learned that there’s no room for error when you only have six days to recover, travel and refocus between races. A disappointing performance at 70.3 Tremblant taught me that travel plans, stress, sleep, nutrition, focus and other commitments all need to be carefully managed.
Will you continue to do back-to-back 70.3s next season?
Yes. The efficiency and the challenge of back-to-back races appeal to me and I can continue to improve at it.
You are definitely a strong biker and runner, but would you say that you are an even better biker than a runner?
I consider cycling my strength, but that wasn’t always the case. Just a few years ago, cycling was my weakest discipline. I attacked that weakness from every angle, including the best coaching, training with power, year-round CompuTrainer use and obsessive attention to detail with my bike setup.
At 70.3 Tremblant you made a move to attack on the bike but you didn’t manage to gain time on the bike. Do you think you should have stayed in the pack on the bike and battle with Reid, Sanders and Thomas? Do you consider yourself as an aggressive racer, meaning that you want to control the race instead of waiting?
I attacked early in the ride and briefly broke apart the front pack, but the group reassembled and I paid for my failed efforts. In retrospect, racing more conservatively and sitting in the front pack instead of attempting to break away may have led to better outcome. Even so, I can’t say that I regret my tactics. I rode cautiously at 70.3 New Orleans and 70.3 Texas and came away with solid performances, but a niggling thought, “what if I had gone for it?” At my next two races, taking calculated risks paid off with a win at 70.3 Eagleman and may have cost me at 70.3 Tremblant, but neither performance was tinged with regret.
I’ll always try to play my hand as well as possible. Sometimes that calls for bold tactics, but “aggressive” should never mean impulsive or impatient.
I believe you had a long block of training after 70.3 Tremblant to get ready for 70.3 Worlds, how was your preparation? Did you do any smaller races after 70.3 Tremblant?
I’ve devoted the ten weeks following 70.3 Tremblant to preparing for 70.3 Worlds with only a couple local cycling time trials over the summer. I was eager to push my limits within this training block and my coaches obliged, putting together my most challenging block ever. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, but I’m rounding into excellent form just in time.
The field is obviously super strong at the 70.3 Worlds, what are your objectives?
I originally planned to race throughout the summer and arrive at 70.3 Worlds without peak form, expecting nothing more than a humbling learning experience. After all, it will be my first championship race and my first time traveling outside North America. Simply qualifying felt like an accomplishment. However, my coaches eventually convinced me to make 70.3 Worlds a priority this season. My goals have always progressed very incrementally, so targeting a personal best race at 70.3 Worlds is stepping outside my comfort zone.
It’s tempting to take all the pressure off and pretend that I’m just looking for a learning experience. But the truth is that I wouldn’t have dedicated over two months of training, sacrificed other racing opportunities, and flown to Austria if I thought that a paycheck was out of reach.
Have you had the chance to ride on the bike course yet?
I haven’t checked out the course yet, but all accounts are that it’s challenging. I’ll preview the course this week and I’ll also analyze it and refine my pacing plan using Best Bike Split.
What are your objectives after 70.3 Worlds? And what are your objectives for the following years?
I don’t have any firm plans for this fall yet, but I’ll likely race a few more 70.3s after Worlds. Next season will feature a heavier schedule of Ironman 70.3 and Challenge Half races. I’m focused on short term goals and I let my coaches, David Tilbury-Davis (PhysFarm) and Tim Floyd (Magnolia Masters), map out my long term development.
Do you plan to race Ironman races in the following years?
Ironman is on the horizon for me, but 70.3 will remain my focus for now.
Thanks for your time and good luck next week-end!
Thank you for the interview!