Blog

KB: Who is Bailey Tuddenham?

BT: I'm 19 years old and live in Ballarat, Victoria. I work full-time in opperations at Advanced Cranes. I am a competitive AG triathlete about to turn Pro. This will see a change to my work and I will start to treat Triathlon as my job in the coming months.

The thing that stands out the most to me (Ken Ballhause, Sync Ergonomics) is Bailey’s drive and determination. Bailey knows where he wants to get to and he is not afraid of seeking the best advice along the way. For a youngster, it’s quite impressive that he is so driven and committed to achieving his goals.

KB: What is your sporting background?
BT: Footy, from age 9-17. I did some Ironkids events when my mum was doing triathlons.

Motocross 2019-2022, but I broke too many bones.

My whole family loves sport I have 4 siblings; my younger brother (15) has just gotten into Tri. My sister (12) is really into horses and she will go a long way with that (show jumping). My youngest brother (6) is really into motorbikes, he’s crazy, in a good way.

KB: When did Triathlon first get your attention?
BT: When I was running down the finish line of Kona with my mum in 2009. That is my first memory where I think I got the bug.

But in terms of me actually doing the sport, one of the things that got me into cycling was the passing my fourth sibling. She passed away at 4 weeks from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Every year my family runs the Tri 4 KIDS event at Hot Temple in Ballarat, a fundraiser on the spin bikes. There was a 2XU tri the day after and I loved the spin session so much that I thought I would give the 2XU Tri a crack. I’ve been into it ever since.

KB: As a late starter, what is your training routine?
BT: I’m working full-time in my Operations Manager role, so training for me right now has to play second fiddle. In 2024 I was able to step the training up to 15 hours per week and soon I will be ramping that up more.

KB: What is it about Triathlon that you enjoy the most?
BT: The community, you meet a lot of really good people in the sport. Even though I have not been doing it for long, it has taken me to a lot of really good places, that I wouldn’t have been otherwise.

Wanting to know how far I can go. I just want to give it my best crack. My whole family has been involved in the sport, in one way or another, it makes me feel proud to represent them when I race.

There is never a finish line in Triathlon. There is always something to improve, be it the technology or simply technique, fitness and form in any one of the disciplines.

KB: Which discipline is your favorite?BT: The bike. For sure.

Our history with Bailey is short, but involved. His first bike, purchased on a whim, turned out to be the wrong size. Going back to the drawing board, Bailey jumped on a Giant Trinity, 165 mm cranks, ISM saddle and our Aerobar Two cockpit. Biomechanically we knew what equipment we needed to make Bailey effective right away, and Bailey made it happen.

KB: What are your recollections of that time?
BT: Getting the bike sorted wasn’t actually all that hard in the end, it was just a case of working through the shopping list. It seems like some people spend an eternity trying to figure out their bike setup, but getting this sorted right away was a good step forward. Ken was a massive help in completing this.

CADEX Aus came on board in support of Bailey in 2024. Given our existing fit data and confidence in his setup, we were easily able to transfer over his setup to the new bike. The CADEX is a formidable machine, one of a kind. With the upgrade came a change of wheels to the CADEX Aero System disc-brake wheels and the Sync Aerobar Three.

KB: What have been the highlights of the CADEX bike for you?
BT: The fit of the CADEX really suits me well, I feel at home on the bike in that respect. I think one of the best attributes of the bike is the handling. I have never felt a sketchy moment on this bike, it just feels solid.

One of the latest changes for Bailey has been the switch to the Quarq D4 power meter, running our Sync x cSixx 1x chainrings. Bailey has at his disposal 58t, 60t and 62t, giving him race-day options to maximise his performance.

KB: For Geelong, what chainring did you run?
BT: I went with the 58t for Geelong.

KB: Can you give us an idea of your power and cadence on that type of course?
BT: Normalized for the first lap was 302 Watts and my cadence was 93 rpm. And this is pretty much what I expect of myself for this distance.

KB: The Geelong course has some gentle inclines, how did you find the 58t on this course?
BT: Maybe a little on the large side of things. I was certainly having to push on the climb out of transition, but that is the limiting factor of only having one chainring, right?

KB: The Geelong Course also has some gentle descents, did the 58t cater for these?
BT: It was good, it meant I could keep the pressure on the pedals, which I haven’t been able to do on the smaller chainring. I certainly had the gears that I needed for the faster sections of the course.

As can be expected with an athlete of Bailey's age and race experience, there is still performance to be unpacked.

KB: How did you perform on the weekend in Geelong?
BT: I'm happy with it, I can take some positives out of the day, but I know it wasn’t my best performance and know there is a lot more there to extract.

I swam in the front pack without wasting energy. My bike power is there, I know that. Even the start of my run, I am happy with that. The first 10 km of the run shows that it’s all heading in the right direction.

On the bike, I had some misfortune with my nutrition, it didn’t go to plan and I think this caught up to me on the run. The back half of the bike leg also didn’t quite go to plan.

KB: How does that compare to your phenomenal IM 70.3 NZ performance?
BT: I would say that IM NZ was close to perfect, it was 95% as good as it could have been. I was really happy with the execution of that race. I know I can get more out of myself than I was able to show at Geelong. It’s a work in progress.

KB: With the transition to Pro, what are the areas of performance that you still want to develop?
BT: The main area is the run. My swim and bike are good and I need to hold onto those strengths, but I know I need to improve my run.

I ran a 1:23 in IM 70.3 NZ, on a hilly course, off a hard solo bike ride, so the improvements are coming, it’s a case of more time and more work in this area.

KB: And future race goals? Do you see the transition to full distance at some time?
BT: Full distance at some point in time, I think that is where I am headed. Right now I am still young and have a lot that needs to be done before that is a serious consideration.

Aid Station has recently become one of your main sponsors and this must make the job of keeping on top of your nutrition a whole lot easier. They offer an impressive range of products, what have been the key nutritional practices and products that have helped you train and helped you perform on race day?

BT: They offer a wide array of nutrition products with super quick delivery times. This has allowed me to experiment with different fueling options, different brands and find what works for me.

KB: What has become your preferred option?
BT: I now use the Maurten 320 drink mix with Precision Fuel gels and also Koda salt

Doing what you do takes a team of people around you - Any special mentions that you want to say thanks to?

BT: Big thankyou to my parents

Hot Temple
Aid Station
Giant and CADEX Australia
Wyn Republic
Advanced Cranes
Sync Ergonomics
RPG Coaching