Blog

For twenty-seven-year-old Sam Musgrove, Kona is perhaps the biggest challenge of his life. He’s only been racing triathlons for three and a half years, falling into the sport during COVID, when a group of mates decided to do the Cairns Ironman. And, how many of us can relate, he caught the bug.

Sam is an age-grouper, so triathlon isn’t his full-time job. That being said, triathlon isn’t a hobby, it’s a way of life. Balancing his training load around work and social life is a never-ending challenge.

SE: So, Sam, what does Kona mean to you?

SM: “Kona wasn’t the reason I got into racing but it holds a large piece of real estate in my head. It is the pinnacle of Ironman and arguably the hardest single-day event in sport. The Big Island has a special mystique about it.”

SE: The race itself, do you have any specific goals?

SM: “This’ll be my first time ever in Kona so I know I have to respect the course, the conditions and the people of the island. My goal is to be at the pointy end of the 25-29 Age Group. If I can do that, it puts me in good stead overall.

I also want to be able to enjoy racing the race, as opposed to just surviving. But, we’ll have to see what the Kona gods have to say about that one!”

Bike Fit

Sam rides Trek Speed Concept SLR 7 with Ultegra Di2, and an upgraded Dura-Ace crankset. He is riding the Sync Ergonomics Aerobar Two, as well as our Driveline Ecosystem in conjunction with CSixx Components.

“My favourite discipline is the bike. There are so many parts of equipment that you can tinker with. There’s also the social nature of riding outdoors and how good it feels to simply be going fast.”

Sam’s first introduction to Sync came via Mick Curran and Coast Cycle Haus.

“Sam walked into my BikeFitting studio on the Central Coast. He was a giant 104kg rugby back rower who said "I have entered a triathlon and I hear you're the guy to talk to. Since that day, he has completely changed his mindset and embraced all things endurance sport. He’s altered his body shape and left no stone unturned when it comes to performance. He’s a tall lad who wants to go long and high with his position. We’ve spent considerable time and energy making this happen whilst staying aero and maintaining his ability to deliver high power. For Kona, we trying a different gearing set-up due to the challenges of the course- Sam will be using either the 1x or 2x setup, depending on how these suit his abilities up the climb.”

At Sync Ergonomics, everything starts with the bike fit. We aim to improve the human-bike interaction with whatever we do, and that’s where the relationship with Mick and Coast Cycle Haus flourishes.

“You need some experience and skin in the game to really understand position and equipment optimisation”, says Ken Ballhause of Sync Ergonomics.

“Mick has been involved in high-level cycling, specifically in time trial disciplines, for years. This shines through in the service he offers to a whole range of athletes, from road, to track and now Triathlon as well. He’s a humble character that just has, and gets, the drive for performance.”

Sam, the Athlete

While Sam is not a professional, his physiological engine is still mightily impressive.

“I average between 260-270w for the bike leg (180km), which usually equates to 38.5-41 kph depending on the course.

My best run so far is a 3:01 off the bike, which is around 4:19/km pace.”

Racing Ironman is a constant learning process. Even the most seasoned of professional triathletes get things wrong, so there’s no surprise that “the rookie” has had some bad days out.

“I had an absolute capitulation at Ironman WA in Busselton last year. I was on Cloud 9 for about 20km of the run, stopped having any nutrition and thought I could get by on water. I can confirm, that didn’t work!”

Everyday is a school day, Sam’s mistake taught him to get better with his nutrition and carbohydrate strategy. He now aims for 120g/hr on the bike, and closer to 90g/hr on the run.

“I sometimes wish I could stop for a coffee, unfortunately, caffeine gels have to suffice on race day. I can’t say I’ve got an Ironman right yet. I’m still trying to piece the puzzle of expressing my run fitness off the bike. I’m sure it’ll come with time and more race experience.”

Sam, the Bloke

Sam works part-time for Delfina Sport, Australia’s leading supplier of custom swim/teamwear, his life doesn't revolve fully around triathlon training.

“Monday, Wednesday and Friday is usually between two and four hours of training before work, and maybe some recovery in the evening. On Tuesday and Thursday, I usually do longer brick sessions or more intensity.

As a triathlete, you’re always training and often there is limited energy for much outside of that, work and drinking coffee too! Balancing my day-to-day life around training is an interesting one and is dependent upon how close a race is. In quieter times, I can enjoy being more social and spending time with family and mates more.

I think a major key to balance for me is having people close to me who are outside of triathlon. It helps to not spend every waking moment thinking about triathlon and enjoy time doing different things with different people.”

Whether you’re a professional triathlete who’s been racing for fifteen years like Matt Burton, or a relative rookie like Sam Musgrove, we understand that you want to get faster, and at Sync Ergonomics we offer solutions that cater for each athlete's requirements.

The Ironman World Championships take place in Kona, Hawaii on October 26th.