Inside The SUUNTO Multisport Team Camp
From March 14-17 the Southern Utah desert came alive with SUUNTO Multisport athletes during their inaugural team camp. New for 2019, the SUUNTO Multisport Team is poised to be the top professional multisport team out there with their sights on success in a number of sports, including triathlon, Xterra, and ultra distance running events. As a sponsor, ENVE attended the camp and will be supporting the team with SES wheels for the triathletes and M Series wheels for the Xterra athletes. One particular team member that will be helping drive results this year is 23-year-old Sam Long from Boulder, Colorado. Although Sam specializes in IRONMAN events, he’s a bit of a Jack of all trades after taking third place in last year’s Xterra Pan American championships in addition to claiming the Colorado (Cat 1) 40-kilometer time trial state championship. Here is Sam’s journal from team camp.
As with anything destined to be great—it usually starts with a vision. That’s precisely how the Suunto Team was born. The multisport in the SUUNTO Multisport team does not mean athletes who do multiple sports (e.g. triathletes) but rather that it’s a team of athletes who compete in multiple sports! The idea is to make the greater endurance community more cohesive. Generally, we see cyclists, runners, and swimmers interacting only with each other; we want to change that. After camp, I can testify there are friends to be made in the various disciplines of endurance sports.
After the vision was created, 50 superb athletes who embody the ideals of endurance sports whether through kicking booty in racing, having an inspirational story to tell, or through doing their part to make the endurance community more wholesome were chosen. In most cases, everyone on the team does all three. As discussed above the team is a mix of multisport athletes; about 45 percent runners, 45 percent triathletes, and 10 percent other athletes.
All of this became possible because of SUUNTO. They set out with making the vision a reality. A tried and true brand that embodies adventure is the perfect sponsor for the team. People may not be as familiar with SUUNTO in the United States; hopefully, the team will change that. Started in Finland in 1936 it has been the world leader in diving watches for quite some time, is used by many top mountaineers and trail runners, and is now moving more into triathlon. All members of the team are using the SUUNTO 9 Baro which has one of the most reliable GPS trackers to date, the longest battery life of any GPS watch and is devilishly durable.
The team also includes other top-notch sponsors, such as ENVE, in addition to Cervelo, Shimano, Blueseventy, Arcteryx, Jaybird, Kanberra, and Salomon. I can honestly say that I am stoked about these partners; they all produce world-class equipment that will provide me an advantage over my competitors. The camp was a time to interact with the other athletes on the team, learn all their amazing stories and to learn about the products of the companies supporting the team (Bonus we also got some good training in!). It was an eventful few days in St. George, Utah, where we stayed in posh accommodation with a swimming pool on the premise and trail running and riding around the corner. I think I can safely say everyone was inspired by the other athletes and elated to learn about our sponsors’ equipment.
For my bike setup, I’ll be riding the Cervelo P5 Disc this year; which is stiffer and lighter than any other time trial bike we have seen. I will be pairing this with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and, of course, ENVE wheels. The plan is to use the SES 7.8 Disc along with the new SES rear Disc wheel. On most courses (as I average over 25 MPH, the speed at which the Disc becomes beneficial) the front 7.8 and the Disc will be the fastest. I can’t wait to let this bike rip!
I’m chomping at the bit to see how fast I can go on the race course this year and have a jam-packed schedule. I will kick off the season in Oceanside on April 6th, then go down to St. George for my early season A-priority race. I will then race 70.3 Chattanooga, Victoria, and Coeur d’Alene in my build up to IRONMAN Lake Placid where I hope to qualify for Kona.
