By Cameron Elford
Oct. 22, 2006 --
Less than 24 hours after winning his second Ironman world championship title, Germany's Normann Stadler sat down with Triathlete
magazine for a few minutes on Sunday morning. After winning the Hawaii Ironman, in Kailua-Kona, in 2004, Stadler last year DNFed after flatting twice on the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway, which winds along the Kohala Coast from Kailua to the bike turnaround point in the town of Hawi. This year, however, Stadler made a definitive statement on the island, taking charge of the race immediately after exiting the water and holding his solo advantage for more than 130 miles through to the finish.
Triathlete: You attacked right from the start on the bike yesterday. Was this your pre-race strategy, to force the rest of the field to chase you?
Normann Stadler: I had a much better swim than last year, when I was four minutes back to Faris [Al-Sultan, the 2005 Hawaii Ironman champion], and that was too much. You need so much energy to catch the group, but [this year], I saw I was only 20 seconds behind, and that was scary, because I know I improved my swimming -- I swam a lot in San Diego -- but I was in the leading group for the first time, and that's a much different situation. You can start earlier. I was leading the race by the top of Kuakini Highway -- it was wonderful. But it was also a new situation for me because you have to push 180 kilometers by yourself, and that's really hard. But it's what I trained for.
Triathlete: What have you done differently with your swimming this past year?
Normann Stadler: I changed a little bit my technique, but I have to swim everyday -- or four or five times a week. In Germany it's not like here, where you have masters everyday. In Germany it's really hard to be in the pool everyday. Every year before Hawaii for six weeks I swim everyday.
Triathlete: How did you find the race conditions yesterday?
Normann Stadler: Not that bad. We had some rain. The wind was like last year -- maybe a little bit more going up Hawi, but you see 4:18 [Stadler's course-record bike split], but it was still tough -- sometimes we had sun, and after the rain it was humid, so it was tough conditions. And going 4:18, you have to push hard all the time with no rest. But it was good coming out of the water with the leading group, because with those [comparatively moderate] conditions it's hard to make time on the bike, not like 2004 when I had 20 minutes with hard conditions. I think I won the race in the water this year.
Triathlete: You mentioned that Triathlete magazine article with Peter Reid several times. How did this impact your race?
Normann Stadler: It was sad to read those things about me. Peter was my teammate last year with Tri Dubai. He was talking different to me after 2004 [when Stadler won in Kona]. He said, "We didn't let you go; we had no chance to keep up with you." I respect him as an athlete -- he won three times, and he should respect me. I'm not a one-day wonder. I've been in triathlon since 1988, and I was third before and two times fourth place, and he said Normann was a non-factor . . . and he will never ever win again, and he's mentally not strong.
Triathlete: What are your plans now?
Normann Stadler: We go back to Germany on Monday. I'm looking forward, because it's nice to work with the media and do some TV stuff and see my family. It's a long time away from Germany -- more than two months now.
Triathlete: Were you trying to do some mental math on the marathon, trying to figure out what pace you needed to run to hold off Chris McCormack, who was closing on you?
Normann Stadler: Sure, the Ali'i Drive out-and-back [section] is a very important part of the course, so you see your competition and you can count the time. I still had 9:50 along Ali'i Drive when I saw the guys, and I still had 16 more miles to go. I was counting, yes, for sure. I don't like the part at the energy lab, so that was the hardest part for me. I had four minutes something at the turnaround at the energy lab. So I thought, "Okay, eight miles to go. It was close at the end, but it was much better the last three or four kilometers for me. I was digging deep and I had a lot of Coke at the last aid station, and the last two kilometers are only downhill, and all the spectators are cheering for you. When I saw Macca at the finish line, he didn't look happy. He was working hard.
Triathlete: You glanced behind you a few time on the run. You didn't trust the splits you were getting?
Normann Stadler: No, not at all. They changed so often, from two minutes to three minutes. In the energy lab they said four minutes, then three minutes, so I thought I'd check it.
Triathlete: You've definitely changed the dynamic of Hawaii Ironman from a race in which running is the most important event. Do you think the field will put more emphasis on the bike and be less inclined to let you go?
Normann Stadler: I think they tried it this year already, but they can't, they can't keep up with me. They didn't let me go for 10 minutes, but they [ultimately had] to, and now I can swim. It's a good feeling for me. No one let anyone go here.
Triathlete: Were you surprised [California's Chris] Lieto didn't go with you on the bike?
Normann Stadler: When I saw him in town [at the beginning of the bike], he asked me, "Do you start now, or do you wait a little bit?" And I said, "No, I start now."
Triathlete: What about Faris's day yesterday?
Normann Stadler: Good race. Top three. He proved that he's a top athlete. He was riding fair and not drafting. You know, Macca drafted. He was always in the pack. . . . We all know that he was cheating, so if he's happy with second place, and he said he's the best triathlete in the world right now and the best runner. I think [Belgium's] Rutger Beke is the best runner right now because he was all day out there by himself and pushing hard on the bike, and he ran a 2:48 or 2:47 or something, so I think he's the best runner right now in Ironman. But you know, Macca likes to talk.
Triathlete: But you can ride with the chase pack and still be legal. You think Macca was too close?
Normann Stadler: Yes, for sure.
Triathlete: How do we fix drafting? There's the seven-meter rule, there are race marshals out there. Do you have any thoughts on how to keep guys further apart?
Normann Stadler: No idea. . . . They have to enforce the seven meters, but seven meters is drafting already. I don't know why they changed it [from 10] to seven meters. There was no reason to change it. They said they did some wind-tunnel testing . . . but, you know, 10 meters worked before.
Triathlete: Did you push 100 percent on the marathon, or could you have gone any faster if you had needed to?
Normann Stadler: After 4:18 on the bike, it's tough to keep the pace. I was on a 6:25 pace then a 6:20 pace for the first half. If you don't have to run a 2:50 for the marathon, it's okay, but if you have to, maybe you can go a little bit harder. I was digging deep yesterday, but if you saw me at the finish line, I wasn't that tired. Maybe one day I'll have to go all out and go 100 percent, but it was close to 100 percent.