Analysis of the Olympic season of Gómez Noya
If part of the magic of the sport lies in breaking down mythical barriers, one of the insurmountable ones in the triathlon is fixed by the 29 minutes in the final ten thousand on foot after the effort of 1.500 meters by swimming and 40 kilometers on the bicycle. And Javier Gómez Noya, one of the best specialists of all time, has set himself this still virgin challenge as the best way to opt for the Olympic medal on August 7 of next year at the London 2012 Games. «The circuit of Hyde Park, so flat in the bike and running sectors, is going to require a time very close to that to win”, explains his coach, Omar González.
These days both exceed kilometer zero towards the podium, putting the machine into gear after a few weeks of vacation, attending to commitments before crushing themselves in endless sessions.
The Hyde Park podium as motivation food, top speed as the way to achieve it. Double champion of the World and Europe, winner of 15 World Cup events, Gómez Noya only lacks the Olympic medal in his impressive track record. So the season that now begins will not be just any. It will impose sacrifices to prevail the challenge of the Olympic Games.
The fifth date of the year
To begin with, the man from Ferrol has started training a couple of weeks earlier than usual. "We want to go very calmly," explains his coach. “We will forgo many tests. Other years, in August he was already on his eighth or ninth triathlon. We believe that Javi usually reaches his peak form in his fifth competition, and that will be the one in London ».
Gómez Noya's initial plan includes the European Championship in Eilat (Israel) on April 21, and World Championship tests in May in Madrid, in June in Kitzbuhel and in July in Hamburg, just fifteen days before the Olympic battle in Hyde Park. On the London circuit he already exhibited himself in 2010, when his infernal rhythm cost his great rival, the Englishman, a collapse Alistair Brownlee, who crossed the finish line stumbling.
Plate of 53 teeth in Hyde Park
But the pulse of the Galician triathlete with his British rival, superior in 2011, requires a constant improvement that goes through gaining speed. «Javi already climbs well on a bicycle, but in London there are no slopes. There he will not remove the large 53-tooth chainring at any time, and will play with sprockets between 13 and 15. He will reach 50 per hour in the Games, with an average of 45, higher than usual. So he will lower the workload to train more like a wheeler or time trialist. He will have sessions at high rates to go faster. In winter, there will be no departures of more than 100 kilometers, nor so many ports, but he will move higher developments. As data, he will complete less than 10.000 kilometers, instead of the 15.000 other years », details Omar González.
The barrier of the 29 minutes
«In any case, it is not normal for a break to take place at the Games. Where the medals will be decided is in the final 10.000 on foot, on a route to fly. Maybe you have to run under 29 minutes, 17 seconds less than the best time in the history of triathlon, his own 29.17 in Hamburg 2010", recalls the coach of Gómez Noya, who will design this season "more technical hours of running, lots of hill work to build strength, then transferring it to the track.”
In this case, that of the foot race, Gómez Noya "will increase volume and intensity, and will go from the 3.500 annual kilometers of preparation instead of the 3.000 just of 2011."
Resignations
Gómez Noya's resignations to achieve the Games medal include the first World Cup tests that he used to attend. He's not going to Sydney or San Diego. «Intercontinental trips that involve time changes, in the end, are a big setback. If we want the medal we cannot go to all the races”, explains González. In this way, he will also avoid any direct confrontation with Alistair Brownlee, his great rival, who will compete in San Diego. «If we beat him, maybe we will motivate him even more, and if he surpasses us, he might create some kind of doubts for us. We are going to delay it to the months before the Games, where it will be inevitable, “adds the coach of the two-time world champion. Because the Briton, also a double champion, has been almost the only one capable of beating Ferrol at his best.
Source: lavozdegalicia.es
