FEATURES

Being a Triathlete on the Cheap...

Sunday, 25 December 2016 23:10

ED. The MTN Guys are big fans for Jesse Thomas, not just as an athlete, but as an insightful guy and skilled storyteller.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to sell a kidney to race a triathlon.  

By Jesse Thomas (triathlete.com)

As the legend goes, when I won my first Wildflower, I was a poor, lowly, smelly, first-year pro. I used a borrowed bike and helmet, a hand-me-down kit, running shoes from my wife’s shoe sponsor, and of course, drugstore aviators. I drove down to Lake San Antonio in the 28-Twitter-follower-famous “ManVan with Matt Lieto” and slept in the closet of previous champion Chris Legh’s cabin. In a sport known for extreme expense as much for extreme exercise, “cheap” was the name of the game....

And now, just six years later, I’m a world-famous, ridiculously rich professional triathlete who takes his helicopter to races—usually with Leo, sometimes with Lebron—and I stay exclusively in the presidential suite of the closest Ritz.

OK, none of that’s true, but as of writing this article, I’ll spend at least $10,000 in travel and lodging to get my family over to my next race, Kona. While there, I’ll be riding a brand new $10,000 bike with $2,800 carbon wheels and $1,200 power-meter pedals. I’ll wear the eighth version of a custom-made, super aerodynamic racing kit and to top it all off, literally, my signature high-performance aviators from ROKA. - READ MORE