While many in the Northern Hemisphere are bemoaning the arrival of winter with its frigid weather, long nights and short days, for some triathletes--and not just those enjoying the warmer weather Down Under--this is the happiest time of the year.We caught up with the speedy Dutchwoman not long after she'd finished a training camp on the Dachstein Glacier in Austria. Vlasveld's talent for the sport was discovered when she was a teen-ager and she's only grown in stature since racing in her first winter triathlon way back in 1989. A student of exercise physiology, she’s able now to work part-time as a physical education teacher to allow for time to travel, train and race.
She says the secret to her success is simple: She pays attention to every detail and has a “never give up” attitude.
Triathlon Informer: How did you get interested in triathlon, and specifically winter triathlon?
Marianne Vlasveld: When I was 16 years old I took part in a talent-day for young cross-country skiers organized by the Dutch ski federation. My first glides on cross-country skis were great and my talent for this sport appeared. Not long after, I got an invitation to the Dutch cross-country ski team, and in 1989 I competed my first world championships (in Lahti, Finland). For all the basic endurance training in the snowless Netherlands, I did different sports like running, cycling, speed-skating and roller-skiing. In 1989 I also competed in my first winter triathlon. A Dutch organization organized a spectacular winter event in the upcoming sport of triathlon. In Inzell, Germany, we had to run 20k, ski 30k and skate 40k (100 laps on a ice rink). With temperatures of -10C and no experience in these long distances, this was an unbelievably hard race for me, but I won, and due to the television exposure it was a great promotion for our cross-country ski team in the Netherlands.
In 1995 I stopped my ski career, partly due to several injuries. Three years later the first world championships for winter triathlon were organized in Mals, Italy, under the international format of running, biking and cross-country skiing. The Dutch federation asked me to go and complete a Dutch team. Not trained very well, and on a borrowed mountain bike, I placed 10th. I was sure I could do better in this sport.
TI: You also race in the summer, at Xterra and in road triathlon/duathlon. How does your training in the summer help your fitness for the winter? When in your season do you turn your focus to winter training for skiing? Do you try in-line skating in the summer to keep your ski fitness?
MV: In summer I make the base for my winter results. That means a lot of endurance training (in summer I train more hours than in the racing season). For a high-intensity training in summer I did, for example, this year‘s Xterra Beach Challenge. My shape was very good at that moment--I had the fastest bike time and second-fastest run. For swimming I have no talent and I will never become a good swimmer, and in the sea I lost so much time. But last summer I also competed in the TRANSALP (a well-known team bike race that covers 650k and 21,500 meters of elevation change from Mittenwald to Gardasee across the Alps in eight days. I did this together with Machiel Ittmann.)
TI: What are your plans for this season? What do you think the future will be for winter triathlon? Have you seen the participation among age-group athletes growing in Europe?
MV: This winter I'd like to defend my world championship. In my opinion winter triathlon is an attractive endurance sport that can have a good place on the Olympic winter program. But this takes time, and especially the ITU has to work very hard on it to make it possible. I just see what's happening in the elite category; in the women's category I must say some more girls from different countries would be great. It was good to see that a lot of age-groupers started at the last World Championships in Oberstaufen.
TI: Which aspect of the sport do you enjoy the most?
MV: To overcome the natural surroundings (like the snow, cold and mountains). The snow gives the world this light and brightness in the dark winter time.
TI: What kind of advice would you give to athletes who might want to give winter triathlon a try this season?
MV: Just do it!