In a racing sense, triathlon is an individual event. Training, however, is a different prospect altogether.
Nowadays it is common to see clusters of elite triathletes train together in groups scattered around the world. By training in such groups, athletes expose themselves to elite competition in training as well as world class coaching.
Indeed, at the WTCS level, it is a common occurrence for athletes to train in multi-national groups. The alternative to this is to train at national centres.
The Triathlon Squad
The Triathlon Squad is the first group on the list having risen to prominence in the past few years.
Primarily based in Monte Gordo, Portugal, the Squad is led by Paulo Sousa. It mainly consists of female athletes and includes names such as Taylor Spivey, Miriam Casillas Garcia, Jeanne Lehair, Claire Michel and Yuko Takahashi among its ranks. In an interview, Lehair spoke of the training environment in glowing terms.
As training groups go, The Triathlon Squad might just contain the largest array of nationalities.
Summer Rappaport recently left the group having been a part of it for several seasons.
The Joel Filliol Group
Joel Filliol is a veteran group of the sport with a sterling legacy. Since 2013, he has coached six WTCS champions.
His training group is currently based out of Girona, Spain and includes WTCS medallists such as Jelle Geens, Vasco Vilaca, Bence Bicsak and Vincent Luis.
In terms of WTCS medals, it might just be the strongest training group in the world.
Filliol previously made his coaching name with the British and Canadian teams and at separate times has coached Olympic champions Simon Whitfield and Alistair Brownlee, among others.
Leeds/Loughborough
On the subject of the British team, there are two main British training groups which are generally split between Leeds and Loughborough.
Perhaps the most famous is Leeds. Originally the base of the Brownlee brothers, it is now home to an array of talent including Georgia Taylor-Brown, Beth Potter, Kate Waugh, Sian Rainsley, Jess Learmonth, Sam Dickinson and recent WTCS debutant Jack Willis. For several years, it was also home to a WTCS race although this year that event has moved on to Sunderland.
The other training centre, in Loughborough, is home to current World Class Performance athletes Alex Yee, Sophie Coldwell, Olivia Mathias, Ben Dijkstra, Connor Bentley and Sophie Alden.
Furthermore, Cassandre Beaugrand has also started training with the Loughborough group after she recently started her degree at the university.
Potsdam/Saarbrucken
In a similar fashion to the British team, the German training centres are split across the country. Two of the leading German training groups can be found in Potsdam and in Saarbrucken.
The Potsdam group has long been home to WTCS gold medallist Laura Lindemann. Nina Eim and Selina Klamt are two current German squad members based there. Jolanda Annen of Switzerland has also trained with the group sporadically although is not formally based there. In recent years, Lisa Tertsch trained with the group temporarily, although Tertsch has since moved to Saarbrucken.
Meanwhile, Saarbrucken is currently home to Lena Meißner, Tim Hellwig, Valentin Wernz, Tanja Neubert and Annika Koch.
The split centre model generally works better for countries with deep pools or talent like Britain and Germany.
PTC
Led by Glenn Poleunis, the PTC group originally started in Leuven, Belgium, and has since based itself in Girona. Poleunis comes from a cycling background and is assisted by a crew of two coaches, two physios and individuals to assist with the athletes’ strength, food and minds.
Today the group contains a number of leading athletes, such as Jonas Schomburg, Marten Van Riel and Alessio Crociani.
Currently, there are two positions open on the squad. Any potential applicants are expected to have raced at least at the World Cup level.
Team SPIX
Based in Toulouse, Team SPIX is coached by Adrien Vives. Under his tutelage are a number of talented athletes, including Jawad Abdelmoula, Ivana Kuriackova, Vitali Vorontsov and Maryna Kyryk.
Currently, Team SPIX is working with a large number of up and coming athletes. The recent success of Jawad Abdelmoula, though, is a clear indicator that something is working in the group and will no doubt attract further attention from prospective athletes.
Like PTC, Team SPIX are also taking on new athletes.
Ian O’Brien – USA
Ian O’Brien was named USA Olympic Coach of the Year Olympic medal coach following his contributions to American success at the Tokyo Olympics.
As a coach on the US National Team, his recent athletes have included Taylor Knibb, Matthew McElroy and Brent Demarest. Meanwhile he has also worked with the likes of Kirsten Kasper and Morgan Pearson.
Based off recent Instagram stories, Summer Rappaport has been training with the group although it is not clear if this is a permanent move.
Any number of factors go into selecting a training group. The location, the other athletes and the general environment are incredibly important. One factor that stands out from the existing groups, though, is the importance of the head coach. Whether the group is led by an award winning coach like O’Brien or someone with the deep tracts of experience like Filliol, the identity of the coach appears the key piece to the success of any group.
