Stories about the final preparation for the world’s most famous triathlon

For the 2016 edition of IM Hawaii, Australian Luke McKenzie will be riding an orange and black “LAVA Edition”. Luke’s SCOTT Plasma 5 Frame is equipped with a complete Sram Red etap wireless groupset. To get the power down, Luke runs a Quarq Powermeter with 172.5mm cranks and 55/42 chain rings. The Speedplay Zero Aero pedals promise some incremental aerodynamic gains. The Enve 7.8 wheelset features matching stickers and are run with Continental 4000S II 23mm tires which Luke will swap for a faster model before race day. To keep himself properly hydrated, Luke runs a Profile Design bottle cage behind the saddle that is mounted directly on the sledge of the seatpost. In addition, he uses another bottle cage between the extensions. The bike features a Fizik Arione saddle, with this choice he’s one of the few riders that doesn’t opt for a truncated saddle. Behind the Elite Chrono CX aero bottle on the downtube, he runs a prototype of a storage box that was developed together with aero engineer Simon Smart. It offers enough space for a spare kit.

For the 2016 World Championships on Big Island, Frenchman Cyril Viennot will be riding an fluorescent red “FIRE Edition” with some white and black touches. Cyril’s SCOTT Plasma 5 Frame is equipped with a complete Sram Red etap wireless groupset. To produce some serious power, Cyril runs a Quarq Powermeter with 175mm cranks and 55/42 chain rings. Further, he runs the RXS model of French pedal manufacturer Time. The Zipp 808 NSW wheelset is an often seen choice in Kona. Cyril runs a Continental Grand Prix 4000S II 23mm tire on the rear wheel and a Grand Prix TT 23mm on the front wheel. Behind the Specialized Sitero saddle, Cyril runs a Profile Design bottle cage that is mounted directly on the sledge of the seatpost. In addition, he uses the proprietary and semi-integrated front hydration system. Cyril runs the Profile Design extensions with a special below-base-bar-mount bracket to have the pads in the lowest possible position.

For his fourth participation at the IM Hawaii, 2014 World Champion Sebastian Kienle will be riding a matt grey “GLOW Edition” with touches of fluorescent yellow, red and blue. Sebastian’s SCOTT Plasma 5 Frame is equipped with a complete Sram Red etap wireless groupset. To get the power down, he runs 175mm cranks and 55/42 chain rings. The Speedplay Zero Aero pedals promise some incremental aerodynamic gains. The Zipp 808 NSW wheelset features matching decals that are printed directly on the rim in order to improve the aerodynamic performance of the wheels. Sebastian runs Continental Grand Prix TT 23mm tires. To keep himself properly hydrated, Sebastian runs two Profile Design bottle cage behind the saddle. The bike features a Prologo TGale saddle with a truncated nose. Behind the Elite Chrono CX aero bottle on the downtube, he runs a prototype of a storage box that offers enough space for a spare kit. The cockpit on Sebastian’s Plasma 5 features some nice little details such as the “unibrow” custom-made pad which connects both pads and allows for multiple positions of the elbows. “If my strongest competitors have their elbows 2 centimeters apart, I go for 0 centimeters,” Sebastian comments his invention. The little magnet on the left-handed extension is used to attach the straw of the front hydration system when not in use.

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