Anne Haug’s Road to Kona 2022
It has been three years, since Anne Haug won the Ironman World Championships on Hawaii. Three years, that she used to work with the gebioMized bike fitters, constantly improving her position on the bike. We show you the most important steps.
Back on the island
Finally, home! Finally, back at the place of the triumph. On Hawaii, german Triathlete Anne Haug secured the biggest win of her career. With a super strong race in she crowned herself Ironman World Champion in October 2019. And she also made the brand new gebioMized Stride saddle a World Champion – in his very first official race.
Due to the Covid19-pandemia, the race got cancelled in 2020. And the worlds 2021 where only held in May 2022 – and not on Hawaii, but in Utah. But now the time has come. Three years after the last race on Hawaii, Anne Haug is back on the island to swim, bike and run.
Both technology and position on the bike are constantly evolving
In triathlon, three years is a long time. Not only technology is developing fast. Anne also worked hard on her position on the bike – together with the experts from gebioMized. Because Anne knows: As gear and physical conditions are constantly changing, you also have to adapt and optimize your position on the bike. Having one goal in mind: Finding the perfect balance between comfort and performance, to take the top step on the podium.
“We are working with Anne for quite some years now and celebrated some huge victories together”, says gebioMized bike fitter Daniel Schade. He’s not only referring to the win in Kona 2019, but also Anne Haug’s third place here in 2018 or her both wins at Challenge Roth in 2021 and 2022.
Anne Haug and Daniel Schade at a bike fitting in May 2020.
Anne Haug’s gebioMized Stride.
Contact point 1: Saddle
Starting the collaboration, everything was focused on the contact point between saddle and athlete. “We quickly made huge progress here, improving the pelvic stability in the saddle”, Schade says, underlining his statement with gebioMizeds very own saddle pressure mapping.
A real milestone in the year 2019 was the change to the then newly launched gebioMized Stride saddle. In combination with some fine tuning of the contact point, the new saddle not only provided more comfort. It also laid the foundation for more aerodynamic optimizations. “I never thought that I could sit comfortably in my aero position for so long”, Anne Haug says, explaining: “This saves me precious energy I can use later in the race.”
The left image is showing the pressure on Anne Haug’s old saddle. On the right hand side you can see the pressure distribution after changing to the gebioMized Stride S.
Contact point 2: Shoes
The Kona winner of 2019 knows: “If my pelvic is stable in the saddle, I can bring all my power to the pedal.” Which brings us to the second focal point of Anne’s work with the gebioMized bike fitters: The contact point between pedals and feet. The decisive area, where the human power is transferring into the machine. “First we tried different forms of shoes, to find the best fit for Anne”, Daniel Schade explains.
Once the fitting shoe was found, it was time for some fine tuning again. This time we upgraded the shoe with the new gebioMized PUSH insole. “The insoles are decisive for my performance on the bike”, says Anne Haug. “They help me bringing my power to the pedals and stabilize my legs.” So the PUSH insole not only is making the fast woman even faster, it also helps preventing injuries.
Anne Haug and her gebioMized PUSH semi-custom insole.
Contact point 3: Cockpit
For the 2022 season, Anne Haug and gebioMized are focusing on the third contact point: the cockpit. “We did some biomechanical pre-tests in our gebioMized concept-lab, outdoor tests on the road and intensively thought about how to push Anne to the next level of aero”, Schade says.
The implementation was done in several steps.
1.
In biomechanical tests at gebioMized concept-lab, three different setups where developed, that in the lab showed biomechanical advantages.
2.
In the field test on the road, all three setups had to prove how they work under real world conditions.
3.
In intensive tests in the wind tunnel, all three setups were reviewed for their aerodynamical effects.
„Having all this input, we developed the final setup”, says Daniel Schade, praising the active role of Anne Haug in the process. “She has a great feeling for both the bike and her body. So she always provides great feedback.” Great feedback, that’s extremely valuable for finding the perfect balance between biomechanics, aerodynamic and riding experience.
From this final position, a custom cockpit for Anne Haug was developed in corporation with Speedbar. gebioMized provided the insight to determine the angles, the positions of the hands and the dimensions of the cups. “The result is a real carbon masterpiece from the hands of Speedbar founder Edwin van Vugt”, says Daniel Schade.
Ready for the big dance
This was the last piece of the puzzle. Now gebioMized and Anne Haug have optimized all three contact points between her and her bike. “During our tests we also made use of our 3D-printed padding prototypes and our new armcups”, says Schade, looking forward to following the race on television. “Now it’s time to keep our fingers crossed!”
