Leading multisport team and coaching specialist, teamTBB has signed up Ironman athlete Mathias Hecht. Speaking of his new position with teamTBB, Hecht shared his views on the challenges faced by pro triathletes, the demise of the Commerzbank Triathlon Team and his respect for teamTBB’s Head Coach Brett Sutton.
“After 4 years racing for the Commerzbank Triathlon Team, the main sponsor withdrew from the sport of triathlon and the team came to an end. Being a professional triathlete means (at least for the most of us) making a living out of your sport is not easy and looking for new sponsors every year is not a thing you want to be concerned about while racing and training.
“Just imagine, you work in an office but you never know if the company still exists next year. Looking at Team TBB, I see the team that has been out there in our sport for the longest. Continuity in anything means hard work but it definitely means somebody does something right. And I think this doesn’t mean only bringing out the results; which is only one part of the business we are in.
“Triathlon still has not the media appearance it may deserve. This means the people behind a triathlon team always have to make an extra effort to make it happen.The team I have been racing for in the past 4 years had a full-time management (full-time jobs for 3 people) behind it. Knowing about what it takes to run a professional triathlon team, I have the greatest respect for Team TBB and the people behind it [Alex Bok, owner of Team TBB, and Head Coach Brett Sutton]. I will be a very proud new member of the longest existing team in our sport.
“Team TBB for me is also Brett Sutton. I am racing triathlons since I was 12 years old. I had a lot of coaches over the last years and I trained with the best triathletes in the world. I learned a lot from all those people (especially from Greg Bennett and Craig Alexander). But I always thought there is something more out there, something I have to do different to exploit my full potential (because that’s what it is about for me).
“So at the beginning of last year I had a long talk with Brett (maybe the longest talk I ever had with just one person). And after that, I was 200% sure this is it. This is the road I want to take. Maybe it is the road less traveled, but I was (and still I am) sure it could be the difference between ordinary and extraordinary. So Brett had already a lot of influence on my 2011 season; a season I finished twice on an Ironman podium and [the] most important season where I won my first Ironman against strong competition.
“Brett told me at the beginning of 2011 that I should go and race Ironman St George as the course there suits me to the ground. And this was what I did. I went there and broke Michael Weiss’s course record by 8 minutes. And most important, I had the fastest run split of the day, which was a first in my triathlon career. But this win in St. George was a very important step for me. It was my best Ironman race so far. Mostly because I didn’t make any mistakes. I won it because I raced for the win and was 100% prepared to do so.
“It is Brett who made this possible. His ideas about how to change my training made the difference. Brett is the man who can bring the best out of you; exactly what can make the difference at the end between being 2nd/3rd again or [to] win the thing. And this was just the beginning of my learning curve. I am still an apprentice of our sport. Brett is the mastermind of it.”
