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12 February 2012 – Tine Deckers of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team has finished fifth in today’s Ironman 70.3 Panama City. With a final time of 4:25:29, Tine came in about ten minutes behind winner Angela Naeth (Canada; 4:15:31). Kelly Williamson (US; 4:19:11) and Margaret Shapiro (US; 4:19:34) completed the podium. Uplace’s Sofie Goos claimed the thirteenth spot with a time of 4:44:00.
In the men’s race, Uplace-athlete Bert Jammaer (4:01:24) finished tenth. Bevan Docherty (New Zealand; 3:50:13) won the race. Lance Armstrong (US; 3:50:55) came in a strong second; Richie Cunningham (Australia; 3:52:59) was third.
Panama City was the first race of the season for Bert and Sofie. The big question before the race was whether they had come out of the winter break ready to race. The start of the race seemed to bring a promising answer to that question. Bert came out of the water trailing leader Matty Reed by just 30 seconds. Tine and Sofie wrapped up the swim in ninth and tenth position, a result that was especially gratifying for Tine. During the bike leg, Tine gradually moved up to the fourth position, while Bert and Sofie were dealing with a lost water bottle and uncooperative legs respectively. The half marathon didn’t bring any major changes for the Uplace athletes. Tine lost one spot, Bert remained in tenth position and Sofie moved up from the fourteenth tot the thirteenth position.
“Seriously, it was so hot!” For Tine Deckers, the transition from -10 degrees Celsius in Belgium to the blistering heat of Panama City was not an easy one: “Especially in the beginning of the half marathon, the heat and the humidity really got to me. But in the end, it didn’t affect the result all that much. I only fell back one spot during the run. I am equally pleased about the rest of the race. I swam really well. I am really happy that my strong performances in training also came out during the race. During the bike leg, I managed to move up the field well. I felt strong on the bike, especially after my poor cycling performance in South Africa. I really feel all the pieces are starting to fall into place for the March Ironman Melbourne.”
Bert Jammaer’s Ironman 70.3 Panama City turned out to be a typical first race of the season: “I am fairly pleased, but I feel I could have done better. My swim was excellent. I came out of the water with the leading group. The bike leg went reasonably well until I hit a bump on a bridge going 60 kilometers an hour and my water bottle went flying. I think I lost a few minutes because I didn’t drink enough – there were very few aid station along the way. I felt myself fading towards the end of the bike leg. It’s a pity, but even with the right hydration, I wasn’t at 100% yet. That’s is why I like this kind of first race that makes you work hard. Now I know exactly what I need to work on in the coming weeks.”
For Sofie Goos, the first race of the reason usually is one she’d rather forget as soon as possible. Panama City offered no exception to that rule: “I really wanted to start the year with a good race. I felt okay in the water, but my legs felt super heavy on the bike. I can also tell I am still trying to take it easy on my back. In the half marathon, I ran to maintain my position. Even on a great day, the rest of the field was too far ahead to catch up. Either way, I don’t feel my conditioning is race-ready yet. I am going to take a look at my calendar with my coach. Maybe my next race, the Ironman Melbourne, is a little too early in the season for me.”
Complete results: http://ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=panama70.3&year=2012
7 February 2012 – Tine Deckers, Sofie Goos, Bart Aernouts, Bert Jammaer, Bruno Clerbout and Axel Zeebroek have set ambitious targets for 2012. The athletes of the Belgian Uplace Pro Triathlon Team shared their 2012 goals during the annual team presentation. This year, they are going for Ironman victories. Team manager Ben De Wolf, “We wrapped up 2011 with seven Ironman podium finishes and four victories in the half Ironman. In 2012, we are going for Ironman wins.” Bart Aernouts announced that in March he will compete in his first full Ironman as part of his transition from Olympic Distance to Ironman racing. 
Tine Deckers can look back on a good 2011 with a few strong showings in tough races. She started the year with a second place in the Ironman 70.3 South Africa, finished second in the Ironman Lake Placid and wrapped up the year with an excellent Ironman Hawaii. No female Belgian triathlete has ever done better than Tine’s twelfth place: “Hawaii was a really good race for me. I was finally able to run a good marathon in Kona. I am ready to do even better in 2012.”
5 November 2011 – Sofie Goos of the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team has finished third in today’s Ironman Florida. It was a hard-fought podium place for Sofie. She was comfortably in the lead halfway into the bike leg when the back pain that had forced her to retire from the Ironman Hawaii a few weeks ago, reappeared. She quickly lost time and her position in the race. Thanks to a final effort well into the marathon, Sofie managed to fight her way back into the top three with a time of 09:22:21.
She got to an excellent start, recording the third fastest swim time and taking over the lead from Bree Wee only ten minutes into the bike leg. But then the back pain happened. Sofie rapidly lost time and in the second half of the bike segment, she got passed by Wee and Jacobs. The marathon didn’t bring much relief. Sofie had to resort to walking a few times and encountered problems with her nutrition. Determined to finish the race no matter what, Sofie all of a sudden found her running rhythm and managed to run herself onto the podium.