These days it almost goes without saying, Red Bull is one of the best sponsors an athlete could have. The crazy events, unbelievable support and backing, unreal parties, and much more all come courtesy of Red Bull… And don’t forget an unlimited supply of those little energy-filled cans and the hats kids are always trying to get their hands on. But life as a Red Bull athlete isn’t always cupcakes and cruise control. Last year Red Bull introduced its wake athletes to a performance camp, which was basically a week-long training course to prepare the riders for the upcoming season.
This year Red Bull decided to step it up even more. Training camp for the team this year was intense. Sure, they got to play golf with one of the top female professionals in the world one day, but the rest of the days were filled with boot camp sessions on the beach, 40-mile bike rides, and even sessions with sports psychologists. The week then culminated in a mini triathlon of sorts, Red Bull style.
The triathlon consisted of a 150-meter swim, a 3.5 mile bike ride, 20 pull ups, jumping boxes and balance beams, giant landing mat flip overs, pushing an exercise ball with your head while crawling, and a 150-meter race on a baby-sized tricycle. Sounds weird, right? Well it was, but totally appropriate considering it was all Red Bull. JD Webb, Brian Grubb, Adam Errington, Raph Derome, and Dallas Friday all took part in the crazy week and went head-to-head against each other for bragging rights and a few prizes from Red Bull (although each rider was allowed to keep his/her top-of-the-line Giant road bike from the week).
At the end of the madness every athlete was huffing and puffing, but it was the elder statesman of the bunch that took home the victory. Brian Grubb has always been known for his competitive fire (and obvious success over the past ten-plus years), and he wasn’t about to let the young bucks come into the race and make him look bad. If anything, the 30-year-old made the 20-somethings look out of place. He ended up finishing the race in 20 minutes flat, while Raph Derome came in second a couple minutes later. Steel Lafferty rounded out the podium with a third place finish and the most comical tricycle ride. While the tricycle ending looked silly, can you imagine trying to pedal those small wheels while your legs are on fire from swimming, biking, running and lifting? Not fun. Next time you see members of the Red Bull team out and about, ask them about their standing heart rates and favorite Speedo colors… you should get some interesting answers.