Tim O'Donnell: Interview and Bike Profile
article and images by Nick Salazar •
Apr 16, 2012 •
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Tim O'Donnell's star is on the rise. The Naval Academy graduate and former Naval Officer has proven himself a force to be reckoned with in any race, coming up through the ranks as an Olympic-distance, 70.3-distance, and now Iron-distance athlete. Last weekend, he won 70.3 Lonestar over a field that included Michael Raelert, Lance Armstrong, and others. But despite his palmares and obvious potential, O'onnell is easily one of the most down-to-earth, humble people you'll ever meet. Tim graciously let me crash his house for an interview about racing, gear, and to get a close look at his new bike, the Argon E-118. I think the interview gives you a really good sense for his special combination of humility and ambition.
After the interview, I got to spend a little extra time with Tim's bike, shooting all the small details. Tim's stance on gear, as he says in the interview, is that it should be focused on after acquiring a high level of fitness. It's "an extra little gift," as he says. Last year, he ran two bottles behind the saddle, and found that a BTA bottle up front was far superior in the wind tunnel. Now he's planning to move his frame bottle behind the saddle in a single cage tucked right into the saddle. It's basically the exact same steps I recommend in my hydration guide. Tim, your bottle setup is TriRig approved!
Check out the gallery below for all the little bits and pieces on Tim's Argon E-118.
Before we close the books on Galveston, here's one more feature on some of the unique setups we saw out there, including an update to TJ Tollakson's crazy front end.
Here's a very thorough gallery of all the gorgeous gear from the hottest early-season tri of the year. T.O.'s E-118, Lance's Speed Concept, it's all here.
The tiny island of Galveston, TX became the epicenter of the tri world when a very stacked field signed up to race the Lonestar 70.3. Here's our pre-race expo gallery.
Before the indoor show, Interbike vendors show off product out in the sand of Boulder City. Though not much of it is tri related, I found the goods for this gallery. Enjoy.
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