Andy Potts – Man For All Distances
The 2004 Olympian and winner of three ITU World Cups has now won a career California Triple Crown – Ralph’s California Ironman 70.3, Escape from Alcatraz and now Wildflower long course. But right now he’s excited about a pioneer double that underscores his versatility – the first man to win St. Anthony’s short course and Wildflower long course back to back.
At St. Anthony’s, Potts took over when Matt Reed flatted and left Terenzo Bozzone in his dust. At Wildflower, he lost a duel for the swim prime when he tripped at the exit ramp. On the bike, he ran with the pack and let Bjorn Andersson go. And on the run he just jetted past Andersson and Bozzone and left runner-up Eneko Llanos 3:23 in his dust with a race-best 1:14:38 run that would have been 1:13 if he had been pressed and hadn’t stopped to take his son Boston the last 150 yards on his shoulders. Right in the afterglow of his dominating win at Lake San Antonio May 2, Potts sat down for a Slowtwitch interview.
Slowtwitch: Looked like you got into a duel for the swim prime, until you fell approaching the exit ramp. Did it affect your race?.
Andy Potts When you’ve been pushing hard on the swim for 22-23 minutes, as soon as you go vertical, it’s a shock to your body. I’m usually pretty good at this transition but I tripped coming out of the water. When I got through transition, I started pushing my bike by the saddle and my front wheel turned and I just fell down. I put my hands up to stop the impact, and took most of the hit on the ankle. I knew I was hurt, but it wasn't a show stopper.
ST:Did you have any apprehension about how tough this course was supposed to be?
Andy: This being my first time at Wildflower I was given a lot of horror stories by a lot of different people about how hard it was. I knew it would be a difficult day. There are three things that can make a race difficult. One is the course. One is the competition. And one is yourself. Here you get all three.
ST: After you experienced it, what parts of the course caught your attention?
Andy: I thought some of the trails on the run were tough. Not so much the uphills or downhills. What makes it hard is that the trail is on soft pack that is off camber and has sharp rocks everywhere. It’s all off camber — except for the roads. And so you are running carefully because there is an edge to every part of the trails..
ST: What was the toughest part of the course?
Andy: The steep downhill at Mile 5 made it a more of a struggle to stay in control. I had to put on the brakes a bit there because you are going too fast. My ankle still hurt trying to keep the momentum under control.
ST: About Mile 3 to 4 on the run, Terenzo Bozzone seemed to be making a move on you from 200 meters back.
Andy: He came out of T2 ahead of me and I caught him about half a mile into the run.
ST: Was it a bit of a duel to be running with the course records holder?
Andy: Right then I was listening to him breathe and I knew what kind of difficulty he was in. I thought ‘I can push now and get him to go overboard.’ But ultimately it was up to him to answer. If you can put them in difficulty, it plays into your hand. It works – if it’s not too early in the race. Otherwise you blow up later.
ST: See anyone near you at the turnaround at Mile 10 of the run?
Andy: I saw some people well back. My lead was 3:45 and I knew at that point that I was confident in my closing ability. The main thing with the race course here and being a rookie I had to try to be patient on a new course.
ST: How did you know when to be patient and when to go?
Andy: I did not see the course beforehand. I didn’t drive the bike course and I never scouted the run. I was seeing it all for the first time. It’s hard to be patient when you don’t k now what is around the corner. But I thought I did a good job of it. To wait until the opportunity presented itself to me. I can recognize these times. I’ve been around the block a few times. Just not this block. I saw the opportunity and I knew who to watch, who to go with and who to race.
ST: Looks like you would have had the second fastest time ever if you had run through the finish chute. But instead you put your son Boston on your shoulders with 150 meters to go.
Andy: I thought I might have gone 3:57 if I didn’t stop to pick up my son and walked it in. But I did see the clock and I saw Terry Davis the race director standing there and thought: OK. I’ve got to get under four and I did it.
ST: You missed Simon Lessing’s 2005 time by about 10 seconds with a 3:59:41. Good thing this was not an official Ironman race. They just banned finishing with a family member. So what did you think of the race?
Andy: They say it is California’s biggest race. Certainly it is one of California’s best races. In my experience it is high on the list. This race celebrates our sport and puts it in a great light. It creates a perspective that can be showcased to the masses.
ST: After your win at St. Anthony’s, you seem to be back at your best?
Andy: I’ve been real happy with my training. I knew the field was good. I didn’t know how much my name would be there among the favorites. In our sport, some people get talked about a lot for different reasons. I just wanted to be talked about because I am a capable triathlete who puts all three together on race day . That's what I wanted to show and I think I did. I was second out of the water, third off the bike and first when it counted.
ST: You said before the race you wanted to start a streak. After winning St. Anthony’s and Wildflower, you’ve got one going.
Andy: There is one thing about my win at Wildflower that is unique and special. Nobody ever won St. Anthony’s and Wildflower back to back. They are both very difficult races, and very challenging with very classy fields,. So it’s a hard double to do. I knew it would be challenging,. In the back of my mind, I thought I’d love to be the first person to pull it off. That’s really special and really cool.
ST: You apparently do not like to cherry pick your races?
Andy: I love this sport when great triathletes come together and want to go to the limit for all three disciplines. I want to be there. I don’t care how far we’re going. I just want to be there.
ST: I also presume you are not going to pursue Ironman Hawaii like an obsessed aerobic Captain Ahab. You’re a throwback who likes to prove he can win at all distances.
Andy: Ironman Hawaii the peak of the sport. It's the biggest day there is. It’s how our sport is shown to the world. But all through the year, there are many races that people can fall in love with.
ST: With your embrace of all types and distances of triathlon, of non-drafting and draft legal racing, Olympic, half and Ironman, perhaps you have remained relatively little known to each particular group of fans?
Andy: I've been around the block a few times. But many people think I’m kinda new. I feel many people think I’m still a young ’un. And I feel that way myself.
ST: What did you think of the crowds?
Andy: I love this race. We run through campsites and people in tents peer out at us going by. They see some runners going by and see the race number say “Go Andy Potts!” It’s special to race together in this place. When people yell out my name, it tells me I’m doing well.
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