Tri-Sport is St. Maarten’s sole distributour of Trek USA, Cannondale, Giant and Scott bicycles, besides all of the accessories and components that go hand in hand with these world famous brands!

Our big news these days is the opening of our second location in Philipsburg at #26 Juancho Yrausquin Blvd. on your way to point Blanche.
If you are coming in by cruise ship, we are a mere 100 meters on your left from the cruise ship terminal, heading towards town.
Stop by for Bicycle, Kayak and Stand Up Paddle Board Rentals. You can find our rates under Rentals above.

Our new location also has a fully equipped Repair Center for your bicycles, wheel barrows, even your Granny’s walker! John, our technician can fix anything! Head over to our Simpsonbay location if you are looking for a new or used bicycle, a surfski or clothing as our newest Philipsburg shop is simply too small to have a large stock (or any stock rather) of these.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN FEBRUARY & MARCH

FEBRUARY 5TH - IT’S A NEW COURSE AND SPONSOR FOR THE ANNUAL TRIPLE MINI TRIATHLON. WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE THE SUNSET BEACH BAR & GRILL HOST THIS EVENT AS SPONSOR AND VENUE! The new course will include the Swim at Maho Bay, the Bike Ride along the Airport Road (so, yes, roadies should be happy!) and a Run in Beaconhill.
The Transition will be in the Parking Area for Sunset Beach Bar.

FEBRUARY 11TH - 4:00PM AVENIR SPORTIF 15KM RUN

FEBRUARY 19TH - KAYAK ORIENTEERING CHALLENGE, wonderful event for every one, from beginner paddlers to experienced surf skiers. Find various locations in the Simpsonbay Lagoon.

FEBRUARY 26TH - Bellevue 10Km Off Road Time Trial Run

MARCH 4TH - Pic Paradis Running Race and Mountain Bike Time Trial

And be sure to start training for the upcoming GREENHOUSE HALF MARATHON & 10KM RUN on MARCH 11TH !

CHECK OUT OUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK’S TRAINING TIMES AND VENUES!

JUST IN:

IT’S OFFICIAL! The new Bontrager Race Lite Road Shoe is the most comfortable shoe we have ever tried!

$179 with a carbon sole

SUPPLEMENTS FOR SPEED AND RECOVERY!

* New * FRS Liquids and Chews

* New * Hammer and Honey Stinger Energy& Protein Bars

Endurox R4 Recovery Powders and Accelerade Gels and Powders - BACK IN STOCK!

Check out their latest video here http://www.ogband.com/ And pick up their latest CD’s and T-Shirts at Tri-Sport.

·       Mavic’s line of entry level shoes is available once again at Tri-Sport. Strong and light, you can’t beat the value!

                      
Cruize MTB Shoe $79.95         Peloton Road $99.95           Avenir Road Shoe in Grey or White $129.95

·       Garmin GPS Watches and Heart Rate Monitors RULE!!
     

Forerunner 110 from $199  310XT from  $349  Edge 500 from $249 Edge 705 from $499

UPCOMING EVENTS ON SXM Next month
·       January 16th – 35/75/100Km Fun Road Ride, starts at 6am at Home ‘n Tool
contact Sandra & Ronan for more info orangepresse70@hotmail.com
·       January 21st – Full Moon 5K & 10K Run in Terres Basses
·       January 23rd  –  Course de Litoral 16Km Off Road Run
·       January 30th  - Border to Border Surfski Race

2008 Fun Sprint Kayak Relay

 …coming soon…..

2008 XTERRA Triathlon - Kayak/Bike/Run

2008 ENNIA Kids Bicycle Race March 30th

2008 Kids Triathlon at Le Galion

Kayak Paddling Tips for Beginners:

To move the your kayak forward, you need to anchor the blade so that the boat moves and not the paddle. A great forward stroke adds speed to your boat with very little turning forces. How do you do that?

Newton could have been a paddler when he described in his third law that “for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction”. He’s saying that the boat reacts to forces applied by the blade. Therefore, we need to anchor the blade in a precise way in order to get the boat to react as desired.

A strong forward stroke is short, entering near the toe and ending before the hip. It is done close to the side of the boat to decrease spin forces. The strongest stroke is powered by the torso, not the arms. The shaft is diagonal as it enters the water and just past vertical as it exits. This is controlled by the upper hand. To punch the top hand forward moves the blade through the power phase too quickly and scoops water. Remember, we don’t want to move the paddle, we want to move the boat. So, don’t punch your top hand during the stroke.

Do push from the top shoulder, and leave the top hand where it was just prior to the plant. Now, let’s look at the 4 phases of the forward stroke:

1. The Windup or Glide Phase. In the glide phase the body is storing up energy, just as a batter does before he swings at the pitch. Sit upright with a slight forward cant. Without leaning forward, rotate and reach the blade as far forward as you can. Do so while holding the shaft approximately head high. Windup the torso so that the lead hand, shoulder and side of the leading rib cage twist as you reach for full extension. The top hand stays near your helmet. From the side view your shaft is near horizontal.

2. The Catch. Plant the blade fully by spearing it into the water near your toes. Viewed from head-on at the start of the catch, the shaft is near vertical, but from the side it is diagonal. This sets you up to have the most effective blade angle once the catch is complete. (Notice that the boat is moving forward as you plant the stroke, changing the angle of the shaft. A diagonal plant very quickly becomes vertical without changing the position of the arms.) A rushed catch results from pulling with the lower arm before the blade is fully anchored and is evidenced by splashing. You don’t want that blade to move so keep the lower arm straight.

3. The Power Phase. Power comes as the abs, lats, obliques and rhomboids (attached by the arm to the blade) contract, swinging the opposite shoulder forward, while simultaneously driving forward the foot on the same side as the blade. The lower arm stays straight until the stroke is done and the top hand stays passive near the helmet. (Punching the top hand changes the nearly vertical blade into a scooping one. The reaction to scooping drives the bow down, not forward.)

4. The Release. As our neurons may not keep up with the speed of the boat, we may need to think about removing the blade from the water about the time the knee area has traveled to the blade. This will ensure that the blade is out by the time it is even with the hip. Little forward propulsion occurs once the hip passes in front of the blade due to the scooping angle. It’s time to get the blade out and wind up for the next stroke.

Not only is the “when to release” important, but also the “how”. The least amount of effort is expended when the elbow bends to release the blade from the water by lifting out to the side (chicken winging) rather than pulling back and up (scooping. This release is so effortless that many paddlers trying it for the first time feel that they aren’t working hard enough. The confusion arises about exactly when during the stroke one should feel effort, and with which body parts. The effort desirably comes during the power phase from the torso muscles and not from the arms during the release.

As the release occurs, a common error is to simultaneously drop the new lead hand, giving no time to maximize rotation and extension for the next stroke, no time to store up the force. Remember that rotation occurs with both blades out of the water during the glide phase.

A drill to help develop a good forward stroke is to place your top hand on top of your helmet so that it serves as a pivot point. Without leaning forward, twist your torso and spear your blade fully in the water in front of your big toe with a straight lower arm. Without bending that arm and while keeping the top hand on top of your helmet, use your torso to unwind and drive the boat forward. As your blade nears your thigh, bend the lower arm and exit the blade out to the side, as described above