Macca's L.A. Story, part 1

2000 Los Angeles – My Olympics

The Los Angeles Triathlon debut in LA on September 9, 2000. It was set to be the biggest Non Drafting Triathlon in the World and the unofficial World Championships for Non Drafting Triathlon. The prize purse at the time was one of the biggest prize purses in the sport at 100 000 dollars.
The debut event was set 2 weeks prior to the Olympic games in Sydney and drew a strong field. Many athletes however decided to not come to this race, as Olympic games in Sydney were their highest priority and they were already set up in Australia on training camps. The race directors had made a planning error by setting the event so close to the Games. An Extra week would have given athletes ample time. This being said over 90 professional athletes raced the event and 4 former World Champions. It was a solid field and the prize purse brought most everyone to the event to grab some cash.

A bittersweet victory for Macca

Report from 2000

Macca and fellow Aussies Greg Bennett and Chris Hill destroyed the race and took home the majority of the prize purse. For Macca it was a bittersweet victory. It was his 10th consecutive races win on US soil but the whisper on the circuit was that it was a hollow victory, as many of the Worlds best athletes had not competed. Macca also had some issues with the race director regarding a course discrepancy and overall he was not content with the outcome of the event.

He had won the race by more than 1 minute and really coasted the run after setting himself up with a huge lead after the bike. The start of the professionals as the last wave of the day, made it difficult to really open up on the course as they passed slower amateur racers. It also got quite congested and confusing on the run course.
The great thing for Macca however was the event sponsor. Jamba Juice was captured by his magnetic personality and his raw competitive racing and signed him to the multi year sports deal. It was the biggest partnership for the Juice Giant and a big plus for Macca who had considered not returning to the event the following year because of these problems.

Macca's L.A. story, part 2

2001 Los Angeles Triathlon – the Redemption

At the start of the year in 2001, I made the commitment to return to the Los Angeles Triathlon through my new sponsor Jamba Juice. This year the event was to be the true Unofficial World Championship for Non Drafting Triathlon. Every triathlete in the World was present at this event, and the prize purse was elevated to $150 000. The race had even secured a live TV cross for the race, which was beamed live in  Los Angeles and the a presentation on CBS to the USA 1 week later. It was the biggest event in the USA without doubt and unarguably the biggest non drafting triathlon in the World.
The 3 weeks leading into this event were to be extremely busy for me. I was based in Europe where I had to race a World Cup event in Switzerland and then flew across the World to win the Goodwill Games race in Australia (The biggest triathlon race outside the Olympic Games) and then fly back to L.A. to compete all in the space of 14 days. Many of the athletes I was racing had been based in Australia for the Goodwill Games and then flew up to L.A. as well.

Had he bitten off more than he could chew?

A report from 2001

Despite Macca having his best ever season in 2001 with 18 race wins from 20 starts, many people and athletes thought he had bitten off more than he could chew and that L.A. would not suit his style of racing. He had won the race in 2000, but this year everyone was here and this year it was a REAL race for Macca. Being on 3 continents in 2 weeks was a lot of travel and to race guys who had specifically targeted this event all year after the racing and travel that Macca had been doing was near impossible.

Prior to the race Macca did a small interview for the TV coverage. He made it pretty clear that this race was an important one for many reasons. Excerpt of interview printed here.
»Everyone in the World targeted 3 races this season, The ITU World Championships in Canada, The Goodwill Games in Australia and The Los Angeles Triathlon here in the USA. For me I crashed the bike at the World Championships after breaking away from the field and was devastated. I won the Goodwill Games last week in convincing fashion and intend to do the same here this week in L.A.. I wanted to win all 3 of the world’s biggest events this year to end the speculation. Two of the three is the best I can do. After last year and what many people said about this event not being a true title, and the whispers about my victory here, well it is all on now. Everyone is here and if they want the title then come and get it off me. I cannot wait to get on this course. I have counted down the days to this race. We all have known the date of the event. We all know the course. We are all here. No excuses! May the best athlete in the World Win.«
Macca would set a course record on this course that would never be matched again. His finish line salute to the doubters in 2001 is captured on video here. He was racing with a lot of anger and focus, and was unarguably the Worlds best short course triathlete in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He was simply unbeatable at any style of racing be it Non Drafting or drafting. This event will be forever known as the race that was owned by Chris McCormack, and his dominating wins on this course shown here are still talked about in the annuals of Triathlon history.