KONA, Hawaii (BRAIN))—Hawaii’s Ironman brings out the statisticians in the industry, particularly among the major bicycle companies.
As a result, any number of people, including magazine editors, keep tabs on the brands of bikes Ironman competitors ride to the finish line. And this year was no different.
Based on Triathlete magazine’s count, more triathletes rode Cervelo tri bikes in this year’s Ironman than any other brand—344 riders pedaled the Canadian company’s bikes. For a supplier that’s been in the market since only 1995, Cervelo has come to dominate the Ironman. Its rate of growth over last year’s count of 257 bikes was up 34 percent.
Kuota and Trek tied for second with each recording 128 riders. Kuota, however, saw a 66 percent increase in Kuota riders over last year, while Trek posted a more modest 4.1 percent.
Placing third in the numbers count was Scott with 89 riders on its Plasma tri-bike. This is only the second year that the Plasma has been on the market. Scott posted a 35 percent increase in its ranking over 2006.
Cannondale, in fifth place, saw its overall number decline 10 percent to 75 riders, while sixth place Orbea—with 71 riders—posted a 109 percent jump in use. Rounding out the top 10 were:
• Felt, 66 riders, up 65 percent from 2006.
• Kestrel, 66 riders, down 21 percent from 2006.
• Litespeed, 61 riders, down 12 percent from 2006.
• Specialized, 61 riders, up 5.2 percent from 2006.
• Quintana Roo, 60 riders, down 48 percent from 2006.
• Giant, 59 riders, up 5.4 percent from 2006.
—Marc Sani
