From Nightmare to Success: Racing IRONMAN Kona on a Borrowed Bike

Imagine this nightmare scenario: You finally qualify for the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, but when you show up for the biggest race of your life, you don't have your bike.

Liu Debin experienced this exact scenario last week. He flew to the Big Island from China to compete in his first-ever Kona, but his airline lost his prized tri-bike. With no bike to ride on race day, he had to scramble to find a replacement. Fortunately, he reached out to Quintana Roo’s Chinese distributor, who connected him with our staff at the event.

When Liu came to us for help, we knew exactly what we had to do. Our crew rallied to get him set up on a new bike, and the best fit came in the form of a blue Quintana Roo V-PRi on display in our booth.

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A Last-Minute Bike Change

Liu with our pro mechanic, Michael. Michael spent his morning helping Liu get dialed!

Liu’s V-PRi was built with Shimano Ultegra Di2, a Vision Metron TFA basebar, and TFE Pro extensions. It also had all of the included upgrades that come with every V-PRi: a CeramicSpeed bottom bracket, CeramicSpeed OSPW derailleur pulley cage, and a 4iiii power meter, plus CeramicSpeed bearings in the hubs of the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DB 80 wheels.

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Liu’s helmet and shoes were lost along with his bike, so we loaned him some of our test ride gear, plus a set of Ultegra pedals. When I saw him during the race, I realized that he didn’t have his sunglasses either! (He likely didn’t want to ask for too much, but Liu, if you’re reading this, I would have loaned you mine!)

On Friday, mere hours before Liu had to go to bike check-in, he was in our booth getting a basic fit. Liu only spoke a bit of English and I only know a bit of Chinese, but combining that with a few hand gestures allowed us to quickly get his riding position into the right ballpark.

Liu wanted an extremely forward riding position, and fortunately, the V-PRi’s stock seatpost and the Vision Metron cockpit are super easy to adjust and provide ample adjustment range. It turns out that bike fitting is kind of a universal language — you use your hand to show saddle tilt or flare your elbows a bit to show how you like your extensions.

Liu went out for a quick test ride to fine-tune everything and we did a few rounds of tweaks to make the bike as comfortable as possible. In this situation, we weren’t going to get his position perfect, but we wanted to do everything possible to ensure Liu had the best ride possible.

Racing (and Finishing) on a Borrowed Bike

Going into the biggest race of your life on a completely foreign bike and without your regular helmet and shoes would stress out even the most seasoned pros, but Liu impressed me with how calm he stayed throughout the whole ordeal. We were probably more nervous than him!

On his borrowed Quintana Roo V-PRi, Liu completed the bike leg with a time of 5:11:03. I waited just outside of T2 to see him roll by. When he came back out on the run, I screamed his name. He looked back, saw me, and gave me a huge smile and thumbs up. He looked like he was having a good day. I followed his progress into the evening and managed to catch him crossing the finish line with a time of 9:56:12!

I don’t know what his original goals were, but considering what he went through just to finish, I’m not sure it mattered. At the finish, Liu raised his fist in the air. He was stoked, and I was too. I had only just met him, but I felt invested in his success. From the stands, I got to experience his victory and joy with him.

The Quintana Roo Crew is Here for Athletes

Seeing people overcome doubt, fear, pain, and other obstacles to succeed is why I love endurance sports so much. THIS is what Quintana Roo is all about. Our President Chris Pascarella perhaps said it best in his pre-race interview with Bob Babbitt: “Quintana Roo’s core values are about the athlete. Everything we do is athlete first.”

We are triathletes. We understand how much work every athlete puts in — how much they sacrifice — just to reach the starting line. It’s why we brought a team of professional mechanics to the IRONMAN Village expo and became an official partner of Vinfast IRONMAN World Championship Kona 2024! We were the only bike brand in the expo wrenching on bikes because we wanted to support every Quintana Roo rider at the event.

Our crew on the ground at the IRONMAN Village expo deserves a massive shoutout. During the week, Michael, Brian, Sam, Chris, and Jaime went full gas every day to get riders ready for race day. They’re just as passionate about the sport as you are, and saving someone’s Kona was the best reward for a hard day’s work.

I lost count of how many flat tires, misaligned derailleurs, and rubbing brakes they fixed. Quintana Roo athletes came to us with broken components, stripped bolts, and every other mechanical imaginable.

If you ride a Quintana Roo, you’re part of our family, and we’ll do everything we can to keep you in the race. If you don’t ride a Quintana Roo, we hope you will someday. 

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