Meghan Fillnow: Team QR, the new V-PR, and Kona 2022

QR Athlete Meghan Fillnow races as an amateur triathlete and has a busy (and successful) 2022 race season under her belt thus far. With a 3rd place finish in her age group at the St George Ironman World Championship, 1st overall amateur for females in Chattanooga 70.2 Ironman Championship, 1st overall amateur in the amateur Ironman in Iowa's American Championship, and a 1st place win in Maine 70.3. We sit down with Meghan to hear her thoughts on Team QR, her new V-PR, and Kona 2022.

How long have you been with QR?

I've been with Quintana Roo for five years and it's been awesome. They have super fast bikes, wetsuits, and skinsuits (which I was able to try out this past weekend). I just love the support, communication, and how they really care about the athletes. It's been a joy to be with them for so long!

You were one of the first people to get on QR's newest bike, the V-PR. How has that contributed to your 2022 season thus far?

The V-PR has been amazing. It's light, I feel really solid going downhill, and it just feels really swift out there. I think my strength used to be the run, but with the V-PR in my toolbelt, I'm seeing the bike becoming my strength, so that's been really neat to see this season. 

Has it been nice to have access to QR's mechanics and engineers to talk about fit and performance before/during/after the race?

One of my weaknesses as a triathlete is that I'm not great at the mechanical stuff, so it's wonderful having QR support me in that way. Before races, I can take the bike to them and they fine-tune everything. It's especially helpful post-travel to make sure I set up the bike correctly after it's been in a bike box. Anyone that owns a QR can get their bike tuned up before and during the race, so that's a really neat aspect of being a part of the QR family. It's also been really cool to get to know their engineers. Brad (engineer) is brilliant and has been so helpful in learning the details of the bike design. My bike has a smaller frame size and he fine-tuned the aero water bottle to fit it perfectly. If there's something you're questioning, he's all ears.

Plus you have a completely unique paint job.

Yes exactly! And after I (unfortunately) got in a bike accident they were able to sort things out and freshen up the paint for me.

How does it feel to be able to compete in Kona after having that opportunity erased in 2020?

I'm excited to go back to Kona. It'll be my 5th time competing there, and the first time I get to compete with my twin sister (Kelly) who's racing in the pro division. It'll be a really special year for us, especially since I qualified for Kona in 2019. I guess you could say it's been a long time coming and I can't wait to have that atmosphere again. Kona is notoriously hard and there are always so many obstacles to navigate, but I'm ready to embark on that journey and give it my best shot.

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