KB: Who is Bailey Tuddenham?
BT: I'm 18 years old and live in Ballarat, Victoria. I work full-time as an operations manager at Advanced Cranes. I am a competitive AG triathlete about to turn Pro. This will see a change to my work and I will start to treat Triathlon as my job in the coming months.
The thing that stands out the most to me (Ken Ballhause, Sync Ergonomics) is Bailey's drive and determination. Bailey knows where he wants to get to and he is not afraid of seeking the best advice along the way. For a youngster, it's quite impressive that he is so driven and committed to achieving his goals.
KB: What is your sporting background?
BT: Footy, from age 9–17. I did some Ironkids events when my mum was doing triathlons. Motocross 2019–2022, but I broke too many bones. My whole family loves sport — I have 4 siblings; my younger brother (15) has just gotten into Tri.
KB: When did Triathlon first get your attention?
BT: When I was running down the finish line of Kona with my mum in 2009. That is my first memory where I think I got the bug. One of the things that got me into cycling was the passing of my fourth sibling. She passed away at 4 weeks from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Every year my family now does a fundraiser for the cause. There was a 2XU tri the day after and I loved the spin session so much that I thought I would give the 2XU Tri a crack. I've been into it ever since.
KB: What is it about Triathlon that you enjoy the most?
BT: The community, you meet a lot of really good people in the sport. There is never a finish line in Triathlon. There is always something to improve, be it the technology or simply technique, fitness and form in any one of the disciplines.
KB: Which discipline is your favorite?
BT: The bike. For sure.
Our history with Bailey is short, but involved. His first bike, purchased on a whim, turned out to be the wrong size. Going back to the drawing board, Bailey jumped on a Giant Trinity, 165mm cranks, ISM saddle and our Aerobar Two cockpit. Biomechanically we knew what equipment we needed to make Bailey effective right away, and Bailey made it happen.
KB: What are your recollections of that time?
BT: Getting the bike sorted wasn't actually all that hard in the end, it was just a case of working through the shopping list. It seems like some people spend an eternity trying to figure out their bike setup, but getting this sorted right away was a good step forward. Ken was a massive help in completing this.
CADEX Aus came on board in support of Bailey in 2024. Given our existing fit data and confidence in his setup, we were easily able to transfer over his setup to the new bike. The CADEX is a formidable machine, one of a kind. With the upgrade came a change of wheels to the CADEX Aero System disc-brake wheels and the Sync Aerobar Three.
KB: What have been the highlights of the CADEX bike for you?
BT: The fit of the CADEX really suits me well, I feel at home on the bike in that respect. I think one of the best attributes of the bike is the handling. I have never felt a sketchy moment on this bike, it just feels solid.
KB: For Geelong, what chainring did you run?
BT: I went with the 58t for Geelong. Normalized for the first lap was 302 Watts and my cadence was 93 rpm. And this is pretty much what I expect of myself for this distance.
KB: How did you perform on the weekend in Geelong?
BT: I'm happy with it. I can take some positives out of the day, but I know it wasn't my best performance and know there is a lot more there to extract. I swam in the front pack without wasting energy. My bike power is there, I know that. Even the start of my run, I am happy with that. The first 10km of the run shows that it's all heading in the right direction. On the bike, I had some misfortune with my nutrition, it didn't go to plan and I think this caught up to me on the run.
KB: With the transition to Pro, what are the areas of performance that you still want to develop?
BT: The main area is the run. My swim and bike are good and I need to hold onto those strengths, but I know I need to improve my run. I ran a 1:23 in IM 70.3 NZ, on a hilly course, off a hard solo bike ride, so the improvements are coming, it's a case of more time and more work in this area.
KB: Any special mentions?
BT: Big thank you to my parents, Hot Temple, Aid Station, Giant and CADEX Australia, Wyn Republic, Advanced Cranes, Sync Ergonomics, and RPG Coaching.