By Aaron Hersh

If you walk by the Specialized tent at a big triathlon, there is a good chance you will see a guy with a buzzed head, tattoos and board shorts working on bikes. He looks like he would fit in better at a down-hill mountain bike race than a triathlon, and in fact he does spend most of his time at mountain bike races, but don’t be intimidated by his look. This scruffy looking character is undoubtedly one of the nicest people you will ever meet at a tri, and he’s helping many of the sport’s best athletes race to their potential.

His name is Benno and he is a mechanic that supports Specialized athletes at races. Pro mountain and road cyclist are accustomed to having their sponsors bring mechanics, tools, food and shelter to their biggest races. “At a mountain bike or cyclocross race, you see the guy finishing 40^th with a tent to sit in and support,” says Specialized athlete Jimmy Archer. But that level of assistance is nearly unheard of in triathlon.

Specialized is helping change that by bringing a semitrailer packed with every race necessity—from a pump to spare cables to recovery shakes—and some of their best mechanics, including Benno and others, to support every one of their triathletes at their most important races. Providing this support allows the athletes to focus on the race, rather than their equipment.

“Having the support makes [traveling to a race] 10 times better,” says Desiree Ficker. “My biggest concern at these races is that you fly, open your bike box and hope nothing has happened. If anything [is wrong], you’re by yourself and have to deal with it.” But having the Specialized van on site alleviates those concerns because it allows them to fix every possible problem without scrambling around town looking for a bike shop. “It makes you feel so much safer,” says Ficker.

The support truck is set up in the Avia Wildflower expo area this week, and in the time we walked through the truck, Tenille Hoogland, Desiree Ficker and Jimmy Archer—three Specialized-sponsored athletes—had their derailleurs adjusted, helmets checked, changed their clothes and even grabbed a maté. All the necessities are in one place. Specialized says that assuming these responsibilities from the athletes helps them focus on winning the race, rather than their tire pressure. And the athletes agree.

In addition to the mechanical support, the semitrailer serves as a sheltered hangout to get “away from the mayhem,” says Ficker.

The Specialized support team is on site to help their athletes, but it’s common to see them turning a wrench on another brand of bike owned by an age grouper or a pro. This morning, they tightened the headset on a Quintana Roo that an age-grouper will be racing on this weekend.

This incredible level of support affords their athletes the freedom to focus on the race and raises the level of professionalism amongst elite triathletes.

I stopped by the Santa Monica location yesterday to see what they had to offer. I arrived just after professional triathlete Terenzo Bozzone hopped in for some bike maintenance.  Pros such as ChrisMcCormack, the Wassner twins and Jenny Fletcher have all visited for supplies and equipment. Check out the photo gallery.

Triathlon LAB has two locations:

600 N. Catalina Ave.

Redondo Beach, Calif. 90277

310-374-9100

3328 Pico Blvd.

Santa Monica, Calif. 94005

310-581-6100

triathlonlab.com

Click here to view the photo gallery of the professional race.

Click here for a race preview.

All photos by Aaron Hersh.

We’ve nabbed eighteen women from the hundreds of submissions for this month’s model search. We’re looking for Triathlete.com’s Miss October, a woman who represents the multi-sport lifestyle and can make a bikini melt.

Check out the winner’s from July, August and September. Each winner will receive an awesome prize from our friends at TYR. Monthly winners will then face off for the Title of Miss Triathlete.com 2010. The winner will be featured in Triathlete’s annual swimsuit photo shoot and will receive $500 in merchandise from TYR. Check out behind the scenes action from last year’s photo shoot to see what you’ll be getting yourself into.

The best part of the contest? Monthly winners are chosen by you, the triathlon public. Vote for your favorite in the poll below the gallery. Recognize a few of the women below? The remaining top five from September moved on automatically to October. Miss October will be announced during the first week of November.

To enter for future consideration, submit a color photo of yourself in your favorite swimsuit, along with your name, age, home address and email to trimodelsearch@gmail.com.

Share your race experience in the Triathlete.com forums.

Both Chris McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae won the 2010 Ironman World Championship titles on the run, but it was their stellar bike legs that set them up for success. See images of the bike race on part of the Queen K.

Complete coverage of the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship.

Complete coverage of the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship.

Complete coverage of the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship.

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Sarah Haskins. Photo: Nils Nilsen

Our girl, Sarah Haskins, rocks the short-course circuit and she’s featured on the cover of Triathlete magazine’s May issue (you’ve already got it if you’re a subscriber). Check out this gallery of outtakes and behind-the-scenes images—they’re only available here on Competitor.com, the online home of both Triathlete and Inside Triathlon magazines. It was a hot, hot day in Arizona. Oh, Sarah’s also on the next TriCenter video show; it’ll be online April 12!

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Click here for complete Clearwater coverage.