Giant Bicycles signs Ironman WA second placed Clayton Fettell

Australia’s Clayton Fettell has signed with the world’s most innovative brands, bicycle manufacturer Giant Bicycles.

Clayton caught the eye of Giant after taking his first Ironman 70.3 title at Port Macquarie in November 2011 and then backing up to just miss out on a win at Ironman WA in the dying stages of the run.

Clayton is a gutsy rider and we love his attitude to racing. He’s out there to win, and the tougher the course and the competition, the better. He’s earning a lot of respect and admiration from other athletes and when you have guys like Brad Kahlefeldt and Mitch Anderson telling you to sign him, you know have to. We’re really excited to have him”, said Giant Bicycles Australian National Sales Manager Darren Rutherford.

For Clayton, the opportunity to join the industry heavy weight was a welcome surprise.

“I have heard from some of the guys how much they love riding Giant and how well they have been looked after by the brand over the years, so when the opportunity came to join them, I was really stoked,” said Clayton.

The 25-year olds’ ability to lead out of the water has never been in doubt, but under the guidance of coach Grant Giles of Aeromax Team, the swim-bike specialist is now showing he has the talent to take the top spot on the podium.

“We believe Clayton has the talent and the passion to achieve his dream of winning Kona during his
career. And we’ll do whatever we can to help him get there” said Darren.

“He’ll be riding our Trinity Advanced SL which is our fastest and lightest time trial bike we’ve ever produced. We’ve spent the last 20 years working with the best athletes and bike builders in the world to make sure that the bike gives every possible advantage during the race. We’re confident the Trinity Advanced SL will help ensure he hits the run in the best possible condition.

In only his second attempt at the full distance, Clayton backed up his win at IM 70.3 Port Macquarie with a second place finish at Ironman Western Australia.

Clayton lead out from the swim with an impressive two-minute lead and posted the fastest bike split of the day of 4:25:25 on a tough course. Fellow Giant rider and Ironman heavy weight Timo Bracht caught him at the 32km mark on the run to take the win.

He will next line up on February 12th at the Urban 2.80.20 in Geelong, before racing the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in early March and Ironman Melbourne three weeks later.