This weekend Tim Don continued his march towards continued success on the Ironman 70.3 circuit with a win at Ironman 70.3 Brasil, besting Timothy O’Donnell with a time of 3:46:55. The win was sealed by Don executing one of the biggest weapons in the sport, his fearsome run speed and strength.

We caught up with Tim for an interview, where he spoke about his most recent win in Brazil, his plans to race Ironman in 2014 and who he thinks would win in a battle between him and Ritchie Nicholls. Check it out here.

Hi Tim, congratulations on your recent win. Could you talk us through the race and how you attacked it?

Thanks Richard . I had a good swim and was able to sit in the lead group of about 7 athletes in the no wetsuit swim. I had a good T1 and got a good bike position in second for the first 30km but at about 45km, the small group of 3 I was working with got caught by about 7 other athletes. Then Igor (Amorelli) put the hammer down and there where 4 of us left.

He pulled away to about a 60 second lead but we could always see him on the bike as it was 3 laps with lots of out and backs.

Onto the run I settled into my own pace as it was quite hot and humid I wanted to nail my nutrition and hydration. At about 5km I had a 20 second lead on Tim (O’Donnell) and had caught Igor. I felt good so just kept the same pace and could cruise the last 8km for the win - a very happy Tim!

And what was the place and race setting like?

Brasilia is amazing I think the World Student Triathlon Championships are there this weekend and they will love it. Great roads, nice clean lake, well organised and lots of crowds as well.

I was lucky enough to do a home stay and found some super cool restaurants and cafes as well as some good spots to train. I then flew to Sao Paulo for 2 days to do some work with Specalized which was fun and again another great city. It’s crazy busy, like London on speed, but good coffee and killer steaks!

You’re in cracking form at the moment, does 70.3 racing agree with you? Do you love it or is there a part of you missing the ITU circuit?

For sure I miss ITU, I have been doing it since the 90′s! Ironman 70.3 is so different; there are less races and it is a totally different stress on the body.,My training has changed loads and I could not have had such a smooth transfer with out my coach Julie Dibens she has been great… awesome!

I have even moved to Boulder to really focus on Hawaii as my long term goal. All the big races are in the USA, it is a shame that the UK has only one Ironman 70.3 and only two Ironman races. With all the people from the UK who race in Europe, we could have them racing in the UK and it would be so sweet!

I definitely made the right move in my career to step up to 70.3 and Ironman. I have had a very good run in ITU from the late 90′s till 2012 and am very satisfied with my performances and I can hold my head up high when I look back at what I achieved.

You made the big move out to the US, how is that going for you?

It was hard moving my family to a new country especially with Matilda just starting pre- school , but Boulder is great and we have settled here well once we found a house . We have made some great friends who support both myself and Kelly.

The training is amazing and the altitude really agrees with me . There are some great people here who have been there, done that with regards to 70.3 and Ironman who I train with and talk too……but England will always be our home.

I presume your big goal this year will be the 70.3 Worlds, but what other races are on the horizon for you this year?

I’ve got a whole load of races I’m aiming for:

• Ironman 70.3 Panama 16th February 1500 points DNS ill the night before the race !
• Ironman 70.3 Monterrey 16th March 750 points 1st
• Ironman 70.3 Brasilia 6th April 750 points 1st
• Ironman 70.3 USA Champs 3rd May 1500 points
• REV3 Knoxville 1.2mile swim 40mile bike 10mile run 18th May
• Ironman 70.3 Hawaii 31st May 500 points ( only if I have good races before and can afford the trip for Kona as prep for 2015 World Champs )
• Ironman 70.3 UK 15th June 500 points
• Ironman 70.3 Norway 6th July 750 points
• Ironman 70.3 Timberman 17th August 750 points (maybe )
• Ironman 70.3 World Champs Canada7th September 3000 points

Does Ironman form any part of your thoughts at the moment?

Oh yes, I will do my first Ironman this year but not 100% sure which one, I will keep you posted!

What’s your assessment of the ability level of the competition out there. You’re on a great run of form, where do you see the challenges coming from at races that might have a bigger depth of field or once you are at the worlds? For me, I’m looking forward to seeing you and Ritchie Nichols go at it on the run!

That is a big problem with 70.3, there are so many races on the same day the fields are not very deep most of the time.

I think there are only a few races that have killer fields which is a shame especially coming form ITU where there is clear structure - the WCS, WC, European cups, etc . The bigger races always have at least 8 of the top 10 in the world while in 70.3 that never happens.

I love racing the best in the World thats what it is about pushing yourself and seeing where you stand. The standard is fast and getting faster for sure, I love it.

I think I could beat Mr Ritchie hands down!

Do you plan on racing or coming back to the UK anytime soon? You must be missing the rain by now.

I am missing the rain but we have plenty of snow here in Boulder. I did my long run today - 26km up at 2700m in about 4cm of snow in a snow storm!

I am back for the UK for Ironman 70.3 UK and fingers crossed for better weather this year!