Here comes Luke!

Matthew Dale catches up with Ford Ironman 70.3 favorite Luke Bell

It's the obvious angle for a Luke Bell piece. Bell, the carefree, insanely talented Aussie who burst upon the tri world at Ironman Hawaii in 2003, finishing fifth at the ripe old age of 24. Luke Bell, who collects 70.3 victories like seashells. (Eleven overall, nine the past three years.)

Then there's the asterisk. Luke Bell, all promise and potential, still waiting for that first Ironman-distance victory.

Four weeks ago in New Zealand, on Cameron Brown's home turf, Bell ran virtually side by side with Brown for nearly 23 miles before the Kiwi pulled away, winning by 1 minute 8 seconds. It was second for Bell.

Again.

For those keeping score, that's four seconds at the Ironman distance for the likeable Aussie. Zero victories.

Taking advantage of his early-season fitness, Bell is in Southern California this week for Saturday's Ford Ironman 70.3 California. With Chris McCormack having pulled out, his eye clearly on Kona, waiting to whip himself into racing shape, Bell is the clear favorite at Oceanside.

Bell turns 28 in five weeks and there are those, even among his biggest admirers, who say it's time for him to cut to the chase and cross the finish line first at an Ironman-distance event.

“Paula (Newby-Fraser) is sick of hearing that he's the young up-and-comer,” said Paul Huddle, Bell's coach, Newby-Fraser's husband and Bell’s host this week. “She feels it's time for him to be the guy to beat.”

To many in the tri world, it's only a matter of time before Bell wins at 140.6 miles. Maybe dropping a bit of hyperbole, but nonetheless expressing his Bell belief, Triathlete magazine publisher John Duke said, “I think if he wins the big one (Hawaii), it's over for everyone else.”

Then Duke added, “If Luke wants to be the man, he needs that breakthrough.”

Said Huddle, “Media-wise, people are still poking at him. 'What's the problem? Why haven't you won? Why are you the perennial bridesmaid?' “

Bell is the first to admit he knows his resume's missing something.

“A win would probably help me a lot more than anybody else,” he said.

Bell, though, isn't losing sleep about missing an Ironman title. He read the press clippings after his 2003 Hawaii breakthrough, tried to live up to them, couldn't and stressed out, even thinking of quitting for a spell.

“I lost enjoyment for the sport,” he said. “I forgot why I was doing triathlon and that was the fun, because it was something novel. It took a good year to sort that out and realize why I do the sport. It's the lifestyle, the physical activity. It's a triathlon. It's not life or death out there.”

Anticipating the day he silences the skeptics, Bell added, “It's something I'm looking forward to. Still, at the end of the day, it's not going to change my life too much.

“Whatever happens, if I'm first or last, I'm still going to wake up the next day and be happy.”

Look closer at Bell's portfolio and it's hardly a sin that he's waiting for that first Ironman win. In 2004 at Lake Placid he was second to Simon Lessing when the longtime Olympic-distance star made his Ironman debut.

In 2005 at Australia, he was second to McCormack, who now owns eight Ironman-distance titles. Last year at Brazil, Argentina's Oscar Galindez beat Bell to the finish line by less than 29 seconds. And now there's his runner up to Brown, now a six-time winner in New Zealand.

While some triathletes might pick a softer field in an effort to knock off that first Ironman win, Bell not only has gone head-to-head with some of the best, but often done so on their home turf.

“You go through life wanting a challenge, doing the hardest things possible. There's no sense doing some easy race and going to Kona with a false sense of security.”

Rather than frustrate him, Bell feels his battle with Brown boosted his confidence.

“Probably more than a lot of people realize,” he said. “A lot of people think, ‘Ah, second again.’ But it was such a close race. But racing Cam, on his turf, running side by side … Everybody knows how good of a runner he is. Down the road, I think that race is going to help me more than any other.”

Bell is respected for being one of the sport's most balanced athletes. His cycling might be his strong suit, but there's no major flaw to his game. It's on the run, though, where he must pick up the pace a bit.

Last October at Hawaii, he was running fourth late when three men passed him down the stretch, dropping him to seventh.

“There may be an element of the mental side there,” said Huddle.

“Ironman is such a long, strenuous day on the body,” Bell said. “You do need to have
something mentally that you can switch on.”

More than anything, Huddle thinks Bell simply needs to continue physically
maturing.

“I think the physical side is catching up to his pure talent,” Huddle said. “I think he
will get there. There's no question in my mind he'll get there. He's too talented not to get there. If he's able to continue getting stronger, which he is, and wrap his head around his ability and believe in himself a little more, he's going to win Hawaii before it's all over.”

Bell is one of the sport's most laid-back athletes. He showed up at the airport in Melbourne on Monday for his flight to California. One problem. His flight wasn't until Tuesday.

There are some who read his casual style and wonder if he's not as competitive as other athletes. That he's not aggressive enough. That he doesn't have the killer instinct.

“There's always people who throw that around, whether it's people trying to get under your skin or somebody's opinion,” Bell said. “I don't see any point in being aggressive and agro. I'm as aggressive as can be out there during the race. But outside the race, it's a completely different thing.”

So Bell lets other debate the significance of him lacking an Ironman title. He's confident it's a matter of time. And after stressing out following his early success, he's not going there again.

Said Bell, “There's definitely no pressure anymore.”