Finish time: 2:02:48
1500m swim - 22:50
40km bike - 1:00
10km run - 36:01
So it's about time i should really give a race report of my latest events! Back in July i flew over to Switzerland to compete in my first European Championships. I arrived a few days before the race for enough time to get used to the heat, get some training in in the mountains and enjoy the atmosphere.
Race day came around soon enough and i was feeling ready to go out there and get the work done. I had scoped out the course a couple of times and knew the bike course would suit me with two pretty steep hills and the rest very flat and fast.
On raceday i was up at 5am to head to transition and set up, it was a strange feeling of nerves, excitement and sheer exhaustion. As the sun came up i got everything ready and did my usual 10 minute jog warm up before heading to the race start. At this point the nerves were really hitting hard, fortunately i had my parents there to keep me calm and bring a smile to things.
And then we were off. A slight run in from the beach into the lake and the race had begun. I don't have much to say about the swim, it was fine there was no fighting as the lake was so wide and i just got my head down and swam as hard as i could. The swim was an A-B which felt quite long and also against current so it did feel a little longer than usual but sighting with the sun rising on Mont Blanc and with the water a perfect temperature it was a fine swim.
Once i was out the water it was into the massive transition to find my bike and get to work. After some chats with my coach and training partner Fin the plan on the bike was to just go all out, give it everything on the flat and the climb and just constantly keep the power on. The Bike was two 20km loops with a short steep climb and the rest a flat fast effort around lake Geneva. As soon as i was into the bike i was feeling good, the speed was high and i was hitting good numbers, i just focused on pushing hard and catching more guys. As the course was laps i was never sure of where i was position wise but i knew i was on for a good ride and the incredible crowd was pushing me hard. There was a fair amount of drafting going on the course especially by a small group of British guys. I'm not going to dwell on it but if you can't ride a hard 40km by yourself then why turn up to the big races? I made sure the whole course i was off to the side and wasn't near anyone.
Off the bike in an hour i knew i was on for a good race, the legs were there the heat was rising and i felt ready to run. The run course wasn't great if im honest. It was a load of small laps that were bendy with small hills and tight corners. A nice course but not great for holding speed at all! However i pushed on and tried to use my run as much as possible catching guys and holding anyone off. I must say the crowd was amazing, the shouts and screams of my name as i ran through was seriously inspiring and made me push even harder.
After a hard push to the final 1km with guys still in my sights i crossed the line 11th! A massive result for me and just as high as i had hoped for. It was a shame to be so close to the top 10 but it was a very competitive, close race and to be up there felt incredible. Another year fitter and stronger and i think i would be higher up again.
I left Geneva in a very happy place. I had a result i was very happy with and had worked hard for and i couldn't have done anything better in the race. Everything went well and that doesn't happen much so to have that was a true reflection of my performance.
Thank you to the Simmond Family for the kind hospitality in Geneva and to my parents for the incredible support!
On raceday i was up at 5am to head to transition and set up, it was a strange feeling of nerves, excitement and sheer exhaustion. As the sun came up i got everything ready and did my usual 10 minute jog warm up before heading to the race start. At this point the nerves were really hitting hard, fortunately i had my parents there to keep me calm and bring a smile to things.
And then we were off. A slight run in from the beach into the lake and the race had begun. I don't have much to say about the swim, it was fine there was no fighting as the lake was so wide and i just got my head down and swam as hard as i could. The swim was an A-B which felt quite long and also against current so it did feel a little longer than usual but sighting with the sun rising on Mont Blanc and with the water a perfect temperature it was a fine swim.
Once i was out the water it was into the massive transition to find my bike and get to work. After some chats with my coach and training partner Fin the plan on the bike was to just go all out, give it everything on the flat and the climb and just constantly keep the power on. The Bike was two 20km loops with a short steep climb and the rest a flat fast effort around lake Geneva. As soon as i was into the bike i was feeling good, the speed was high and i was hitting good numbers, i just focused on pushing hard and catching more guys. As the course was laps i was never sure of where i was position wise but i knew i was on for a good ride and the incredible crowd was pushing me hard. There was a fair amount of drafting going on the course especially by a small group of British guys. I'm not going to dwell on it but if you can't ride a hard 40km by yourself then why turn up to the big races? I made sure the whole course i was off to the side and wasn't near anyone.
Off the bike in an hour i knew i was on for a good race, the legs were there the heat was rising and i felt ready to run. The run course wasn't great if im honest. It was a load of small laps that were bendy with small hills and tight corners. A nice course but not great for holding speed at all! However i pushed on and tried to use my run as much as possible catching guys and holding anyone off. I must say the crowd was amazing, the shouts and screams of my name as i ran through was seriously inspiring and made me push even harder.
After a hard push to the final 1km with guys still in my sights i crossed the line 11th! A massive result for me and just as high as i had hoped for. It was a shame to be so close to the top 10 but it was a very competitive, close race and to be up there felt incredible. Another year fitter and stronger and i think i would be higher up again.
I left Geneva in a very happy place. I had a result i was very happy with and had worked hard for and i couldn't have done anything better in the race. Everything went well and that doesn't happen much so to have that was a true reflection of my performance.
Thank you to the Simmond Family for the kind hospitality in Geneva and to my parents for the incredible support!
No comments:
Post a Comment