2015 World Championships Chicago - part 2

After the Sprint race i had a day to recover, get the feet up and start focusing on the next race the Olympic distance, for me my preferred distance and a race where i knew the field would be bigger if not stronger. I actually felt surprisingly good after the sprint, i feel i almost needed the hard hit out to get the travel and fatigue out my system!

Olympic race. Time: 2:00:1
9th (1st Brit + European)

If i wasn't nervous for the Sprint i certainly was for the Olympic i'm not sure if it was because i now felt i could be up there because of my result in the sprint or what it was! The swim course was slightly different, we were to go down the lake before doing a turnaround and swimming all the way back up, a strange swim map and it lead to a really tight starting pen.

The start of my swim was a disaster, i was completely caught up at the back, being battered, pulled along and someone even made a grab for my timing chip. I just didn't have time before the horn to get in a good position and i really suffered. The first 500m were just not going to plan, i couldn't swim at a hard pace and i was stuck between so many awful swimmers. Fortunately after a bit of a dig i managed to find clean water and start to pick up my pace and gain control of my race. The swim as it was in the Sprint was long and it felt that way, coming out the water i was quite dizzy from the waves and the battering but knew i had a lot of work to do.

The bike course was different again, still two laps but this course took us underground in tunnels around Chicago with some really technical corners and bends and some seriously fast sections. As there was no wind underground and it was warm air it was seriously fast on the bike. I had my good friend and fellow Brit Dan near me on the bike and we both pushed off this, hammering it hard and gaining a lot of places on the field. Again i was feeling very strong on the bike, my numbers were high but i knew i could keep it controlled and still run well. After the first lap i just decided to open up, hammer down the power and just go for it. I figured if i ran out of energy or couldn't handle it then so be it, but it was world champs and time to go.

Off the bike i thought i was up there again, maybe top 20 but i couldn't tell. I started the run in my usual style of going out hard. At the beginning of the run i was with a super tall American and a Canadian, both who were strong runners but who i soon dropped as they were putting me off my rhythm. I was then running with a really strong runner (Jordan a Brit) and a speedy Mexican and we began to really push the pace and chase the field. Coming into the dead turns i would sprint in and out of them to gain some time and not loose momentum. The second time i did this i was able to drop Jordan and it was just me and the Mexican. I soon came past my friend and who was first Brit Angus and then i just had to hold on for dear life. I had a lap to go and part of me felt good and the other part was exhausted. But it was now all or nothing, the last stretch and i let everything out on the course.

To finish 9th was massive for me, i really felt i had a solid race after the swim and did everything i could to lay it all out there. I was also the first Brit and that was also fantastic. I turned up to Chicago in the form of my life and was so happy to have two solid results after a long hard year. I worked very hard to get in that shape and even with my mid season blip im proud i managed to come back and get that result.

Thank you for your support and especially to my coach Graeme and parents.

2015 World Championships Chicago

Well i think after being home a week the jet lag is finally fading and i can muster up the energy to write my race report from the 2015 World Championships in Chicago!

As most people reading this probably know i decided to race both the Sprint and Olympic race as i knew i had the fitness to recover between and hit both very hard. So here is how i felt they went!

Sprint -
Time : 1:01
7th
So after arriving to Chicago on the Monday i had a few days to get over the travel and spin out the legs (after fixing my bike!) and on the Thursday the Sprint was the first race. The swim was a straight line up Lake Michigan and i knew i had to position myself well to avoid the chaos so I moved wide in the holding pen and found a good line. It was strange before the Sprint i wasn't feeling nervous like i usually would i just felt like it was another race and i was ready to go. I had a decent swim, it was nothing special but i was in a good position and feeling relatively fresh onto the bike.

The bike course was pan flat and two loops. At times the course narrowed and was a little technical but i really enjoyed it as you could constantly lay down the power and the speeds were seriously high. I set out to just ride as hard as possible, to keep the power high and work up the field. I knew i was having a really good race and was flying past people, on the second lap it became quite crowded and you had to be aware to avoid some riders and people sitting on your wheel (Brits included..) but i was off the bike in a fast time and ready to hit the run.

Transitions were really big but i used this to my advantage, as a strong runner i would run really hard through transition and i think this helped gain some advantage time. Coming out onto the run i was with one other runner but he set off at a pace i couldn't really hold after going so hard on the bike. So i set off alone and just wanted to really work hard up the field. Once again the run was an out and back and despite the 30 degree temperatures i was feeling really strong. I wasn't sure of my position at all but just kept fighting for more time and pushing hard, as i came into the finishing 800m an American decided to have a sprint finish with me, i knew he was in my age group so really pushed with everything i had to cross the line before him. It made some great photos!

To cross the line 7th felt incredible, the previous years Worlds i was 17th so to be up 10 spots was a good feeling. I was also second brit my 1 second, so that made me very hungry to be top Brit in the Olympic race!