Five years ago this summer I met a guy named Craig Taylor in Lausanne while racing 2006 FISU games. Five years later and we were rolling into Lausanne again with CT on the #25 to Bois du Vaux.
Lausanne doubled as a WCS and the Sprint Championships. Had been a while since the legs had done a sprint and I was excited for the final stage on a Euro summer of racing.
Positioned right in the middle of the pontoon for the start I found Prochnow's (GER) feet off the start and experienced quite a smooth swim. Gaining experience in this bigger races, I have started to figure out the dynamics a bit in the swim, allowing for less contact and a more efficient ride.
Exiting the 800m swim I was right where I wanted to be; 15s down on the brownlee group and in the chase with Prochnow,Don, Silva etc.
T1 was blistering, everything went seamless yet i still found myself as the last wheel in the group heading out onto the 20k bike. I clung to the back as we screamed into the U-turn and then was gapped on the acceleration out. Here, i made a tactical error that i'll never do again. Often when we race there is the mentality 'all or nothing'. In this case I reasoned that if I did not connect back with my group, the race was going to be over. I redlined for about 800m and re-connected about 100m from the base of the first climb. Just as I reconnected another group from behind led by Ruedi Wild came up and the pace lifted up the climb. That moment was the my race, I was ridden thru and spit out. No response, no making it to the front of the race.
50s down off the bike I looked for my run legs out of T2 but found them spinning. It became a battle to see that finish line. Accross in 51st I was disappointed. Great race by Yorkie to nab 21st, well executed.
The following day were the team relays. Three weeks prior Craig and I had discussed the relay event and I made the decision to give my spot to speedy Marc-Antoine Christian. He along with Andrew Yorke, Manon and Chantell raced the 4xSuper Sprint relay with great fire. Really impressive racing hanging with Russia #1.
A long trip back yesterday and I am now settled back into Victoria. Something I sure have missed over the last 7 weeks. Long time away from such a beautiful city and country. A big thank you to Triathlon Canada and all of its staff for such a great stint in Europe.
Plans for the fall are still being considered. For now a bit of R&R.
1 comment:
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