Iain Robertson is doing the TORQ Triathlon Team proud. His second race for the team culminated in a convincing win at the British Sprint Triathlon Championships in the fiercely competitive 35-39 age group…

I entered the British Sprint Champs as an early season focus to work towards; I was eager to compete here and get my season off to a good start after the disappointment of missing the Duathlon season through injury. In the last couple of weeks I’ve had an intensive course of acupuncture, which has settled my calf issues and enabled me to get a few runs under my belt. I was really surprised at the almost instant improvement this treatment had made and it has given me the confidence that I can run normally.

On race day morning I was feeling good when warming up and the weather was perfect. Eton Dorney is always a fast course and I was looking forward to competing. I was last wave of the day and a very civilised start time of 12.00 with an open registration and transition was a welcome change from the usual early start. It was a case of staying out of the sun as much as possible before the start as it was really warming up, a far cry from the week before of rain/wind and zero visibility water.   

After a short race briefing, the swim was under way. I tried my best to get on the feet of the lead group, but I was soon aware of being detached from a group of 6 or 7. I felt as though I was swimming well and tried to stay relaxed. My bike was racked only a few metres into transition, so it did not leave much time to get the wetsuit unzipped before arriving at my bike, a relatively quick transition and I was off on the bike.

The bike felt great and I was soon going past people as the laps ticking by. With other age groups still out on the course it was difficult to know exactly where I was. I am not the best at keeping count on multiple lap courses, so when I entered T2 to mostly empty racks, the thought crossed my mind that I had come in too early. This would have be an embarrassing error!

After scraping my nice new Lake shoes through transition, the downside of having big feet, I was into my running shoes. It was an out and back run course so it gave me the chance to see where I was (I still wasn’t sure if I had come into T2 in the lead or not). The legs were holding up well and no one seemed to be catching me. As I crossed the line, I did not dare put my arms in the air as I was not sure where I was and the commentator was not clear. It was soon clear that I had won my AG and I had a bit of a gap too!

I was delighted to achieve my first British title and that I had got through another race in one piece!

With thanks to the fantastic sponsors:

www.wilier.it – Triathlon Frames
www.ffwdwheels.com – Race Wheels
www.huubdesign.com – Wetsuits
www.zyro.co.uk/altura – Triathlon and Cycle Apparel
www.ismseat.com – Saddles
www.invisciddesign.com – Speedfil Hydration Systems
www.schwalbe.com – Cycle Tyres
www.limarhelmets.com – Helmets & Glasses
www.lakecycling.co.uk – Cycling Footwear
www.jagwireusa.com – Cables & Housing
www.amphibia-sport.com – Transition Bags
www.lezyne.com – Pumps, Tools, Bottle Cages
www.fenwicks.info – Lubrication
www.kapz.co.uk – Custom Headset Caps
www.racewaredirect.co.uk – Custom Garmin Mounts
www.shimano.com – Groupsets
www.camelbak.com – Bottles
www.max-mediagroup.co.uk – Team PR
www.joolzedymond.com – Photography