Chris is one of the fastest athletes in the country racing Olympic distance races at Elite/professional level. He recently raced Windsor triathlon were it rained all day making the racing extremely harsh with many dropping out, he finished in 22nd not the ideal start to the year but lessons learned. After his Windsor triathlon he raced the Lakeside triathlon where he had control of the race throughout and won for the second year in a row. Below is Chris in-depth race report for Lakeside…
Following last weekend performance at Windsor, it was time to get things back on track and where better to do this but at the Lakeside Triathlon. After a successful outing in 2010 (in its first year), I was invited back not only to race but to defend my title. This was a fast course and I looked forward to try and beat my course record.
After a quick drive from Enfield I made my way to registration. After a brief queue I had my race pack and headed to setup my transition. Bike, helmet, Tri shoes, running shoes, check, it was time to make my way down to the swim start. With 10 minutes to go, I donned and zipped up my 2XU wetsuit and jumped in to the lake. A quick paddle and we were called to the start line, 10 seconds to go, the horn sounded. I made a fast start to try and build up a lead for the bike leg. I settled into my stroke and maintained a consistent pace, regular sighting helped me navigate my way around the first four buoys. After a quick right turn around the final buoy there was about 100 metres to go, I decided to speed up to increase my lead on the bike.
Out of the water in first position and on my way to transition I looked back to see I only had about 15 seconds lead, not ideal but a lead still. Wetsuit off, lightweight Limar helmet on it was time to get on the bike. Past the mount line and up to speed I swiftly pulled on my Lake Tri shoes and hit time trial mode. I pushed hard for the first 5k before settling into a more sustainable pace. No sign of the chase athlete, well, for the next 2k at least, then I was passed. Luckily, he didn’t fly by so I decided to stick with him and use him as a pacer, although this was a lot harder being on a road bike compared to a TT bike. The kilometres flew by and he had opened up a lead of about 10 seconds, nothing to worry about though as I recognised Billy Parker Brown from previous races and was confident I could run faster.
Feet out of my Lake shoes and off the bike running just before the dismount line. Into transition, bike racked, I took my helmet off and got my running shoes on, it was time to chase Billy down. After a quick transition his lead was down to just a couple of seconds. I pushed on and tried to find my pace quickly but my gluts were really sore from pushing hard on the bike, definitely not fun. Billy held onto his lead until the end of the first 1.25k lap, as my legs were starting to come good I decided to push on and retake the lead. I knew he was pushing hard so just held onto my pace and see what happened. Another lap down, still leading, third lap down and the gap had grown to about 10 seconds, it was time to push on and secure the win.
Onto the final lap, back in the hurt box and with mum’s support I pushed as hard as I could. The gap had grown marginally more and I was certain of the win, into the finish straight I crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Billy and only 16 seconds of last year’s runner up Colin Ward. I was happy with the win, and the defence of my 2010 title but I am still finding my racing legs. The only thing I can do is race more but I remain confident I have some good form somewhere, just wait and see.
The results can be found here: http://dload.osb.s3.amazonaws.com/results/lakeside11results.pdf
The race has also produced a short video clip on the race: www.yourthurrock.com/2011/06/22/triathlon-success-at-lakeside
With thanks to our sponsors:
Delicious, natural and healthy nutrition: www.torqfitness.co.uk
Frames – Merida: www.merida-bikes.com
Cycle Shoes – Lake: www.lakecycling.co.uk
Helmets – Limar: www.limarhelmets.com
Glasses – Limar: www.limarhelmets.com
Cables – Jagwire: www.jagwireusa.com
Aerobars – USE: www.use1.com
Wetsuits – 2XU: www.2xu.com
Wheels – Fast Forward: www.ffwdwheels.com
Powermeters – Powertap: www.cycleops.com
