So, Tartu European cup. I went into this race with little expectations, and looking forward to another race, after my rather average result in Holten. So a course reccie showed that the race would be very interesting. It would start with an upstream swim in the river, against a current where it was difficult to make any headway, and then onto a technical bike course before a simple run.

Race morning came around, and the weather looked perfect for racing, fairly cool, but dry. However, during the women’s race, the weather started to take a turn for the worse, and by the time we were lining up on the start line, there was a thunderstorm, flooded roads, and a bunch of very soggy spectators. Before we set of, the race organizers told us to take it steady out on the bike!!! That was ambitious…

I was ranked about halfway down the start list, and hence started halfway along the pontoon. Starting the swim, and I slipped on the blue carpet, meaning I ended up behind before I started. Fortunately I kept my calm, and swam right over to the right hand side, as this was furthest out of the current in the river. Fortunately after the first lap I emerged out of the water much further forward than I was hoping. Throughout the second lap I worked my way forward and came out of the water in a good position.

Through transition I just missed the first group, hence rode hard until a small chase group caught me. I sat in for a lap, and then the second time up the hill I tried to jump across to the lead group, however I didn’t quite have the legs, but as I was doing all the work on the front of the chasers anyway, I worked hard and rode the remainder of the race on my own.

By the time the run came along, several parts of the course were flooded, but a solid 15:55 run on an accurate course saw me into 11^th place, and my best result to date in a European cup.

Once again it was then onto rest and recovery – as I had the Jenson Button triathlon the next weekend. An exciting format of heats and then finals meant I was looking forward to this one.

A good heat for me meant I felt good going into the final, and so I proved, as I led out the swim, and into t1 first. Throughout the bike, I made a few tactical errors which nearly cost me a place near the front, however I managed to pull myself back into contention a couple of times, and came into transition with 4 others. Onto the run, and I knew there were some strong runners around me, and as I lost my bottle on the bike, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stay with the pace that was set early, so I immediately settled into my own pace, and finally crossed the line in 4^th, a great result, but more so, I was pleased with how it had felt.

A great end to a solid block of racing, now into a couple of weeks of hard training leading into London, and the final parts of the season.

Windsor Triathlon.  A race I had heard great things about, but hadn’t yet had a chance to compete at and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

Racking on the Saturday, I was impressed with how organized the whole event appeared, and after a quick reccie of the course for the Sunday it was off for the customary pre-race pizza, and all too soon race morning had arrived.

I was feeling good as I started loosening up for the race and floating in the river; waiting for the start it was clear it would be a fast swim with the current making it difficult even to hold your position behind the start line. A great start meant I was up the front, and once I had got going, I started looking for pre-race favorite Stuart Hayes. I saw a swimmer heading off to my left, which is where I knew he was starting, so I made a bee line for his hips. Once we reached the turnaround, I saw that we had opened up a large gap of about 50m or so over the rest of the field. Coming out of the water, I was surprised to see that the swimmer who I had been following was not Stuart Hayes, and as such I knew I was in a great position to capitalize on the small gap I had managed to open on him.

A swift transition and I was out on the bike in first, and I started pushing from the word go. After about 10k, Hayes caught me and I tried to hang on for as long as possible, however he gradually opened up the gap, and being non drafting I couldn’t quite hang on. I made the decision to then hold my own pace, until at around 25km, the third placed athlete caught me, and we worked well, taking it in turns to do some work on the front, while maintaining a legal distance gap between us.

Coming into T2 and I knew I had to go out hard. Not only to drop the athlete I had been riding with, but if I was to stand any chance of closing the gap that Stu had now opened. I managed to close the gap on the run from around 1:30 coming into T2, to just 45 seconds at the end of the run, but didn’t quite have the legs to catch him, to cross the line in second.

I was ecstatic with my first major podium, and on the day he was the stronger athlete, so couldn’t complain. Let’s hope this is the first of many times I may find myself on a podium at this level, and in general I’m really pleased with how this season seems to be coming on, and if the second half is anything like the races I have had, it will be a pretty successful one, for just my second season in Triathlon.

So then it was onto Leeds Castle triathlon, my first break through race two years ago, so i was happy that I was able to return once again. It is such a pretty setting for a race, especially for the swim where you get the unique experience of swimming in the castle lake. I had a great swim with a lead of about 3 minutes, and out onto the rolling bike I course I felt I was flying. Once I hit the turnaround however I realized that had been due to a strong tailwind, so it was a hard 20k back to the castle. Coming into the castle grounds, I was feeling good, and set out into the run at a conservative pace, as this was the start of a hard month of racing for me. After the first lap I realized I had a comfortable lead, so I eased the run back to save myself for the upcoming races, and crossed the line in first place. Once again a superb race and definitely one I would recommend.

Recovery was top priority after, as it was a very short turnaround until I headed out to Holten for my first European cup of the year. From what I had heard it would be a great race, and an even better after party (although I was flying home straight after the race so would unfortunately miss out on that.)  the days before the race I was feeling good, but nervous, as after seeing the bike, it was clear there were several rather tricky sections, and rain the night before did nothing to calm my nerves. But anyhow, all too soon race morning arrived, and after dropping trainers in town, it was time to head down to the lake, and from then on it was business as normal, registering and racking the bike, getting wetsuits on and warming up.

My plan going into the race was to really push from the start of the swim to ensure I made the front pack and to then try to stay out of trouble on the bike. It all started out perfectly, with a nice start on the swim, not too much battling round the first buoy, and emerging out of the water in the top 10 or so. Into transition and I was happy as I came out of T1 in the front group. It was there where my race would effectively be over, as a couple of moments lack of concentration sorting my shoes out let a gap open up a few wheels ahead of me, and by the time I had noticed, despite trying  to catch back on the damage was done. For the rest of the bike I pulled a few turns, kept myself near the front of the group just incase any mistakes were made, but we made it to transition without drama. Finally we hit the run, and I was feeling a bit off from where I had been in previous races, and finally crossed the line in 33^rd.  Not the race I wanted but a marked improvement on what I had last season. Thanks once again to Red Venom and  Anchura Partners who make these results possible, and hopefully I can improve on that as I head out to my next European cup this weekend in Tartu, Estonia. Hopefully I can build on last week to get a top result this weekend…