Gold Coast WTS
After competing in my first WTS in Abu Dhabi, I had been looking forward to making a return to the scene of racing at this level. Gold Coast was my next opportunity to do so and I felt every bit prepared for it. Abu Dhabi was the perfect introduction into this high calibre of racing; it allowed me to get a taste of what it was like to compete against the athletes that dominate the sport of triathlon.
The days leading into the race followed the same trend as they always do; shorter sharper sessions with lots of rest during the day to make sure the body was well recovered. The only thing with being in Gold Coast and having so much downtime was that the constant balcony views of the ocean made me want to go for swims! Luckily I knew that I would have plenty of time after the race to have some body-bash sessions amongst the waves.
Admiring the views from the hotel veranda
My ranking for Gold Coast was number 8 as a result from Abu Dhabi which meant I was next to some of the quick swimmers on the pontoon, Schoeman and Kanute. This was a perfect since it gave me the opportunity to try and stick with these quicker swimmers and also sit behind on their feet.
Closing into the race, I began to get quite nervous. Usually I am pretty good with controlling my nerves before a race however this time I could feel it a little bit more. Nonetheless, I don’t think this was a bad thing at all; I guess it showed some readiness to get going.
The nervous jog down to the pontoon
I had a really good dive off the pontoon and found myself stroking with the ‘fast’ swimmers next to me. One thing that I noticed starting next to quicker swimmers: there is less fighting. I have quite often found that being around the slower swimmers results in them trying to fight you as opposed to trying to make progress around the swim course. However, the quicker swimmers seem to understand that they all have the same intention which is going forwards. They also understand that hitting each other’s arms doesn’t help so they tend to keep their own line in their own little space. This was a welcomed realisation after diving into the water. My initial speed for the first 100m was up with Schoeman and Kanute but after that, I could tell that they were beginning to make some distance on me so I decided to slip in behind them. I then had my head down and tried my best to keep up with these guys. Eventually more people came into my pathway and the first turn-buoy hustle started to come. In comparison to Abu Dhabi, I didn’t find turning the first buoy as rough (thankfully!). I continued around the swim course, just trying to follow the feet in front of me. I could tell that I had slipped back from the front of the race, but I didn’t think that I was too far back as I headed towards the swim exit.
I exited the water in 15th. There were about 5 or so that had a small gap, then pretty much a constant stream of athletes that followed. My first transition wasn’t the quickest, something that I will need to work on as I prepare for my next race. Following my slightly slow transition, I was out onto the bike. The pace was on right from the start and I could already feel the lactic swirling around my body. I worked hard to stay in contact with the group and soon enough a large main chase group was established behind the 5-7 others off the front.
Halfway through the first lap of the bike, there was a touch of wheels midway in the group. The daunting sound of bikes hitting the ground and seeing people ahead toss themselves left and right is never pleasant. I was towards the back of the group and had enough time to manoeuvre myself around the fallen bodies and bikes so thankfully I was unaffected.
The pace in our group remained high despite the crash. This continued pace resulted in our group catching the 5-7 other athletes that were ahead after the swim, so now it was one very large main group.
There was quite a prominent head wind heading back towards transition. With this head wind, it made for some sketchy conditions as the group bunched up and athletes tried to hold their position within the peloton.
Left - passing through transition (pic: Viviane Sloniewicz). Right - Cornering with good company (Pic: Adam Weathered)
I was positioned midway through the group entering the second transition area; not ideal like being at the front but it wasn’t disastrous. However, my transition took a wrong turn when other athletes started darting around to enter their transition area resulting in me being cut-off a few times. I struggled a little transitioning into my run shoes and unfortunately found myself out the back as I exited onto the run.
This wasn’t the best start to me for the final part of the race which was ultimately the most important. I tried to get myself going and set my sights on catching whoever was ahead of me. Lamentably, my legs weren’t firing and they weren’t moving me as quick as I had thought they would.
Regretfully I struggled on the run and didn’t improve my position after leaving transition. I ended up finishing in 33rd.
Crossing the finish line
Of course, it wasn’t the end result that I had hoped for. It left me feeling disappointed and unfulfilled with my performance. I can’t pinpoint one particular reason as to why I didn’t race well but I will look forward to redeeming myself in my next race.
For now I have returned back home to Melbourne. I am happy that I have a start at the third WTS race in Yokohama on May 13thwhich will be my next race. I am still confident with the work that I have done over the past months and my result on the Gold Coast certainly wasn’t indicative of my training. It is a long season with many more races remaining and I won’t stop pushing for the best out of myself now.
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