It was Serres in mainland Greece that hosted the European Duathlon Championships where in very hot, tough conditions I won the Gold Medal in the 30-34 Age group beating all athletes in the under 40's wave and crossing the line first!
Watching the Elite race the day before it was clear that the heat was going to play a big part in the race and staying fully hydrated was going to be a major factor in a successful race. We awoke to clear skies and a temperature of around 32C for the race which was held on the open and exposed Serres Motor Racing Circuit. There was surely going to be nowhere to hide from the heat!
Watching the Elite race the day before it was clear that the heat was going to play a big part in the race and staying fully hydrated was going to be a major factor in a successful race. We awoke to clear skies and a temperature of around 32C for the race which was held on the open and exposed Serres Motor Racing Circuit. There was surely going to be nowhere to hide from the heat!
The opening run went to plan and after a frenetic start from the over enthusiastic field I settled into a fast pace and started cutting my way through the early leaders over the four lap 10k course. After lap 1 I was in 9th position picking up to 5th after lap 2, then 3rd after lap 3 until I finally entered T1 in 2nd place with a time of 32.44 for the opening 10k run and 20 seconds behind the little Italian who had taken the lead.Following a quick transition I got out on the bike and got stuck into a very complicated 40k bike course on the pan-flat motor racing circuit; 7 laps one way interspersed by 6 in the opposite direction on the other side of the track. I soon took the lead on the first lap from the quick running Italian and started to open up a lead. With 12 U-turns I was getting constant visual feedback on the gap to the field which I was gradually growing as I kept up a fast early pace.
My only major concern on the bike was from an old adversary of mine... Drafting! I could see a couple of groups forming behind and at the halfway point of the bike there was a chase group of 5 riders all within a couple of seconds of each other clearly gaining an advantage from riding in a pack. The group was being followed by a motorbike marshall and twice I made clear signals to the marshall to break up the group. This spurred me on to dig deep and push harder to maintain the gap which was stabalising around 1min 30secs. Despite starting to feel the heat and thirst in the searing sunshine and the onset of some painful cramp I managed to maintain the gap and came into T2 1:30 ahead of the chasing pack.
My second Transition wasn't nearly as quick as I in practice with my muscles really beginning to tie up and become very painful. Running off the bike was not coming very easy and I was just looking forward to the first water station on the 5k run to hydrate and cool off. I knew I had a big gap and I couldnt see the second placed man behind but I struggled to get up to speed. I slowly got into a rhythm and following a bottle of water over the head started to feel human again and began to believe that today was to be my day. After 1 of 2 final laps I could see the my pursuers were closing in on me and the gap was down to 1 min but barring disaster I was home and dry and in the end crossed the line 40 seconds ahead of Harald Harnisch of Germany and 46 seconds ahead of Piergiorgio Conti the little Italian who had been leading after the first run.I was completely exhausted and dehydrated but elated by the result. I had a good feeling about my chances pre-race but with the heat and the chance of a mechanical failure on the bike I knew I would need a bit of luck to take the title so I was more relieved than anything to have taken the win. Unfortuantley I hadn't secured the overall win I was hoping for; after crossing the line first my overall position later dropped to third when the results of the later starting waves were applied.
Another Podium but my first as an International!
I'd would just like to thank all my training mates at Garden City Runners and North Road Cycling Club for their support and constantly pushing me especially Laurence for kicking my ass on the bike. My family for living with the lycra and understanding why I don't go anywhere without the bike. And Clare for living with the early mornings, the tired (shaved) legs, all the bikes and the never ending trial of miles and miles of trials.
dv.x
