Simon Pratt travelled to Nice with partner and fellow Viceroy Suze to tackle IM. After registration and racing  on Saturday the nerves unsurprisingly started to kick in, really not helped by lots and lots of carbon being wheeled around by bronzed, toned athletes and not a leg hair in sight!  

After a 4am Sunday alarm call, he headed for the advertised ‘120 m section of beach promising a calm swim start’.  Unfortunately 2500 other people obviously had the same cunning plan! 6.30am and it was mayhem – after naively deciding to trust the group around him for directions all seemed fine until a North African trawler pointed out they were heading for the Suez Canal!  Simon was relieved to finally climb  out the water in one piece after a very challenging 1.23.

En route to transition Simon managed to entertain the crowd by falling flat on his face after hearing Suze call his name and looking away from the approaching ramp.

The bike course was a scenic one lap route with 1800m of long, but not too steep climbs and fast winding descents: ‘Very enjoyable apart from the headwind on the last 30km and the ####ers would clearly think drafting is mandatory. Off the bike after 6.10 in the saddle.’ After transition it was out onto the run; Simon finished the mind numbing 4 laps along the sea front in 4.07 crossing the finish in 12.06.

AND promptly popped the Big Question to Suze who said yes!

Alan Harris, Colin Hinsley and Alan Clark headed to the World qualifier at Bristol Harbourside last Sunday. This is Alan Harris’ race view:
‘The swim was in the high walled harbour and with everyone super tense about qualification I can honestly say that was the most violent race I’ve swum in the 12 years that I’ve been racing. Having been elbowed in the throat I thought twice about retaliating and reckoned that I’d save my energy. It was still full-on though even after the turn and beyond. Absolute carnage.I was out of the water in 7th and knew that I was in the hunt. By the end of the first lap of the bike I was battling with a couple of other guys in AG. At the turns it was squeaky bum time with the pack just 30secs back (there was a lot of drafting and a number of DQs including 2 brothers in my AG who must have been working together). I passed Colin as he was just getting up to speed at the start of his 1st bike lap (us Viceroys certainly stand out in pink!). Through T2 I overtook the 2 guys ahead of me and figured that if I was on the limit then so must they be and they’d just have to run me down if they could. I then ran scared on the out-back course which then multiplied into mild panic at the turn when the pack was still very much in touch.

In the end I held on and finished strongly 2nd in AG a minute ahead of 3rd and only 10secs short of 1st place. So Hyde Park on Friday 13th here I come!!!

Another tri mate in 50-54 saw 1st and 2nd in his AG come to blows in T2! He was shouting “DQ DQ DQ” at the marshalls in the hope of bumping up a couple of places! The lure of Hyde Park has really changed the atmosphere this season and not for the better. Fighting…drafting…etc and race organisers raking-in the cash and making registration the day before the event even for a midday start time. I think that everyone has been feeling the pressure.’

‘I’ve always been into sport, but the gym bores me! I’ve played netball most of my life, I ski, wakeboard and kitesurf too. I completed a 5km run last year for charity and with the Olympics approaching I thought ‘I know, I’m going to do a triathlon!’ So I signed up to a sprint triathlon in Seaford, which was my first taste of open water swimming (a rough swim in the sea), my first experience of racing on a bike, and I LOVED it! I can’t say I enjoyed the run, but I’ve never liked running. Can’t run won’t run!

First established in 2002 the Dambuster Triathlon is a well recognised feature of the triathlon calendar in the UK. All triathletes from novice to elite are welcome as Dambuster has been selected by the BTF as a qualification event for the World Championships – London, 2013 and European Championships… and this was the race that Alex Rothwell chose as his first of the season.

So, how did it go Alex? ‘Bit rusty, but I knew I would be, so generally pleased with how I did.The swim was shortened to 1400m as it was so windy  – the turn buoy couldn’t be placed in its proper location, and the bike was also a bit suspect in areas due to strong cross winds. But by the time I made it to the run the sun was out and the wind had dropped a little, and despite feeling as though my legs were only 50% under my control I was able to run under 37 which I pretty surprised with as I felt empty for most of it. Picture of me about to high five one of my daughters as I came out of transition onto the run.’

Karen (pronounced CAR-un)  claims an early midlife crisis at 34 set her on the path to triathlon. After a Triathlon training day at David Lloyd, she got ‘roped into’ her first triathlon whilst on holiday in Florida – doesn’t sound too stressful so far!  A triathlon in Florida and she was hooked (wouldn’t we all be), although  she does admit that halfway through most races she curses herself for doing it and swears never again, but that is all soon forgotten:

‘ Finishing a triathlon is, for me, one of the best most exciting feelings – it’s up there with graduating and getting married!!’

Karen’s done London Triathlon 5 times, Blenheim once, Windsor once, Woman’s Only at Dorney a few times, Hever Castle, the swim leg of a half iron man, a half marathon, and a few other random events. Long may your mid-lige crisis continue Karen, welcome to Viceroys.

Another week, another new(ish) Viceroy – Simon Tack. Congratulations Simon on completing your first ever tri last weekend (Eton Supersprint: 400m Swim, 20km Bike and 5km Run)… particularly impressive as he had never even worn his wetsuit before, let alone swum in it. He loved the swim though: ‘ one of the best swimming experiences of my life! A total eye opener. I felt like I was turbo charged – incredible!!’

If you’re still struggling to work out which Simon is which, he’s the one with the dog. Loki first came swimming at the lake on  a recent Monday, and then clocked a very reasonable time with Simon on the handicapped Thursday night run. But this isn’t just about his dog…

Simon’s first tri success (1:24) has spurred him on to enter: Marketing MAA Olympic Tri; Hampton Court Swim; Gatorade Evening Sprint Tri; Eton 70.3. GO SIMON!!

Alan Harris’ ETU experience:

‘I felt great on the start line of the Sprint 40-44 and had a good swim. I was 7^th out of the water in my AG and I was well-up for picking-up some more places on the bike and run as usual. Within 200m of the bike though I just couldn’t get any power out. It was crazy. I just had nothing there and had to battle round for little return. I then got into T2 to find that A.N.Other GB athlete in my AG had racked in my slot and run-off in my trainers (insert swear word of choice)! They were the same make, same size, same colour. I took a while to work it out; worried that I’d be DQ’d for taking someone else’s trainers or that I’d ruin someone else’s race if I had got it all wrong; then spoke to a Marshall and he gave me the all-clear to run. By that time I had a mild head-f*ck and I still had nothing in the legs and struggled to get going until the second lap. I finished 12^th and came away thinking that it really was a missed opportunity given my current form and the people who beat me this time round. A tad frustrating!

But, you had to feel sorry for the GB athlete who was 4^th in my AG by 1/100^th of a second. Having been 4^th in Budapest in 2010 by 9 seconds I now don’t feel quite so bad!’

Mark Edmunds’ ETU Experience:

‘I was in the first wave of the championships at 7AM doing male 25-29 Olympic Distance. We started from the pontoon which was a massive surprise as age group athletes are supposed to do water starts! so we all dived in and I lost my goggles straight away, so had to find them and re attach them, but once re attached I struggled to sight as they became fogged up. I struggled round and was disappointed in my time of 24.35 minutes, but a quick transition and strong first bike lap had my spirits up as I caught and passed Nururas other athletes and came in after lap 4 in 59.59, a PB for 40km. A solid T2 saw me in 8th position in my AG so I had high hope of moving up but my legs just gave up once I hit the first hill and knowing I had another 3 laps to survive I hung in and finished in 2 hrs 8 minutes 55 seconds which was a massive PB and got me 14th in AG and 71st overall, which was a massive achievement and my season goal done.’

Alan Clark’s ETU experience:

‘Not an  ideal start to a good week racing in Turkey, as those lovely French air traffic controllers chucked their toys out of their pram to bring chaos to anyone wishing to travel through their airspace. We were delayed 3 hrs and then a 1 1/2 hour queue outside the hotel and I got to my bed at 3.30 am.

The following day we built bikes, swam rekkie, bike rekkie, race briefed, racked bikes and sat in our hotel removing heads from our backsides. Before I knew it,  I was hanging on a rope on the start pontoon .The race went well for me, 8th in the swim in balmy warm sea water and I made up 1 place on the bike and the 2 places on the run to finish 5th in agegroup and 3rd Brit. Worst bit was Thursday all day on feet for 1 day prep, best bit was running up the blue carpeted finish chute while you felt everyone there was cheering come on GB. ‘

Viceroy Colin Hinsley tells us:

‘The day started well with an early call from a Czechoslovakian honey from the apartment next door, I was rather hoping my luck was in but sadly she’d just got confused around room numbers.  Somewhat distracted I failed to fall asleep again.  Back to Triathlon…..  I had my normal steady start on the swim (so as to avoid the panic attacks) and I soon started to rev up.  The sea was crystal clear and warm.  I exited the water feeling very fresh and thought, in the moment, I’d had a swift dolphin like swim.  Onto the bike after a customary rapid transition I sped away, on the out and back bumpy road.  Wasn’t sure how to pace the bike (as only my 2nd Olympic distance race) so kept it steady for the 4 loops.  Then another rapid transition (my best discipline) and I found the run pretty good despite the blistering heat and savage hill – I over took a few people and likewise got taken by a few.  Absolutely delighted with my result at the end of the race.  But the the euphoria was short lived……….  I saw my swim time 28min+ for 1500m – clearly I’d fallen asleep and must have been dreaming that I was slipping through the water like a dolphin – clearly distracted by my early morning call.   Note to self:   More sessions at the lake required – the colder the better.’