Five intrepid Viceroys headed down to LLandudno in Wales for the ITU qualifiers… or just a nice break by the seaside, depending on who you’re speaking to. Hills, jellyfish and huge transitions seem to be the one experience each triathlete shared though.
The sea was a chilly 12 degrees, however jellyfish collisions were far more of a worry. Em and Colin were both victims of this Welsh predator, but it did not stop either of them. For Colin, the race had an ideal start, with a long swim to the start help to settle his pre-race nerves, setting for the final roll of the dice in the last chance saloon of world championships sprint qualification. Trevor, Alex and Fab’s swims went well (apart from some goggle failure for Fab) – Trevor taking particular pride in his race tactics: ‘I normally start at the front in the swim but because of the number of much younger swimmers I started just behind the first line. This proved to work well as I was able to draft off quite a large group and then actually overhauled some of them to finish 2nd out of the water in my age group.’
Colin’s most vivid swim memory:‘my face and neck stinging like fury – “feck… that smarts like feck, feck… that smarts …. and repeat…”. ‘
After an incredibly long transition, the bike leg was all about the hills for all 5 competitors. Blind corners, snaking roads, cliffs, rough road surfaces, scattered pot holes did not stop Alex reaching a maximum race speed of over 70kph! . Meanwhile, Trevor at the top of on ascent remembers thinking : ‘how the F–k am I going to do the second lap! Then came the descent and I bottled it! my brakes were red hot by the time I got down.’
Trevor remembers:’ Fab’s bike split was better than mine as she doesn’t mind a good climb! Also her transition times were better so overall she was quicker than me – just wait ’till the next race’
Colin was meanwhile skipping into the run (as he’d coasted for the last 5km downhill on the bike). He pushed really hard for the first part, thinking it was a flat course out and back – then came the Little Orme. Despite puffing and panting like a little steam engine up the hill, he was lifted on the downhill as he was well ahead of several rivals (have it!) Spurred on by the knowledge of his good position, he made a further couple of places on the promenade return run leg.
Colin was delighted with his race, which was up there with the most demanding triathlons he has ever done; he finished 10th Place in his AG (98th overall) – which should see him safely through the roll down process. Alex meanwhile finished 17th overall and 3rd in his age group – good enough for an age group place for London. Fab was 18th in her AG, Em completed her target of completing a gruelling triathlon and Trevor was 11th in his AG (another roll down possibility).
