“Where History is Made,” is how its website’s proclamation – and 5 Viceroys – Colin Hinsley, Alex Rothwell, Alan Harris, Alan Clarke, Deon Coetzee sustained a gruelling training and racing schedule to qualify for the ITU World Championships Final at Hyde Park over the days of 13-15th September.
Colin is our first Viceroys to tell us about his sprint tri: ‘I had a wonderful day…. very anxious to start, then getting even more nervous (I had to go for a 2km run before the start to burn off the nerves). The swim was great, mixed it up in the middle of the wave, drafting from start to finish – the nicest compliment of the day was from my wife “I told my friends…. you’d come out in the middle – but you popped out towards the front”.
As the rain fell down, I jumped onto my bike and was making good headway until my aero bar broke off on a speed bump. I then spent the next 2 laps gripping on for dear life around every corner – with one hand holding the brake and the other holding two aero bars. After another lengthy run through transition, I thought I had better make up for the easier than normal bike leg. I kicked on into the run, feeling better than usual and drilled the first km. From that point on, thankfully, I was spurred on by friends (and others) cheering – which was a huge boost. It was a special moment to cross the line and then enjoy the banter with all the other athletes in the finishing pen – despite the drizzle.
Now back home, looking at timings, having a beer ….. and here are my times:
21st in age group – with a swim PB (11:58) and triathlon run PB (18:41) and despite the broken kit well pleased with the bike split (35:52 – 22.5KM). Chuffed as you like.
Cheers and once again many thanks for your support everyone.’
Big Al, aka Alan Harris was next: ‘This week has been a real privilege. I’ve done a few Euro/World events now and this one has been the best for atmosphere and the variety of nations competing. I think that I counted 40 different nations in my age group alone.I raced the Aquathlon on Wednesday intending to use it as a pre-race brick session for the Sprint on Friday but I knew that I’d have trouble holding back once we got underway. With the swim being 1km rather than 750m it stacks the odds in favour of all those fast fish out there. I was out of the water in 15.48 which meant that I had a lot of time to make up but I pulled out a 17:48 for the 5km run and crossed the line in 21
st place. The real positive from the race was that it completely killed any pre-event nerves for the Sprint race on Friday. The downside was that my legs were on fire and even after two post-race massages they were still tight on race day morning.Having two hours to kill between clearing transition on Friday morning and the race starting meant a good deal of caffeine and banter in the GB tent and a chance to meet-up with my wife and two young daughters who had come up to watch. I felt really relaxed on the start line. I mean, how often in life do you get to sit on the edge of a pontoon before a World Championships dangling your legs in the Serpentine and waving to your loved ones in the grandstand? Awesome stuff.The race really was for us Brits for the taking, especially with the water being chilly; next to non-existent visibility; a long and slippery transition; rain on the bike leg and a greasy road surface. What’s not to like about that? I had a good swim (for me) and exited in 11.45. The bike leg was a series of hard efforts in between super-slow corners and it favoured anyone who knew how to handle a bike. A particular challenge was having to wipe the inside of my visor to clear the condensation and the outside to clear the rain. I opted to ride with two tri-bars, unlike Colin (!) which made things a little easier. In T2 no-one had run-off in my trainers (hurrah!) and out on the run I felt ok. Not super quick though and I knew that I was losing some ground. I had to sprint from 400m out to hold-off a GB mate who was closing-in fast but I was enjoying the race so much that I had time to grab a Union Jack before the finish line and to pip him to the line by 2 seconds. Another sub-18mins run (17.59!) meant that I finished in 19
th place in age group and was 8
th fastest Brit. Andy Tarry who won our age group was 2
nd fastest overall on the day which gives an indication of the standard at the moment.It was great to spend time with Colin and other GB athletes that I’ve got to know over the last few years and there was a real shared camaraderie in the team after the trials and tribulations of qualifying this season. Bumping into Alan Clark as we left I know that he’s going to rip it up on Sunday. I’ll certainly be there to cheer him on. Come on Clarky!’
