Moreton Bay Grand Prix Duathlon

I don't think there is a triathlete anywhere who isn't getting caught up in all of the racing going on this weekend, myself included.  While I have spent much of my weekend glued to my computer keeping track of all the updates coming through from all the events at the ITU World Championships in Auckland and the Australian 70.3 Championships in Mandurah I also got the chance to have a bit of a hit out as well. 

 

 

Before I go into my racing adventures for the weekend I have to give special mention to a few of my training partners over in Auckland.  Ryan Fisher had an amazing performance to finish in 5th position in the U23 event and was one of the best races I have watched in a long time.  The four Australian boys executed their plan to perfection with Aaron Royle taking the victory, Ryan in 5th, Ryan Bailie in 10th and Josh Amberger in 11th.  I've trained with Ryan since we both started in the sport and I could hardly bare the tension and excitement watching the race and it was great to see him lay everything he had on the line in that race. 

 

 

Emily Bevan also had a fantastic result, finishing in 21st position in the junior elites.  Even for Emily to be on the start line is a credit to her hard work and commitment to this sport after a far from ideal preparation and a name we're all sure to hear a lot more from in the coming years!

 

Unfortunately I didn't get to see any of Emily's race because as the timing worked out I was competing in the Moreton Bay Grand Prix Duathlon at the exact same time but it was one of the first things I checked as soon as I crossed the finsh line!  The race was held over the somewhat unusual distances of a 1.5km run, 7km ride, 1.5km run, 7km ride and a final 1.5km run.  It's not exactly the long distance stuff I've focused all of my training towards but with an $800 prize purse on offer for the top three men and women I decided to throw my name out there and see what would come of it.  I wasn't the only one with the same thoughts and the race ended up drawing a solid field with Sam Betten, Sam Speechly, Matt Roberts and Luke Farrell some of the notable names lining up alongside me. 

 

As is always the case the pace at the start was incredibly quick but with experience on my side I 'controlled' myself as much as I could and went through the first kilometre in 3:00 watching some of the others out front and coming in to transition was in the mix with all of the early leaders.  Knowing my strength on the bike I went straight to the front to try and push the pace on the hilly three lap Lakeside Raceway course but there was little that could be done to split the field so I made the decision to back off the pace somewhat, consciously trying to conserve a bit of energy for the remainder of the race. 

 

 

I forced my way to the front towards the end of the first 7km cycle and really pushed the pace at the start of the run hoping to split the field up and take control of the race as much as I could.  The run did just that and as I mounted my bike for the second and final ride I had started to open up a gap to the rest of the field.  I was caught by Sam Betten but together we increased our lead and had a healthy lead as we came into transition for the final time.  I made a similar move at the beginning of the final run leg and really pushed the pace knowing that if I made the gap early I would have a distinct advantage of getting over the hill first and hitting the downhill run to the finish.  One of the last things Dan said to me last night was to use Ryan and Emily's races as motivation and it was at about this point of the race where that extra kick in motivation came in and once I'd rounded the hill I had a quick look back to see I had opened up enough of a gap that I wasn't going to get caught and was able to enjoy the closing stages of the run to claim the victory.  Sam Betten was next across the line followed closely by training partner Luke Farrell. 

 

 

DAT Racing was well represented in the womens field as well with Sarah Deuble duelling throughout the race with Britt Forster to come away on top in the final run leg and claim the victory.

 

 

A big thankyou to Mark Tucker and everyone at Redcliffe Triathlon Club for putting on such a great and challenging event and one that I'll take a lot of motivation from going into the Noosa Triathlon in two weeks time and also training bud Harry 'hazardous' Sweeny who came out just to spectate today and took some great photos while he was at it!

 

 

And I couldn't possibly finish this blog without mentioning all of the Australian triathletes and in particular the DAT Racing athletes and Revive Ashgrove athletes who will be going through their final preparations before they get their chance to swim ride and run their way around Auckland tomorrow morning in the ITU Age Group World Championships.  It's safe to say that I'll again be glued to my computer screen looking for all of their names towards the top end of their categories!

 

 

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