My face says it all.........
"A tough race but not in the way that I wanted it"
The first round of the British OffRoad Tri Series was held over a tough, steep course
at Ambleforth College.
The 500 metre pool swim went well, as I was out of the water and through transition in under 7mins 30secs. This great start was short lived however, as no more than another 500metres had passed - this time on my bike at the start of the off road bike section - and I had to stop due to a puncture. After some begging and pleading I managed to get a wheel from a race marshalls bike, and so was back onto the course, but with time to make up.
After only a few turns of the pedals I realised all was not right with the wheel. The disk was the next size up from mine, which meant I was effectively riding with the rear brake on!!!!! Also the teeth of the cassette must have been very worn as I could only use the mid range cogs and had to tension the chain by riding in my big ring at the front (not a nice thing to have to do on an off road course)!!!! The rest of the bike course was a struggle as it meant pushing on climbs due to the lack of gears, and pedalling down hill due to the disc brake rubbing.
I'd come along way for this race - in more ways than one - and the thought of not finishing didn't enter my mind, no matter how much time I was losing on the bike, after all, I'd still got my strength to come. After another swift transition I set about chasing down the rest of the field over the steep 5km run course. My Inov8 X-Talon shoes proved to be ideal over this cross country style course, as I was able to put maximum power down over every surface, including the super steep climb to the finish.
As soon as I'd finished I said "its 5 Minutes, that's what I've lost due to that ####ing wheel!" Within an hour the results had been posted:
Male.
1 Eugene Grant 1:08:45
2 Sebastian Dysart 1:09:15
3 John Wilkinson 1:09:24
4 Tim Mcdowell 1:09:55
Female.
1 Jacqui Slack 1:16:31
2 Darrelle Parker 1:19:41
3 Louise Hanley 1:22:32
The next round is in the English Lake District National Park. The swim will take place from Coniston boating centre, completing over 1500metres. The 30km bike section will be a combination of roads and Grizedale forest's North Face trail. The 9km run course is a real fell challenge, climbing slopes of The Old Man of Coniston.
With lots of races before that one, there is plenty to focus on in the mean time, but when July 12th comes and the race begins, I shall be carrying a spare tube and pump.........
