As a side note, I know full well that Eton does not really fit in that nicely with what is supposed to be a year of training for the Copenhagen IM, but I love racing at Eton. The Sprints are normally the first shot you get at racing around the closed roads that I now know so well. It has also become a bit of an annual pilgrimage to test how fit I am and to see whether the winds can be stronger this year than they were the last.
For me, the swim went quite well. From the off, I just swam to the left until I could see the rope under the water which leads you all the way to buoy 1. Made the turn in second place and then got a bit lost between the two massive buoys. Finally, they have installed a large banner thing for the finish so it is much easier to sight for the last 150m now. Got out the water in 5:18 which I was pretty pleased with, may even be my best time for the 400m there.
Out on the bike things did not go quite to plan at the start, it seemed to take a long time to get the shoes on, all the time wasted doing this meant my average speed had dropped off a bit. The wind on the way out was horrendous but I consoled myself with the thought that the return leg would make up for it. It certainly did as well, I think as the laps progressed, I was able to get the speed up higher and higher on that section. The last lap on the tailwind section had me just edging over 60kph. The wind can be a good friend when blowing in the right direction.
T2 went to plan, but with the first part of the run in to the headwind, it made for some hard work in the first lap. Thankfully, the turn on the run had the effect of a gentle hand behind the back. The second lap was a bit more controlled as I just tried to concentrate on the way up, knowing that the return would be a bit easier, especially when accompanied by the knowledge of being homeward bound.
All in all, it was good day of racing, apart from the shoes on the bike, most things went to plan. Was a bit annoying to see in the splits that my bike time was only 1 second in to the 29's....a 28 something would have been nice.
An overall win for the day still only gives you 66% of your entry fee back in prize money..not considering jacking the job in just yet.
REPORT ON TRI247http://www.tri247.com/article_8547_Eton+Super+Sprints+%28Saturday%29+report.html?region_id=&category=
The Eton Super Sprints kicks off the Summer triathlon season for many in and around the South East, and once again took place over two days at Dorney Lake this past weekend, organised by Human Race (www.humanrace.co.uk). Here is a report on events from Saturday.
Full results HERE.
With weather predictions for the weekend varying from the optimistic ‘sunny spells and showers' through to full blown thunderstorms, triathletes heading to the first Eton Super Sprint on Saturday 14th May did so with a hint of trepidation. They needn't have worried though as those arriving early were greeted to bright sunshine and blue skies and the rain held off all day to provide great conditions for the 2011 season's big kick off.
A strong wind meant for a challenging bike course and a bit of chop on the water for the swim but that didn't stop some fast times and competitive racing across all ages groups. First off at 9.30am were the two newly introduced ‘mate's waves' which gave anyone looking to race friends and relatives from different age groups the chance to go head-to-head. This gave Rory Sutton the perfect opportunity to get one over his older brother Kevin, as Rory explains; “My brother has done loads of triathlons and I said the only way I'd do one was if I could race him. I did beat him but he's ten years older than me so it isn't really fair!”
The age group waves followed the mate's wave and carried on right through the day and showcased a broad mix of abilities from first timers to experienced triathletes. For the men, Richard Legge (Thames Turbo) took advantage of a fast and furious M30-34 wave to record the fastest time of the day and take the overall win in 55:03. Second place went to M35-39 wave winner Matt Clarkson in 56:07 who was closely followed home by Oliver Pinchard (Ful-On-Tri) also from the M30-34 wave. In a day dominated by the over-thirties, the top 13 places were filled by those no longer in their twenties!
In the women's race, Ful-On-Tri made it two podium finishes on the day as Detta Guerrini went one better than her male clubmate to take the win in 1:05:23. Beverly Childs (RAF Triathlon) stormed through the F50-54 wave in a time of 01:06:41 which was more than good enough for second place. In third, Hannah Kitchen (Oxford Tri) ensured the twenty-somethings were represented on the podium with her 01:08:50 from the F20-24 wave edging out F35-39 athlete Bev Holmes by just one second.
You can read the report from Sunday's Eton Super Sprints HERE.
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