Marty and I (the beardy one and the little one) thought some of the Viceroys cyclists might like a quick ride report on La Marmotte. 

It’s been our target ride for the year – I think we are both okay cyclists and hold our own in the fast group. Training has, as ever, been hit by life! But we have both worked several other big rides in and a training camp in Spain.

We both stayed at the top of Alpe D’Huez, where the ride ends and the event village is. We went with different companies (happy to discuss if interested) who provided transfers, accommodation, support during the ride and entry (it sells out within hours!)

From 7am, 7,000 riders start at the bottom of the Alpe, meaning a chilly 20 min fast descent. Organisation is very good, and three waves are stacked in the side streets of Bourg D’Oisans.

A quick valley ride leads you straight into the first of the HC climbs – this is not called the hardest sportive in Europe for nothing. The Glandon is over 25km long averaging at 4.5% – and the average includes a couple of down hill bits – it was closer to the steeper bits on Newlands Corner probably nearer 6+%. It’s a nice climb – consistent, but very long!

The back is not timed – it’s a fab descent but on very tight mountain roads with no barriers!

The only long valley section beckons – find a big Dutch Yeoman and hide! I lost time here as my large group didn’t want to work (believe me my 64kg ain’t going to give much draft to anyone, eh Kevin ) and my pulling big turns was not helpful for me. The Sigma boys passed in a flying group but nothing to jump onto!

This gently rises into the Telegraph/Galibier – two hills connected by a 4-5km descent but effectively one long climb of 35km over 5.5% average (inc the mid descent) nearer 6-8% with some ramps up to 15%. In many places this feels like the steep bits of Newlands crossed with the Whitedown ramps (taking out the steep corner). Telegraph is switchbacks through trees (apart from km markers you don’t know where you are). Galibier is a steep valley ride into a series of exposed switchbacks into the permafrost zone. It is absolutely relentless – we both hit the wall physically and mentally. It hurt – a lot! (Ok maybe not as much as childbirth Lucy, but it did hurt!)

Last year it hit 42 degrees; this year we topped 30 degrees. But what you don’t need when you get to the top of Galibier at 2500m is for a storm to come in. A 40km descent in driving wind and rain/sleet in just a wind jacket (touching on 70km/h) left us both with no feeling in fingers or feet. I only knew I was braking by the sound (and the zipps were fine braking in the wet)! The tunnels were no respite as they were like fridges!

This rolls you into the Alp – 13km, 21 famous corners. Each corner is flat, the ramps are steep. They say the first 5 corners are the worst; I couldn’t tell any of them apart. Each ramp looks like a wall, 6-8%+. It’s a good climb, but after 155km it’s an absolute b***h. Riders start falling at the wayside with this strange dazed look!

It took Marty 30 mins longer to get up than riding the Alp fresh. I had a big mechanical at the bottom which blew my times out of the water. Small groups cheer you on at the corners (or helpfully ask if there is something wrong with your bike when you are moving the chain back onto the top cog by hand!) Big crowds greet you at the top – but I can only remember the pain! Free pasta and a big medal await…..Marty managed an excellent 8.11 hrs official time; I ended up just over 9 hrs.

I think we both underestimated how hard this ride is; Surrey Hills cannot really prepare you for it! We had both ridden 25km long Box Hill style ascents in Spain but this was in a different league.

We will both be back – knowing the course and what is needed will make the next attempt better and quicker. Some of it is feeding strategy; some training (working on consistent power over long periods); most importantly what is mentally required – we both agree you have got to ride long hills in preparation.

If anyone is considering this one come and have a chat!

As raced and reported by Nick Collins

‘La Maratona dles Dolomites is a Granfondo that any cycling fan will want to ride. Well it certainly seemed so towards the back of 11,000 riders in a crowded start pen called ‘Pinarello’ with only two portaloos!

At the front were various pros and semi pros as the event is televised in Italy, with the winner getting €60,000!

Ladies note – you start behind the pros, a nice touch.

La Maratona has seven listed ‘Passos’ (climbs), but there are lots more ‘rollers’ all being longer and steeper than Leith or Box Hill!

The main climb, that featured in the 2016 Giro, is Passo Giau – 9.9km at an average of 9.3%. Giau comes late in the 138 km route and is tough enough to make even the strongest riders hold something in reserve. All in all 4,230 metres of climbing. The good news if you are not a mountain goat is that means lots of descending on closed roads, with great rod surfaces, having just had the Giro pass through.

I had a target of 6 – 6:30 hrs with  a detailed race plan from my coach Jay McStay. He had worked out from my FTP what ‘numbers’ to hold on the climbs and what was possible on the descents assuming no drama or mechanicals. (My mechanical skills are best described as ‘limited’ hence no Di2 or anything else that might go tech).

The race gets going at 06:30 but us Pinarellos rolled across the line at 6:41. As you might imagine the first climb up the 5.8 km Campolongo is very busy, and slow at times, but not as bad as I thought it might be.

There is then a short fast descent before a 9.2 km climb up Pordio.
On the descent I could smell burning, at first I thought that was someone else’s problem, one of those guys with flashy carbon rims that melt, but no matter who we passed (I rode with my friend Andy Moore, a triathlete from Essex) that burning smell was getting worse.

We rode up Pordio and then descended towards Sella, but I had to let Andy ride on as I stopped to fix my front pads, hoping to catch back up. (My skill as a mechanic would prove sub-optimal a few km later).  It seemed like the left one was the issue, so I moved that and sped off, but not for long! Coming round a fast right hander the front tyre deflated faster than I good say poobumwillee, with the tyre coming off the rim. I scrambled towards  a gravel driveway where two policeman looked up from their donuts and coffees to see the shambles that was fast approaching and out of control shouting ‘got no brakes’. Not sure why I shouted that as ‘got no tyre’ would have been more accurate, but I somehow stayed upright as I wore down my cleats and locked up the back wheel.

A quick inspection showed the damage to the front tyre sidewall, but hasty panic set in, and logic was nowhere to be seen. I removed the tube and fitted another, without thinking to use my €50 note or clif bar wrapper to seal the hole that the new tube now poked thru, but at least this time I moved both pads down further before setting off with my saddlebag open and various tools stuffed in pockets.

Descending took on a very Italian style and the next two climbs were at near to FTP as I set about trying to catch up with Andy, who was going ‘easy’ (or at least his version of easy). The strategy was now looking a bit dodgy as I risked this hard effort causing a bonk late on.  Soon I was past the 5.5 km Sella climb, down and then and at the top of the 5.8 km Gardena climb. I was babbling incoherently at Andy, who I had now caught, and we then descended through the mist and cloud towards Corvara – our first fuel stop. Then it was Camparello again before a long ultra-fast descent with various ‘rollers’. The gods seemed to be with us as we got into a good group of fast riders, and made up time before Giau.

Giau is a beast of a climb, relentless and steep at 9.9 km and 9.3%. Everyone at the event talks about it as being the undoing of many a rider, and in my opinion Giau is as hard, or harder, than even La Marmotte’s Alp d’Huez. We chugged away to the top, holding steady watts, before refuelling and descending towards Valparola which is 11.7 km long and 6.7%. By know I had taken on a bottle of Coke and had my Clif double espresso gel so I was flying, and we romped up knowing that after Valparola it was all downhill.

The 22k descent from Valparola is awesome, super-fast flowing turns and average speeds well over 50 kph. You then have a short blast up Mur de Giat (19%) which was a comedy, as many were stopping and clipping out. We weaved through the carnage and then rode the final few km uphill to the finish in Corvara.

In the end we rode it in 6:26 which was on target, just. 119th in AG is ok and top 700 from 11,000 is too, especially after losing 7-8 minutes playing at being a mechanic.

In summary, La Maratona is one event that should be on any cyclist’s bucket list. I preferred it to La Marmotte, as it is far more scenic, proper closed roads and overall a friendly and well-run event. La Fuga did a great job organising the trip, with no stone left unturned, including ample beer and food at the finish. (ample beer for me is three, but some of their guests were less snake-like, and could clearly party harder). As ever, Jay my cycle coach got me in great shape for the event, and his detailed race plan helped Andy and I avoid blowing up. If possible I recommend riding a Gran Fondo with a friend, it is far more fun than a long solo push, and Sunday goes down as one of my favourite ever rides.’

As raced and reported by Pete Kelsey

Early start Saturday morning for the trip up to north Norfolk and got there just in time for the race briefing.  Met up with Viceroys Rachel & Lance and registered and racked, checked out a few bits at the venue and then we went off to lunch followed by beautiful home-made ice-cream for dessert (an important part of the carb loading process!).  Got over to my accommodation and sorted kit out for the morning & got the feet up.

Typical pre-race evening of not much sleep, up at 4.30am and back to the venue to setup.  Saw Rach & Jen (Isaac) when I got there but we all got on with setting up.  I wasn’t feeling quite right though & felt really disorganised & kept feeling like I was forgetting something (which turned out to be the case!), and just couldn’t get my wetsuit on properly etc but eventually got myself sorted (poor Jen turned up to a flat tyre so her morning was even more manic than mine!) and over to the swim start we went.

Right from the start I felt sluggish & just couldn’t find a rhythm & as it wasn’t particularly wide was getting caught up a lot (I started on the right side which was meant to be for the slow folks but somehow found myself at the front of the slow section but was even a bit slow for the slow section!), but just carried on as best I could, but was really struggling with energy the last 500-750m so wasn’t surprising that my time was slower than the Outlaw Nottingham half but still disappointing nevertheless as I’d been getting some good times at the lake.

Onto the bike I went but only after standing in transition for a minute feeling lost / that something was missing / not right.  Straight onto an up section which on sluggish energy levels wasn’t too fun, and the first 30 or so miles were undulating (nothing steep but just constant up and down so was hard to get a rhythm), but my system finally woke up at about mile 15 and got myself going a bit more.  From mile 30 – 52 it was then either mostly flat or slightly downhill so lovely & fast and the smile was definitely back on my face.  The last 3-4miles were back in on the same road we came out of, but initially the road was a slight up into a headwind which was a rude shock after the lovely fast section, but tried to back off those last few miles to get the legs eased off for the run.

Back into transition and realised that yep I had in fact actually forgotten to put my ITB strap out, and Outlaw from this year have a no bag in transition rule (they all have to go to a central storage area)!  I was certain that I’d laid it out with my hat last night so made my way over to bag storage area and ripped everything out of my bag, and sure enough there it was at the very bottom (black bag + black strap means I’d missed it putting kit out), so on it went & off I went having re-packed everything into my bag & making a right meal of T2 (and therefore T1 as I had that bad feeling which was making me check everything).

Onto the run and looking at the time wondered if I could beat my Nottingham time, but quickly put that thought out of my head and just concentrated on the job at hand and what I could do at that moment.  The run was 3 laps around the estate and was quite beautiful, but the initial section goes out the same way as the bike, so yep, straight onto a climb!  The legs weren’t so happy with that, but once it flattened off again they came back and I got into a good rhythm.  Jen came flying past me looking super strong and with only 1 lap left I knew she’d rocked it as suspected.

Just kept the head down and kept going, but knowing the stomach issues I’d had at Nottingham and as it was quite warm I was sweating an awful lot, so decided to go lots of fluids & had a cup of coke and cup of electrolyte drink at each station.  Bit of a risk as I’d never fuelled with only coke / fluids before, but it seemed to be working & the stomach was ok!  Had a bit of a low point about mile 7.5-8, but knowing I was near the end of lap 2 and there was only 1 left kept me going and a feed station shortly after got me back on track again, until about 1mi out when the legs started to wobble but there was no chance on the planet I was stopping then!!

Not long before the finish went past Rach & Lance, which to know they were on the run gave me such a huge boost & the energy to get to the finish!  Turned the 90 degree corner for the red carpet & the legs didn’t like the sudden change of direction so nearly fell over, but got myself back upright & high-5’d everyone up the finish straight which is always fun and for the first time I got to hold a finishing banner (not because I’d won anything but they held it there for everyone to hold up which I thought was fantastic), and then the legs did promptly give way!!

After a few minutes managed to stand (well, hold onto the fence!), and convince the medical folks I was ok, just had jelly legs & that the tears were really of joy / being overwhelmed so thankfully they let me go & once I’d had a proper sit & some food was all good.  Hung around for a bit but had to leave, but just as I’d packed up & went to sit in my car to go heard Rach & Lance being announced over the finish line so was really chuffed to bits for them!!

Was the first time they’d run Outlaw at Holkham Hall and I think it’s safe to say it was a big hit so hopefully they will run it there again.  Having done the outlaw half double this year I really can’t praise the One Step Beyond team / Outlaw events enough; really well run, really friendly and you are really looked after as an athlete (there’s not many half’s where you get a lovely hot cooked meal & massage after!).  Oh and I did beat my time from Nottingham, which given this was a much tougher run course and the fact my knee had held up again, was well happy 🙂

As raced and reported by Andrea Whelband.

‘After my original race was cancelled last week I was keen to race so I found a nice race up in Cambridge at the St Neots sprint. I’d raced this last season as a world, European & British champion event so I knew it was going to be hard but not as hard as it turned out to be.

The current in the river Ouse due to the rain was strong and I mean strong. On the turn of the out and back I was in a battle for 2nd as 1st had gone. As we turned we hit the current and boy did he hit it. It felt like I wasn’t ever going to get back. I hugged the bank and pushed hard exiting with the other guy who I soon dropped in T1

Heading out onto the course I thought I knew the way so I checked with the Marshall and unfortunately he directed me on the super sprint course and not the sprint / Olympic course. I should have stuck with my gut instinct. When I realised it was too late. Off course and angry with myself. I picked up the main route having gone from 2nd down to the mid 20s. I pushed as hard as I could to get places back and although the head wind was conspiring to break me I eventually got back to 5th overall as I entered T2

The run course was a mixture of park paths and flooded grass stretches. My legs were cooked from my epic bike ride (still 7th fastest split even after 3 added kms). I dropped a place on the 2nd lap but still with a sub 19min 5km so all good. Looking back 1st & 2nd would have been out of my reach with their run times, but I would have come off the bike in 1st or 2nd and would have held on for 3rd. But I didn’t so that’s that.

Back to Milton Keynes next week and I bike course I know really well so not wrong turns for me.’

As raced and reported by Mark Yeoman

‘I’ve always had a soft spot for the most famous race in the land – Windsor Triathlon. It was the first race I ever did. I was fortunate enough in 2013 to win the Olympic distance race and the following year to win the sprint, so I left it for a while. Hard acts to follow.

So heading back I was super nervous. Racing at 6.04am isn’t pleasant, especially when you get up at 3.40am. I was off in wave 2 with James ‘can I borrow another bike’ Turner. Wave 1 saw Carl Fisher race in the over 45s and finally wave 3 with the sub 37s (yeah, funny age group waves at Windsor). I had a good swim but soon had to navigate through wave 1. Mid 9mins and it was time to make the 400m run into T1. I ran hard to take back places and make sure Turner could draft off me. I soon exited T1 for another long 400m run to the mount line – my feet are still sore.

The rain was now coming down now but I was determined to press the bike to catch up as many places as possible. I made my customary ‘boom’ noise as I passed Carl but what I wasn’t expecting was to catch the first bike soon after about 7km into the ride before Maidenhead. Having a lead motor bike is great but the game changes from chasing to settling into strong pace to avoid smashing the legs. I set the 2nd fastest bike split (by seconds) and come into T2 not knowing what lead I might have over the next guy.

The run course at Windsor is nasty as you hit the steep McSteep  hill up to the castle soon after leaving T2. As I ran down I was expecting to see a runner but no, okay I thought. As I got to the far dead turn I thought that I’d surely see the next runner but no? Err okay I thought. As I approached the overlap section from transition to lap turn I saw the next guy. Wow I thought, I might have a really good chance of winning this. In the second lap I could hide in the other runners heading out on their first lap. I then saw James in a small group during lap two – something to chase. I think Iwas close to catching the 3rd placed guy at the end of my final lap. Now I wasn’t running fast but quick enough and I crossed the line having to wait and see if wave 3 had any fast runners. As the clock ticked I realised that I’d won it again and by over 2mins to boot. James had an awesome race finishing 5th overall (fastest vet with 3^rd fastest bike split) and Carl had a top performance too.’

As raced and reported by Mark Yeoman

Stunning weather in Strathclyde provided a very memorable backdrop to a fierce ITU Sprint Qualifier for Duncan and Colette.

Duncan reports: ‘Perhaps it was the weather that put the pack in a feisty mood? Perhaps it was the desperation of 2nd round/one shot qualifiers? Perhaps I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the WHOLE swim! An all AG wave of 97 around a tight course made for a brutally physical 11.22 swim and a very dazed and disorientated charge for transition.

Onto the bike, the Strathclyde course was a treat, a 4 lap course with continuous elevation change. A group of 9 quickly formed and I worked hard off the front to chase down the 2nd pack 15-20 seconds ahead; making sure I stayed out of trouble leading into the turn points and first off the pack into transition. Two AG rivals were in my pack who I failed to shake off, so it was now all down to a quick transition and turning on my run.

Oh how my legs protested at taking that bike effort into the run. I couldn’t bring myself to look back, the psychological pain of knowing being passed could mean the difference between a Q1-4 and no Q at all. I just had to keep it under control and push.

With an out and back 2 lap course though it meant I would have to face reality 3 times. I was passing others but none had the crucial ‘G’ AG marked on their right leg to give me a reprieve on my placing. At the first turn ‘Wall’ was right there. What did he have in the tank? My brain scrabbling to remember his past run form from Google. My legs were starting to feel good, I’d push on for a break straight away, and turn 2 revealed ‘Wall’ had dropped back. The 3rd and final turn was a huge relief, there had been no fight back; with 1250m to go and still feeling strong, I had a Q in the bag. A wave of elation hit me, the realisation of a hard winter’s work and having the opportunity to race in a GB suit again at the ITU World Finals felt fantastic, mentally I backed off the pace but Garmin data suggests my legs didn’t get the message!

In summary a super weekend. The new draft legal racing adding some real excitement and great tactical racing, the crowds loved it, the organisation was faultless. Oh and if you haven’t seen any pictures that perfect blue sky made it all just even sweeter!

Collette recounts: ‘The ladies wave was very small but having checked the entry list several times I recognized a few names that I knew I would be/or potentially be racing in Cozumel come September so it was game on.

I knew that my swim was going to be slower than my competition so just stayed focused on my stroke and pushed as hard as I could, the tactic clearly worked as it was a decent pace for me so it’s a shame I messed it up getting stuck in my wet suit again.

Out on the bike and ready for 4 laps of a beautiful, but challenging course, at no point was there any flat!  Luckily I exited T1 with one other so we worked together on the ride, this was mentally and physically hard, she was stronger on the climbs than me so I really had to dig deep to keep with her and take my turn on the front. There were a few times when I thought “I’ll just let her go and I’ll ride on my own” but then I had a serious word with myself and pushed on. I’m really pleased I did as we closed down the leader in my age group at the start of the 4th lap. By the end of the last lap our little pack of 2 had grown to 5 as we closed on 2 and was caught by 1  other, I sat at the back of the group as we came in to T2 and let me legs recover for a few seconds and prepared myself for the run.

I had been disappointed with my run at Dorney so set off determined not to make the same mistakes this time. I had ridden hard and my legs were feeling it but kept pushing my legs to turn rather than let them come in at their in their own time, I could see that I was gaining on those ahead of me so I kept focused on picking people off, 1k in to the run I knew I was in the lead for my age-group so now it was all about my time. With the mantra of “high heals” and “elbows back” going through my head as I pushed on home.

After Dorney I was not sure I liked the new drafting rules but I am loving how it forces you to communicate in the race and work out strategies. I am so much more aware of my competitors and how they are racing it is adding a great new dimension and forming new relationships within the triathlon community.

What can I say, it was an amazing weekend, great race, great crowd, age group win, a wooden medal and a bit of Scottish sunburn. Cant wait till Llandudno.’

As raced and reported by Duncan and Colette

Lanzarote is well known for being particularly difficult, but on race day, the conditions were almost perfect, still some wind and fairly hot but nothing major. The sea was also very calm. I was ready for a perfect race. Little did I know! I still loved the swim, taking the ‘longer route’ to avoid the pack / chaos and swam 4.2 km, @ 1.44 pace. I was then going strong on the bike until km 15 when the shifter for the rear cassette broke; I tried to fix it myself, U-turned towards the start of the course to find the support car, but nothing could be done. So after losing 40minutes, I got the chain locked on the top ring so I could continue and do the climbs. I did think of DNF but then, no medal so I went on.  Doing an IM with a single speed is not ideal and since I could not pedal over 32kmh I lost a lot of time in the fast sections. I was probably the only rider looking forward to the climbs! Ignoring the time with the mechanics, I still managed 28.6kmh average and enjoyed the really fast downhills. The Run was all about chasing Lloyd who was well ahead of me, and looking strong. It did hurt but was great with 2 tough 1 km @ 26km& 37km it was all about survival and mental strengths. I overtook over 500 people on the run and finished in 3:50. Official time is 12:10. I’ve got the medal and another IM under my belt. I’m happy and I will definitely go back to race there!

As raced and reported by Yann Umbricht

15+ Viceroys took on the 80 mile Tour of Cambridgeshire this weekend. There were a mix of riders and the plan was to ride out together and then see how we all felt naturally grouping into faster/slower groups. To enable us all to start as a group the “challenge” riders moved into the “Sport” start pen which meant the start time was a bit later.

Meanwhile, Lara arrived ‘pretty shattered from lack of sleep in the days leading up to it. Chris and I managed to catch up with all the other Viceroys and we all sneaked into the same pen. I really wasn’t feeling it, but it was nice to see everyone and look forward to a cycle together. I was a little worried about Chris as he has ridden his bike twice in the last year and his ‘preparation’ was 3 WattBike sessions!

Our pen slowly filtered out onto the closed roads and we got separated pretty much instantly! I found Andrea, David and Nick and we cycled together. A queue up a hill due to an accident separated Andrea and I from the others. Andrea then decided to cycle hard to catch up. Panicking we wouldn’t be able to hold 47kmh with 75 miles to go I sensibly suggested we ease off!!

We caught up with them again some time later and wheel sucked to recover. 2 hours in Andrea told me it was starting to hurt, but I felt really good. Knowing what she was like on Ride London I was pretty sure a bite to eat would have her back in no time.’

The mass Viceroys group eventually got rolling around 12.30 and Geoff tucked in behind a Johannes who he knew would be able to ride at a strong early pace (a correct prediction!). Geoff reports: ‘I was hoping to break the 4 hour mark so knew I needed a 20mph average and with the wind behind for the first 30 miles wanted to be ahead of this level at that point and Johannes was the perfect wheel to follow. Continue reading →

Lara Clay and Time Gray were at the ETU Championships in Lisbon last weekend competing in the Standard Distance event.

Tim reports: ‘All in all, a reasonable result. My swim, for some reason, wasn’t as strong as normal which left me around 30^th out of the water (field of 72) in 23.52. My woes were further added to by a dreadful T1 – couldn’t fit my helmet correctly first time and as a result, knocked my visor off in the process. Overall impact was probably no more than about 30 seconds but considering 8 GB athletes came home in a space of 60 seconds, it left me ruing what may have been! Anyway, managed to get away on the bike and into some sort of rhythm. The bike course was largely flat and on closed dual carriageway which, although a little dull, was fast and mostly flat. Coming out of town and working hard to hold the 40kph average that I wanted, I took a brief moment to check out the view towards the river, enjoy the sun on my back and pinch myself that I was racing again in GBR kit surrounded by the best in Europe (well, possibly not!)

The bike course was over two 20km laps with a dead-turn at the top of a 1500m climb halfway around each lap and another dead-turn at the corresponding end of the course. It was tough work grinding up the climb but an extremely quick descent down the other side with a gentle roll out to enable you to carry as much speed as possible for as long as possible. That said, there was a nasty little wind blowing right to left on the descent which meant that you had to keep your nerve and keep the power on to keep the bike steady at 65kph. The bike leg was little long so my time of 1.09 was okay but not great although was within the top 20.

Back into transition and was fairly smartly through and out. The run course comprised four laps of a weird course with a section actually entering the main arena before heading back out. There were some issues about lap counting which resulted in a number of DQs plus some narrow sections where passing slow traffic and missing oncoming traffic were a challenge in themselves. However, I managed to work pretty well on the run phase and delivered a 37.11 time, again, within the top 20 times but not enough to pull my overall position inside the top 20 which was my target. Anyway 2.13.56 gave me 22^nd position (out of 76) and 10^th fastest Brit, which since I’d qualified as 17^th in the team of 20, meant that I have significantly over-performed against my team ranking. So, not all bad but still leaving me looking for that elusive perfect race……still, Blenheim on Saturday – will see if we can do better over the shorter distance….’

Lara reports: ‘I didn’t have the greatest preparation for Lisbon, injured most of the winter with both ankles. Then an Achilles issue since March which had stopped me running, but it had been fixed and I thought I could at least get some run training in beforehand. Then I tore my peroneal tendon, so no running for me. I cleared it with the team manager to just do the swim and bike, but having been told surgery would be the same whether I ran in Lisbon or not, the temptation was too big. I tested running at Eton and it was pretty slow, but I could do it, so I made my mind up to run in Lisbon and just have fun. It wasn’t like I could expect a good time on my next to zero run training. It was quite refreshing to be stood in the starters’ pen looking forward to doing whatever I could, rather than stressing that my training had been less than ideal and feeling the pressure of trying to put in a good performance. It seemed I was in good company, my ankle was taped, another girl had a stress fracture wrapped up, another had a bursa on a bunion so big the side of her shoe had to be cut out. All in all it made quite a jovial start to the race.

The swim was in a harbour, so it was salt water but quite sheltered. I drafted on someone’s hips for a while, but despite the first buoy being a couple of hundred meters away, it was a washing machine in there and I lost the person I was drafting. I then ended up being the person to draft off and was swimming in clear water. Coming to the exit I had an unsavoury character next to me who kept elbowing me – the exit was a ramp less than 2m wide – so everyone had to swim close to make the exit. In T1 I had made the decision (for the first time ever) to leave my shoes off my bike as I’d had a bad bike mount in Eton. Cue me grabbing my bike and running for the exit only to remember I needed my bike shoes!!! Shoes firmly attached to feet I started the bike course.

The way out was amazing, really fast, loving every minute, then at the dead turn I realised why. The headwind was spectacular! The second half of the bike was spent gritting my teeth, grinding away. Then my tri bar gears didn’t work and I was pushing too hard a gear uphill and too easy downhill. Realised fairly late I could still use the other shifters, but by that point I was pretty much back at transition. For once I wasn’t panicking about the run whilst on the bike because I knew it was never going to be good. I shot out of T2 and was surprised to see my pace, I thought my Garmin must have missed a couple of satellites, but 1k in I realised I was going way too fast to hold it and it probably had something to do with the caffeine gel I’d had!!

The next 1k was quite a struggle, then my friend from swim squad who was supporting ran next to the course to spur me on. I picked up the pace again but realised fairly quick that I didn’t have the run fitness to go that fast. The Viceroys motto was going round in my head, I’d been through the arena once and could picture it the second time when I would finish, so I just kept going. Inside the arena I saw a GBR girl in front and then one came in front of me from my left shoulder. Well, that did it! I sprinted all the way down the finishers’ chute, I overtook the girl who had got in front of me, she couldn’t match it, neither could the girl in front who I’d also overtaken. We crossed the finish line and all landed in a heap! Then I realised neither of them were in my age-group!!!! Oh well, it caused some cheering from the crowd at least! I didn’t come last, despite fully accepting I would. I’d done quite well on the swim and bike, but I lost about 10 places on the run. I had fun though and gave it my all, and that’s all that matters.’

Awesome racing guys.

Thames Turbo Race 3: This sprint series is a great way to get into triathlon. It’s friendly and well run. It’s also over early so you can get on with the rest of your bank holiday. Of course this means an early start – for John Kellett this was 4:45am breakfast and then over to Hampton Pool for 5:30: ‘At my start time I slotted into place in line for the pool swim and found that I was between the same 2 people I was between in Race 2. Appropriate hellos were said and then it was “3,2,1 go.” The 426m pool swim felt like it went well and I was able to pass a couple of people without any real delay and without pressure to let people past. 27th in AG but down to 28th after T1.’

Viceroy Carl Fisher entered the Thames Turbo (Race 3) late on Wednesday as a direct result a poor show at Dorney last weekend : ‘I got a real kick in the butt there, surely I wasn’t as bad as my times suggested, after all I had been fairly consistent over the winter and I was expecting to at least be in similar shape to this time last year.I was quite tactical with my entry submission, entering a reasonably quick swim time so I didn’t get held up in the pool, but a long overall time so they put in an early wave and I didn’t have to hang around at the start.  It paid off and I will try that again next time.

Swim went pretty well overtaking two guys in front me and only getting held up for a few seconds. I do need to remember where the slides are on the last lap as I always smack my hand on them and one day it will really hurt.

T1 was pretty smooth and uneventful which is always a good thing. Bike mount wasn’t very slick but at least I didn’t hurt myself….or anyone else!’ Out onto the bike for John too: ‘It was a bit windy with headwinds in both directions. Got held at the traffic lights for the full phase (in theory 20 seconds but felt much more). Apart from that and a particularly obstructive dustbin wagon (on a bank holiday!!) the ride went ok. Was passed by only one rider on a “full-aero with disk” setup so didn’t feel too bothered about that on my trusty roadie. Up to 15th in AG but down to 17th after T2. Out onto the run and felt really good. The figure-of-8 course round Bushy Park is a mix of tarmac and trail and is a really nice place to run. The breeze wasn’t too troublesome either so all-in-all a good run. End result : 13th in AG in 1:12:56 knocking a handful of seconds off my pb. (Swim 9:34 [-6 secs],Bike 38:47 [+15 secs], Run 22:15 [-13 secs])’

This was Carl’s first trip out on his rebuilt (by him!) TT bike and: ‘I immediately felt benefit of the winter upgrades.  I felt like I rode smoothly and was feeling calm and in control.  I promise the crash that happened between two cars on the turning point as I arrived into the roundabout was nothing to do with me, but they the divers may have been distracted by the sight of me in my Pink tri suit.

My run last week was so bad that I think I may have held a bit back on the bike as I really wanted to do a decent last leg.  As ever, finding the balance across the three disciplines is always a challenge.

The run for me has always been tough but today I clocked a 22.45 which topped a very satisfactory morning’s work.  No fireworks, champagne or cigars but an honest reflection of where I thought I was. Plenty still to work on but for the first time in a while, I actually enjoyed being out there racing and if felt that I’d found some kind of rhythm.  More importantly, my heads back in the right place.

Finished 21^st in AG with 1:13:22

Viceroy Marc Highton was 9th in AG and Charlotte Saunders smashed the field taking 1st female in 1:04.