Race Review - ITU Cross Triathlon

This was back on the savage course from the Cross Duathlon two days earlier. 

I purposefully held back on the swim. I started at the back of the pack and then gradually moved through the field as we went. I managed to get in behind the group for a bit and was getting towed along nicely out through the tide and swell, I then lost touch with them as we made the first turn but got into a separate group with three of us working as our own mini pack and gradually passing some of the younger age groups as we made our way back in. 

I came out of transition with my fastest ever 1,000m swim time, but feeling fairly relaxed having not over-worked in the water. It was a very long transition and again I was pretty clean through transition, although I did stop for socks and a drink, and was comfortable going out on to the bike. 

The bike was not quite the course from the Duathlon but was 98% the same. The 'dangerous' section that they took out was a bit that I had no problems on and actually enjoyed riding.

Again I had my tyres about as soft as I have ever ridden (~19 psi) to try and get as much grip on the dust and loose rocks on the climbs. That was working for the most part. I rode all of the complex technical sections, and pretty close to my limit. through some of the technical sections this time i was having to get off to avoid queues and found it was quicker just to push those sections rather than to try and remount on the technical uphills.

I drank a lot less this time as my single bottle lasted both laps. I put this down to being a couple of degrees cooler rather than how hard I rode.

I did manage to throw my chain again on three different occasions. All three were bumpy downhill sections. I really need to fit a chain guide to my osymmetric  1x set-up to stop this from happening so much, and I need to take another look at the clutch once I get my bike unpacked again as I suspect it is full of Spanish dust and was jamming. 

Each time I quickly refitted the chain and I remounted and rode on again, and was actually pretty happy with how I rode after each dismount. 

T2 was a mess though. I was trying to warn the Technical Officials that a safety plank that had been fitted to make a dangerous climb more acceptable had been removed between the two laps and that the impending female competitors were going to have problems. In doing so I took my focus off my bike and managed to drop it. Then I couldn't find my space and my shoes, because someone else had put their helmet in my box and their suit was over my shoes.

I did go out on the run and started picking people off again, but as with the Cross Duathlon, they were all from other age groups.

For the individual sections, I was 19th on the swim, 25th through my poor T1, 28th on the bike, 21st through my desperate T2, and 16th on the run. The time I lost on the swim was minimal, and while I was 19th I was still right in the behind a line of solo swimmers that included 14th less than 27 seconds ahead. Then the chunk of time I lost on the bike just dominates my position again as I dropped to 27th place (almost all on the first lap) and then I managed to get back up to 25th on the run (missing out on 24th by just 6 seconds)

I finished 25th and 3rd Brit. I am really happy with both of those.

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Here were my targets for this one:

0. Don't get injured. 

    This is my last race this week, but I still have a summer season to come. As with the others, I am more interested in finishing all three than doing well at one. 

1. Don't crash or break the bike.

    I didn't crash, but the repeated mechanicals with the chain make it hard to claim this one.

2. Race well. 

    Again, not very specific, but basically I just want to come away without having a sulk about how I swam, rode or ran.

3. Finish with my average percentage at this level. Finish with my best percentage at this level. 

    I finished at 77% in my previous ITU Cross Triathlon. That percentage would have me finish in 32nd place this time. 

4. Prequalify for 2024

    To do that I would need to finish top-10 overall and top-3 GBR. Both are a big ask. And this is a bit of a meaningless target as I can't afford to go to Australia next year anyway. But it would put me in a good place to argue about Euros selection for 2024.

While I wasn't even close to top-10. I was 3rd Brit though. That is much closer than I expected to be. To make the top-10 I would have had to find 19 minutes.

5. Finish in my average place at this level. Finish in my best place at this level. 

    Maybe the field is broadly equivalent quality to previous races but just more slow athletes to bulk it out. My average place is also my best place 10th, that, again seems like a very big ask.

The big field meant I am actually perfectly happy missing this one.