BTS Club Champs 2024 at Dorney Lake

Results

1h07mn21s
AG 2nd/35
Gender: 14th/234
Overall: 15th/491

The race

While feeling good, the swim was as expected: slow, 750m in 17:26.
T1 was relatively fast. I removed half of the wet suit while running, then the bottom by the bike. I jumped on my cycling shoes, put on the helmet, and grabbed the bike. 00:53 (I believe T1 was longer, and the swim was faster.
Now, it was time to push hard on the pedals. And make back some time. I went at 277W on average (slightly under the 95% FTP target), overtaking as many club mates as possible on the short four laps. It was less than 20km (unfortunately) and a 27:35 gun time.
T2 was chaotic, and my shoelaces were too tight. Despite the baby powder (on cycling and running shoes), my left foot struggled to get in. I put on my Quantum Metric hat, and off I was on the running course. 01:26.
The legs weren’t there. 4mn15/km, this isn’t what I need to gain more time. A kilometre in and manage to increase the pace. I might be able to do a negative split for the first time in a race! The run is flat and pretty straight—up along Dorney Lake and back. Approaching the 2.5km mark, I can see Chris and Rudy on their way back—possibly 700m and 400m ahead of me. I was too far away to catch them up, with my legs turning slower than I wished. Let’s try to maintain a 4mn/km and avoid being caught by Kuba, who can quickly put 10mn on me in a half marathon. Run in 19:59mn—a second over the objective. But the gun times aren’t in sync with Garmin’s new auto sport detection in triathlon. Overall, it was a good race for a distance that didn’t suit me well. 2nd in AG and 14th overall.

TIME CHIP