Impressions from Llanelli
Well, finally after some 19 months or so Elite racing returned in the UK. Thanks to British Triathlon/Welsh Triathlon there was a chance for the best home soil athletes to line up and test themselves on Sunday.
After plenty of talk around a duathlon with poor weather conditions and colder water it all came together on race day and the sprint triathlon went ahead as planned!
There were three races across the morning with Senior men first, Junior men second and a combined Junior and senior females following this. For some the race was a chance to test the legs, get back racing and have their first hit out. For others this race was about European championship qualification along with gaining European cup starts. A lot to play for!
I won’t go massively into each race in detail but more some reflections from across the racing and observations.
As a whole it has to be said British racing and the elite scene is in a strong place. The level of racing is of a very high standard across all three disciplines. I always believed that with lockdown a lot of athletes have taken the time to work on weaknesses, get fitter and stronger as a whole and I believe we saw this over the weekend. The bike groups looked stronger, more cohesive, less people were riding alone or in very small groups, the run standard seemed stronger and the swim level was raised.
In the senior men’s race the chase group was impressive on the bike, there was some very committed riders at the front who ultimately closed the gap after holding the time and worked very well to do this. Interestingly only one of the athletes (Cameron Main) in the front breakaway group made it onto the podium so the chase was well worth it. I believe sometimes we see in British racing athletes not chasing hard or letting athletes go but this showed what a committed few could manage.
In the women’s race it was a very interesting dynamic. The senior and junior racing was combined and Vicky Holland and Jess Learmouth were lining up opting to skip Yokohama and race closer to home! This led to an inevitable swim bike breakaway and a few races within races. I do believe some of the junior females found this hard, not knowing who they were racing or where they were and possibly also being lapped. However it is an incredible opportunity to line up with some of the best in the sport, directly compare yourself on the same day at the same time and push that bit harder. I have always thought a way to make this clearer is if Juniors had different coloured race numbers or similar!
My biggest takeaway possibly from the women’s race was tri bars are in! A lot of the top athletes had brilliant aero positions and really worked on these. Equally I feel some athletes could have closed/opened gaps had they got a bit lower, pushed the watts and stayed smooth. This was also evident in Yokohama at the weekend!
Finally, the junior men’s race. I always find this one interesting it is fast, hectic and almost do or die for most athletes. These boys seem to race fairly fearless and just go for it. It is great to see albeit chaotic! My main reflection is if some of them relaxed a little, focused on the small things e.g., corners, transition and positioning they would improve. But you cannot fault their energy.
Overall it was great racing, some fantastic performances and a privileged to watch and be involved. My advice to all athletes? Really reflect on the race, what did work? Where can you improve? How were you mentally and physically? Keep learning and keep moving forward.
