ETU Cup Quarteira

This year, I’ve moved up to the U23 category, so I’m now racing as a senior. My first triathlon of the season was the ETU Cup in Quarteira. Since it was my first senior race, I didn’t have too many expectations—I just wanted to gain experience racing against the older guys. It was also my first Olympic-distance triathlon (1,500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run), so one of my key goals was to dial in my nutrition, especially on the bike, to make sure I didn’t blow up on the run.The week leading up to the race, I picked up a small niggle in my left ankle. At first, I was worried it might be a stress reaction, but after seeing a few physios, we figured out it was just tightness in a tendon. Thankfully, I was able to run again the day before the race, which gave me a chance for a little shakeout.

Race day itself started a bit chaotic. I wasn’t too nervous, just relieved my ankle had cleared up. But my warm-up didn’t go to plan—I ran out of time after checking into the athlete lounge, so I only managed a bike warm-up and no swim warm-up .The swim was a bit of a disaster at the start. As soon as I dove in, my goggles filled with water, and I couldn’t see anything for the first lap. Luckily, I managed to clear them on the Aussie exit and make up a few positions on the second lap. I came out of the water around 50th out of 80, meaning I had a lot of work to do on the bike.

Out of transition, I started slowly making my way up through the groups. After three of the six laps, we managed to bridge up to the front pack, which had around 30–40 riders. With two laps to go, two guys broke away, gaining about a minute heading into transition. I positioned myself well going into T2, coming in and out 2nd from my pack and 4th overall. My plan for the run was to stay controlled in the first kilometer but also try to stick with the front group. By the end of the first lap a pack of around 5 runners formed with the 2 people in the breakaway previously still ahead and a runner from our pack also ahead . By the final lap, I was in 3rd, with one of the breakaway riders still ahead. With half a lap to go, I managed to catch him and finished 2nd overall.

I was really shocked with the result. this was my first Olympic distance race and my first as a U23, therefore going into the race was aiming for a top-30 finish. So to come away with 2nd was unreal.

Next up, I’ve got a two-week training camp in Monte Gordo, which should hopefully set me up nicely for the European trials in four weeks' time.