September Blog

September had one main goal in terms of racing: to qualify for the World Junior Championships. The qualification race took place at the British Championships, where the top three finishers would qualify. This race was different from others this season, as the juniors were not competing with the seniors, which was expected to change the dynamics of the race in several ways.

The race distance was a standard sprint triathlon, consisting of an 800-meter swim, a 20 km bike, and a 5 km run. Leading up to the race, I was excited about the course, especially as the bike course was very technical, which I think suits me well. I was ranked first going into the race and needed to win to secure the overall British Super Series title, which added extra pressure.

The swim didn’t start off great. About 100 meters in, I got dunked, but I quickly recovered and was around 10th at the first buoy. I managed to overtake a few people and exited the swim in 6th place. I wanted a fast start on the bike to stop a big gap forming which would make the result come down to a running race. I therefore managed to get out of transition at a decent pace in which three of us managed to break away, and after a lap, a fourth rider joined us to form a four-man breakaway. We worked well together and gained around 40-50 seconds on the field heading into T2. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the best transition and came out last in my group of four, a few seconds behind. However, I quickly closed the gap and sat behind the front runner for the first lap of the run. After the first lap, I put in a small surge and created a gap, and held it for the remaining two laps, securing both my spot at the World Junior Championships and the British Junior title. 

The other race this month was the Southern Road Relays, which was nice to get another running race in the legs. I was the first leg for my team of six and had a decent run in which I handed over in 4th place. It wasn't really the fastest time, however the course was pretty hill so I was happy with the result. 

At the moment i’m in the middle of my last training block of the year which was lead me into my last two races of the season; Junior worlds & Alanya Senior ETU Cup. I’m really looking forward to show my form at the races, and also make my first senior appearance at a European race.