ITU Cross Tri World Champs/XTERRA Germany
Race Equipment,
Setup & Nutrition
Clothing-USAT
Supplied National Team Race Suit
The ITU Cross Tri World Champs/XTERRA Germany was the key
race for the trip the field was one of the largest pro fields with almost 70
guys including the U23 racers and extremely talented. Going into the race the big question was the
weather it was off and on rain all week and we weren’t exactly sure what the
weather would be on race day but when the day arrived it was heavier spots of
rain mixed with periods of sun, which made for the wettest and muddiest course
possible.
 |
| Having a good laugh with Ben Allen on the line before the start. |
Through the rain and cloudy skies leading up to the race the
water remained just warm enough to have a non-wetsuit swim which suited
me. As well with the ITU rules governing
the race we would get called up according to our world ranking which is based
upon the previous years ITU Cross Tri World Champs and I would be called up 10th
and slotted in right next to Ben Allen and Ruben Ruzafa which was perfect
having a strong swimmer on one side and a weaker swimmer to the other to get
out and on to feet immediately and have some open water to the other side.
It worked perfectly as there was a
“directional” buoy about 75 yards from the start that we had to turn at to head
to the first official turn buoy. The
arms turned over well and I felt very strong cruising in the swim. In what seems like an automatic Conrad and I
were at each other’s side half way through the first lap and I eventually made
my way up to the head of the chase pack and back ahead of Ben Allen
surprisingly. There was a small group of
3 in the front then Craig floating in the middle then the group I headed up
behind at the end of the first lap, I kept the pressure on trying to bridge to
Craig but couldn’t quite do it and exited the water in 5th about
1min to the front and 10-15 sec from Craig but I had Conrad, Ben and Braden
Currie all out the water on my feet and a great group to work with on the bike
during the first 5k of gradual uphill.
 |
| Craig and Faris Al-Sultan headed out and me in the background headed to my bike. |
Conrad blew by quickly out of transition and I could not
attach myself quick enough to his wheel and was just off him on the first
section and I worked as hard as I could to close the small gap. I pulled Craig back in and Braden went by
shortly there after and pulled to the front and we had a good train going up
the road. The legs were feeling better
than in Czech but as the climb gradually got steeper Michi Weiss cruised past
and Ruben was not far behind, Braden made the jump to Ruben’s wheel but I
didn’t. I continued to head up the climb
steadily as they slowly cruised away.
 |
| Quite hilarious as Conrad and I seem to have a lot of twin pictures like this where we are doing the same thing. |
We
then reached the first actual dirt parts and things that actually resembled
mountain biking about 9k in to the course and saw how sloppy and muddy the
course was after the 500+ amateur athletes had raced on it that morning. I was very happy to have left the caveman
water jug mud flap on the bike from the Czech race the previous week. Thankfully the mud didn’t stick to the tires
that bad and traction wasn’t horrible climbing.
There were slick sections but with some basic maneuvering you could keep
going, the first descent it was a quick lesson to stay off the front brake
entirely and let the bike skip across the top of the roots and get back in the
dirt where the tire would grip.
 |
| The train, Braden leads with me on his wheel (10), Craig tucked in there along with another mystery athlete. |
The
slower you went the longer the front tire would be on a wet slick root and it
was easier to go down. The steepest
section was very rooty and rocky and with the wet conditions was unrideable and
we were all left hike-a-biking for about 1k then still had a good 2km’s of
climbing to the summit. Once at the peak
of the course I hit the downhill hard flying past people taking back a over a
minute to some of the guys that had passed me on the climb. It was difficult maneuvering at times as the
race organizers had decided to send the elite women off 20min before the men
and we started to catch them before the descent and then was trying to be
respectful but still go full on past them on the descent. Through the rest of the bike it was more of
the same flying past guys on the descents and trying to minimize losses on the uphill
sections. Getting off the bike everyone
was coated in mud head to toe and nearly unrecognizable but was thankful for
the sponges at the start of the run to wipe some of the mud off and get clean
drinks of water.
 |
| 2014 ITU Cross Tri Worlds SRM Powerfile (Wet and muddy course caused issues at times) |
I stared the run well and really felt like I was moving well
till guys started flying past me again, the legs just didn’t seem to want to
turnover. I was thankful the run was not
quite as muddy as the bike, there were a few slick sections but nothing like
the bike. I hit the deck once on at the
top of a shallow downhill since I didn’t understand what the volunteers were
yelling at me in German that it was very slick mud right where I was
headed. I plugged along until about 7k
and that is when the lights went out. It
was an immediate bonk, no warning just all of a sudden I was shuffling along
and having a hard time holding a straight line running. Unfortunately in the rush to set up my
transition when the rain started I neglected to put my First Endurance Liquid
Shot flask with my shoes and they had only water on the run course and had no
way of getting in extra calories. It was
a slow last 2 k losing three minutes from what I would guess and I stumbled across
the line in 29th. It was a
very bad end to a marginal day.
