2015 Round Up!

You might want to get yourself comfortable... This is a fairly long post!

Before I get into my season - I'd just like to say a special thank you to those who have supported and sponsored me throughout this season! Corley Cycles, Pedal Potential, GreenlightPT, NiceTri Events, Zone3, iPrintStuff and the of course the obvious shout out to friends and family!

The 2015 season has had ups and downs. I've had some good races, some bad races and some races that went really, really badly!

My work picked up this year and I couldn't find the balance between racing, training, uni work and working at iPrintStuff!

I've made the decision to knock Uni on the head so I can focus on racing and working! So yeah - technically I'm a drop out! So what!!

Enough of that rubbish! My 2015 season consisted of a good start, rubbish middle and an average end!

Went to the Elite Duathlon Champs and found myself finishing 9th Junior. The weather was absolutely awful - which played to my strengths when I cycled my way from 50th to 4th on the bike! Happy Tom.

Then in Madrid I managed to get myself the title of 'European Sprint Duathlon Champion' which was great! The race suited me down to the ground... Slightly short run and a ridiculously technical 2 lap cycle! To keep it short, I worked my way up to 1st overall after the bike with the fastest bike split by over 50 seconds then held on for 4th overall, 2nd Brit and 1st in Age-Group!

Then went to NiceTri, St Neots and got myself another title... This time it was the 'British Sprint Triathlon Champion' which was nice. Great event ran by the awesome NiceTri Events paired with Chris at NiceTri Event Solutions!

Oh yeah - Then a lorry driver pulled out on me (whilst driving), wrote off my car and put me out of training for a while!

Then comes the middle of the season. Now then. The Europeans were held at Geneva! Great location - fairly well run event, but I had a poor lead up to it and that resulted in a very bad result! My swim was off the pace, my legs had no power on the bike (still had a top 10 fastest bike split) and I was heavy on the run resulting in 14th in Age-group whereas last year I was the European Champ! That goes to show how much of a bad race I had! But not all is bad - got a sweet photo out of it:

Moving on...

Then I come to the end of the season. Chicago World champs was my main focus at the end of everything! I feel I had trained really well in the 8 weeks leading up and I was feeling ready!

I was in great form, running a 17 flat 5km, swimming really well in training and local races and although I hadn't had a stand out performance on the bike in a while, I felt strong the weekend before Chicago!

The buzzer sounded for the Sprint race and I was off... I was a bit worried about the heat as me and heat have always had a bad relationship, but  non the less I was swimming, feeling really good! I was then punched in the eye by another brit (I'm sure it was just an accident) which out me off a little, bit its all good! Came out the swim a little down on the leaders. I then put in a great bike split - worked my way up form 70th to 6th place having the 2nd fastest split in my AG and 7th on the day! I would like to make it clear how pissed off I am with the Brits and Mexicans when it comes to drafting! Nearly all the Brits I passed where sitting on a wheel!! What are you doing!!

In one case - I'd caught this Brit for 40 seconds in 3k and somehow he made his was into T2 a few second behind me... I even heard the draft buster motorbike shouting his name, telling him to back off the wheel in front of him (which was me!). In my eyes - that's a penalty straight away. Oh well. I'm not going to mention his name, but he went on to do very well!!

I got onto the run, and felt amazing... for a few hundred metres. Then me and the 30 degree heat had a fight and I ended up slipping backwards and found myself way down the field and finished in a disappointing 24th place! 

The Standard race went differently. The swim went bad. The Bike went alright (a lot less drafting this time) and then it came to the run and I was running amazing for 5k, then again, slipped down the ranks. Ended up coming 10th in my AG and 1st European so I was pleased with the result!

Final race of the Season was Brigg Sprint. I'd done a Park Run the day before and went easy and finished with a 17.38! Felt really good!

Brigg sprint was a 400m pool swim, 20km bike and a 5km run! I had the 2nd fastest swim on the day, fastest bike split and one of the fastest runs to finish 2nd overall, 8 seconds behind the leader. Very pleased with this result so I can finish the season feeling good about my last few races!

Now its winter training time... This winter I will be focusing on Swimming and Running, but will still be smashing the bike to get those fastest bike splits!

Looking forward to some draft legal/elite races next year!

Would just like to say another thank you to all my sponsors and supporters: Corley Cycles, Pedal Potential, GreenlightPT, Zone3, Fusion Sport UK and the rest of you guys!

double-whammy!

It's been a quiet start to the season but wow what a weekend just gone. I was nominated for an award at the inaugural St Neots Community & Business Awards 2015. I assumed it was for something sporty, rather than my new fledgling business iPrintstuff, although I must say I reckon it's worthy of an award! ;). This is great, local recognition. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the awards ceremony as with lots of my events this year, it clashed ... as I was already in 'sunny' Spain to take part in the European Duathlon championships.

Prior to race day, I got everything squared up and sorted and off to bed on time ready for the race in the morning and a notification popped in saying that I had won the Sports Individual of the Year 2015. Fortunately, my folks stood in for me and I suspect staggered nicely up and collected my trophy. A huge thanks to those who nominated me and the judges who recognised my achievements. Sounds like it was a great evening. Sorry I missed it. 

So ... race day. Sunny Spain Nope ...the rain in Spain falls mainly the plain? Nope ... the rain in Spain falls mainly in Alcobendas ... or that's what it felt like anyway. Atrocious conditions! 

Simple race report. Ran a bit, caught up on the bike, first into transition. Lost a couple of spots. Finished first in my age group. Job done. European Duathlon champion 2015. 

 

Seems a good time, now, to mention my two main sponsors that have helped me get here. I am back again with Corley Cycles, their help is invaluable, as it is from my new sponsors, Pedal Potential, thanks guys!

So, now I must focus on a couple of things. I have the BUCS triathlon coming up next weekend, the British Triathon Sprint champs at my home event in St Neots Nice tri events, and then, in no time at all, Geneva, for the European triathlon championships in July. 

Promotional advertisement ;-)
And to make all this possible, I have to crack on with earning the money through iPrintstuff to pay for all this! so if you need any of your kit printing, think of me and iPrintstuff and more importantly read what others say about the printing service I offer. iPrintstuff.

On an even lighter note ... we have a new pup. Frankie's little brother Kodi. They even have their own Facebook page.

#realfur.#4monthsold

See you at the races. 

Tom
@i_PrintStuff

 

Cheeky page in Triathlon Plus! #OnARoll

What better way to start the year than to see yourself in a magazine?

Read the Full interveiw below...

1. You've always been very sporty – can you attempt to summarise your early adventures in sport? 

Yes, from a young age I was encouraged into sports, my parents thought it would be a great release for my ‘excess energy’. I've attempted pretty much every board sport including Skateboarding, Flowboarding, Wakeskating, Wakeboarding, Snowboarding and so on. Before all the 'extreme' sport came about I was a gymnast/trampolinist! While doing all of this - I was a runner from the age of 8!

2. How did you wind up doing triathlon, and what do you think it was about this particular sport that made it stick? 

When I was 10/11 years old I turned from being the best in the county and one of the best U13 runners in the country - to 3rd in the county and slipping down the ranks and I couldn't handle it, much of my ‘competition’ developed before me and I found myself lining up against ‘bigger boys with beards’. Not literally but definitely stronger and bigger. I was becoming despondent with the sport already! It was, in fact, my Middle School PE teacher 'Mr E' who suggested I try a 'kiddie' Aquathlon, so I did. Couldn’t swim so learnt quickly, absolutely loved it! Then I went on, bought a cheap second hand bike, and did my first ‘Tristar’ triathlon and just enjoyed it so much I booked the next one in, the same day! 

3. Tell us about your first triathlon race. 

My first 'proper' adult race that springs to mind was my local race at St Neots (NiceTri Events). It was such a great event, friendly crowds and fellow competitors, a really great atmosphere, an ideal intro into triathlon. It keeps me going back for more, the course is great - fantastic river swim, awesome fast stretches of road and a pan flat run to finish. Because it’s my local I use it as a barometer to suss out where ‘I’m at’ race-wise. The races are a series of three, I’m a bit of a ‘stats man’ so I can work out what I have to do where and when in order to better my time. I’m chuffed to have won 3 or 4 of them over the last couple of years. I can’t help ‘big upping’ this event, in fact it's such a good event that it's been selected to be the Sprint National Champs and World and Euro qualifiers in … Can’t wait to have the best the UK has to offer on my home turf! It’s going to be awesome. 

4. Was there a particular event or moment when you thought you could be pretty good at it? 

I have to say it wasn't a particular event - but it was a particular period of time. The winter of 2012/13. I had joined NiceTri Club and St Neots CC and met some great people. Richard Hancock (a local beast on the bike) saw my potential more than I did and took me under his wing. With his help I went from being average/good on the bike in 2012, to one of the best cyclist in triathlon the next year (the fastest bike split, out of everyone, at the World AG Sprint Triathlon Championships in London 2013!). 

5. You've had a brilliant year, so what's been the standout for you? 

2014 has been a really good year, and a year I'm definitely going to remember. I had qualified but was also lucky enough to travel and compete in 4 major events... European and World Duathlon and Triathlon Championships. I loved when I crossed the line in first place and had the fastest bike split at the World Duathlon Champs in Spain, but have to say - the best moment of the year was the final 2k of the European Triathlon Champs in Kitzbuhel - where
I took a look over my shoulder and was 45 seconds clear of 2nd place in my AG! I could then relax for 2k and take it all in. Looking back, when I realised I had come 2nd overall by only 12 seconds, I wished I had pushed all the way, but hey - it was a great moment none the less! 

6. On your blog you mentioned that Edmonton didn't quite go to plan for you – could you talk us through it? 

Well, it all went a bit pear shaped when I got an entry to a Junior Elite race which was a week before the World Champs in Edmonton. As most will know, the idea of an elite race is to be good at swimming, then it's fairly easy to sit in the group on the bike as it is draft-legal, then to be awesome at running. So when I found out I got an entry I ramped up my swimming and running and neglected my bike legs!

Another major factor was that when I got to Edmonton... I loved riding out there and went on an 'easy' bike recce the day before - which turned into me putting far too much effort in - a stupid ‘school-boy’ error meaning that on the day I couldn't put any power down! I still had one of the fastest bike splits - but I know I should have had the fastest and should have at least podiumed! Lesson learned! 

7. What have you learned from that experience? 

Well, the main thing I've learnt is not to be stupid the day before and batter my legs in! But it's also opened my eyes to setting goals at the start of the season and not deviating from 'the plan'. Had I just focussed on Edmonton and not worried about any other race, my experience of it, and my actual race, would have been a lot better! 

8. How did it feel winning British Triathlon Male Age-Grouper of the Year? 

Well, it came as a complete shock to me! I first found out that I was nominated when my friend sent me the link to the nominees! I had made the top three along with my Corley Cycles team mate - Phil Holland. Then I got the invite to go to the Awards Evening, and when my name was called it was a bit of a shock - as it's only my 2nd year of racing international AG - but it was a wicked feeling and it's one of the events that will make 2014 so much more memorable. 

9. Who or what inspires you in triathlon? 

I've always been a fan of the Brownlee Brothers and all the British Elite Triathletes. But the main guy I look up to is Javier Gomez. His continued dominance, consistency and attitude towards the sport is amazing. Plus the fact that he is a really nice guy when I've spoken to him. 

10. What are your big aims for 2015? 

Well, as this season came to a close, I looked back and thought I'd never be able to do the four international races again. Two of the trips this year were funded by very generous backers on Talent backer (an online funding website) lots of people (mainly fellow club mates and other triathletes along with friends and family) giving what they could/wanted that enabled me to compete in Spain and Canada. I really have to take this opportunity to thank them all again, without their help I wouldn’t have achieved half of what I have.

I thought I wouldn't be able to get the same amount of backing again for 2015. But as it happens, 2015 looks like it’s going to be great - I already have in place some great sponsorship, some I can’t reveal yet although I would love to. A couple I can mention though is that I have been given the nod from my sponsors of 2014, Corley Cycles Body Limits Transition, who were a massive support this year and I am back on the team for 2015 - Of course, continueing to race and train with my mates from TriPackRT and ongoing support from coach (Adam Gibson) at GreenlightPT. I have also got on board the very generous backing of ‘Pedal Potential’ – and a generous neighbour in our village who has kindly offered me some of their ‘air miles’ to get me to Chicago and hopefully Brisbane! 

So my big aims for 2015? … simple...  Top my 2014 results ;) 

........................................................................................................

So, since Kitzbuhel...

British Triathlon Federation 'Male AG Triathlete of the Year'

So, since Kitzbuhel, I have been rather busy. Let me 'bullet point' it a bit for you.

On 6th July I took part in the English Triathlon Championships in July and again a great result, and took ‘gold’ winning the U20’s English title.

I celebrated my 18th birthday!

At the end of July saw me being nominated and winning ‘The Hunts Post Sports Awards ‘Best Achievement for U18’. A time to put some good clobber on.

August Bank Holiday saw me taking part, along with my team mates from Body Limits Corley Cycles, at the Nottingham National Relays.  And we had a great race, finishing 3rd overall.  Sadly, we were dq'd - due to a 'technical' issue (non-advantage or cheating I must add!) But a great day all the same.

Then it was off to Canada for the World Triathlon Championships in Edmonton, Canada. What an amazing experience. 

Having competed at the World Aquathlon Championships in London in 2013 I had prequalified for these championships also, so I thought it would be good to have a bit of a warm up and took part in this race in Edmonton. A 10th place for me (but no disappointment here, as after all I am a ‘cyclist’!). 

The main race came, and I was feeling excited and ready. Sadly, on the day, it was not to be I really messed up with my race prep - too many recces so close to race day left me with nothing in the tank on the day, I finished in 6th place. First European, but I am very disappointed with this result. Had my race prep been right I should have medalled. 
It's a learning thing I guess! 

I know I can’t complain, what I have accomplished this year has been beyond my expectations - I wish I could have brought back a medal from Canada, damn. 

The good news is, I have pre-qualified already for the European and World Duathlon championships and the European and World Triathlon championships for 2015! With the backing of a generous neighbour in the village, who has offered me some of their 'air miles' I am hoping I will have the opportunity to retain my titles and of course try for the World Triathlon title in Chicago.

Another surprise, at the end of the year was my nomination for the prestigious Award of the British Triathlon Federation 'Male AG Triathlete of the Year' - this meant I had to get 'suited & booted' (I put into use some of that useful Uni money and bought a suit!). Followed by a trip to Loughborough for the Annual Awards dinner.  Am pleased to say I won it ... which I am delighted with because there are some very, very, good age group triathletes out there also vying for this prize! 

I have just started my first year at University at Bedford, studying Sports Science and Personal Training. A new experience for me - 'fresher's week' actually two which drifted into four! Things have settled down now and I've fallen in with the right crowd (which has pleased mum & dad) A great bunch of runners which is great for me, I'm enjoying running again and getting back to some pretty descent times. 

As I suspected right from the offset my tri suit printing business - 'iPrintStuff', has quietened down as the season comes to a close (phew). I have to say this is perfect what with the new commitment to training and the new demands of uni. I still have a steady flow of customers but it's all manageable.

Lastly (but not 'leastly') I must thank everyone that has helped me this year (and there's been a lot of you!) from my swim coach, Adam from GreenlightPT, my race team and sponsors from Body Limits Corley Cycles. The guys that have kept me going, Tony at The Sports Injury Clinic and the help from Insight Nutrition. 

I need to make a special mention to all those club mates from Nicetri, friends, family, neighbours and strangers that put their hands in their pockets and enabled me to race in Spain and Canada through a funding website called 'Talent Backers' - thank you, it means a huge amount.

Looking forward I'm please to say that in my 2015 season I will again get the support from Corley Cycles and very excitingly I'm currently talking with a new sponsor - Pedal Potential-in a nutshell Pedal Potential support people with pedal potential to realise ambitions and achieve success. Really looking forward to working with them. 

So, a whole new period in my life is about to start. I'll keep you posted.... 

"keeeeep training!"

Tom

#Gold - If Geneva is half as good as Kitzbuhel it's going to be awesome!

I qualified last year at Grendon... And Kitzbuhel was a race I was secretly targeting! I went into the race still suffering from a chest infection at the end of the course of antibiotics so in a way not the perfect lead up; that and the fact that run training had been out of the window for four weeks due to an 'over exuberant' celebrations at the world Duathlon champs - that will teach me to back flip off the stage! Still, my mind was set to smash it.

Austria, Kitzbuhel, 

I have to say - this is by far the most stunning venue I have ever raced at... Well... most stunning place I have ever been. Full stop! The swim was in the stunningly beautiful Schwarzsee lake, a simple out round a bit and back.
I loved the bike course, twisty, technical, 3 steep climbs, lots of fast downs, I have to describe it simply as... brutal!  There was bags of pre race discussions as to what bike to use, TT or 'roadie'. I planned TT right from the start. The Trek, for me, handles just as well as a road bike going up as well as going down, it's just faster so it was a no brainer. I was chuffed with the fastest bike split of the day too, so that sort of backed up my choice.

The run, although described by the organisers as 'flat' wasn't, (to locals who wander around mountains maybe) but to us it was a challenge at the end of the swim and that brutal bike and the long, long transitions. Stunning again - though round the lake.

Schedule:
Like most International events. They have a schedule over 3-4 days. Briefings were on the Thursday, my race was on the Friday, then various elites, para-triathletes and other distances were over the Saturday and Sunday.

Race Day:
Every day leading up to race day was beautiful sunshine... You know; 'holiday weather'! But the evening before the race it rained all night. So in the morning, it was damp on roads, not good for the steep, twisty descents but oh well, everyone is racing in the same conditions!
I grabbed a lift with Dan Busbridge, an U20 GB team mate of mine, in the morning... So arrived nice and early! I know! EARLY! The time before the race flew by and before I knew it, I was suiting up making sure it was fitted perfectly, then was called over to the starting pens with 10 mins till race start.

In London, I made the mistake of starting in the middle. I didn't here! I rushed out and immediately grabbed a spot near the outside, just like coach said! We got into the water and were quickly started. We're off and I got a clean get away, I looked to the left and saw everyone was a good few strokes behind other than 2 other swimmers that had also broke away a little. At the first turn bouy, I am pretty sure I was in 3rd place after nailing the first straight! After the 4 turns I was losing positions and came out the water in 10th place... More swimming needed!
9th place was around 10 seconds ahead of me coming out the water, but I made that up in T1! We were running out onto the bike as a 'pack' (still running at the point, so not drafting!!) I did my flying mount and overtook the 'pack' and set on a mission to hunt down first place and take top spot! My mission was complete after the first 5k of the bike! Sweeeet! Now just needed to put as much time as I could between me and second place! I did just that! I had 38 seconds lead coming into T2 and put another 7 seconds into him in T2...

So, I was on the run with a 45 second buffer! And I was running well... On for a comfortable 17 flat! With 2k to go I had a sneaky look round and they weren't in sight! So the last 2k, I eased off and just tried to take everything in... Scenery, crowd, atmosphere, everything... It was great! I had another look behind with around 200m to go and caught a glimpse of them! Still a good 30 seconds behind! I was actually running down the blue carpet, 100m to go, and I was clear... The feeling was unreal! After a little celebration, arms aloft and all that jazz, I crossed the line with a 27 second gap! Wow!
2nd and 3rd had a tight race and I surely congratulated them, being a good sportsman ;)
Well done to all the GB athletes that crossed the line especially the 16-19 AG... Was great to see so many of us out there representing the country! Great achievements all round! 

Really tough luck for Dan Busbridge, coming off his bike and getting a hefty scar and 4 stitches in his knee the day before the race! It was hit and miss whether he'd actually start, so well done mate! Respect! See you in Edmonton for some hard core revenge buddy!

Junior Elite Race Analysis:
The next day I watched the Junior elites... I had been looking forward to this one! Main reason being to see how far off I am.
Swim - It's a bit cheeky because I actually saw a boat out in the middle of the lake removing a bouy and moving the rest of them closer! Maybe to make the swim more accurate? Because to be fair, the times were a bit slow on the day of our race, everyone was a good 40 seconds to 1 minute down on what they know they can do, so there must have been something wrong, and one can only assume the organisers picked up on this too! Even with the course being slightly shorter, the elites are rapid, like... crazy quick!
Bike - Their bike course was different to ours... Ours was 20k, with 720m of climbing, theirs' was 20k with just 267m of gentle climbing made up of 3 laps, such a shame considering the great challenging roads in this area. Their times were... hmm... Respectably average.
GB elite Alex West came off the bike in the lead group with Luke Penny in the chasing group, only under a minute behind! Good goin' that!
Run - Again, their run consisted of 5k, same distance as ours, but half the amount of ascending as us AGers. 4 of the juniors broke off the front, including winner Raphael Montoya (France) who smashed the run with an amazing time of 15.20! Wow! However, I was surprised to see that after 20th place, they all ran over 17 minutes! I half expected at least 50% of the field go sub 16.30 if I'm honest! But oh well... Just makes it a bit more promising for me when I get there! ;)
It is such a shame that we never get the chance to compare like with like, some folk simply look at the end times and dismiss the achievements of the age group athletes. For example
 

'Grouper' - (as we are referred to) Kitzbuhel sprint 1:05:12
Elite-  Kitzbuhel sprint 57: 26
So looking at that the best grouper is still 8 minutes behind the Elite, but as I say it doesn't take into account:
•    Measured swim course
•    Completely different bike routes
•    Flatter run course for the elites
•    Drafting in the elite race
•    Groupers transition much further from the swim- there's 2 1/2 mins just there!

I had a text from an elite basically saying well done on my win but I was still 10 minutes off the pace, bugged me a bit that if someone 'inside' the elites doesn't see the difference in the race conditions and just looks at the end times, is it the same with their 'talent' spotters?

...

In conclusion... Awesome venue, great to have wider European participation, was a wicked vibe and I could sit here a list how good it was! Especially to go out the next night and catch Richard Vagar and Alistair Brownlee sneaking a few (a lot) of jeagar bombs, summer shots and a whole lot more, trust me, a whole lot more! And what I took from that is; if they can, why can't I? ;)

Also, coming 1st Brit, I have Pre-qualified for next years Euro Champs in Geneva, although I have other plans for this race! If Geneva is half as good as Kitzbuhel it's going to be awesome!
Great event and hosts.
Quick 'highlights' video of the AG sprint race, how many times can you sport me!?

#TwentyFourteenHasBegun

2014 catch up... 

A bit of a catch up this one, soooo busy, just coming to the end of college, just a little bit of work experience for a couple of months, landed on my feet here, managed to get a spot working with Adam, my swim coach, a personal trainer from GreenlightPt. He knows the amount of training I do, we fit the 'experience' in with the training - so works well.

I have also set up a bit of a monster with iPrintStuff, who would know there was such a demand for bespoke printing on kit that was reasonably priced ;) I set the business up to get money to fund my tri, in fact every penny I make is ploughed straight back in. It does mean that I have to juggle a lot of stuff around, especially now that my 'racing' season has started in earnest. Who said it would be easy? If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! To find out my about getting your kit printed up with names, sponsors etc follow this link.

Talent Backer

In 2013 I qualified and raced for GB at the European and World Triathlon Champs in Turkey and here in London. This year I have qualified six times to represent  GB.

·         Duathlon - Horst, Netherlands
·         World Duathlon - Spain
·         Euro Triathlon (Sprint) - Kitzbuhel, Austria
·         Euro Triathlon (Standard) - Kitzbuhel, Austria
·         World Aquathlon - Edmonton, Canada
·         Worlds Triathlon - Edmonton, Canada

Even with iPrintStuff going well I would not be able to fund all of these so I turned to Talent Backer, a 'crowd' funding website. I had a campaign with them for 30 days trying to fund Canada and Spain, just these two would be over £2,500 just for flights and accommodation!

To say the campaign went well is an understatement, I've been truly humbled by the donations.  Mainly from people I know and out of them loads of fellow triathletes and club members. With two weeks of the campaign to go I reached my target and by the end had exceeded it by £600! It seems people were ok with me eating at these events as well! In all seriousness, a massive thank you to everyone that is helping me compete this year - I really couldn't have done it without your generous support - a cliche but true!

Horst - European Duathlon Championships

First off... This was not a race I was targeting, bigger fish to fry and all that and I wasn't in great shape at all for this race. At my tri club, NiceTri, we had outstanding GB representation at this event, with some 14 club members going. Team-mate Kye Liddle thought it would be good if we pooled our resourses and hired a mini bus, word got out and before we knew it Kye had sorted a massive 38 seater coach with some 29 seats taken (more wanted to go but we needed the space for our luggage, the bike boxes filled the 'hold').

It was a great weekend and maybe a bit too much fun was had by all ;)

In the actual race I have to go back to this 'drafting' thing. The stuff you see on the telly with the likes of the Brownlees and Gomez all working together on the bike is OKfor them but in the races we do this is cheating in a non-drafting race. For clarification:  It's OK to draft in the swim and the run, but NOT the bike. You would be surprised just how many competitors don't get this.... or are they deliberately cheating? Surly not... As a commentator said on telly while talking about not being on the front you can save about 30% of energy. Anyway I couldn't shake off my tail on the bike and came in 2nd in the end.

NiceTri Sprint Triathlon #1 (1 of 3 in the series)

My local and one of my favourites, not only is it a fantastically well organised event it also brings in a great group of competitors, it's a great atmosphere. A lot of this is due to the volunteer marshals that turn out time and time again for these, 2nd to none... Thanks guys.

I know this race well and wanted to do well, so I pushed hard throughout and had a storm of a race and finished on top spot on the podium (well I would have if they had one!) BOOM - WIN!

Posing with my new 2014 Trek Speed Concept!

UK - Quadrathlon World Championships

For the first time in their history this 'little known sport with a big heart' (Not sure who came up with that strap line? ... I prefer the 'when three disciplines aren't enough!) Came to the UK, In Brigg and hosted by Lincsquad who did a brilliant job. This quad by the way was a 1500m river out and back swim, a 7k out and back kayak, a 38k bike leg finished with a two lap 10k run. Race report from the BQA and WQF here, mentions something about  a 'machine on a bike'.

I finished 2nd overall by 14 seconds... The winner Steve King, who I was gaining on, looked round and sprinted... So it was game over for me!

  Well done to everyone that raced that day and a massive hats off to the Lincsquad boy and girls that allowed for some great racing.

I did become world U23 quadrathlon champion that day so... BOOM - WIN!

Spain - World Duathlon Championships

Spain, Spain, Spain... What an awesome experience!! Went out with mates and team mates Dean Watson and Kurt Sanders... I met some pretty awesome people out there, including other Brits and loads of foreigners!!

As far as the race goes... It went well! Probably the best Duathlon I've ever raced anyway! Started off with a 5k run around the streets of Pontevedra (awesome place - must go again some time!) which was a bit hilly and twisty, but nonetheless a sweet run course... Came off the run in around 20th place with a high 16... I got to the bike and the pain/fun began! I overtook 16 people in the first 4k of the 20k bike and was left chasing the remaining 3... I managed to catch and overtake the 3 leaders and came in off the bike in 1st place and (it's unofficial at the moment) took the fastest bike split of the day too... SAWEEET! Anyway, at this point, I was in 1st place overall, but was quickly overtaken by the fast 30-34 age-groupers... Anyway, along with my fastest bike split, I became U20 World Duathlon Champion... BOOM - WIN! Pleased with that... And just for the record, I would of also become 20-24 world champ and 25-29 champ if I were in those Age groups... Although there was only 3 seconds splitting us!! :D

It's been a hectic few months, what with working with Adam at GreenlightPT and working at my own iPrintStuff - printing suits and what not, but I managed to get 2 world champion titles in 8 days... Can't say I am too disappointed with that! 
Iwould just like to big up my sponsors; GreenlightPT, Tony at the Sport Injury Clinic, NiceTri Events, the guys at Insight Nutrition and my team Corley Cycles/Body Limits Transition!

I promise the next blog will be smaller... I'll try and post little and often :)

Next races:

Brownlee Sprint Triathlon

Kitzbuhel European Sprint Triathlon Champs

Canada World Sprint Triathlon Champs

Chow for now...