World Triathlon Championships Race Report

ITU World Triathlon Championships Lausanne, Switzerland - Race Report 
Race: World Triathlon Championships
Date: Saturday 31st of August 2019
Distance: 750/20/5 - Draft Legal
Result: 9th Place 16-19 Year Male
 
I arrived in Lausanne 7 days prior to racing in my first International event. First day was relax and sleep to catch on the time zone change over. The rest of the week was all about familiarizing myself with the swim, bike and run legs of the race. We were staying close by which was great as it allowed me to ride each day on the cycle course. As for the swim, I was able to use the local pool for laps and the lake for open water training. The run was pretty straight forward; there were plenty flat and hilly areas for run training. I spread my training over both as the race bike and run course were both hilly. I also took over my Normatec Boots to help with recovery in between races as well as my Fisiocrem. I am fortunate as the scholarship holder to have a nutrition plan provided by Tara Leanne Nutrition which is both helping me to understand the right nutrition I need before, during and after racing. Thank-you Tara.
 
Preparation for the race: I kept on top of my hydration from the moment I stepped of the plane, as it was much hotter in Lausanne then in Australia. All the hard training sessions with Coach Toby Coote and my team mates from SCTA, meal plans, blood, sweat and tears had all lead to this moment. I was eager to race! It was my first-time racing internationally, and I was really stoked to be here. I was ready!
 
Swim: It was a stacked field with 85 other competitors on the start line with me. I knew it was vital for a fast and clean start. It was a deep water start, so I made sure I positioned myself on the outside with some other fellow Australians which I knew were strong swimmers. It was a crammed start line. The start hooter went off. I had a clean start and was positioned on the back of the front group. The first buoy was 200 meters out so it was spread out, but when we hit the buoy it was carnage. I managed to get hit in the stomach and was winded slightly, finding it hard to get my rhythm and breathe for a few meters, yet I kept pushing the pace on the swim to try to be there in the front pack. I came out of the water roughly around 20th around 30sec off the top swimmer, so I knew I had to have a fast transition to make up some lost time from the swim.
 
Bike: I had a great transition making up some good ground but just missed the front pack. I found myself in the second pack consisting of around 15 other athletes with a group of 5 up the road. The course was very hilly and I knew I could use this to my advantage and put some attacks on to break up the pack and that is exactly what I did. The pace on the bike was brutal we came into transition 5 seconds off the lead group; it all came down to the run.
 
Run: I had yet another fast transition and ran out in 6th position. A small group of roughly 5 of us came together on the run trying to catch up to the leaders. We passed a couple of the boys from the front group on the hill. The run course was also hilly and again the pace was hot. I was still in a fairly large group with about 1km to go, we were fighting it out. A few of the boys put some surges on and I was dropped with 600m to go the legs were cooked from the hard bike, but I knew I had to keep going hard till the end. I managed to find some final reserves and came in for 9th place.
 
Summary: I was stoked with a top 10 finish. I was happy with how I executed my race and gave it all out on the course. It was a completely different experience racing Internationally, I learnt many things and I am really looking forward to the rest of the season.
 
Congratulations to all the other Australians who raced. Thank you to Coach Toby Coote for preparation, SCTA sponsors who provide me with the best equipment and opportunities for racing and my family and friends for supporting me. ​