I really don’t take bad results well at all. It was always going to be rude awakening though unfortunately. It’s the first proper ‘tough race’ of race of the year, it was hot, hilly, non-wetsuit lake swim with a really good field of athletes and in these first few races you tend to feel like a one pace man. This year the Russian athletes and a few others have been really racing from the gun, smashing out the swim and carrying that through on the bike. Its changing the sport a bit to be honest and as Javier Gomez is not in fantastic run shape he’s got more beans for the swim and bike these days.  

I haven’t got masses of confidence for my swim at the moment unfortunately so I was reasonably happy to be in the thick of it exiting the swim in ‘the hustle’. I knew weeks before the race there would be athletes to chase on the bike but I was hoping it wouldn’t be too much.  

Unfortunately our pack was mostly lazy today and unwilling to put in the work and get organised enough to bring back the lead pack of 9. We ended up losing 1:30 to them and to be honest were lucky it wasn’t more. I didn’t feel good on the bike today, so that made it a bit more difficult then it should have been. I did my part on the bike though, but it just want fluid enough. 

My run was ok, I ran 31:20 on a hot course and managed to stay with the boys for 6k when they put in a hard surge I really wasn’t comfortable with. I still managed to finish and stay strong till the end however and ended up finishing 14th.  

In conclusion, I’m really not cool with finishing this far down, it’s really depressing for me and makes me feel terrible inside.  When this happens though I have to take a step back and remember, these are the best guys in the World in an ever changing and developing sport. My fitness isn’t all there yet and it should only get a lot better as I go through the next phases of training. I think my run is in place and will get quicker in the next few weeks once I get used to the surges a little more. 

Alistair was incredible today…he took the win very easily and to be honest if I forget for just one minute that he is a good friend and rival of mine, it was probably one of the best triathlon performances I have ever seen. 

Thanks everyone for your support for the build up, appreciated it.

Last time I was here it was very nervous times with the Olympic Qualification and all that! Well guess what…it’s still nervous times for me! Its my first World Cup of the year. I am in good shape judging from the last two races and all I want to do is see it work out for my first ITU World Championships series!

My prep for the race went well I think, I came round nicely from the French Grand Prix. I am buzzing after hearing that my 5k in the race actually was 5210m long so I actually ran more like a 14:57 with wind and lots of turns so that confirmed my form is good and I am in a much better position then last year:)

I’m having a good time here so far, It’s HOT! Yesterday Stu and I trained together with a swim in the lake, small ride and a short run around the park. We had a team meal last night as well in Pizza Express with the worst waitress ever who dropped a bottle of balsamic Vinegar, smashed the bottle and it leaked all over Tim Don! She waked off without ever saying sorry!

Head down now…Please check back for a race full race report, hopefully a happy one!