Geelong Continental Cup

Geelong marked 1 year since my first Open Elite ITU race at the same event last year. I really enjoyed my time down there last year and was eager to return, albeit nervous in the lead up to the race, being my first ITU race of the season.

Race start was at 2pm so I spent the morning "relaxing" and preparing for the race. The morning seemed to drag on forever but eventually 12:00 rolled around and it was time to get moving. I headed out on my bike to get my legs moving and check over the course before heading down to the athletes lounge to check in and then rack my bike. It was then time for a good warm-up. We were allowed into the water for 15 mins swim warm-up before being called out to line up for introductions.

Lining up for introductions; entering the water for swim start

We were called into the water then told we still had 5 mins til race start. I did a bit more swim warm-up then headed back to the pre-start line, not wanting to forfeit my position on the start line I attempted to stay warm by vigorously treading water. When we were finally called to the start line with 30 sec to go everyone sprinted to the line to get a good spot and attempting to warm up again before the start. Knowing Maddi Allen was easily the strongest swimmer in the field I positioned myself as close to her as I could on the start line. I had a good start finding clear water almost straight away. I saw Emma Jackson and Maddi Allen had gone out hard to my right and chose to merge across to them rather than to the group of mainly Kiwi girls to my left who had also started strong. Before long I was out the front with Maddi and Emma. Shoulder to shoulder with Maddi I managed to get around both turn buoys cleanly. I had difficulty sighting the last buoy heading back towards the swim exit but was fairly confident that given there was no current I was swimming straight, and the other girls were going the same way anyway. When we reached the last buoy with about 100m to go Maddi took off and I jumped on her heels. I exited the water in second, 3 seconds behind Maddi and ran up the ramp to transition.

Out of the swim into transition

I had a good transition but not the strongest with Maddi and Emma reaching the mount line in front but to avoid congestion I ran past them, had a really good mount and was off leading the pack into the ride.

Bike mount

The bike course was a quite technical 5 lap course with a hill, 2 U-turns (less familiar left handers as we were racing on the right hand side of the road), a sweeping right hander at the bottom of the hill, a sweeping left hander and 2 chicanes. Kiwi Rebecca Kingsford took a turn working up the hill to the tight u-turn at the top and back down again. Coming down the hill I looked over my shoulder to see we had opened up a small gap on the other girls in the front pack. Rebecca slid out around the corner at the bottom of the hill, fortunately not taking out anyone else but relegating herself to the second pack and leaving me out the front by myself. I continued to push hard to see what happened but still expecting the girls to bridge back up to me. By the end of the technical section, about 1.5km into the ride it was evident that I had established a break and no-one was about to come with me.

My race plan had been to either get away with a small group of girls out of the swim or break away from the pack later on in the bike. It had never been in my plan to even attempt to solo the whole 20km but here I was with the lead and risky as it was I was there to race and I wasn't going to give up this advantage. Breaking away later may well have been a safer move but would have been much more difficult to execute (I have attempted unsuccessfully in previous races) and possibly less advantageous with less time to put ground into the chase pack. Knowing the pack would take some time to get organised and start working together I put the hammer down on the first lap to consolidate my lead. Coming past transition again to start my second lap I was still ahead of the pack and was starting to get some good crowd support. I was out in front, had the TV crew following me the whole way, and was drawing immense energy from the crowd each lap - excitement built and I started to think, 'hey, maybe this will actually work!'

Riding past transition to begin another lap, led by a TO on the lead motorbike with the film crew for company

I continued to really work the hill and the corners knowing I'd have an advantage over the pack of 8 girls through the technical section. I didn't put much time into the first chase pack over the second lap but the second chase pack was falling further behind - it was obvious they would be out of the equation by the time we got to the run. Lap 3 my legs were starting to tire and I was a little concerned that the chase pack might catch me and I'd have blown my race. That mentality didn't last long though as I knew that I'd come down here to give the race everything I had and that meant more to me than any splits, finish time or even position - it didn't matter if they caught me but I was sure as heck going to try and make sure they didn't. Fuelled by the ever growing crowd support (it's amazing what if does for you!!!) by lap 4 I was beginning to put time into the pack. The bell lap came and went and before I knew it I was into transition with a 20 sec lead. The crowd support by this time was amazing and I couldn't help but smile as I headed out onto the run, tingling with emotion.

Racking my bike before heading off onto the run

I wasn't sure how close the girls were behind me and felt a little dismayed at just how close they were when I turned at the top of the hill on the first run lap to see them charging up the hill. I didn't let it get to me though and ran on, maintaining the same pace. I held the lead into the second of three run laps but was shortly passed by Kiwi Sophie Corbidge and then Grace Musgrove. Sophie passed me with too much pace for me to think about holding on but when Grace came past I tried to go with her for a little while to help boost my pace if not to stay with her. I dropped off pretty quickly but managed to hold onto third until the final lap when I was caught by Maddie Dillon from NZ and Yuko Takahashi from Japan then Jaz Hedgeland and Emma Jackson. When Jaz and Emma caught me I was able to stick with them until the hill. Going up the hill for the final time I could hear Emma was breathing hard and decided too pushed hard up the hill, passing her and catching back up to Jaz. I gained confidence from being able to stick with the girls and drawing from my training over Christmas and with only a km or so to go I turned up the gas. I passed Jaz, saw Maddie starting to struggle, set my sights on catching her and eventually did. I was also gaining on Yuko Takahashi in 3rd and with encouragement from mum and a number of others screaming at me I gave it everything I had left to try and catch her, coming within a couple of meters at the turn onto the finish chute. I was hoping she wouldn't see me but as we turned she glanced over her shoulder, saw me there and took off down the finish chute. I followed but couldn't catch her finishing in 4th, 3 seconds behind. Despite being so close to the podium I can honestly say I was so happy with my race and enjoyed it so much that I didn't feel the slightest disappointment at finishing 4th.

Still holding a narrow lead at the end of lap 1; approaching the turn around to begin the final lap; running down the finish chute

I still get a real buzz out of racing such great athletes and girls I really look up to. It was so much fun to really feel like part of the action even onto the run. Congrats to Sophie Corbidge for taking out the race, Grace Musgrove for winning the Australian title and to everyone else who raced!

Another highlight of the day was having my first drugs test - not the most pleasant thing to do but it was exciting none the less. I was amazed at the formality of it all - all the paperwork involved and the rigorousness of the sample collection and storage. They even used numbered glass bottles with a ratchet mechanism to stop them being re-opened!!

As I have said before, triathlon may be an individual sport, and I may be the one out there racing on the day but it is all made possible by the amazing team I have behind me. My parents are my constant support, buying all my equipment, helping get me to races, and often taking me there themselves. It was awesome to have you there on the weekend mum! Without my coach, Cath Rogers I would not be here. The effort she puts into the squad, creating a great atmosphere to train in, helping us to get the most out of ourselves, and constantly offering advice and support is outstanding. Vision tri club has been the best bunch of people to train with I could ever have asked for. Thanks guys for being such great company, pushing me along and keeping me motivated! A special mention to Greg Thirkill for all your help with my bikes etc! Thanks to Yellow Jersey bike shop for servicing my wheels - they worked a treat, and thanks to Trek for such an awesome bike to ride.

Next up for me is the Devonport Sprint Oceania Championships in just over a week. I'm super excited to race again, and promise my next race report will be shorter!

Gillian