After a beautifully warm sunny week I awoke to dark clouds and heavy rain.  Not exactly what I was hoping for and conjured up visions of a treacherous ride to the start but to my delight, as the morning rolled on, the clouds began to thin and the sun started to poke through.  The 2pm start time of this race allows you plenty of time to wake up, fuel up and get in the “zone”.  First stop is T2 in Alpe d’Huez to deposit your run shoes,  get your barings and pick out land marks to save time in transition. 

So with my shoes in position, covered by a Sainsburys carrier bag, in case the rain decided to make another appearance, I was ready for the 20km ride to T1.  The majority of the distance to the start is downhill which is great fun but I had to force myself to take it easy as a crash or blow out before I reached the start would jus

 t be stupid and embarrassing!!  I arrived in T1 with just over an hour and a half to spare, so plenty of time to prep for the first transition.  As T1 filled up there was a noticeable British presence, possibly as much as a fifth of the 1200 strong field!  The most noticeable being that of Rochdale, Leicester and Pulse triathlon clubs who each had a sea of club colours in wedges of the Brit section of the transition area.  What a great sight it would be if we could get a good few of our own colours there for next year!

The briefing took place at 13:30 in glorious sunshine next to Lake Verney, nestled between the picturesque peaks of the surrounding mountains.  By 13:50 the majority of the field were bobbing around in the water at the start line waiting anxiously for the hooter.  Last year there were around 750 entrants, this year that figure had increased to 1200.  Many of us triathletes have had the jostling experience of a mass start and last year I thought being in the middle of 750 was scary but let me say that when the hooter goes off and 1200 competitors set off all eager to impress the television crew hanging out of the helicopter hovering overhead, it’s not just scary it’s flippin traumatising!!!  At one point I wasn’t even in the water and with the first buoy only 500 metres away it leaves you little time to find your own space in the water and get any kind of rhythm going.  It didn’t happen for me until the final 500 metre stretch home.  In fact inside the first 500 I completely lost it and not only considered getting out and throwing the towel in on the whole race but throwing the towel in on tri altogether!  However, I managed to compose myself and pull it together for last 500.  The swim exit was extremely steep with a knotted rope hanging down for those that needed assistance scaling the ascent!  I eventually got out of the swim 2 minutes slower than last year but a smooth well prepared transition saw me out on to the bike in good time.  Now, much much happier to be back on terra firma, it was time to press on on the bike and press on I did passing competitors in almost a permanent over take!  The fantastic condition of the silky smooth roads and perfect weather saw me pressing the big gear almost all the way to the bottom of the mountain and the first 15k seemed to be out of the way in no time.  The mountain ascent also went very well indeed and I felt strong all the way to the finish boasting a bit of a sprint to as close to the dismount line as I dare!  The support from the crowd was continuous through pretty much every twist and turn of the ascent with cheers from the Brit’s and Dutch seeming loudest.  I took on two gels throughout the ascent, one at bend 17 and the next at bend 5 and I’m sure were responsible for keeping me strong.  The two most memorable moments of the climb for me were passing a young GB age group athlete in the first third of the climb and leaving them in my wake never to been seen again and then entering the village at the top of the climb to a group of Brits in a bar on my right screaming  “GO ON WEST SUFFOLK, GO ON ADRIAN”!!  Entry to T2 was swift but hot headed and I made for the wrong row and realising at the last split second managed to turn in to my row clipping the first empty bike rack.  I found my position in the row quickly and a speedy change in to my trainers had me out on the run course pretty rapidly.  It took maybe the first kilometre to find my running legs and at the halfway point after a quick assessment of my condition I decided I had enough in the tank to press harder to the finish.  In the last kilometre the cheers and support from the Brits in the crowd had me picking up the pace again and keep accelerating to end the last 100 metres at top speed!  Official timing had me placed 257^th out of the 1200 starters and 46^th in age group in a time of 02:29:25 taking 15 minutes 17 seconds off last year’s time.  As you can imagine I was a very happy boy indeed!!

ADI B