Darley Moor Sprint Duathlon, 19 Sep 2021

I am delighted to have competed in my first age-group qualifier event, a sprint duathlon at Darley Moor race track in Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

It was a different experience to the multisport events that I have done before in the South West. As an ITU qualifier, this also set the bar much higher for a more competitive field, which was great to be a part of.

The run course was gently undulating gravel, much like the sorts of terrain I am used to training on. Meanwhile, a mass start is certainly something I haven’t experienced in a while (due to Covid restrictions)! I had forgotten how much the adrenaline surge would try and push me into trying to keeping up with the front group. However I’m glad I held back at the start which meant that I managed to lay down a relatively consistent pace across the 5kms, finishing about middle in the field. 

I knew I had a good chance of working my way further up the field on the bike, which I did. The bike course was 8 laps (18.5km total) around a triangular shaped circuit. It was fairly exposed to the wind but had some lovely views across to the Peak District when I had the chance to take a breath! There were lots of TT bikes on the course but I was just chuffed to have raced for the first time with tri bars on my road bike. This certainly took some getting used to but I was glad to have spent enough time practicing that I felt really comfortable. Perhaps a bit too comfortable however, in terms of my power output, as with race officials around every corner, I certainly held back a few times in hesitation to overtake other riders. Although the event was non-drafting, speaking to one of the race officials after the race made me realise that I did have some scope to be more aggressive in getting around others to avoid losing precious time. The only penalty I did serve was for getting off my bike before my rear wheel was clear of the mount line. But after all, this is what building up ‘race experience’ is all about!

Finally, by the second run, I had lost a bit of steam in terms of my pace but I had a fantastic sprint finish in order to cross the line before a contender nearly overtook me only a few metres from the finish line! I finished 4th in my age-group and 32nd female overall in a fantastic event which I would definitely do again.

However, having spent the past 18 months focusing on training for duathlons and triathlons, I’ve been recently craving a bit more quality time with my bike! Bring on hill climb season!

Lucy Hoade