European Middle Distance Aquabike Championships, 27 Aug 2023

After arriving in Menen a few days before the race I was able to check out the bike course, or at least the complicated bits around the town. The river didn't look very inviting at this point - it was very green with lots of algae of some sort. I chose not to swim in it before race day, but by race day it looked much better.

The race started at 12pm for the elite triathlon, with lady’s Aquabike not starting till 12.50pm. Fuelling strategy would be interesting. I managed to eat breakfast, hubby made me a sandwich and grabbed a croissant which he forced me to eat at 11.00am. I was worried about the swim entrance and exit. It was a rolling start and your time started at the top of the ladder to a pontoon.

Off I went, sat down on the pontoon and plopped into the water - not very elegant but reasonably efficient. The swim went ok - we swam against the current to start with, then most of the rest was with the current, before turning back into the current to the finish. It wasn't too manic and I was overtaking people along the way. Getting out via the steps was fine, and my watch told me the swim part was 40 mins which was my aim.

Now the fun started - running to transition. I can't run, but I made my best attempt while the world ran past me. Quick removal of wetsuit, shoes and hat on, even more running to the bike and then out with bike. I lost at least 2 minutes to most people with my inability to run.

Getting on my bike was a relief after the running. The first section of the bike course was technical and round the town, so I was a little cautious. Then a long straight with a couple of small ups which was against the wind and tough. I was going OK but that windy section took it out of me and I wasn't looking forward to doing it again on the second lap. I came through the first lap with a time of 1hr27 which spurred me on as I wanted to get under 3 hours for the bike. My bike handling was definitely better on the second lap. I think by 80km I was done but I managed to keep the speed up through the town. I turned a corner and was at the finish in a time of 2 hours 54 mins - a PB for 90k. I was 8th in age group - I was hoping for higher but they were very strong.

My fuelling strategy as normal was rubbish. I had a top tube bag of jelly babies which I ate continuously. I lost one of my bottles on a bumpy section. I managed to remember to drink 3 times but did at least drink a lot each time. 

It was a good race and now I need to train hard to be able to be a bit more competitive.

My fuelling on bike needs sorting and I need to be able to handle the technical sections more confidently.

Julia Dolman