What a day! I finally have my first WTC victory after racing for such a short time at the new distance.
Coming off the tiring St Croix race, I struggled to get back into my training rhythm once I got back to Tampa. Not only did my blisters make it hard to do the biking and running but also the training itself took it’s toll.
Up until the last two days before the race I did not feel completely ready. Race day proved to be quite different.
We stayed the last 3 nights before the race in Orlando and met up with Bryan Rhodes and his girlfriend Erin. We had a good time leding towards the race and Bryan used his experience in that race to show us around. We strolled through the expo and spoke to various people and went through the long check in process. The day before I found out that I had some issues with my new wheels and I wasn’t really sure if I would use them or not. I didn’t have time to really try them out before the race and so I only rode them once before- well, I still decided to use the wheels! And of course there was no issue with them what so ever.
Once at the race, I got a colored cap to be more visible to the spectators due to my previous swimming performances. My race number was pretty high (31) but in transition it was “first come first serve” policy- which was good for me, since I was 2nd in line after Rhodsey.
I took the swim out hard and settled in after a few hundred meters- there was only one guy right next to me and I was happy to catch some feet, but once in the draft I felt that the pace was too slow and had to pass him again, and then led all the way till the finish.
First out of the water- again with 2-3 guys on my feet.
In transition, we dropped another one and then it was only Rhodsey and me alone in front. We pushed hard since we saw a group of about 15 guys that were 1 minute back. After a while Luke Bell joined us, which was a welcomed help. We shared the work and that is how we arrived in T2. We had about a 2:40min lead ahead of the big pack and so there was no time to waste and we stormed out of T2. After just 2 miles, Rhodsey fell back but Luke was tailing me all the way. I felt pretty comfortable and set the pace for nearly the entire run. Three laps with some serious off road parts, plus the rising heat made the race course pretty tough for us.
The first and second loop I felt like I was in controlled and was able to just keep the pace, Luke seemed strong but his breathing was hard, so I knew he was suffering already. In the last lap I threw in some surges and upped the pace to tire him out but he was hanging in there- on the last nutrition stop I didn’t take any drinks and saved a few seconds and attacked- so I kept a decent 15m distance between us for the remaining 1-2 miles. Alicia prepared some Mickey Mouse ears for me to wear in case I should win and so I grabbed them with 100m to go and put them on- while looking over my shoulders to make sure I kept distance between us.
I enjoyed the last few meters of the race and yelling out my happiness to the crowed.
This was my first major win after changing to the longer distance earlier this year- and the ears gave me a lot of laughs and attention. I was very happy and have to say thanks to my coach Krüger and my wife Alicia who do all the necessary work in the background for me.
In addition, a big thanks goes out to my sponsors for supporting and believing in me.
So far this year I have competed in three races—finishing with a podium at IM New Zealand and a win in 70.3 Florida in Disney- that’s something to build on.
I am very satisfied and will take a few days to recover in St Augustine with my parents-in-law.
In just a few days I will return to Luxembourg, where I will stay for a while before starting my preparation for the ITU Long Distance European Championships and the grand finale in Hawaii and Clearwater.
Thanks again for your support and all the best to you guys!
Yours- on the top right now-
Dirk
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