Pickering triathlete Geoff Wynn is making his final preparations to compete alongside the pros in the final rounds of the World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, November 26. In today’s blog, Geoff looks forward to what will be a huge challenge and an incredible experience for an amateur athlete.
With the world Olympic distance triathlon final in Abu Dhabi looming on the horizon, the last few weeks have been a blur of training and working out logistics for the event and holiday. Coming off the back of two race wins in three weeks in York and Brigg, I finally felt like my performances were reflecting my training and I'd built a solid foundation to work off for the last few weeks of preparation for the race.
Training took a little deviation at the start of October after I won three months’ free professional coaching worth over £750 in a competition. Now, I'm the first to say never change what you know in the lead up to a race nor experiment with new things but this was far too good an opportunity to miss and as the Olympic distance is my least favourite of all the triathlon distances (I still have no idea how I managed to qualify for this one) I was prepared to take a gamble and so have been training for the last few weeks under the instruction of a couple of lads who work in and around the British triathlon set-up in Leeds. Time will tell whether this was a mistake or a stroke of genius and perfect timing but I've certainly been put through my paces and forced to confront the weaknesses in my ability.
I'm going into this race with no targets and I think the conditions out in Abu Dhabi will be a huge factor in how the race goes. The day-time temperatures in excess of 30 degrees will be a drastic change from good old Yorkshire and it’s guaranteed to be a non-wetsuit swim which instantly puts us weaker swimmers on the back foot from the word go. That said, I'm excited for what an experience it will be and looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the pros who will also be out there contesting the final round of the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series. With potential for British winners in both the men’s and the women’s events, it will be an incredible sight to see the best in the world battling it out.
But, for now, it's time to get back to the final days of training and planning.
We’ll catch up with Geoff when he returns from Abu Dhabi. Good luck, from all the team at Big Bear Bikes.
