Pickering triathlete Geoff Wynn has represented Team GB again, this time at the Sprint Duathlon World Final in Ibiza. Here, he gives tells us about the build-up and his fantastic performance in the race itself.
So the latest race was the Sprint Duathlon World Final held in Santa Eulalia, Ibiza as part of the Multisport World Finals. I flew out to Ibiza on the Thursday feeling very confident, having had a great build up with my training going well and no niggles or injuries. The race was a draft legal sprint duathlon over 4.8km run, 19km bike and 3km run so I had my Trek Madone 9.0 with me and having researched the routes I knew the bike leg was going to be vitally important to the outcome of the race.
After arriving in Ibiza and checking into the hotel I quickly assembled my bike as there was a group going out to recce the bike course an hour later and I wanted to join them. After meeting up with some other GB athletes, we got out onto the bike course and took ourselves round what was essentially an out and back with a slight incline going out and a couple of punchy short climbs prior to and after the turnaround point. We all agreed that getting into a good working bike group in the race could make a huge difference to how your race went and with this in mind the first run was going to become quite tactical to ensure you were with other athletes coming out of transition and not ending up isolated.
Fast forward to Saturday morning and before I knew it I was putting my GB trisuit on and getting ready to go. A few final checks in transition and everything in place I went for a warm-up before joining the other athletes in the start pens. The clock counted down to 8:06am and I was in the 3rd wave of races and we soon stepped up to the line before the music was silenced, the countdown began and then the starter horn!
A surge of athletes heading for the first bend and then downhill towards the main run route where we would complete two laps before entering transition. The run went fantastically and I paced it to perfection, negative splitting the run and working my way through the pack. With half a mile to go thoughts turned to where to position myself to get a good chance on the bike. A look ahead and I could see three other GB athletes and a Mexican around 50 yards in front so I pressed on and caught up to them. We all entered T1 together and after a swift transition I was out with the bike slightly ahead of the pack. This gave me chance to tackle the short hill out and get my feet into my bike shoes with clear space.
On the flat I was joined by the three GB athletes and we soon established a good working order. This lasted about 2 miles before one guy stopped taking his turn at the front and after a few words from myself he got dropped and the three of us continued on. We were soon joined by another GB athlete and then we really started to press the pace, taking 30-second turns at the front before peeling off and this continued until just after the turn around when we were caught by a group of eight and quickly formed a large pack which in turn upped the pace again.
The return leg on the bike is one of the fastest rides I've experienced and all I'll say about Mexican bike riders is they're crazy! Flying back down to the town at over 30mph we quickly covered the second half of the ride and, knowing the last half mile contained a couple of roundabouts and two 90-degree bends with a sheer drop at the side, four of us made a break off the front to get some breathing space and escape the gung ho riding attitude of the Mexicans.
Into T2 and a clean transition saw me out on the run clear of the group and I never looked back. Just one lap of running between me and the finish line. The support on the sidelines was incredible with people lining the entire run route which took us along the edge of the beach down to and through a marina and then into the centre of the town for the finish with a last sprint uphill on the blue carpet.
Before I knew it the last turn was upon me and 400 metres to the finish line, into another gear and up the pace again and a last sprint up the carpet saw me overtaking another athlete as I crossed the line in 58 minutes and 15 seconds, taking 13th place in my age group and fourth GB athlete. It had been an incredible race and, although I have finished in higher positions before, this is the GB race I'm most proud of. The standard of athletes was the strongest I've encountered at a final and I raced as hard as I could and tactically perfectly.
You'll never be upset by a result when you know you put everything into it. Time to get back to domestic competition now and a few more qualifiers for the 2024 World and European events.
