Des Moines World Cup - Bevan
24 June 2008
Ok I know, before I start, I seem to be making a habit finishing 2nd and the world cup race in Des Moines Iowa was no exception. Maybe I'm going to have to change a few things, maybe start wearing a golden race suit as opposed to the silver one I currently have.
Anyway to the race. Over the last 2 weeks Iowa had been devastated by flooding, and Des Moines was hit hard. With the transition area of the proposed course under 5 feet of water, the race organizers were forced to find a new venue and put together a world class event in under 5 days!
The race was relocated out to West Des Moines, and the organizers and community worked wonders to put together a world class course! Infact the lake we swum in was already booked by a wedding, however the main sponsor offered them a free wedding and things freed up!
With such a large prize purse up for grabs (us$350,000) it was surprising to have only 40 guys lining up, however there was certainly no lack of talent, also the race doubled as the final US Olympic selection race, so there was a lot on the line.
I was pretty confident of a good race, with my world champs result and having had some good training in Wisconsin leading up to the event, but you never know...
I had a good feeling that the race was going to come down to the run, so throughout the swim and bike, I made sure I positioned myself well and stayed out of trouble. Our race didn't start until 4:30pm so by that time it was starting to cool off a little, however I made sure that I got down as much fluids as I possibly could.
Sure enough with 1 lap to go there was a pack of 25 athletes, so I moved toward the front to position myself well for transition.
Bang, onto the run and instantly a group of 5 moved into the lead, consisting of Simon Whitfield (CAN), Ivan Rana (ESP), Rasmus Henning (DEN), Greg Bennett (AUS), and myself. For the first 2.5 laps we all ran together hard and fast, however midway through the 3rd lap Henning made his move. He surged on the downhill and then opened the gap a little more on the uphill. I knew this was the key move however Henning was just too strong, so I was left battling it out for the minor placings. At the 9km mark Bennett put in a big surge and fortunately I was only able to go with him. We both held a very solid pace right up until the line where I out kicked him for 2nd!
So there u have it, 3 races and three 2nds... To be honest I was a little frustrated after Des Moines, still a very good result, however I still didn't feel completely on top of my game. Let's just hope that I'm saving it for the big one in August!
Now I'm heading back to Boulder for some more altitude training, to trying and step it up to another level.
Thanks for all your support.
Bevan
Back
