Philly Race Report - Bevan Docherty
30 June 2010
Having five weeks between races offered the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a “Training Race”. The Philly triathlon is the first race of the Toyota Cup ‐ a 6 race series around the US. With it also being a nondrafting race, it enabled me to work on a few aspects of my race, and I was excited to dust off the TT bike and try out the new Mavic Aero wheels.
Unfortunately, in the sprint race held the day before ours, an athlete failed to exit the water and was reported missing. Out of respect for the athlete and to aid search and rescue, the swim for our race was cancelled and the tri became a Duathlon. Disappointing, but the right call. So the new distances were a 5km run, 40km bike and finally 10km run, and with the temperature already hitting 80 (27c) at 6:30am, it was going to be a tough day.
From the gun I took the lead, comfortably running 30 seconds into the chasers. As soon as I jumped on the bike, I put my head down and went for it. There were some very good bike riders in the field and I knew I had to capitalize on the lead I had. After a few out and back sections, the only person I could see was David Thompson ‐ 3 time winner of this race and one of the fastest cyclists in the sport, chasing me down!
These non drafting 40km TT’s are a completely different game. It’s like a long throbbing pain as opposed to the occasional sharp intense pain that the World cup race gives you. It’s just a case of focusing the whole bike lag.
The first lap of the bike was great.
I had the entire road to myself; however, the second lap was a different story, with the “age group” athletes out on their first lap, it was like a game of “Dodge Ball!” It does help mentally when you’re riding past people so fast, but I knew David was closing in.
With 200m to go on the bike, he finally caught me. With 3rd another 3 minutes down, it was just between the two of us.
Out onto the 2nd run, and my standard “ITU” legs weren’t there. It’s amazing how different a sport can be over something so minor as drafting vs non‐drafting.
However; I was still able to quickly gain a small advantage on David and then settle into a rhythm. To be honest, it wasn’t easy out there. As the heat was starting to play its toll on me, I grabbed water at every drink station just to keep me cool. I eventually crossed the line in 1:49:11, very happy with how things went, but a very tough training day.
I’m already back in Santa Cruz, with a few big weeks of training ahead of me before the “make or break” part of the season, starting with Hamburg WCS. Once again, thanks for all your support. It’s great to get another win on the books, and I’m sure there will be plenty more to follow.
Bevan
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