Athlone – A Fan
July 7th, 2010 by Gavin
One of my highlights from Triathlone was the peformance by my man Jim Corbett – picking up a Silver Medal ! We had highlighted Triathlone as one of the key races for the year and we wanted a podium ! High 5
After having to withdraw from my own race I got up early on Sunday morning and headed for the Specialized Tent at 6am. The racing hadn’t started yet, it was raining and the tent housed my favourite coffee machine – I have become a coffee snob and my hotel instant didn’t do it for me.
On Friday I had been in the tent with Benno, my Specialized team mechanic – he prepared my s-works sl2 – and Bryan Keane and I messed about on the new Globe ‘fixies’ – maybe the coolest bike I saw all weekend ! It was a relaxed atmosphere that afternoon around transition.
But on Sunday morning when I arrived it was MANIC !! Just before 6am the ETU banned disc wheels from being used and you can imagine the rush to the Specialized Tent.
I caught up with Jim, Adam, Andy and Louis as they walked towards the start – I wished them all luck and reminded them to focus on the processes that make up their races. Step by step.
With Jim we had been working on his nutriton, his start in the swim, concentration and rhythm – when I met him later he was already analysing how he could gained a few seconds here and there – I had to remind him he had just won a silver medal in a European Champs !
For the Women’s race the day before I positioned myself around the technical section of the bike – that section was also a spectator pit stop ! I was standing next to the Suisse and German coaching staff. The Argentina Germany football match was in full swing and so there were some pints of Guinness lined up on the bar – the signal for the coaches to come running out was the sound of the crowd cheering as the pack passed through – it was funny to see them all run out, get back on their radios and write the bike splits on their white boards.
The loudest cheer came when Aileen and Emma hit the front and stretched out the lead group. A great sight. Aileen went on to record a great result for herself and Triathlon Ireland.
Ill admit watching the mens race was frustrating at times. I got the usual goose bumps when the pre race music came on and the athletes were announced onto the podium. The crowd on the Sunday was amazing. Something every elite athlete later commented on. The ITU has taken to moving big races to ‘big locations’ but sometimes it is to the detriment of crowd numbers, excitement and atmosphere. Mr Brownlee commented that “we dont often get to race in front of such big crowds, I never had so many high fives”. For me Athlone is the perfect location – a smaller town, the triathlon takes over ! The fact that it is also in Ireland maybe makes me biased but not many would argue with me in saying that the course, organisation and support has been the best on the circuit so far in 2010.
Plus everyone – even my grumpy self - is smiling at the party
I returned to Dublin after the race and checked into the Mater Hospital – I left a couple of hours later with a puncture wound on my knee and an empty wallet. Slowly I am getting back and the pain is subsiding . . . the most painful thing around here at the moment are these sunglasses . .
2 Responses to “Athlone – A Fan”
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July 7th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
It was a great weekend, look forward to seeing more races like that in Ireland. You Elite guys put on some show. Already have are tickets booked for the Grand final in Budapest. Both yourself & Bryan Keane are great embassadors for the Irish Team!! Keep up the good work & hope you get back racing fit soon!!
July 7th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Flying Jim Corbett is the man!