The reason why I went back to register for the tri-swim and tri-bike even though I couldnt do the whole series this year, was because I found the tri-factor series really fun, and after last year's positive experience, i wanted to do it again just for fun and for training value.
Last year's tri-bike Josh and I had fun within our pack averaging 36kph before i sprinted my scrawny butt off at the finish. This year, without Josh around, I decided to play it this way: Keep up with the fastest pack that my ability could keep up with.
I got to the race site about 15 mins before my wave's start. And me being the cycling noob i was, put myself in the middle of the start chute. Once the horn was blown, the front group of people went off quickly. All their fresh legs meant that the first lap was already ridiculously fast. I had to ride at 40kph to catch that front group that had quickly broken away. I had to catch on to that pack so that I won't be at a disadvantage just at the start of the race.
The moment I got onto the back of this pack, the front half of this pack attacked. WTH... I jumped out from behind and pumped to catch this new group. The pace was retarded. I was going at 43-44 to close the gap on this new group.
Trust me to have a shit luck. The moment I caught up with this pack, 3 of them decided to break away. WHAT THE HELLLLL!!! It's akin to taking the treat away from your pet dog just as it is about to eat it.
Since I had already committed to chasing down the leaders, I put my head down to catch them again. 43 was the number as I slowly but surely bridged my way up to them. One of the guys looked surprise whn I came up behind them, as if I had just appeared from out of nowhere. I took my time to catch my breath behind them, before the 4 of us took our turns to work at the front, maintaining at about 40kph.
This went on for 3 of the 4 loops. There were 2 roadies, and a fellow tri-biker in our group. One of the roadies was from the geylang riders while the other was a team midpoint guy. The tribiker was on a argon e112. On the 3rd loop, the argon got a gap on the 3 of us, and i wanted to catch back up to him, but the 2 roadies were getting tired by then, and we couldnt close the growing distance, so we let him go.
A huge pack from a later wave had latched onto the 3 of us, but they were pulling at 36-37. I got impatient and went ahead. Bunch of craps just latched onto my rear wheel. Everytime I motioned for them to take over, the pace dropped. I was getting quite annoyed, but there was nothing I could do. So I just worked within the pack to conserve my energy.
At the last turn right with 2km to the finish, I jumped out and went for it. I hit 47kph and kept it around 42-43 after that. With a couple hundred metres more to go I kicked one last time to secure finishing 2nd in the wave, and ultimately 6th overall. huge improvement from last year's 37th place (or somewhere around there) finish. Check the speedo, ave speed was 38.8kph.
I was very pleased because I felt that I had given my best effort. I was not let down by myself but just by riders who didnt want to work.
Thanks must go to Soon Watt for lending me the pair of EC90 Aero Tubular race wheels. They really made a difference. Thank God for keeping me safe during the race too. Saw one guy who had to get his face bandaged (ala Amos) because of a crash.
I was impressed by the guy on the e112. I chatted with him after the race and it turns out he only started riding in Jan this year. This is one sick sick dude.
I went for another 60km with a number of hills in between, then headed out for a run with turned into a run/walk as i melted and dehydrated from the 12 noon heat.
The prep for frankfurt is more or less complete. Tomorrow onwards I will be tapering for the biggest race of my life so far. I pray for strength and protection as I head towards the end of this loooooonnnnnggg journey.
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