2022 ETU MIDDLE DISTANCE DUATHLON CHAMPS ALSDORF RACE REPORT

This weekend I took an overnight Ferry from Hull, and the drove with my mate Dave down to Alsdorf in Germany. We stayed close by, in Landgraaf, at a really nice chalet park. There was plenty of nice roads to practice on, and the trip to Alsdorf was left than half an hour from this base. We were both in good spirits on race day, knowing the distance was already done at Oulton Park three weeks ago, and we were as ready as we could be ....

Pre Race

Logistically it was really easy. Parking in the supermarket covered car park (free) we made our way to the transition and racked our bikes, in nifty wooden frames, however, not a lot of room for kit, with just my helmet and bike shoes allowed next to the bike. I stowed a small bottle of PH 1500 inside the frame for my second run.  After racking, as we could not leave any bags in transition, we made our way to City Hall to stow our kit in lockers (also free) and made our way back to the start via a 10 minute easy warm up. Now, we were ready !

1st Run - 6.03 miles - 41.26

We lined up with every man aged 20-54 and I put myself somewhere towards the rear figuring that I needed to calm down my first mile and starting where I did would help me achieve that which I suppose it did. Within a minute or so of the off, I could again see the leaders snaking off into the distance and then I found my place in the order and stayed in and around the same athletes. I did get a good draft behind an irish lad for a couple of laps, and his pacing was perfect for me. I lost this when grabbed some water on lap 3, but kept pace and then a slightly easier last lap as I mentally prepared to get on the bike. Job done at 6.52 average mile pace which was in the 6.50-7.00 range that I wanted.

Bike - 35.66 miles - 1.32.41

Get on it. Total TT course and a testers dream. It does undulate, but I ran a 60T single ring set up, and did not have to gurn up anything. Instead, I relied on my power meter to ensure matches were not needlessly burnt. The course itself is open to the elements and a windier day could catch you out, but we had light wind, although a bit cold. I wore gloves and it was the right decision, also, I was so glad that I did the Kings Lynn CC 25 last week as that was perfect prep for this course. There were some headwind grinds, some ups and downs, and enough to keep it interesting. 6 dead turns were served up, and quite a few tight turns. I lost my fig rolls, so it was just jelly babies for the ride, washed down with Ribena and SIS gels. First lap maybe a bit giddy with power as I was aiming for 220-230W and an average above the 209W seen at Oulton Park. On the second lap I rectified that, and was a little more conservative on the third - I did keep saying to myself ' make sure you can run' when tempted to put in an effort. I kept a good cadence as well which was great as I usually grind myself down a hole. 1.32, good job, and a smidge above 23mph - now could I run...

2nd Run - 42.51

First mile I found my legs and put in a 6.54, it didn't stay there but it didn't drift too badly, in fact it was steady around the 7's for the first 4 miles of the second run. The PH did the trick, and no cramps at all. I had to battle though for the last lap and a half and the pace averaged 7.20 for the last couple of miles but it was no worse, I dug in, and managed it one section at a time, once back up the slight grind for the last time, I knew I'd get there, and picked up a little on the main road to the finish.  Elated with 3.01.13 in what was my best middle distance effort to date. 8th in age group, 2nd brit which means I'll be going back next year.

Brilliant race - love it, can't recommend Alsdorf Duathlon enough.