We got promoted so Division one here we come!

It was skin of our teath, but the french are probably still popping champage and liberally dolling out falicitations to anyone who will listen. A massive relief after messing up the last race with crashes.  We got a break in the swim and Auzzie Kristian McCartney (who is on the results as Pierre) was riding like a motor bike. A group of 8 started the run 15 seconds up on the chase pack of 50 and as a team three of us were in it crossing the line in 4th 8th and 13th. Job Done.

I’m going to go to Perranporth this weekend because its was so much fun last year, then it’s the french club champs first weekend in October and then back to Tavi Club duty with the cross country season.   

I’ve just got back from the Brooks distribution centre (Martin’s Shed) with lots of exciting winter kit, bring on the winter miles, going to get so fast! Have I ever done a “woop” in a post before? I think ow my might be a good time. I love the Winter, wooop!! 

No Splits yet, but its safe to say that James Gilfillan gave me a lesson in how to ride a bike. Very impressive, I’m hoping I had the fastest swim and run, but couldn’t touch his time trialling.

The aim was to get a final solid session before next weekends D day in france. It was worth the 3.55am start as Loraine always puts on an awesome race even under Glastonbury esque conditions.

A huge thank you to Matt Browning who found my car key in a puddle for me and saved me a 100 mile ride home.  Also thank you to everyone who picked up a Driven To Tri leaflet and didn’t hit me for spamming their car windows. In the afternoon I headed down to IM U.K To spread the Driven To Tri word and have a look at some of the racing. Ironman One day? Yes of course, but i’ll need to learn to ride like Gilfillan first.

I get back from my recovery run on Wednesday afternoon and have a quick peak at my email, the french have been it touch. “Arry you will come for the French Iron Tour on Friday? Oliver Freeman e will not do” 

I race the Iron tour it 2005 when it was 7 races over 7 days all across france. It’s not quite the same now, a team relay over 250m 7.5km 1600 on Saturday afternoon, a sprint race on sunday morning then half an hour afterwards 100m, 2.5km, 600m set off at intervals so the first person across the line is the overall winner.

With the last french grand prix coming up in two weeks time I thought this sort of racing might be good to shapen me up and to practice some hard running off a tough bike, my sessions for the weekend were all replicating this anyway and you can’t  replicate it any better than racing it agains 5 guys who were on the Olympic start line.

I said I would go if they could cover all my expenses and got an email back saying, “arry it is not possibe” No problems nothing lost. 9am Friday morning and there is a call from france “Arry ze English boy Jonney e cannot come we need you, we will pay, the flight it leaves at 4, you will come?

Seemed to make sense so off I went, Will Clarke, Paul Amey, Alistar Brownlee, Aaron Harris and Dann Brook were all going to be there, plus the New Zealand boys and the frenchies, Fred Balaubre, Olivier Marceau, Toni Moulai, and Tommy the gun. Racing in France is always nuts, you don’t know where you are going or whats going on, they have a sat nav that they don’t listen to and they always know a short cut that actually ends you up in the garden of someones chateau.

The racing was good, exactly what I needed for some quick work and the travel wasn’t too bad. The bike course was super narrow and technical with alot of motor pacing going on for the french boys at the front. They don’t mess on the bike the french boys, it was on the whole time. As i’ve been working on the running my Bike isn’t up to mixing it with the top boys and I got spat out bot days, My swimming is still good enough for me to be up there, but as its not my focus I was hurting by the start of the bike then when it hit 50k an hour through the chicane I was in all sorts of trouble, so come the run I was cooked and could have been bekele but wouldn’t have run anywhere fast. 

So a fun weekend that served its purpose, and hopefully will really help out for the final division 2 race in two weeks time, where the swimming and biking isn’t quite at Olympic and perhaps i can be bekele on the run. Well i’ll need to be if we are going to get promoted.  It was also awesome to cath up with the boys, I love learning more about the sport and the coaching and spending a weekend with some of the most knowleedgable athletes in the sport it a great way to get better. Despite an average finishing position and a 5 hour drive back from Stansted a good weekend.