A mountain biker ends the party
Last Saturday I was in St-Sauveur, Quebec for the cyclist’s duathlon. A 3km run – 33 km bike – 3km run. This is a great introduction to duathlons for any cyclist that can run 3 kilometers straight.
That’s what I did 2 years ago when I did my first duathlon. No one new who I was and they were all surprised to see me ride away on the bike. So this was a simple formula that also worked for me last year: Run fast on the first leg (even if it hurts and you don’t have any running style), then use the longer bike leg to open up a large enough gap so the lead is secured on the second run.
Again, this is what happened this year, but it was a strong mountain biker and cyclo-cross rider, Benoit Simard, that took control of the race. In my first run, I ran a fast 3:14 per kilometer pace, escaping from the main field with Benoit. I started to be a bit suspicious because he seemed to be reasonably comfortable running at this pace.
So finally, I had a quick transition without any hiccups, I was out of T1 first, but a few hundred meters later, Benoit passes me up a hill. The bike course was quite hilly, no long gaps, but having many 500 meters to 1 kilometer small chain ring climbs. So I tell myself, I may just be having a slow start and increase the pace. I finally pass Benoit a few kilometers later until the next significant climb… from which I never got close to his wheel again.
I was about 1 minute behind in T2, and in the first kilometer of the second run I tried to see if I had a chance to catch him. Realizing it was not going to happen, I looked back, checked that there was no one behind and smiled my way to the finish for a second place finish. I was was very happy with my race, being two minutes faster than the year before in rainy conditions, even if I did not bring any flowers home. Hats off to Benoit who had a strong race. I hope he comes out and does more duathlons/triathlons.
Next week, is the Canadian National Duathlon championships in Montreal and the bike is a flat 40km on a race track. Just the way I like them 
I’ll check in next week and give you more info on the new HED Jet Disc.
Have a nice week!
Written by Michel on September 8th, 2008 with
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