Hi Everyone,
After winning the National Duathlon Championships for the
first time in my career, I participated in the Sicily Duathlon Championships a
week later. I knew that I was in a good shape after a great victory but I was
not expecting such a good result in Sicily however it was not that easy either.
Had a lot of challenges to face however I had the right support in order to
overcome these challenges and produce a great performance.
I arrived at the hotel at around 2am in the morning and race
started at 12.30 so did not had an ideal pre-race good night sleep and had
problems when setting up the bike. The race had to start at 11.30 but started
an hour late and this proved to be crucial for weather conditions. It rained a
bit during the night however roads dried but as soon as the race started its
started really raining heavily.
I started the first 5km at a very fast pace to test my legs
which responded well and also my rivals. I was leading the main group and set a
fast pace in order to make selection. It was raining a lot and was not really
looking forward for the bike as the roads looked slippery and dangerous. Came
into T1 in first place and then set off to tackle the 20km technical course.
At this stage it was still raining but not so heavy. Was
caught but Stefano Foti, current Sicily champion and we started pacing
together. The course was very hilly and it was very technical and with those
very dangerous conditions it came too technical for my tastes. Foti noticed
that I was suffering in those conditions and attacked. I tried to keep up with
him but it was difficult riding hard in those conditions.
On the 3rd lap and last lap of the bike It started
raining so heaving that the visibility was not so good. I could not see
properly and lost a lot of time. Came into T2 in 3rd place and I
started the last 2.5km run trying to gain the lost ground. After 1km I was in 2nd
place and had the leader in sight. I really pushed had to win the race but Foti
gained sufficient time on the bike to win the race by 15seconds
I am happy with my performance. I was not expecting such a
great performance. I am happy with my second place and also with the win in my
age group. If weather conditions were not so bad I could have a great chance to
win the race but never mind, am still happy with the race. I could not have
done such a great performance without the great support of my girlfriend
Elizabeth. She gave me the right support and calmed me down when things were
not going the right way.
That’s all for now
Yours in sports
