Prancing Horses of Poynton - Stockport Duathlon 2018 Special

For the 13th race of 2018 I was up at 5:15am this morning to make the hour long drive to Poynton for the end of season duathlon hosted by Stockport Tri Club. Upon arrival I had a bit of an upset stomach having not driven through pitch black to get to a race for a long time (Leeds, Birmingham and Nottingham having been overnight stays) and it took half an hour plus some electrolyte drink to calm me down. Eventually I recovered my senses and picked up the race pack which featured a particularly novel zip-tie attachment for the bike; maybe the concept will catch on (OK dreadful pun there, sorry). Two granola squares later, I was feeling a bit more ready for the race briefing where one or two people seemed to think they'd found a way of circumnavigating the traffic light rule. Bit cheeky of them, I thought, and obviously they didn't think of the short cut through the pub car park option. Come 8:25am we were taken through to the start road of Yew Tree Lane and after waving a bloke on a Giant Defy through on his morning cycle ride, the three second countdown began and the race was underway.

I've rarely had a fast start to a duathlon and today's race was no exception, as I was down to ninth in the early going. While the overall victory contenders edged away, I tried to stay in the top 10 alongside one man in a pink cycling jersey and a tall bloke in blue. The three of us got quite a surprise from a horse which hurriedly got away from us at the right-hand bend before the main climb, but one person who was making quite a name for themselves was Ruth, the first lady in the race; she was easily inside the top 6 for the duration of the first run and already we were wondering if she could be caught on the bike. The descent along the Middlewood Way is actually a series of steps which can catch you out, but the long straight was a real opportunity to stretch the legs before the big test through the woods that loop you back to the leisure centre. Come the 20 minute mark, our trio was into T1 together where everything was going to plan (apart from forgetting to bring the Tri specific shoes and having to use road boots) but in trying to make up time I then lost control of the bike in the PIT LANE of all places, and I wasn't even riding it! I was now really worried that I'd knocked the rear brake but luckily that stayed in place and, having now conceded my place in the top 10 I now had to wait my turn for the main road before I could start passing people again.

Once onto the bike course I was past half a dozen people in a short space of time including the leading lady, but a guy on a CAAD12 couldn't be shaken off and after the traffic lights I saw the hill coming up all the while wishing I had Di2 to shift from the base bar. This hill is so long it can require use of the inner ring, and indeed it did for me, but the descent was even more entertaining as first I struggled to hold grip on the left turn and then nearly left the road altogether on the first downhill right hander. Of course, that would make thing easier second time round due to a bit of local knowledge but the rest of the course is rolling all the way back to the end of the lap, where we had plenty of marshals cheering us on. On the way up the hill for the second time, I was catching number 99 on a Giant road bike when suddenly she appeared to run out of gears; the irony here being that many starter road bikes have tougher gearing than the race machines I would see later in the Trek store down the road. In any case it was lucky she "half-fell" away from the road or it could have been a nasty coming-together for both of us. As mentioned earlier, the descent was a lot easier second time not only because I knew what was coming, but also because I didn't have anyone breathing down my neck, and in fact I was left in a fairly lonely fourth place as per Helwith Bridge a few years ago. I seemed to cut through the final few kilometres much quicker second time round and as such was happy to jump off the bike at the coloured cones having covered the 21km in under 39 minutes.

T2 was rather better, though I forgot to take on any water and as such would have to hope for no attack from behind lest my stomach get upset again. It was great to soak up the cheers from the riders coming into T2 as I climbed, or rather grinded, up the incline on the road, and I was pushing so hard I forgot which way at the crossroads; luckily the marshals took pity on me and pointed left. On the long straight section I caught the briefest glimpse of third place but a chase was never on, because any of my St Helens Tri teammates who saw the hilarious "arms out like wings" incident last year at Heaton Park will tell you how useless I am at cross country and as such not having anyone to realistically chase through the woods made me more, not less, aware of the cambers and changes in trail surfaces, something I've rarely been particularly proficient at. Let's just put it down to one of those unstable days. However, the top 3 were so far ahead they were never going to be troubled even if I'd been at my best, so I could just enjoy the final 500 or so metres through the barriers, up the hill and through the tennis courts to eventually cross the line in fourth place overall, a repeat of my last autumn duathlon three years ago in the Yorkshire Dales!

After a couple of granola bars and some water I went to pack the bike away before supporting the prize presentation. The top 3 definitely looked the most purposeful out there together with Ruth, for me the star of the day who deservedly won the ladies' title. I think given she already owns a Trek Madone, the Speed Concept in the Wilmslow store now has definitely got her name on it! Also it was remarkable how close the relay race was, with mere seconds separating the two entrants. Once the presentation was over I went to the Trek store to compare their aero machines with the bike I dropped in T1 (well that's one way to justify an upgrade) and enjoy a vegan curry and Peroni at John Lewis Cheadle. That's how you do a great day out, it's definitely one for the diary next year!

Now for the results, powered by today's recovery drink, Peroni:

Distance: 5/21/5k
Time: 1:20:39
Final Position: 4th
Half-Falls: 2
Horses: 1
Post Race Nutrition: 10/10 (Vegan curry and Peroni, enough said)

REJECT OF THE RACE: The horse owner
(Did the yellow jackets and cycle event signs not give it away a bit?)

See you all in Stockport next year. For me, it's been a great weekend but next week will be even better as I look forward to the BTF level 1 coaching course. Wonder if there's an impromptu duathlon in Coventry I could slip into at the last minute?