Xterra Germany

Not the best result of my season (14th overall), but another solid race and part of the never ending learning curve as an athlete.

In the swim i exited in about 30th place again (21minutes, but it was slightly short), which is a major improvement from last year and certainly heading in the right direction. However with a water temperature of 14 degrees and a similar air temperature i suffered really badly with the cold once i got on the bike. Being very lean naturaly and especially so at this point in the season, I do lose heat very easily.

On the bike I struggled to catch anyone for the first half a lap, even though the major climbs should have suited me. I finished the first lap of the bike 8 minutes down on the leaders and then completed the 2nd lap in the same time as the leaders. Given that I have won the bike leg in every triathlon this year including 3 global tour races, 10th place on the bike was a major disappointment.

The run went ok, but i felt a little flat, possibly due to the hard training i have put in since Austria. I lost 2 places right near the end which was very annoying, putting me in 14th overall in a very strong elite field, where Ironman world champion Faris El Sultan struggled to make the top 20.

This week is major recovery week before one of my seasons big goals, Xterra UK in Wales on Sunday. Sam