French Team - Besancon

Hi,

This year I will be racing in a French team for the French Grand Prix Series.I will be doing all five races for the team. My team is Besancon and they were promoted from Division 2 into the top division this year. I am very excited about this as I will be racing the best in the world over a sprint distance (750m/20km/5km) in preparation for my Olympic distance triathlons.

A link is below to the other athletes in my team including training partner and Aussie Ben Allen. Click on Team D1 2010 'Overview' on the right hand side.


Besancon athletes

Shane

Oceania Championships - 3rd!

Windy Wellington lived up to its name with the conditions being exactly that. The night before the race we witnessed cyclonic conditions with howling winds, torrential rain and cold temperatures so race day was not looking good. However, the weather settled overnight and only the wind remained for the race

The swim leg proved to be quite different than my past experiences as it was the first time (since my switch to triathlon) that it was rough and slow. Holding your position was challenging with a lot of people swimming on top of each other and I did not get into a rhythm until the second half of the 1500m. This did not bother me as I grew up in Surf Life Saving and was a regular occurrence in a surf swim race. It actually brought back some memories! I still manage to exit the water in 2^nd position but after a terrible transition jumped onto my bike in 10^th.

As the swim was slow everyone was bunched up and all the main ‘players’ were in the front bunch so it was a matter of patience for the 40km bike. Staying out of the wind was crucial and with a challenging hill put in each lap (5 laps), positioning for this was important. I felt as though I did this successfully and stayed near the front of the bunch. Coming into transition for the run was like a Tour de France sprint finish, with everyone wanting to get a good position at the front. I had a much better transition and was out onto the run in the top 10. I wanted to have a fast run!

In the week leading up to the race I had a big confidence booster with a fast 5km running time on the track so I wanted to be in the race and be a contender for a top ten finish. Frenchman Laurent Vidal and Kiwi Kris Gemmell were a class above the pack and established an early lead with a group of seven closely behind including myself. I stayed with the group up until the 7.5km mark where I gradually lost them, and started running on my own for the last few kilometers. I managed to pass one athlete from the group in front and finished 3^rd U/23 athlete, 8^th overall at the Oceania Championships.

To get a bronze at the Oceania Championships is great, but I am still looking forward to running faster and improving again. This is definitely achievable in the near future! I have one last race in Australia in Mooloolaba before heading to Europe, so I want to have another good race.

Upcoming race schedule

Upcoming Calender / Results

• Illawarra Aquathon 26 January
• National Sprint Series (Caloundra) 7h February
• NSW Pro Tour Triathlon (Huskisson) 21st February
• National Sprint Series (Raby Bay) 28th February
• ITU Oceania Championships (Wellington) 14th March
• ITU World Cup Mooloolaba 28h March 2010
• French Grand Prix Race 1 (Dunkurkque) 23rd May
• French GP Race 2 (Beauvais) 13th June
• ITU European Cup (Belgium) 27th June
• ITU World Cup (Holten) 11th July
• French GP Race 3 (Paris) 18th July
• ITU World Cup (Tiszaujvaros) 8th August
• ITU World Championship Series (Kitzbuhel) 15th August
• French GP #4 (Tours) 29th August
• ITU U23 World Championships (Budapest) 12th September
• French GP (La Baule) 19th September
• ITU Pan American Cup (USA) 26th September

*subject to change


Shane