ITU Asian Cup - Subic Bay, PHI

I had my second race back from injury and it was stickier than a honey pot in Subic Bay, Philippines for the ITU Asian Cup. After arriving in Manila, we had a 4-hour bus trip travelling to the race site. Getting out of Manila was an adventure to say the least as we weaved in and out of traffic, breaking road rule after road rule. To give you an idea of what it’s like, Manila has about the same population as the whole of Australia so I can’t believe I didn’t see one crash! We arrived at the hotel at 2am after a solid 14-travel time and I was pretty tired. After a good sleep, my pre race goal was to stay hydrated and put the feet up after doing a light run and swim (race temp was 30 C plus). The two lap swim was a beach start and I got to the lead in the first few steps and pushed hard for the first few hundred metres. At the end of the first lap I saw that myself and the two other athletes behind me had created a small gap entering the second lap. I didn’t push the swim but managed to exit the water (collecting the prime) with a 30 sec lead over the main pack. I have never been in a race where you could say that you heated up in the swim, so once I jumped on my bike it was all about getting the nutrition and water in while I had time. I waited for three athletes to ride up to me and we rolled turns for 10km until we waited for another 5 athletes. Another memorable moment from the race was manoeuvring through a small gap that was created by a bus/4WD crash on the racetrack. There was glass everywhere and it turned out to be quite a sketchy section of the ride! Luckily, there was no trouble for any in the group. Onto the 4-lap run and I was feeling really comfortable sitting in 3rd directly behind the eventual winner from China and catching the leader. As I passed the penalty box the first time, I saw my number on the board, which shocked me! Instead of continuing in a good rhythm with the Chinese athlete, I was forced to stop and take the 15-second penalty. Bad move Shane! Having to run the remainder of the leg solo was tough but I managed to hold onto the podium so I was happy with the progress. Thanks to everyone for their support including Triathlon Australia, NSWIS, Giant Bikes, my coach Jamie Turner, physio Alex Price, my parents and family and all my individual sponsors!

Next Races: ITU Asian Cup – Amasuka, Japan 3rd June ITU Asian Cup – Gamagori, Japan 10th June