UoN Tri performance squad athlete Adam Thorpe claimed a silver medal at the recent World Duathlon Age Group Championships in Penticton. Showing his recent efforts in training have been paying off. So in the words of the medallist himself here are his thoughts on the race...
"The race had the format of a 5k run, 20k draft legal cycle, followed by a final 2.5k run and two lengthy transitions. The very early race start of 6.30am meant fuelling was difficult and so in the morning I took a similar approach to that of Bolt, having just a donut after stuffing myself with energy bars the night before. The first 5k was fairly fast, with 15.50 clocking on my watch but I forced myself to keep with the front pack knowing it would be vital on the bike. A good transition left me in position to attack up the testing climb and filter out the weaker riders, and after the crest I forced a break with two other riders, one being my long standing training partner Robbie Lightowler. Unfortunately having helped the other two riders break away I'd left myself vulnerable to a counter attack and had to solo well over half the bike course before being caught by 2nd and 3rd packs simultaneously. This left a group of 6/7 athletes battling for medals on the final run. A spell of cramp straight off the bike forced me to start my final run very slowly but with the pace building throughout I was able to keep in contention and push on in the final kilometre. A fierce battle with two Mexican athletes forced several shifts up in the pace before building to a punishing sprint for the line, which fortunately I was able to come through and win. This meant I finished 2nd in the 20-24 age group to Robbie and 6th fastest out of anybody on the day despite solo'ing most of the bike. A result which massively surprised the pair of us. Can't wait for the rematch now at BUCS this year."
