Europe Triathlon

This weekend was a big one for six rugby-playing nations in Europe and in the final match it was England going head to head with France. For many this match was a fitting final for the past weeks of intense competition. France may not have won the rugby battle but they put in a stunning show at the first ETU European Cup in Quarteira.

With events spread over the two days and with the Elite racing the standard distance on the Saturday, we saw a strong field on the beach for the women’s’ race.

South Africa’s Gillian Sanders was wearing Number 1 and with previous racing here and a bronze in 2013, she would certainly be hoping for a good race.  “It's been a long winter of base training. My first race was supposed to be in Abu Dhabi 2 weeks ago but I had some bad luck crashing on the bike and was unable to finish. I was therefore keen to get my season off to a good start in Quarteira after this misfortune.”  The beach start is an impressive one and as the athletes launch themselves into the water this is no calm lake but the mighty Atlantic. A beautiful, sloping beach takes the athletes down to the water. “I remember from last time that one day it can be nice and calm and the next day, really big waves. We were met with very challenging conditions on Saturday, it was extremely choppy and one of the most challenging sea swims I've ever done. This strung the field out quite a lot. I was dumped coming in from the first lap but despite it being really tough, everyone faces the same conditions and I was happy with my swim.”

Sanders was not the only athlete to comment on the swim. For GB’s Heather Sellars, based in Brownlee Country, “This was my first trip to Portugal, I was expecting a nice hot race, however when I got there the weather was just like being in Leeds. Cold wet and windy! The day of the race was still chilly but luckily the rain had stopped. The race start was a beach start into a very wavy sea. It was one of the choppiest swims I have ever done! You couldn't see any of the buoys because of the waves and after the first lap a wave caught me as I was coming out and pulled me back in taking me under and getting a mouthful of sand which wasn't the nicest! So I had to make sure I swam harder on the second lap to stick with the group.”

It was French athlete, Audrey Merle who emerged from the water on Sanders shoulders, with Sellars a few seconds adrift but they were some way behind the leaders. The swim exit is up the beach; not easy to run after a tough swim but the transition area is well-laid out and the bike course allows you to get your legs sorted before the first climb. For spectators this really is a superb location as all the exciting points on the course are within easy walking distance from the transition area.

The leading group could have tried to make a real break and then just hope that they had done enough to escape the speed of the South African. “Surprisingly the girls were not so aggressive on this climb. It only really starts to bite the legs on about the 4th lap and I think because we'd caught everyone by this stage, the girls were maybe holding back a bit to save a bit for the run.”

Sellars takes us into the chase pack, “Out of the swim there was a group of about 5 but we managed to catch them on the end of first lap. I ensured I kept to the front of the group especially at the technical parts and ensured there was a good pace going up the steep climb!”

So, it looked like it was all down to the run. Portuguese hopes were on Melanie Santos who was caught by the British athlete. Merle, who has performed so well as a junior, was determined to stay with Sanders, “I tried to stay in contact with Gillian for as long as possible but stomach problems prevented me from really giving everything on the run.”

At the front Sanders was aware of Merle, “Audrey Merle was the only athlete who went with me from the beginning of the run, so it was pretty much a 2 woman race for the whole run. I led the whole run with her running behind me. I thought she would attack at some stage but with about 400m to go I stepped up the pace, got a gap and knew that I'd got it sewn up.”

No doubt the French Federation will be looking at this great performance from Merle with some satisfaction.  Losing to Sanders by only 5 seconds is a very positive early-season result. Merle, “although with mixed feelings about the race, there are some very positive things. I’ll carry on with my journey with the up-coming races.”  Sellars came in to take bronze. Her time looked comfortable but it was far from an easy run, “I started the run too slow due to me swallowing too much water however I managed to find my rhythm and started to catch the leaders but couldn't quite get to the front two. I was really happy with third to Gillian and Audrey as they are great athletes. It was a great event and I would definitely come back next year to compete again.”

The podium athletes were full of praise for the LOC and for the event. Sanders, “This is a great event, one of the best and well organised European Cups I've raced in. The beach start and changeable conditions is really good practise for Rio 2016 and it's just a lovely sunny place with great people and big crowds watching the event. They even had a live web feed of the event and a big screen for spectators - things we usually only get in World Cups and World Series races.” Merle, “The event is well-organised and it’s a real pleasure to race here.”

The Men’s Elite Race was again to deliver stunning results to the French Federation. Defending Champion Aurélien Raphaël would have his team-mate Dorian Coninx to work with but alongside them would be the British duo of Matt Sharp and Mark Buckingham who recently featured in the Yorkshire Press (it’s that part of the world again) where we read about his work as training partner for the Brownlee brothers. With that level of training it would be interesting to see just how it would work against the immense power of the French athlete Raphaël. He has won twice in Quarteira and taken silver once. As Junior European Champion in 2006, Junior World Champion in 2007 and a regular participant around the world he would not have it all his own way against Coninx, reigning U23 Champion.

The swim start had 66 athletes rushing at the waves. Soon the French team had taken control and it was three strong-swimming Frenchmen who emerged first. Raphaël and Coninx were led out into T1 by team-mate Raoul Shaw. They had a ten second advantage over the chasing athletes. Buckingham was almost a minute down and with lots of work to do. For him, “The race itself was challenging from the start with some big waves, I had probably one of my best international swims to date and came out in the top 1/3 however the three French guys were immediately working together on the bike and built up a two minute lead.” Buckingham was in the thick of it and suffered a few blows in the water.

For the French team, Coninx explained, “The start is quite technical with the waves and the sea was quite rough. This made it quite a tough swim and allowed us to put some distance in on the rest.”

T1 to the bike was fast and furious and the French guys worked very hard to build upon their lead.

The climb that really does sort out the pack, is a great feature in this race. Coninx described this course as “pretty tough with a short, sharp hill that bites into the energy reserves before the run”, but with great crowd-support.”

The hard work paid off and into T2 they had a two-minute lead. This would have suggested that the podium would be a red, white and blue republican affair but the fast pace of Matt Sharp and Mark Buckingham would be a challenge. Would the cross-country pedigree of Buckingham give him enough advantage?

The French trio were flat out and pushing as hard as possible at the front but both Buckingham and Sharp have great run pace. Both of them clocked faster run times than the French and indeed had the two fastest runs of the day. Coninx managed to hold on to the lead and crossed first but the hurt started for both Shaw and Raphaël. It was Shaw who was caught first by Buckingham, “I thought I would catch one on the run but wasn't expecting to chase down silver, so was really happy with the result.” The podium was decided. The race was over.

Coninx was full of praise for the LOC, “It’s a tough course, just the sort I like. The organisation was superb!” Buckingham had heard about the race before he arrived, “It was my first time racing in Portugal. I know a lot of British athletes that have raced at Quarteira who have told me it’s a great spot for triathlon and a quality race. The course had everything, beach start, rough swim, punchy hill on the bike and a fast run.”

So for the French Federation they saw Gold and Silver for the men and Silver for the women. A very good day at the bureau !

Many thanks to the Portuguese Triathlon Federation and to Clarisse Henriques for the excellent photos.