Golden sands and crescent bays. Bright sunshine and biblical downpours. Compression wear, carbon frames and quizzical locals. An island invaded by a legion of Lycraclad triathletes in early October. Squint hard enough (and I mean squint pretty hard) and it could be the Big Island of Kona. Yes, I know it’s only Barry Island, but I like it, like it, yes, I do.
It’s soon before 7:30am, dawn is debating whether to break and the second biggest tidal range in the world awaits us at the start of 2021’s SWYD Triathlon. We’re called to the swim start line in groups of three athletes, the damp sand crunching beneath our bare feet. “Good to go,” calls a race marshal and it’s a sprint to the Severn Estuary. We’re hit by choppy waters and tenacious currents, and the field is soon a sprawling mess.
A distant inflatable marker rocks in the wind and threatens to float to Cardiff. The colossal construction work at the Hinkley Point power station glows across the channel in Somerset. Hopefully the luminescence isn’t radioactive or I may emerge from the water with 12 fingers, something admittedly which may help my catch phase on the second lap of the 1.5km swim leg…
THIS CHARMING TOWN
Even though I live just over an hour away on the train in Bristol, I’m ashamed to admit that I hadn’t been to Barry Island since a Butlin’s visit in the 1980s, with my only reference point to Barry that it provided the backdrop for Gavin & Stacey.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2022-Ausgabe von 220 Triathlon.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2022-Ausgabe von 220 Triathlon.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
How to Carb Load - Packing your working cells with carbohydrates in the build-up to your big race is a proven strategy to race stronger and faster...
Whichever distance triathlon you're racing, the intensity and duration of your activity will see your body tap into its stores of carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) to power your effort. While it's possible to top up your tank on the go, it's better to start your event with your stores full to the brim.
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
"I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF TRIATHLON"
British Triathlon CEO Ruth Daniels talks Paris, her plans to grow tri and her own personal goals... knees allowing
ZWIFT RIDE
£1,199.99 Zwift's new Ride is an indoor bike that might help you break your PB... but won't break the bank
PARIS SHOWED THE VALUE OF OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
With the spotlight on triathlon like never before at these Games, debutant athletes talked about being overwhelmed by the unique environment
GAMES AT THE GAMES
After watching and enjoying the Olympic triathlon events, Brunt amused himself by playing the 'guess how far into each event I would die' game...
WHERE EAGLES DARE
With little heat prep, the wrong gear choice and a course-recce mistake, would experienced extreme triathlete Sean McFarlane soar like an eagle or drop like a stone in Italy?
HOW TO INCREASE RUN PACE WHEN FATIGUED
The ability to dig deep in the latter stages of a race helped Alex Yee achieve Olympic gold. Here Ben, a member of Team GB's coaching staff in Paris, explains how you too can find that extra gear...
BUYER'S GUIDE: BIKE COMPUTERS
Log your rides, find your way and monitor your multisport training with a quartet of impressive bike computers...
POLAR GRIT X2 PRO
\"You can't be anything other than impressed with the GPS, whose design is one of the significant changes to the V3\"
