Tiszy 2017

I went out to Tiszaújváros the week before the race, along with Issy Morris, in order to get used to the heat and prepare well out there. More people joined us during the week and by the end there was the rest of the Brits who were racing staying in our same apartments. Tiszy is different to most ETU cups as it has the semi and then final format. This is super tough racing, especially in the hot and humid conditions of Hungary. I was in semi final 1, whilst the other 2 Brit girls, Issy and Olivia Mathias, were in semi final 2. I had a very good swim here, getting about a 10 second lead over the next person. Out onto the bike and I wanted to push hard to get a bit of a gap. There was a large chase group behind me, I couldn't count how many but only top 14 qualified and I wasn't certain there wasn't more than that. I got off the bike with just over 20 seconds on the chase pack and ran tempo for the first lap, got information about the rest of the race and whether or not it was safe to ease up for the second, so I could just get through into the final with minimal effort.

 I felt very strong during this semi final and was happy to finish 1st, which gave me good confidence going into the second day. We did an easy spin in the evening and prepped well for the next day. In the final I was ranked number 2, so had a lot of choice on the pontoon, so I chose the same place as I'd chosen the previous day, number 17, as it had treated me so well the day before. It was a violent swim, I got closed in by both of the people next to me and had people pulling my feet and dunked all before the first buoy. I went round the first buoy in 14th place and then had to start trying to make progress through the field starting from there. In the end and after a big effort I managed to exit the water in 5th. Unfortunately I just missed the front pack and was in the large chase group, where minimal cooperation was happening, so the front pack just kept making time on us. Going out onto the 3 lap run I was feeling frustrated with my race so far and the first lap wasn't that great, but going onto the 2nd and 3rd lap I started making really good progress through the field and sprint finished to grab 11th place in the end. Even though the placing wasn't quite what I was hoping for, the performance itself made me proud. The key thing I wanted to work on was my run and this race definitely showed that I am making steps in the right direction. Next up for me is Lausanne ETU cup in few weeks. Hopefully this will be a really fun and good race, with a massive GB contingent on the start list.