Scario Italian Grand Prix Final
Photo by: Sabino
Event - Scario Italian Grand Prix
19.10.18
11am start Elite Women Semi FInal 1
5pm Start Elite Women Final
Start number
1
Super Sprint distance
400m Ocean swim, 22 degrees non wetsuit, rocky shore start on the Mediterranean. 10km- 3 lap undulating bike course, along the coastline & a 2 lap 2.5km run back through the town of Scario.
Weather
Weather- Mid October, Warm & sunny!
Result
A strong 3rd
I was very excited to return to Italy for the third time this year to race! It’s one of my favourite countries, the people are so welcoming, the food is amazing, its hard to get a bad coffee, & I’ve grown to love the training environment of Pescara where we based ourselves for this race.
I landed into Pescara late Wednesday night, unpacking & repacking for the race as we headed off the next morning for Scario! A 5 hour drive to the west coast south of Naples, on the Mediterranean, just stunning!!!
We were here to contest the final Italian FITri Grand Prix Event, with a full day of racing, 1 super sprint qualifier on Friday Morning of 400m swim, 10km cycle & 2.5km run to progress into the super sprint finale that afternoon over the same course!
I soaked up the italian atmosphere and enjoyed a Pre race Fruiti de Mare pizza for my standard pre race meal, oh it went down a treat, so fresh! And I certainly slept well with jet lag hitting fast after a big 2 days of travel & time zone changes!
Kicking the day off with the semi final at 11am, with a nice little sleep in & relaxed race start time! Treated to a Mediterranean ocean swim, just a few mils south of the Amalfi Coast, just missing the waves! Taking the pace out hard from the start, Leading around the swim course & back to shore to take the swim prime, an extra 150 euro for the days work, not a bad way to start!
Running up the beach, hobbling on some big rocks, through to transition from swim to bike. The course was a tough one, with a decent 200m climb straight out of transition, getting my feet in quick and heading out onto the bike with an early lead & group of 4, thinking all would want to work to stay away and keep the semi final under wraps as the top 10 make it through to the final. Instead neither of the 3 girls wanted to help pull a turn so after 1 lap I sat up and we were caught by the chasing second pack of 6 athletes, forming a front group of 10.
The rest of the bike played out much the same with Audrey Merle & myself doing all the work on the bike and no one else in sight! Knowing we were pulling away from the rest of the race was pleasing to know getting off onto the run!
A smooth fast dismount and trantion from bike to run saw we get out onto the run in the lead and my plan was to not push it and run tempo and see where that puts me in the field, because although it was only the semi final the overall position in the semi and final was important for my team “Ultraman.” Feeling surprisingly comfortable on the run and able to keep it tempo as I cruised in for the win ahead of Audrey from France and Abrosimova from Russia.
Cheering on teammate Charlotte to take the win in Semi Final 2 before riding back to our apartment hotel to refuel, put the legs up and have a nap.
The final was on, a late evening 5pm start as the sun was setting on the Mediterranean. Racing over the same course again, 400m-10km-2.5km, Charlotte & I had a little game plan to get away on the bike from some strong young runners over that super sprint distance!
It worked a treat, as I got another sneaky swim prime leading out & pushing the pace we got a break with 3 of us, Charlotte, Abrosimova, and myself. We went hard the first lap with Char & me rolling turns and pushing the pace hard! Abrosimova didn’t win herself any friends as she didn’t roll through once on the bike to help. After lap 1 we had a 10 second gap which went out to 25 at lap 2 and got off the bike with a 40 second gap. A worthy investment to ride hard and have some time up our sleeve on the run!
With a smooth transition 2 earning me the bike prime I headed out onto the run in the lead, closely followed by Charlotte, I soon settled in on her shoulder and only started to lose a few meters up the hill by the far turnaround, working hard on the downhill to not let the gap extend out too much, heading out onto lap 2 I got a clear idea of where Abrosimova was and the chasing pack of quick runners!
I was pleased to hold strong despite feeling the effects of some hefty travel and jetlag, taking 2nd in quite a strong Italian GP Field! An all round positive race, with the right signs there moving forward into PLENTY of super sprint racing over the next 2 weekends for Superleague Round 2 & 3 in the stunning Malta & Mallorca!! Can’t wait!