Chengdu World Cup Final Race Report

Event

06/05/18
10.25am start Elite Women Final

Start number

Sprint distance

2 lap 500m lake swim with exit run between laps, 3 x lap 10km ride with some undulation. 2x 1.25km lap run- FAST & flat.

Weather

Some cloud but mostly Sunny, no winds, pretty perfect racing conditions!

Result

1st 😊 Second ITU WORLD CUP WIN!!!

Splits

31:20 – 6:34 / 0:45 / 15:10 / 0:24 / 8:27

FINALS DAY! The real race! Having raced here last year in the finals, i knew what to expect, you needed to nail the little things right, be on from the Go & be ready to hurt, its 30 mins of flat chat racing, I love it!

I was able to cruise through the semi final sprint event yesterday relatively easy & woke up feeling quite fresh & ready to rip in!

Being a super sprint even i ensured i was all over the course, knowing all the little details, as little mistakes can cost you over the shorter race format. I also made sure i had a thorough run & swim warm up to get the body properly primed to race!

Changing it up today, with a deeper quality of field, & having watched how the Men's event swim played out i chose the outside line to start, backing myself to get out fast off the pontoon dive start, i valued the empty space on my right side in the swim, with room to move if needed, rather than being stuck in the middle and battling my way through clashing arms with other women.

My race plan was the same as the semi final- go hard swim/bike to see if i can get a gap & get away, knowing the run would be hard & all you've got left.

This plan played out perfectly, taking the swim out hard from the start, i got the the first buoy in the lead with space & continued to keep the pace on & pressure there. With a multi lap tight swim, i got a look back on the run around dive into lap 2 too see a gap had established without 5-6 women, keeping the pace on through to the swim exit, with a fast smooth transition onto the bike, the intent & message was clear- let's go, now!

I was intent on capitalising on this gap we had & went on the bike, down on the aero bars, hoping i would have a few come with, & that i did, joined by USA Tamara Gorman, Fuka Sega from Japan & German Bogen. We came together well as a lead pack & got into a rhythm early, with everyone rolling through & taking string turns, extending our lead over the 3 laps to a comfortable lead heading into transition.

It was a pretty great feeling as i headed off onto the run, knowing i had done everything i could till now to set myself up on that podium, through executing my process goals. I was feeling confident, somewhat "comfortable," and backed myself to work into this run & take the dominant lead out there. With a surge at about half way I was able to extend ,y lead over Sega & Bogen in 3rd/4th & also breaking Tamara, getting exactly the gap i needed to really dig deep that last 600m, push hard through that last lap and trun the final U-turn to the blue carpet with a solid lead, allowing me to soak the crowds, atmosphere & THIS FEELING up as much as i can, taking the tape for my SECOND WORLD UP WIN for 2018!!

What a dream race, confidence moving into Yokohama WTS next weekend & a Brilliant way to start my 2018 Overseas International Racing Season!

Emma Jeffcoat7 May 2018hengda hotel