ITU World Triathlon Series Abu Dhabi: Vicky Holland glad to be back as Ashleigh Gentle targets more success
The superstars of elite triathlon are just weeks away from competing in the pinnacle of the sport as the countdown to the ITU World Triathlon Series 2018 season-opener in Abu Dhabi begins. The star-studded line-up will feature 2017 ITU World Triathlon Series world champion and 2016 WTS Abu Dhabi winner, Mario Mola, who will go up against two-time Olympic champion, Alistair Brownlee, making his WTS Abu Dhabi debut. The eye-catching line-up also features crowd favourites Vincent Luis, who was victorious in the ITU World Triathlon Series 2017 Grand Final in Rotterdam, Henri Schoeman, also a former ITU World Triathlon Grand Final winner and Jonathan Brownlee, the two-time Olympic medallist. Mola, who is hoping to emulate compatriot and triathlon legend Javier Gomez, by claiming a third WTS crown in 2018, will face fierce competition from fellow competitors, not least Alistair Brownlee who will be hoping to make a lasting impression in the capital. The world-class line up for the men’s elite field have a combined total of 282 wins on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit and shared more than 700 podium places between them – delivering the strongest WTS Abu Dhabi line-up in the history of the event. In addition to the stunning elite field, the WTS Abu Dhabi has amateur race categories suited to all ages and abilities, and will welcome 3,500 amateur athletes to take part in the two-day event, giving participants the chance to race alongside the likes of Mola, the Brownlee brothers and Murray. The ITU World triathlon Abu Dhabi 2018 will also see the return of the Junior Triathlon – a fun event aimed at encouraging youngsters to get active – which hosts race categories for children aged five-15. Mini 1km: 1km run Kids Duathlon: 3km cycle and 500m run Junior Duathlon: 6km cycle and 1 km run / 6km cycle and 1.5 km run Junior Triathlon Super Sprint: 400mswim, 10km cycle and a 2.5km run. In addition to age groupers and junior races, organisers have also confirmed that the 2018 global triathlon season-opener will feature dedicated waves for paratriathletes for the very first time. First timers and seasoned paratriathletes will also have the chance to rub shoulders and compete alongside inspirational heroes of Paralympic triathlon, including world and European champion and Rio 2016 Paralympic gold medalist, Andy Lewis and Mohamed Lahna, the bronze medalist in Rio.
April update – racing has begun 😀
I’d spectated last year as Emily was racing, but decided to give it a go this year so I entered myself into the standard distance race. Emily was again racing the sprint distance event which was starting an hour or so before my wave. Once there, we registered, racked our bikes and reminded ourselves what we needed to put in transition having not done a duathlon for nearly a year! It was then time for Emily’s start so I went to the start line with her and took a few photos as she raced off into the distance before going back to transition to check everything was fine, do some stretching, have my usual pre-race High5 Isogel X-Treme and get ready to start. After Clumber I had decided to enter some local cycling road races so joined a local club and had my first race on 9th April at Sutton Bonnington – a 40mile cat 3/4. It was a baking hot day and I wasn’t quite ready for the chaos for the first few laps and ended up getting dropped and held up behind a crash after a lap and a half not ideal! I did however manage to work with a couple of other athletes to get back into the main bunch and finished in 20th place – no points but a pretty good first race and I knew I had more to give. The following Thursday I was racing again at the Mallory Park cat 4 circuit race. Sure enough, 3 laps into the race and there was a crash on the tightest corner which most of the field got held up behind including myself. Looking back on it it’s all experience and I’m learning all the time having only just started racing – there’s more to come! I’m enjoying the bike racing quite a lot and hope to carry on fitting races in around my multisport racing when possible. 3 days after the bike race at Mallory, Emily and I were taking on our first tri of the season at OSB Events’ Southwell Sprint – fairly local to us and an 11.26am start for emily and 11.48am for me meant the race morning didn’t have to begin as early as most. So it’s going to be a busy month of racing and training! You’ll be able to keep up with my progress through the month on Twitter/Instagram and I’ll post a roundup of all the results in about a month’s time! Please get in contact with me through twitter etc if you have any feedback on my blogs or anything that you’d like advice on, I’d love to hear from you.
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