Ryan Evans has just sent us a report of the recent brutal Xterra Tri in the Czech Republic.
Terrible pre-race weather conditions and plain old mechanical failure seemed to be working against him. Would he even make it to the starting line?
Mud, Mud and more Mud......
Saturday the 27th of June saw the second round of the Xterra European Tour in Hluboka Nad Vltavou in the Czech Republic. I had a pretty tough time just getting to this race as I’m sure someone was trying their best to stop me...
Firstly I had a slight ‘issue’ with the car the night before I was due to fly which saw me having to change my flights at the 11th hour to the following day. Then, on taking the bike for a test ride and practise on the Friday morning I rode through some ‘non-threatening’ long grass and somehow managed to snap a gear hanger and the cage of my rear mech. The rest of the day was spent driving around South Bohemia in idyllic countryside trying to find a bike shop that supplied American made bike bits. This proved quite difficult and I was very happy to eventually find the parts. All I had to do then was get back, fix them, test the bike and register for the race!
To say my preparation wasn’t the best, finding myself fixing the bike at 7pm the night before the race, would have done me no favours but I somehow managed to find myself on the Start line and ready to go the following morning.
The weather there had been so bad for weeks with torrential rain and mass flooding, so the swim was re-located to a lake about 3km away rather than the river which is usually used for the race, that was now about 3m above its usual depth and travelling at 50mph! The swim was cut slightly short to 1000m due to the size of the lake and the increase in the bike so it was the usual carnage for the first few hundred metres and then straight into the bike leg which was now running at a full 40km.
The rain was very persistent during the bike and the course was made extremely tough by the conditions and the fact that I only had dry weather tyres on the bike. A mistake that I won’t make again as it cost me a lot of time over the full distance, which was lovely slick mud, very steep climbs, drops, usual roots and a few thigh deep streams for good measure. The bike seemed never ending on a one lap course and it was so nice to see the sun come out just as I was coming back to transition.
Off on the run and I was just so glad to have made the choice of using full off road shoes, as the run course was pretty similar to the bike course, very steep climbs and descents on thick mud! The run took you up to the Hluboka Castle which was an amazing sight to be running past, through the woods and back to the main street before going out on another lap. This was a real buzz as the streets and finishing area were packed with people and the support was so helpful when there’s not much left in the tank! Back after the second lap and through the finish covered head to toe in mud and now running in beautiful sunshine.
Another fantastic race in just an amazing location where the organisers done a great job just to get the race underway in the terrible conditions that they faced. I came away very happy with making the effort just to get there and also with my result. The Auron race in France has been cancelled so the next race for me is Germany in August...
Firstly I had a slight ‘issue’ with the car the night before I was due to fly which saw me having to change my flights at the 11th hour to the following day. Then, on taking the bike for a test ride and practise on the Friday morning I rode through some ‘non-threatening’ long grass and somehow managed to snap a gear hanger and the cage of my rear mech. The rest of the day was spent driving around South Bohemia in idyllic countryside trying to find a bike shop that supplied American made bike bits. This proved quite difficult and I was very happy to eventually find the parts. All I had to do then was get back, fix them, test the bike and register for the race!
To say my preparation wasn’t the best, finding myself fixing the bike at 7pm the night before the race, would have done me no favours but I somehow managed to find myself on the Start line and ready to go the following morning.
The weather there had been so bad for weeks with torrential rain and mass flooding, so the swim was re-located to a lake about 3km away rather than the river which is usually used for the race, that was now about 3m above its usual depth and travelling at 50mph! The swim was cut slightly short to 1000m due to the size of the lake and the increase in the bike so it was the usual carnage for the first few hundred metres and then straight into the bike leg which was now running at a full 40km.
The rain was very persistent during the bike and the course was made extremely tough by the conditions and the fact that I only had dry weather tyres on the bike. A mistake that I won’t make again as it cost me a lot of time over the full distance, which was lovely slick mud, very steep climbs, drops, usual roots and a few thigh deep streams for good measure. The bike seemed never ending on a one lap course and it was so nice to see the sun come out just as I was coming back to transition.
Off on the run and I was just so glad to have made the choice of using full off road shoes, as the run course was pretty similar to the bike course, very steep climbs and descents on thick mud! The run took you up to the Hluboka Castle which was an amazing sight to be running past, through the woods and back to the main street before going out on another lap. This was a real buzz as the streets and finishing area were packed with people and the support was so helpful when there’s not much left in the tank! Back after the second lap and through the finish covered head to toe in mud and now running in beautiful sunshine.
Another fantastic race in just an amazing location where the organisers done a great job just to get the race underway in the terrible conditions that they faced. I came away very happy with making the effort just to get there and also with my result. The Auron race in France has been cancelled so the next race for me is Germany in August...
