The prep and race went well. The TriCats were ready. Race morning was cold and the day got windy, but the training the TriCats had been doing covered the wind and hills. This is a tough course, the same course as the Buffalo Springs Lake tri in July.
The water was rough, so the stronger swimmers had a better day. Thanks to the TriCats swim coaches for excellent work all year to make sure we went in as strong as can be. We had driven the course and talked about strategy, so the athletes knew what to do. As the day turned out, all 14 who participated had good races. We had 2 guys and 2 girls in the top 40. Andy and Alex were the top TriCats guys finishing in 36th and 38th overall, while our top women were Nicole and Maddie (30th and 37th). In team points, the TriCats were 12th overall (9th for the guys and 17th for the ladies). This is the best finish in recent TriCats history, and considered a great victory with our young team. Congrats, TriCats!
In the 2012 ID race, GEC athlete Kathy Rakel had a great race. She was out of the water in the middle of the group, but caught up to the lead bike pack at the beginning of the third lap. She came off the bike in the lead, creating quite a buzz with USAT and the spectators. She ran extremely well, finishing 2nd among the tough competitors. This was a draft-legal, ITU-style sprint race to see who’s got the talent to become Olympic hopefuls. Kathy does! Many congrats to her!
After, Jill and I had the freedom to fly over and spend a day in Abilene, then on home. The headwind was tough for the return trip, but it still beat driving. And holy cow Texas is flat from 6500 feet!
1 comment:
Yeah TRICATS! It is so refreshing to know that there are college kids "out there" being guided and doing well in the sport of triathlon! Thanks Grasky Endurance! :-)
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