Neil takes on the World !!

World Age Group Duathlon Championships, Pontevedra, Spain

Having qualified for the Great Britain Age Group Team back in March, Kilmarnock Harrier Neil Walker made the journey to Northern Spain (via London and Porto!) for the World Championships.

With two months of hard training behind him, and a week of specific preparation for the heat (training in a home-made heat chamber in the shed!), and some specific preparation for the hilly bike course, Neil joined the huge GB contingent in Spain to compete in Junior, U23 and Senior Elite Championships, and Age Group Sprint (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run) and Standard (10km run, 40km bike, 5km run) Championships.

Given the expected heat, around 70% of the GB Team were competing in the Sprint Distance event, starting at 8am.  Neil had qualified for, and raced the Standard Distance Event.  The race started at 12pm, in 27 degree heat!  The field (over 60) was one of the biggest at the Championships, and included a strong team of 13 GB athletes.   The race started in the Athletics Stadium, which also formed the huge transition area, with over 1500 bikes!  The run course was 2.5km taking in a couple of tough climbs, and the historic old town of Pontevedra, and was lined with spectators, with the GB athletes who had already raced providing amazing support.  The 4 laps gave several opportunities to grab a bottle of water for extra cooling.  After a deliberately steady start, Neil covered the first 10km in just over 38 minutes, and made a smooth transition onto the bike.  After a few twists and turns through town, the route began the 10km climb which formed the bike lap.   Climbing 250m, the climb was a steady, big ring effort most of the way, but the final mile was an average 12% gradient.  Neil made good progress through the field on the first climb, and hit over 50mph on the descent back into town.  The 2^nd lap was made even tougher by the increasing heat, and the increasing number of riders on the course (Age Group Championships are non-drafting, you have to be 7m behind, or 3m to the side of other competitors, or you can be penalised 2 minutes!).  After another very fast descent, Neil returned to transition, and a further 2 laps of the course.  Neil finished strongly with a 19.12 final 5km run, moving up a further few places to finish 29^th, and 6^th out of the British Team.

The 2015 World Championships are in Adelaide, Australia, which may prove to be more of a challenge to get to, but after a first experience of competing, and some useful chats with experienced Duathlon coaches and athletes, bigger things are to come!

Above report courtesy of Neil himself, 4/6/2014