The RAF Quelle Challenge Barcelona Relay Team (Swim - Mike; Bike - Me; Run - Ant) went to Spain with some pretty tough targets to aim for. In the cold light of day it could be said that we failed to meet any of them, but we had a damn good go at them and as has been said before, you don't know where the limits are until you cross them.
I met the RAF solo athletes (Roy, Kelda and Simon) before the race either in transition or in the queue for the toilet (Kelda was having a complete faff with her new bling bike, leaking valve extenders and rear facing drop-outs!) and we wished each other well. It was chilly at the start and when transition closed at 0700 I went back to my hotel for a lie down. I saw neither Mike nor Ant before the race as we were all doing our own thing and didn't fancy hanging around unnecessarily in the ever-increasing temperatures. The Relay teams were in the last wave that was due to start at 0900 and with Mike planning an hour swim I wasn't needed until just before 1000; no need to hang around in the hot sun when there was a dark, cool room waiting for me a short walk away. The bike course went right outside our hotel so I watched the pro men come passed and then wandered back to the start area. I did some stretching inside the changing tent and watched the athletes come through; the difference between the serious age groupers and the 'once-only' IM distance athletes was very noticeable. What was also very noticeable was the amazing bike bling on show; my Dolan was definitely found wanting on the bling scale.
At 0940 I was changed and ready and moved to the tranisiton area to wait for Mike. I saw Simon come through and gave him some encouragement; I wouldn't see him again until Monday night. 1 hour and 2 minutes after he started, there was Mike running through the very long transition to release me onto the course. The first 3km was very narrow and twisty with a number of right angle bends and a 180 degree turn around a tight roundabout. But once on the course it was awesome; apart from one short stretch the tarmac was super smooth although it was far from the flat course the organisers had promised. I set off on my first lap and was quickly getting some 11-tooth action and moving along quite nicely. PoD may not be at the cutting edge of bike technology but it is a damn quick bike. After a few km of my first lap a bunch of pros came past on their 2nd lap; I had missed the leader but the guys going passed were (I think) 2nd to 6th or 7th. British pro Graeme Stewart was one of the guys in the group and he eventually finished 4th, despite having stop on the bike to re-inflate his rear tyre. I was moving along at a fair old pace and so they didn't go past very quickly, and in a moment of madness that would come back to haunt me later, I decided to tag on to the back of their pace line (please note, pace line, not bunch; there were clear gaps between each rider (well, for most of the time :-) ). For the next 30+km I rode with the pros, and not just hanging on to their shirt tails. Oh no, I took my turn on the front of the line (unlike some of them I must say) and am really hoping there are some decent photos of the RAF interloper in the pro ranks; we seemed to have a photographer in constant attendance so I'm hopeful of at least one decent shot. I lost touch with the group on the return leg of my first lap and settled back into my target pace; my average speed at this point was over 40kmh and I was beginning to feel the effects of my efforts in my legs. Even so, at the end of lap 1 (69km) my average speed was still 38.5kmh. James is reported as saying to Mike at this point "Looks like Mick is really going for it!" On lap 2 things took a turn for the worse and the next 66km lap took about 1 hour 56 minutes but despite everything my average speed at the 4 hour point was 36kmh; I was just about hanging on to my target pace. Unfortunately, the tank was now completely empty and I was struggling to sustain 24kmh; the legs were weak and everything was hurting. I just wanted to climb off the bike and for it to be over. The one thing that kept me going was the fact that Ant was waiting to run, and if I didn't make it back to T2 then he would have had a wasted trip to Spain. I knew I had to refuel but even that was proving harder than it should have been. My body was refusing to take on board solid food and several of the energy bottles I picked up from the aid stations were only half full. It took a couple of attempts to work this out (brain not thinking clearly) but eventually I worked out that I needed to pick up 2 bottles at each station.
At the end of lap 2 Mike had told me that Roy was 2 minutes up the road; at the turning point on lap 3 (the short lap) I reckoned it was at least 2:30. But at that point I didn't care. I was feeling so bad at one point that I even closed my eyes, as if to sleep. It may only have been for a split-second but it was scary nonetheless. With about 15km to go I asked my legs for an effort up a small hill and, to my amazement, they responded. It was like a switch being turned back on. I rode those last 15km as if it was a 10 mile TT and re-passed 2 relay team cyclists along the way. One had the audacity to sit on my wheel, blatantly drafting, but he was no match and I just rode him off my wheel.
I did come very near to blowing it, though, as I came back in to Calella. On one of the 90 degree bends I went in fast, braked and turned in to the corner, the back wheel locked and stepped out of line (think Valentino Rossi backing his Yamaha into a corner); I'm sure the locals are still talking about it! I'm also sure I heard a cry from the cyclist I had just overtaken (or was it me?) but I released the brake, the bike went round the corner and I stomped up the road to the next turn. I knew Roy was up ahead and could not be that far after my effort over the last few kms, but would I catch him before the end? The full course athletes were clearly psyching themselves up for the run and were probably neither expecting nor appreciated a relay team cyclist coming passed them like a madman, but there was Roy, maybe a 100m ahead, but we were down to the last km or so; could I catch him? I had taken my feet out of my shoes but gave it everything I had, and with less than 100m to go to the dismount line I surged past Roy then almost immediately slowed, leapt off the bike in a perfect dismount (Roy should have had a good view and is probably better placed to comment), and then ran into T2 to meet Mike and Ant. Mike grabbed the bike and Ant ripped the timing chip from my leg and headed off on the final leg, and then I collapsed in a heap. Mike was great; he brought me water and chocolate biscuits and rounded up my kit. I was feeling pretty rubbish straight afterwards but within 10 minutes I felt much better and went and stood in the sea to let the cold water ease my aching muscles. We then saw the winner come through and then we headed to the massage tent; being the cyclist in a relay team meant I was the first one there. Ant suffered similar pacing issues and after being on target for a sub 3-hour finish at the halfway point he eventually finished in 3:32, and a team time of 9:54. Taking everything in to consideration, we were happy with that.
As a little aside, may I suggest you read the race report from Graeme Stewart, the British pro. See here:
http://www.totalracingint.com/that-was-challenge-barcelona Anyone who visits the Tri Talk forum should recognise my username in para 4; a namecheck in a pro's race report - Fantastic!!!
A little under 5:20 was way off my target time but when I look back I won't remember the pain or my time, but I will ALWAYS remember the 30-odd km I rode in the pro pace line at Quelle Challenge Barcelona 2009.
I would certainly recommend this race and will post some admin details later for those who might be thinking of doing this event in 2010. Now, it's time to put my feet up and relax. I have 2 bikes to strip and rebuild in time for a decent winter of training, and as I intend to do more IM distance relays in 2010 I also have 2 race bikes to re-build for next year.
Rest hard folks.
Swim - Mike - 1:00:59 (11th fastest of the relay teams)
Run - Ant - 3:32:24 (9th fastest)
