The Other Quadrathlon World Championship…The Sprint 2012

Report by Tom Stead our Junior World Sprint Quadrathlon Champion.

On the 1st of September I competed in the Sprint Quadrathlon World Champs which were held at Bergsee Raschter, Germany.

Last year the Olympic and Sprint Distance were
held at the same venue on the same day, therefore athletes had to choose one or
the other, which results in just a handful of people doing the Sprint. This year
was different, in the Sprint there were some 80 competitors, from 8 countries –
from as far as New Zealand, Slovakia, Czech Republic, GB and a large contingent
from Germany. This meant that most of the top dogs were there and a larger
number of juniors.

Raschter is a fantastic location. There is a campsite
at the venue, which meant that we took the opportunity of camping there a few
days earlier, giving me the opportunity to check out the lake, the run and cycle
route (which I believe has changed since last year). Compared to most triathlons
in the UK this Quadrathlon started late in the day… this meant  there was
quite a lot waiting around, with 3 hours to go, I just wanted to get
started…!!

The time came and I got myself in the water along with the
other competitors. We were in the water for a while, then off like a shot,
fighting for positions before the first turn buoy. Stefan led the swim. I
finished strongly and was out the water with a PB in 10th place, the leader one
minute ahead. I knew I had a lot to do on the bike. Just moments before the race
I found out that the roads were going to be closed, WOW… this was going to be
great, I could attack the corners as fast as I dared…!!! The bike route is on
new tarmac, very hilly and very fast! I went out hard and managed to catch the
chase groups, and a little later on, I took the lead… I found myself following
a German TV man being driven backwards on a motor bike! That was a first.
A small group of five of us went into transition within a few seconds of each
other. Checking the stats later I was pleased to see I had the fastest bike
split of the race!

Next  my ‘weakest’ event, the kayak, although not as
weak as it was.  I have been training hard, I managed to come back in 5th
place.  As I got out of the kayak my legs seemed to have frozen and were numb,
weirdest feeling ever… This was the main reason for my slow 3rd transition,
the run didn’t go smoothly, I had to stretch out my calves a few times and my
right calf was killing me every time I took a step…!! I made a mental note to
myself to contact Tony at the Sports Injury Clinic on my return!

It was Czech vs. German for 1st place, with Leos Rousavý finally taking the win…I eventually finished 8th overall (and 1st Youth) just behind fellow Englishman Peter Moysey (from New Zealand, yep confused me too).  Really pleased with my performance overall.

This was a fantastic long weekend and my thanks go to the organisers, it was a great event, it was also great to meet so many of the other athletes from across the world wide quad community, I hope to return next year.

While planning your race dairy, do think about this race, it’s
worth the journey.

Tom

A few more images here on my blog
tomstead.blogspot

Race results here
Ratscher World Sprints