Matty White

Vegas 70.3 Report

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, thats all I can say about last weekend as things started great and ended not so great for me. I was offered a Worlds 70.3 spot at the last minute and decided to add it to my schedule in a lead up to my main goal which is Kona on October 8th. I had arrived in Boulder after finishing 2nd in Yeppoon 70.3 and had a really solid 4 weeks training in the lead up to Vegas. I actually had a really heavy training week leading into Vegas which I anticipated to do as I am aiming to peak for Hawaii in 4 weeks time.

This was my 4th time in Vegas but my first time racing in this crazy town so I didn’t know what to expect as I was staying in the strip at Ceasers palace, so I got a few wierd looks wheeling my Merida Time Warp through the Cas in the early hours of the morning! But I made it to Lake Mead and resisted the temptation of Vegas and got their in one piece.

Race morning was a buzz with eager triathletes and the atmosphere was cranking as the sun rose above the majestic Lake Mead. With a crack field of pro men racing I knew it was going to be a fast and furious day but I was still confident of a top ten placing if I could have a good day. The gun went off and I settled into a good rythm in the main pack exiting on the tail of it just behind Rix, Bell, Gambles, Crawford etc. I was right where I wanted to be as I hit the bike ready for the hilly tough desolate bike course which climbs straight up out of transition, this was where the major moves were made and 2 main groups formed to chase down Potts.

I actually felt amazing on the bike and settled into a good rythm picking up athletes along the way, at about the 35km mark I was caught by uber biker Mich Weiss who was driving the pace big time, he bought my mate Tim Berkel along after an uncharacteristally slow swim, things started to really ramp up and I managed to stay with Weiss throughout the ride and share a lot of the work especially on the uphill sections. I checked behind me at the 70km mark and was surprised to see a lot of athletes had dropped off the pace, especially good bikers like Rix, Cotter and Crawford. At this point we were less than 2 minutes to the main front guys with Lieto 4 min up the road from them. At about 80km in I was overtaken by an athlete who surged on the uphill only to drop back drastically causing me to get a drafting penalty, this was slightly annoying as I had been working quite hard the whole bike ride, but I just took it on the chin and pushed the remainder of the bike hard. I took my penalty but the damage was done as I watched all the other athletes pass by for 5 minutes.

I got back on the bike but I really couldn’t get going again so decided to shut it down and just get to the finish. It was a dissapointing way to finish the day but on the flipside my swim and ride were right where it needed to be especially after a hard week training the week leading in, so I am taking away some great positives from this day into my main goal of Hawaii.Crowie went on to win the race in a great aussie double with new sensation Melissa Rollinson taking the females.

So now its back to business in Boulder after a fun weekend catching up with the guys in Sin City. A special thanks to Luke and Amanda Mckenzie for hooking up a great VIP night at XS nightclub, even though the body sayd the opposite it was a fun way to finish a good weekend!
I will check in again soon in the lead up to Hawaii, Boulder is getting a lot cooler now so I cant wait to get to the big island before I lose the colour on the legs up here in the cold mountains!

Cioa

Matty