Des Moines World Cup 17th June 2007

Hey everyone, Sorry for the delay! I've just arrived in Boulder Colorado after racing in the weekend at the big world cup in Des Moines. I been really looking forward to this race and had a great preparation leading into it. There were a few things that made this world cup so special. And the big prize purse was the first thing! $200,000 to the winner.... a big drop off to the rest but everyone was here that fancied there chances to take the big prize.

We also had been given a brilliant course that was going to test every athlete in every discipline. But maybe the biggest component of the day would be the extreme heat and humidity. In the womens race it topped 38 degrees. We raced a little later when it was slightly cooler at 35. Although the wind started to come up and made things difficult. I was fairly relaxed before the start and headed to my position on the pontoon.

Being ranked number 3 in the world I had the 3rd choice so I stood to the right. I had a good start only to get dunked a couple of times on the way to the first buoy which cost me some places. I didnt panic as I knew I could swim back on in the second lap when others started to tier. I swam through 16 guys and just made the first group after the swim. The group rode really hard ( 14 guys ) for the first 4k or so. We made a small gap back to the chasing pack of 25 or so guys but only 30seconds. We had some big hitters in the front group and it wasnt working very well because of it.

With some strong boys driving the chase group they soon caught us. After this there were some small break away attempts but everything was brought back. As the race went on the heat and course started to take its tollon everyone. And then with 10k to go on the bike the decisive move went away up the road. 8 guys attacked off the front with eventual winner Rasmus Henning fully involved.

I was struggling at this point in the race like so many others. It was very frustrating for me as I'm personally always looking out for these situations. And at this time I couldnt be a part of it or do anything about it for that matter. I tried to stay positive and think that if we kept them to under a minute maybe the guys that had sat in for most of the bike, still had a chance to real these guys in on such a servere day.

Going into the run we were 1.14 down. It was going to be tough but I still was being as positive as I could with the way I was feeling at the time. I had a smooth transition and got out on the run well. It wasn't long before a group 6 of us formed at the front. It was all the guys I expected to be there and the pace was on. I Didn't feel to bad at this time and felt like I had the most control I had the entire race. When we completed our first of four laps we had already caught some of the guys from the group in front.

On the second lap World number one Javier Gomez and my mate Bevan Docherty bridged away from the group and it splintered as a result. I was ok with this and maintained my rhythm as best I could. When I hit the end of the second lap I had lost some time. But nothing that I had not tried to run back before this season so far. That was until the third lap started!! something happened... and If I could write about I would but I'm not sure what exactly it was. I lost all my power and started to fade very badly. I kept saying to myself "it will come right" "It will come right" but on that third lap I lost nearly 10 places and a whole lot of time. I had thoughts of pulling out but I couldnt believe that the way I had trained the last 6 weeks could leave me in this way.

Starting the 4th and last lap feeling very deflated. I tried to maintain some focus about why I was here and was determined to find my legs again. With about 2k to go it happened just as I had believed! A little bit too late, but it was there none the less. I felt pretty good again for someone that had been racing for 2hours. I started running on my toes again and reeling in some of the guys. In the end I finished 15th.

Of course I was disappointed I wont lie. But I knowand Believe that all the work I have been doing is for a reason and that falls in the second week of September ( Olympic Trials) and apparently not last sunday!!. I would like to say a big well done to Rasmus Henning He was awesome and showed that athletes willing to risk it all get rewarded.

Bevan ran like a champion on a course that was taylor made for his running strength. What a battle it may have been had they both been running together for the 10k. I now head to Edmonton this weekend to race the next world cup of the season. I'm really interested to see how it goes after Des Moines. And I'm pretty sure I'll know as soon as I dive in the water. So If you see me at the head of the field this weekend early! where I normally like to be ( and wasnt sighted last weekend) then you will know just like me.

See you all soon,

Kris

Check here for full race results ; ITU site.