St Anthony’s, 5150 Florida – 13th

Seeing the names on the start list in the weeks before I knew that was this was going to be one of the races of the season with 45 of the best male triathletes assembled. St Anthony’s would mark my first time racing in the USA and I was keen to show my cards and get a good result on the board. 

I flew into Tampa, Florida on early Tuesday morning and for the week leading up to the race spilt my time between recovering from some crazy jet lag and doing some light training with not too much intensity. St Pete, where the race is held really is an amazing part of the world and I am already keen to come back next year and spend even more time here. Speaking of which, I must give a big thank you to Tim, who I had the pleasure of staying with for the duration of my visit. 

Race Day:

Race day started early (and dark) with the start time set for 6:50am. The swim conditions were extremely rough and the choppy seas made for a challenging but fun swim. The great thing about having a swim like this is that it really broke up the field heading into T2. I emerged from the swim in 15th place and right next to all the major threats. 

Being that this was my first time racing a 5150 event in the USA I was keen to see just how the stagger/drafting rules played out as the USA ruling is quite unique and very different to anywhere else in the world. I held my spot on the bike in the lead group trying to conserve my energy for what would be a very quick run! The cycle leg didn’t feel overly fast but a 43.5kph average speed for the 40km's showed that the pace was in fact quite respectable. 

I hit T2 feeling good and the legs ready to go for the final 10km foot race to the finish. I passed a few other athletes during the course of the first 5km’s of the run and at the turnaround was sitting in the top 10. In the final 3kms I was passed by a few of the quicker runners who rode within the 2nd chase pack. The final km couldn’t come quick enough and I was happy to cross the line coming home in 13th place with a 33.30 final run spilt. 

Ultimately I would have loved to have been further and inside the top 10 but with some of the best of the best in the sport present I can’t be disappointed. I have no doubt that I will be back for more in the years to come as the race is impeccably organized and run with the upmost professionalism.

Results (top 25)

With this result I now move into 6th on the '5150 Pro Mens World Points Ranking'.

Next up for me will be St George US 70.3 Pro Champs next weekend and with another stacked field its going to be another cracker of a race.