SEOUL WCS 2ND – RACE REPORT
2nd Round of the ITU WCS in Seoul. What a race. Sprint finish with German Olympic Champion Jan Frodeno. I did everything I could to hold the big fella off in the final straight but with 10m to go he got himself in front.
Although I love to win, I walked away from this race very happy after the mishaps and missed races of the past few months to come out first race up and run the way I did it going to be an exciting year! I haven’t raced a hard 10km (in good health) since Noosa last Nov so now with at least one solid race under the belt I can go to Madrid in a month with more racing specific fitness and have another crack.
The course in Seoul was very interesting. Although flat in the middle of the city the way the bike course was tight with many corners and u-turns it was a hard race on the legs and also tactically to get in the right positions at the right times. Swim was very cold around 13 degrees C I heard. Ice cream headache soon as you hit the water.
My run was good and fast (I hope). 29.08 was the official 10km time, but I believe it must have been a bit short. But anyhow I think we were moving pretty quick. I got into transition in the first handful of guys but once I started running fast straight away. Frodeno ran unto me around the 2km mark and from there it was the two of us right down to the line.
I knew my chance to outsprint him was to get in early before he had a chance to get his momentum with those long legs (he must be 6′2 give or take to my 5′10. There was a 90 degree turn 100m from the finish and I jumped fast and grabbed the inside run around the turn and put my head down….10m from home he come storming past and that was the race.
Sitting 6th in the World Championship race even after missing the 1st Rd which was a good surprise.
On my way to Europe now for the Northern summer. Next few days will be sorting myself out in apartment and town in Aix Les Bains, France and getting over a bit of jetlag. Then its back to the grind for a few weeks before the 3rd round of the WCS series rolls round in Madrid.
Tags: Courtney Atkinson, ITU, Jan Frodeno, Seoul, Triathlon, WCS
