Brendan Sexton Cellarbrates flying in the WTS once again

Brendan Sexton is back! He finished 8th in a strong field at the Chicago round of the World Triathlon Series. He swam, rode and ran very competitively to get back in to the top ten and build his confidence going forward. Expect to see Brendan featuring in the top ten more often as he builds back t

Brendan Sexton Cellarbrates flying in the WTS once again
Brendan Sexton in full flight at Chicago – Photo Credit: Delly Carr / ITU Media

Brendan Sexton is back! He finished 8th in a strong field at the Chicago round of the World Triathlon Series. He swam, rode and ran very competitively to get back in to  the top ten and build his confidence going forward. Expect to see Brendan  featuring in the top ten more often as he builds back to his best and looks forward to Rio in 2016.

Here Brendan takes us through his race last weekend…

Chicago WTS Hot in the Windy City

The past weekend saw my return to competitive WTS racing after a substantial period as not much more than a participant/spectator.

The event was a first for the sport being an event held on the edge of the Chicago city on the shores of Lake Michigan. A precursor to next years ITU World Championships the race site in Grant Park was a unique course in both it’s record number of bike and run U-turns & 90 degree corners (48 & 64 respectively over 40km) and also the tremendous and highly photogenic locality to the Chicago city skyline.

The race itself was at 4pm on a day that seemed to constantly rise in temperature as the day went on. Despite cool lake temperatures the organisers deemed the heat stress too high for wetsuits to be worn “something that only happens in relatively extreme heat.

From race start I had unusually clear water until nearing the first turn buoy. At the end of the first lap of two

Entering second transition was a frantic scramble to start the run in the best possible position but as soon as my run shoes hit the baking concrete I knew conservation was paramount for my own performance. I wasn’t alone here as I moved through  the first 2.5km lap just seconds from the leaders. Through the following 5km the leaders, the Spaniards Javier Gomez and Mario Mola, increased the intensity just enough that myself along with the several other guys trying to match the pace began  to lose time. As we began to splinter apart I realised holding pace was the quickest way to finish without encountering meltdown. I held 8th position for the final 2km to attain my first WTS top ten since April 2011. Gomez went on to win with  Portuguese Joao Periera running through a fading Mola to take silver.

For the past 18 months or so I have been implementing changes that myself and my coach Jamie Turner had identified would be necessary in my future success in ITU triathlon. Sunday was the first in competition evidence that these changes  are in fact having an influence on my performance at the highest level of the sport.

Personally, it was evidence that the track I’ve been following is the right one, it’s just been heading mostly uphill for a while. JT has encouraged me to stay on the train at the more testing periods and it is a trip that will continue to build momentum.

There has been great support and belief from my supporters and sponsors and without this support I would have jumped off many stations ago. Thank you.

The journey is only just gaining real speed!

I’ll now focus on recovering fully over the next few days before building back up for the next WTS in Hamburg Germany in just under 2 weeks time

Cheers
Brendan