Race Day - The Swim as it happened
14 September 2010
Our unique event kicked off in style this morning with my wake
up call at 4am. Only joking, of course the pinnacle of the morning
was the start of the swim leg of the Eurostar Tri-City-Athlon.
After a quick check over the setup of the course I turned to be
overwhelmed by the sight of 140 competitors, braving the brisk
Parisian air in their wetsuits following their 5.15am breakfast,
who'd made the short journey from the hotel to the Bassin de la
Villette to complete the 1500metre swim leg.
At 7.26am, and as expected. the sun poked it's head over the Arc
de Triomphe and 4 minutes later the swim was underway. A
surprisingly large number of spectators and an impressive gaggle of
media cheered 140 bobbing white swimming caps as the brave athletes
underneath them battled for position along the length of the swim
course.
As the race progressed the 140-strong group stretched out into a
long line, with the customary rising heads (checking they are still
following the right course) often displaying grimaces, but also the
odd smile. For the top competitors in the swim section, this leg
took only 17 minutes and THEO REBEYROTTE, our
first finisher, appeared relaxed and refreshed as they exited the
water.
The final swimmer, not to be named here of course, exited the
water just after 8.15am and although their arms were certainly
burning from their endeavour (and lactic acid) they told us, in
between catching their breath, that they thoroughly enjoyed the
challenge and were looking forward to having a nice sit down during
the next leg of the event. I'm not sure you can quite call a 40km
bike ride a 'sit down' but hey, at least they are being
positive.
Following their exit from the water, the competitors dried
themselves down and jumped chattily back on to the Tri-City coach
and made their way to Paris Gare du Nord for the transition by
chartered Eurostar to Brussels at 9.30am. Only 3 hours after
leaving Paris they will be mounting their trusty cycles for the
bike leg of the event.
I could sense an almost electric buzz in the air from all
involved, it will be really interesting to see whether the leading
swimmers will carry that advantage through the cycle. It's a pretty
strong field for the Brussels leg, and I know for a fact that we
have a competitor in there who once held the land speed record on a
mountain bike so it's definitely still an open contest.
I'll have a further update for you from Brussels at around 3pm
BST. To be continued……