The SuperLeague qualifiers in Poznan will see some of the world best battle it out for 5 golden tickets onto the championship tour. Being a Jersey boy my interest to gain a wild card for the Jersey race was big. This meant I was set to race the qualifiers to try and prove myself to the likes of Macca and Michael.
From the Gold coast to the French Alps to Cardiff and then to……..Poznan?? Never heard of it until now. Superleague golden tickets up for grabs and so I had no choice but to give it a go. I grabbed that opportunity like a 17 year olds first attempt of driving, with fear, tears and whole lot of unexpected excitement. If I want to compete in jersey, there’s only a couple of chances to get a golden ticket. This might just be my best bet.
Stage 1 (triple mix)-:
Triple mix is the first format. Everything short, everything fast, everything mixed up into all sorts of weird formats I probably can’t quite explain it to you, but its not your standard Triathlon, is pretty damn different, and bloody damn fast. With only 21 guys, but none of them with any lack of ability, the chance of qualifying wasn’t looking mediocre. I’d just had the boys in Big maggys pimp my bike out with a super service, Ceramic Speed, some Uber Knight wheels, and also hand me a Card that basically said “You’ve no longer got any excuses, so its time you grew a pair”. I bashed out an average swim off pontoon spot number 9, and came out with eventual winner Schilling, where together we tried to bridge the gap to small group only meters ahead. Gap bridged, transiton done, I couldn’t quite manage the blistering sub 3 minute pace of the leaders running, so 52s back was where I finished. My running was weak, and so holding off the leading pack with only 52’s out of the 90s elimination rule was a little too tough for the next run start. Didn’t mean I was out, and there was still tomorrow.
Stage 2 (endurance super sprint tri X2)-:
The endurance race was something I knew I’d struggle with as the run to swim section was bound to be mega hard. I was pumped and ready to go and due to the success, the day before I was quietly confident. My good position ranked me a very strong place on the starting grid especially as I was next to the quickest swimmers. The claxon went and my dive and first 20 strokes were text book quality. No complaints there… like all good stories there’s a twist. I was then sandwiched between two guys and with nowhere to go but back. This obviously caused me to lose very valuable time. I was quick to realize with this format of racing even the smallest of mistakes can ruin your race. I came out the swim way back on the group and had to spend the bike chasing. Fortunately, the course was very technical with plenty of bends and tight roundabouts. This meant I didn’t lose much time on the bike but still hadn’t managed to bridge across. The run was always going to be tough after exerting so much on the bike but I pushed on and tried my hardest not to lose much time. The run to swim was a feeling like no other… imagine wearing steel plated trousers whilst having an asthma attack and trying to swim at the same time. The breathing pattern, the technique, the everything… it was all knocked out of rhythm and this is what makes SuperLeague so challenging. The challenging aspect has me hooked me and made me very eager to get involved more.
A massive thanks to everyone at SuperLeague especially Ashlee, Michael and Macca who really supported and look after me over the weekend and of course sponsors and supporters who continue to help me reach my dreams.
-Fairway Group
-TYR sport
-Big Maggys
-SportsHUB
-Freedom Physio.
For now, it’s back to the rock for 6 weeks to focus on some very specific stuff before I plan what’s happening for the 2/3 of the season.
Over and out…
#TeamTYR #FullBeans #IAMSUPERLEAGUE #IAMOLLIETURNER
Ollie Turner - Triathlete 