2024 European Championships – Coimbra, Portugal

Solihull Triathlon Club members competed in three different events over a two week period in Portugal:

  • Sprint Distance Duathlon – Peter and Ian
  • Standard Distance Duathlon – Alice
  • Middle Distance Triathlon – Gareth

All four competitors provided excellent race reports, here is Gareth’s write-up of his adventure!


I finally qualified for GB last year following a performance I wasn’t actually happy with at Outlaw X Thoresby Park. Since then I’ve been looking forward to the Championships and wearing my GB tri suit with the expressed aim of not coming last in my age group.

Cycling and running both seemed okay but swimming had not been given the time it needs. Training has been squeezed since my first child Ivor arrived in February and I think I’ve now accepted Middle Distance is slightly too long for this time in my life. I’ll be dropping back down distances now.

I innovated over the Winter with a bike fit from Matt Botttrill that he promised would get me some extra speed ???????? maybe enough to cancel out the losses in fitness? Carbon plate shoes seem to help the run too? I also spent more time than ever working on my mobility – always trying to get a little bit better.

I was frustrated to have to send my bike by courier over 3 weeks before my race day, missing some vital time in that specific TT position and meaning i dropped out of my prep race.

I also underwent some heat acclimatisation sessions in the last couple of weeks before race day – put simply this involved getting into a really hot bath after training, horrible. It was worth a try with hot temperatures expected in Portugal. It didn’t quite do enough but I still think it saved me from the worst of it.

I’ve become quite meticulous in my preparations over the years with no dairy (like Adam) or caffeine before race day. This was certainly harder to manage while we were on holiday in Lisbon for a few days before the race.

Travelling with a 4 month old baby in a hot country has also been a brand new challenge for Adele and I and was not the relaxed, restful, ideal taper for one of my biggest ever races.

I also highly recommend Precision Hydration as a font of knowledge on how to prepare and hone what you need from carbs, electrolytes and fluids.

So preparation came down to the day before the race. I planned to go out and ride a bit of the course, check my bike worked and join the GB team photo. Until I had my first moving crash on a bike when crossing some tram lines. I seemed to bounce back up out of it okay but then spent 2 hours with a bike mechanic trying to get my derailleur hanger straight and the gears indexed properly again. My middle finger also started to swell. All whilst I knew I wanted to get back to Adele and Ivor to help look after them both. Bike fixed and racked immediately I crossed my fingers that it would be working when I got to it on race morning.

In the morning, my shoulder was sore and felt a bit weak and floppy? I hoped a warm up would help. I’ve been quite disappointed with the event itself (events like Outlaw and Ironman are much bigger and really make it special), the organisers and also GB Triathlon in their support in getting here and prepared. The morning of the race ended up very rushed, through no fault of my own for once! We were allowed into transition 20 minutes late and were queuing for bag drop for 10 minutes after that but the start time stayed the same.

I was on the middle of the bridge when the gun went and the first racers started! Not a big problem as it was a staggered start but I couldn’t get near the front of the race and benefit from working with any stronger swimmers.

The swim went well enough, particularly on the way back when I probably had about 300m on the feet of someone going the perfect speed. I just relaxed and looked around at the other swimmers, taking some extra breaths. Eventually I was able to jump past my willing accomplice and take the race forward a bit more.

T1 went without a hitch and then we were off on to the bike course. i planned to ride conservatively for one lap while I got used to the bike again and learnt about the course, where to push and any risky corners or potholes. Most of the course was silky smooth European tarmac that just begged to be ridden fast. This was going to be fun. There were some tricky moments on lap one with too many bikes in close proximity and it becoming impossible not to draft at some points. Once I got through lap one I decided I could push on past the melee and probably break away to someone else in front. The bike was running so smoothly, I was thoroughly enjoying myself and spent lots of time in the most aero position I could get into. I have a bottle just under my chin and if my chin is touching it then I’m in the optimum position, the more time I spend there the better.

I made a friend along the way, a GB athlete with the surname Lock, that I occasionally chatted to as we seemed to be going at a very similar speed and regularly took a turn on the front of the groups we ended up in. We were quite shocked on lap 2 to be consumed by a large group of Portuguese, Spanish and Italian riders that didn’t seem to be adhering to any drafting rules. We continued to leave gaps but when they slowed down and I got past, the group seemed to always surge past again and not drop back in the correct manner. Lock and I were in a tricky position – I think we were both slightly faster than the group but it was impossible to break ahead without an extreme effort that would possibly ruin our race. Eventually this group was broken down and lap 4 was a more standard ride. I was pleased to see my average speed stayed very consistent across all 4 laps and my heart rate actually got lower as I relaxed into it. I drank my 2litres of fuel but dropped the extra bottle of hydration I wanted on the last lap so finished a little bit thirsty.

T2 was slower than I would have liked, the rush in the morning meant that my shoe laces weren’t set up neatly and I think I wasted about 1 minute redoing one of them. I’m prone to blisters so always wear socks upwards of 10km and use standard shoe laces so that my feet are properly supported for these longer distances.

On to the run, I felt pretty good to start with and my heart rate was at a good level and pace about what I hoped for. I hoped that a mile of getting moving and I could possibly accelerate. I didn’t feel too hot on one side of the river where there was more shade and I made the most of getting a sip of water from every aid station before chucking the rest over my head and body. I sweat a lot and it can be quite salty so started to take my salt tablets and finished my last caffeine gel as per my plan. No signs of cramp so I think my salt intake was about right.

The other side of the river was a different story with temperatures in the shade of 27 degrees and the sun baking down on me it started to really build and my hopes of acceleration were replaced with preservation. I had some horrible intrusive thoughts of a heart attack out in the sun!

My heart rate and effort stayed the same throughout but my pace just kept dropping. I kept taking my salt tablets and water and energy gels and am relieved to say there were zero signs of any of my previous gastric issues.

I started to notice one Spanish triathlete that had been in the big group of rule breakers earlier on in the ride and he kept running past me only to stop for a walk. He must have been struggling too. This repeated 5 or 6 times, the last time he walked I had only 1km left to go and I was determined not to let him past again. This really helped squeeze the last bit of effort out of me and on the blue carpet I looked back to find no sign of him. I finished my sprint finish alone and very very happy!

I spent an obscene amount of time in the food tent grazing and chatting to other GB athletes I had cheered as they passed me and then got out to find my baby boy and my wife and have a lovely cuddle and feel so lucky for the support they’ve given me to get here. They’re the best!

IRONMAN 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca<< >>IRONMAN Kärnten-Klagenfurt, Austria

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