Yeppoon Half Ironman - Race Report
Yeppoon would be a great learning curve for me with some great experiences to take away and learn from. 
The course is centered in the middle of the Capricorn Resort a really nice backdrop to the event making me very excited about the course. Flat, hopefully minimal wind, and my new Fuji D-6 Pro.
My coach Dean and I arrived early at 10am, and I was very keen to get the bike out and have a ride on the course. Traveling with a new as I am sure you are all aware is a very nerve racking experience, but I am pleased to announce that everything went smoothing so scratches at all.
It didn't take me long to reassemble and set it up with my aero bottle etc ready for a ride and then I was good to go.
I am proud to say my bike was the talk of the event! As I registered Dean waited with the bike and many athletes stopped to ask questions and to look it up and down. And yes for all of you wondering, it does ride as well as it looks!
My practice ride on the course went really well. The responsiveness of the bike was incredible. Getting up to 40kph was easy and very quick like you would expect a sports car to do. A lot of people warned me of stiffness that come with the design of TT bikes but I didn't experience any sort of issues with the D6. It literally took me a minute or so to adjust to the weight of the bike, then it just seemed natural.
From the aero position I was able to easily control the bike through the course with slight movements and pressure from my forearms. Honestly if anything this bike was more responsive than my previous ride, and a hell of a lot smoother.
I only rode 15km and for that averaged 36kph with great ease - even into a strong head wind. The D-6 was a machine, and I was actually a little nervous as to how fast I could go with it, I didn't want to push to hard!
Race morning I woke up late, walked to bike down and then prepared back in the room. There was a 1.9km walk to the start down the beach which was a little annoying and starting at 8:37 - wow are you kidding me, in normal races would have less than 45mins of the ride to go at this time!
I was one of the last waves to start, and by the time I did the current and turned and rather than assisting, it was holding us back. The swim was fairly uneventful, I didn't feel really good in it, sore shoulders but I think that was from my suit - way to tight I wont be using it again!
Running out I was confident of my position and ended up having the 4th fastest swim of the day - fairly disappointing as I am normally minutes clear of the field, but considering the tide change very good. To put it in perspective I normally swim 23mins or so, this swim was 29mins - so a rough current!
5 lap course, 18kms per lap out and back. I got into my groove fairly quickly, made sure to drink and eat properly and was feeling confident as I passed many competitors. After the first lap we were at 35kph, the second 37kph and I was building, feeling very smooth and comfortable on the new bike. I topped out at 46kph on the flats going past people like they were standing still.
I was very cautious on the U turns; it was funny guys caught me and passed just before the turn, then the acceleration of the D6 blew them away and I would drop them very quickly.
By 60km I was leading my age group by a couple of minutes; no one had passed me yet on the course from any age group, I was passing everyone. Then things went wrong.
A great learning experience for everyone; TIGHTEN YOUR HANDLEBARS WELL on reassembly. Of course I didn't, and they dropped down enough for my bottle to rest on my front wheel. I rode like this for at least 10km and finally pulled over and waited for 15mins for a mechanic; ending my chances of finishing high up and the lactate rushed to my legs. At this point I was looking at a 2:25 ride - would have been very fast.
By the end my actual time on the bike had dropped to 2:33 - I rode the last lap on a slowly deflating tire, yes the bike is that smooth that I didnt notice, but I did notice the drop in speed.
So the run was eventful, fully lactate legs, cramping - the self inflicted bike issues cost me dearly in fueling my body. At 10km I decided to pull the plug on the race. Having Busselton in December it really wasnt worth pushing through and stressing my body.
So all in all amazing experience, great lessons learnt and WOW the bike. I will be getting a torque wrench so it doesn't happen again, and I am very confident going into my next race at Noosa. To be leading my age group still at 60km was a massive improvement; my last two races I lead from the water and slowly ppl passed me pushing me back to say 20th in my age group. I put it all down to the bike. Look out for my next blog, my review of the D6; you will want to read it, cause this bike is incredible!
Thank again Fuji for the support! Check out the bike for yourself at www.fujibikes.com.au under the specialty section.
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