Challenge Aarhus Race Report - a flat, poop?, road rash, art museum, podium or AG win, and Rasmus He
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The Challenge Family has expanded rapidly outside North America the past few years, and one of their new events was a half distance tri in my current town of Aarhus, Denmark. This was my third Challenge race and each event has exceeded expectations in terms of organization, character, and other aspects!
Weather was miserable the two days before the race, with cold temps and lots of rain. Lots of concern about sewer runoff and water temp. At the pasta party after the race briefing, it was announced that the swim was shortened to 1000m because of temp.
Friend from US arrived late and brought a new crank, bb, chain, and cassette I ordered (I love it when the dollar is low…). Wanted to race with it, so tried to install everything in a hurry. Barely made bike check in; no time to even try the new stuff other than on a repair stand. Also no time to change tires on my race wheels to something a little more suited to wet conditions. Don’t do this.
Went to pump up tires in transition next morning and had a flat. Hole where valve stem connects to tube, which was pretty old. In a way it helped me mentally. It was one more thing on my “shoulda never happened” list. Had me thinking the race was not meant to be and to try to just enjoy a good training session.
Swim was not as bad as expected. Nice and clear except for the last 50m, when there was some thick stuff to swim through. I cannot rule out it being sewage or other bad stuff from the rain.
I’m a wimp when it comes to temperature, so spent a little more time than usual in T1 to throw on gloves and put toe warmers in my shoes (those packs you use skiing!). Nice day in the forecast, but it was going to take some time to warm up and I knew I’d be freezing from the swim. Lost my spare tube and CO2 after hitting a bump 5 min into the bike. Went into some bushes (we were going through a forest), so I just kept going and prayed for the best.
May not have needed the gloves, but glad I had them. About 15k in I took a turn a little too fast with the roads not completely dry and the bike slipped out from under me. Bloody knee, but the gloves and long sleeves saved me further road rash. Quickly back on the bike to finish the job.
Being local, I knew the course and how to pace myself. Mostly rollers…a good course to zap the legs of those not careful! Enjoyed the remainder of the bike and hit T2 without numb toes (for once!). Surprised myself with a 2:25 split, way faster than expected based off training on the same course.
Slightly slower transition because I dismounted with my shoes on (didn’t want to fumble with the toe warmers in them) and had to run a lot before our transition bags. Worth noting that the bag system, bike catchers/rackers, transition tents, and whatnot are all excellent at Challenge Family races.
The run was awesome. Three loops through the HEART of my town. Right down the main pedestrian shopping street, through the outdoor seating at cafes along a main canal, and up some stairs INTO one end of a modern art museum before running through its corridor and out the other side. Quickly found myself in a pack with three others running the same pace, but two dropped off after the second loop. Managed to shake the third guy on a hill with about 2k left and kicked it into full gear, even looped in a few others. Surprised myself with a 1:22 split, on par with or better than some pros!
Finished 30th OA, and either 2nd or 1st in M30-34. When I sort the results by age there is one guy ahead of me, but his info says he was in the pro wave so I’m not sure.
Way cool after the race. Got my wounds scrubbed/cleaned up immediately (most painful part of the day!), then waited for my friend to cross the line. Awesome watching people run down the chute with their kids, something the Challenge Family allows and encourages.
I’ll see if I can get some pics uploaded later this week. There’s a good one of me and my friend with Rasmus Henning at the pasta party. It was very low key and easy to strike up a conversation with him. Same with former pro Torbjørn Sinballe.
Comments
Yes - Challenge races are definately giving WTC races a run for their money :-)
I have been very impressed with the Challenge races I have done - not always the case with WTC events.