James Walker Triathlon Racing World Championship Report; 5th At ITU Cross World Championships; Zittau, Germany

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“August has been a busy month and I had a second consecutive weekend in Germany to attend the ITU Cross World Champs, formerly Xterra Germany. Having raced Xterra Germany twice before I knew it would be tough and suit my style of riding, with technical downhills and some long hills.

Arriving the day prior to the race in Prague it was a quick dash from the airport to Zittau to get registered and get everything prepared. I took the option to arrive a day early as I had raced there previously. The weather was typically British……wet and very muddy.

With everything prepared and in transition it was on with the GB kit and ready to roll. The swim was thankfully a wet suit swim and as I stood there on the start pontoon the music played like it was the last day on earth! Then the start horn went.

The swim was manic and I got a few knocks but settled into a nice rhythm. The rain started to come down as we hit the second lap of the swim and I exited the swim feeling positive, making the run through to transition.

I knew the bike was going to be muddy…. but not the mud bath that it turned out to be. I followed Euan Adams out of T1 and thought I would catch him but this turned out to not be the case. I heard I was just under 4 minutes off the leaders, so I rode the bike hard, pushed hard on the long descents and probably looked like I was on the limit. There were a few sketchy moments and the new Hope Hoops took some big knocks, but I thankfully made it back putting in a time of 1hr 50.46.

The run in Germany is 9km around the around the lake with some short sharp hills. I hit the run hard and managed to catch some other athletes in the first couples of kms, but then I didn’t see many for the next few kms. I gave as much as I had on the run, as I didn’t think I did myself justice the week earlier in Wiesbaden. I was definitely done-in by the end of the race.

I crossed the line in 14th overall and 5th AG (25-29). I was also pleased to be the first British Age Grouper Home. I had hoped for a medal and was a little frustrated that I had missed out. But there were significant improvements on the way I performed and felt- mentally stronger and fitter.

AG 25-29 Result 1st – Schädle Martin GER 2nd – Brosch Florian GER 3rd – Stein Marcel GER 4th – Neethling Jeffrey RSA 5th – Walker James GBR

A big thanks to my sponsors for helping make this a successful season.”

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