Reid learned his lesson well

ONE LEG DONE: Tayler Reid comes out of the water sixth in the Antwerp triathlon world cup sprint event. He won a sprint finish to take the race. Picture &Copy; Petko Beier/ITU Media

His race coming down to a sprint finish, Gisborne triathlete Tayler Reid thought about what happened last time in Antwerp.

Reid was outrun by Belgian Jelle Geens in the Antwerp triathlon world cup sprint event last year, pipped at the finish line.

This time, he timed his final attack perfectly.

Swede Gabriel Sandor was just ahead of him as they hit the final stretch of blue carpet but Reid flew to the tape two seconds ahead of him.

Reid’s coach Stephen Sheldrake said the 22-year-old ran a smart race at the weekend.

“He positioned himself well and kicked to the finish,” Sheldrake said.

“He’s pretty happy.”

Sheldrake said last year’s race was high on Reid’s mind.

“It definitely played to his advantage.”

At the time, Reid described his 2018 silver in Belgium as a confidence boost but also felt he should have won.

“There were five of us in a sprint to the finish and I knew I could outsprint the others, but when I saw the finish I made a tactical mistake,” he said.

“I went for it a fraction early and got beaten on the line. I should have been more patient.”

This time, Reid was sixth coming out of the swim.

After the bike leg, he was third.

In the run, he was part of a group of seven leading the field as the bell sounded for the final lap.

Sandor and Reid edged clear but Reid reeled him in.

Reid said he learned from his mistakes and timed his sprint a lot later than last year — “pinned the ears back and full gak to the finish”.

Triathlon New Zealand described the conditions as a “steamy Sunday afternoon”.

The weather at a pre-Olympics event in Tokyo in August is also expected to be hot and humid.

Reid is pushing to be part of the New Zealand triathlon team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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