Tayler ticks boxes in build-up to worlds qualifier

Tayler Reid. File picture

GISBORNE triathlete Tayler Reid’s 16th place in a Continential Cup race at Weert in the Netherlands “served its purpose”, says coach Stephen Sheldrake.

“He’s not raced since December when he crashed. It was his first race at the Olympic distance — 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-km bike, 10-km run — and we were never looking at a great result.

“It was the chance to blow out some cobwebs and tick some boxes in preparation for his next race, on July 2 at Holten, also in the Netherlands.

“Tayler was going along well, then fell apart, but it was a good pass mark.”

The Premier Contintental Cup race at Holten is when Reid will try to qualify for the New Zealand under-23 team to compete at the world champs at Cozumel, Mexico in September.

“This is the big race,” said Reid a Tier 3 member of the Triathlon New Zealand high performance squad.

“I knew going into the race in Weert I wasn’t going to be racing at 100 percent, racing only two days after arrving in Europe.

“The long flight over wasn’t an ideal lead-up but my training had been going pretty well back home in Gisborne. I thought that if I put myself in good positions and made no mistakes I might be capable of a top 10 among a field of of some solid guys who have raced in the World Triathlon Series.

Reid started the race with a solid swim to come out (of the water) seventh and in contact with the leaders. He maintained his place among the leading bunch on the cycle.

“I was with a group of about 10 guys and straight away we started to work together to build an advantage over the rest of the field.

“The chase pack included some pretty quick runners but by the end of the 40km we had established a gap of a minute 20 seconds.

“The step up in distance on the run was always going to affect me most. It’s something that will take bit of time and hard work until I have the strength to run fast for the entire 10km.”

Reid said the plan for the run was to start off at a controlled paced.

“I knew if I went out too fast I would pay for it later on. The other guys from my bunch set off fast and I had to let them go past me, which was frustrating. I hated not being capable to try to win race yet.

“A guy from the Netherlands in the bunch seemed to be running at a pace I thought I could hold so I sat on his shoulder and let him do the pace-making.

Tayler he felt good for “just over two laps of the four”.

“Midway through the third lap I started to fall apart. I was fighting to stay in contact with the guy from the Netherlands and a gap opened up between us. Shortly after that I hit the wall and started to slip back through the field.”

Reid said it was not the result he was aiming for but it was a solid perfomance in a strong international field.

“I learned a lot from the race and got to see how my training had been tracking.

“I was happy to finally complete an Olympic distance race seven months after I had originally planned.”

Reid is in Montpellier, France training with the New Zealand team for his next race.