File photo: World Triathlon
By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi
No racer likes a ‘WD’ beside their name so Brea Roderick’s decision to pull out of World Cup Valencia stung. Sometimes, though, the better part of valor is discretion and especially so with your big race of the season looming.
The 21-year-old Cantabrian pulled the pin on Sunday’s standard distance race a few laps into the 40km bike phase after getting “absolutely destroyed” in the swim and realising she was expending unnecessary reserves for a mid-pack result at best.
Better to look ahead to what has always been her main target of 2023 – the U23 Worlds in Potevedra at the end of the month – despite a year of unimageable highs at the sport’s highest level, the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS).
“Quite frankly I think I’m just quite exhausted from what has been a massive season for me, this race was my 12th one in 14 weeks so as you can imagine I am quite tired,” Roderick told Triathlon.kiwi.
“Although I’m obviously very disappointed with how today went, at least I have another opportunity in three weeks time at U23 worlds to redeem myself. I’ve got a great team of people around me and I’m sure I’ll be back to my usual self In no time.”
Roderick’s ‘usual self’ has been beyond even her own expectations this year. After getting an unexpected start at WTCS Montreal through Olivia Thornbury’s unavailability, she’s made the most of every opportunity.
After finishing 34th in Montreal, she went on to 41st, 28th and 24th placings in Hamburg, Sunderland and at the Paris Olympic test event respectively. There have also been 4th and 13th placings at Mixed Relay in Sunderland and Paris, the latter reduced to a duathlon with the River Seine deemed unfit for swimming.
The U23 race in Pontevedra, incorporated into the World Triathlon Championship Finals from September 22-24 which will decide the WTCS titles, will be Roderick’s final race of the season.
She’s hoping it will prove a beauty of hindsight moment after Valencia.
“I withdrew today because I was just so tired that I knew I was going to have to walk the run and with Pontevedra coming up so soon, it wasn’t worth burying myself into a hole for that,” Roderick said.
“I got absolutely destroyed in the swim. It felt like I was in a 20 minute underwater punching match, so that obviously did not start the race off well. Yes, a very tough day.”
