Lucy Charles-Barclay vowed to make use of her battling bronze medal on her return to aggressive triathlon as a platform for development this season.
The 29-year-old from Hertfordshire, completed third within the inaugural Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) European Open in Ibiza this weekend.
In her hotly-anticipated first race of the yr, Charles-Barclay led for appreciable intervals of the revolutionary 100km Balearic battle.
But after racing from the entrance all through heading into the ultimate transition, the 2021 Ironman 70.3 world champion ran out of steam on the 18km run and was overtaken by German veteran Anne Haug.
The 40-year-old grabbed gold forward of Australian Ashleigh Gentle, who additionally leapfrogged Charles-Barclay halfway by means of the scenic six-lap route round Ibiza Town, whereas fellow Brit Emma Pallant-Browne completed fourth.
Charles-Barclay doesn’t remorse her front-running techniques and desires to make use of the expertise as a springboard for climbing increased up the rostrum this summer season.
She stated: “It’s good to be able to make the podium in the first race of the season. Now, I just need to try and put it all together and hopefully move up the podium another spot or two.
“I know how Anna can run and she’s run past me before in races, so when I knew she was behind me it wasn’t ideal. I just knew I had to do my own thing and hold her off.
“I love to race from the front – it’s how I race and I love to get the other girls chasing and putting them under pressure. I definitely did that today – it’s still only the first race of the season, it’s very early days and I know where I need to go away and work.
“I’ve had a good block of work and there’s a lot more to come. I think I want to be at all the PTO races this year – it’s where it’s at so I’m super excited to do that. I want to go away, work and hopefully go one or two places better on the podium next time.”
Charles-Barclay is a former Ironman world champion
(Getty Images for IRONMAN)
Charles-Barclay opened up a sizeable benefit on the 2km swim earlier than persevering with to set the tempo in the course of the 80km cycle across the idyllic island.
But she knew she was dealing with a battle when embarking on the ultimate leg with Haug, the 2019 Ironman world champion, lurking ominously behind.
The evergreen German hit the accelerator on the good time to breeze previous Charles-Barclay and full a cushty triumph.
Haug stated: “The race was absolutely amazing – I had a decent swim and I was in a really great position for my run.
“I didn’t know how strong the others were but I trusted my own pace and I felt like I was flying – it felt absolutely amazing. To be on top of such a stellar field is absolutely amazing for me.”
The PTO is an revolutionary latest start-up bidding to reinforce the profile of triathlon by means of implementing a extra constant calendar the world over annually.
The Saturday showdown within the Spanish solar marked the primary of 4 races scheduled for 2023, with two additional occasions confirmed in each Singapore and Milwaukee.
Anne Haug got here out on high in Ibiza
(Getty Images for IRONMAN)
Both Charles-Barclay and Haug hailed the organisation for the trailblazing work and hope they’ll fireplace the visibility of the game to new heights going ahead.
Charles-Barclay stated: “It’s amazing what the PTO are doing and putting on these races. All the best athletes are coming and you have to put on your best performance to even get anywhere near the podium.
“I think it’s incredible for our sport, it’s inspiring for the next generation and I’m just so excited to be in the mix and doing this sport right now.”
And Haug added: “The PTO is absolutely amazing by putting these races on. They’re getting the best in the world together on the start line.
“It inspires younger athletes to see what a great sport triathlon is – it really helps to have races like this.”
The PTO European Open races occurred on Saturday 6 May, with the lads beginning at 0815 CET and the ladies at 0945 CET. Both had been broadcast stay on Eurosport 2
