Caroline St-Pierre

Pierre-Yves, Julien and I, after the race, photo de Linda Chouinard After a sprint triathlon at Joliette, I'm slowly building to Ironman distance with an olympic triathlon at Drummondville. At first, I was going to do the elite race where drafting is legal. I was going to take my old road bike because TT bike aren't allowed. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled due to the small number of athletes registered. I wonder who was the most disappointed. My bike, who misses his chance to show he can still compete against the new bike generation made of carbon and di2 or, myself, because I miss the opportunity to prove short distance athletes that long distance athletes can still kick their ass. Anyhow, I went to Drummondville for the age groupe triathlon with my Garneau TR1 for the non-drafting race. This time, I can't afford to make as many mistakes as last time because the heat and the longer distance won't allow it. I arrive extremely early, I haven't forgotte...

Photo du web magazine 10-21-42 km Why not start smoothly my triathlon season with a sprint triathlon ? It's the best way to practice transitions and test the new equipment before the big races. To you, newbies, learn from the following mistakes. Last week, I decided to fix my bike myself (mistake #1). So, 4 days before the race, I had to bring my bike to an unknown bike shop (mistake #2). The day before the race, I try my bike for the first time ever (mistake #3). My aerobars are too low. "Anyone has a torx tool ?" I left mine at home (mistake #4) and this new bike has torx screws everywhere instead of hex screws... "Thanks, Michel". I fix the aerobars. Next, I try to shift gears, but it doesn't work. "Chuck? Can you take a look ?". Oh ! The wire is slack. This time, I need a hex tool to fix it. Finally, I go for a tense 45km bike ride. It takes some time to get used to the new fit. Always the day before the race, I want to fix a bott...