After a hard fought 4th place in Kalowna, Canada last weekend, Tyler is back on track in his pursuit of an Olympic spot for Bermuda.
Tyler was in a group of 22 athletes, 1 minute 20 seconds down on a group of 7 that had all the main contenders in it out of the swim. After taking most of the bike relatively conservatively, Tyler bridged across the 1.20 gap to within 10 seconds of the lead group into transition 2. Using his cycling tactics on the last 6 kilometer loop of the bike he surged to the front on and over the top of the one big climb on the course, bringing back almost the whole gap to the front group within the 1 loop.
Out onto the run Tyler passed 5 of the front group within minutes of exiting transition 2, all other than the Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield (eventual winner) and Kyle Jones (2nd place). He maintained his 3rd position for a few kilometers, until being passed at 5km into the run by the American Gregory Billington, much to Tyler’s disappointment Billiongton displacing him off the podium.
After the race Tyler said:
“At first I was disappointed I wasn’t on the podium, 4th place is always a hard one to take. Of course now I realize my 4th will earn me valuable ITU points which is my main goal for the season. I am hoping I can continue with this momentum and post a good result in Buffalo in 5 weeks time. The hard thing is this race was the Canadian Champs, and Buffalo is the US Champs, so the fields are a little stronger than I would like, it would be nice to find a cherry-pick or two so I can pick up maximum points somewhere along the lines! Although of course the strong competition makes you a better athlete and shows how your training is developing”.
Tyler will now begin a 5 week training block in preparation for ITU Buffalo Continental Championship on the 25th of September, followed by the Pan American Championships on the 23rd of October. The Pan American Championships is Tyler’s most important race for the year in that if he wins it automatically qualifies him for the Olympics Games in London. A good showing at both the Pan-American Games and some World Cups is a must for Tyler in his Olympic campaign.
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