James Lock - Article from the Guardian

James Lock had a very good start to his professional triathlon career by finishing 7th in the Elite British Grand Prix. The GP consisted of 3 Corus sponsored races in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as 3 Mazda sponsored races including the Royal Windsor, London and Blenheim Triathlons. All of these races have been broadcasted on Channel 4 on Sunday mornings which has really helped the awareness of this rapidly growing sport.

Each athlete taking part in the GP was giving a number of points depending on their finishing positions and James was very happy to finish in the top ten overall.

James started his career as a swimmer with Leatherhead Swimming Club. Following many years of success with the club he left for Loughborough University where he joined the University Triathlon Club and this is when he started taking part in Amateur Aquathlons and Triathlons.

Since October 2007 James has concentrated on a strict training programme to see how much he can achieve in the sport. Through the winter he clocked up approximately 5 hours of swimming, 8 hours of cycling and 4 hours of running each week. However, he understands that this needs to be doubled next season if he is really going to succeed at the top level of the sport.

James has predominately been self-coached this season but will hopefully join together with a group of Triathletes next season to keep the motivation levels up. He has joined in some swim sessions with Ron Philpot at Leatherhead Swimming Club and Richard Stannard at Open Water Swimming in Dachet which have helped his progress. James is also very grateful to FANS which is a Surrey funded organisation which has enabled him to have access to pools, gyms and tracks where he has been able to conduct his training.

Despite only competing in the sprint distance Triathlon before, James has excelled in the Olympic distance which consists of a 1500m open water swim, 40km draft-legal bike and 10km run.

One of James’ most notable results came after back to back weekend races in France which gave him the experience he needed when he was to compete for GBR at the European Cup in Ireland. In Ireland James rose to the occasion with a very strong swim in the River Shannon. Exiting the water in 4th position, James managed to sit in the front pack for the entire 40km cycle. As the pack entered Transition 2, there were around 20 athletes all bustling to get an advantage on the 10km run which was to determine the final positions. Ultimately it was a French 1 and 2 (both who had been World Junior Champions). James crossed the line in 8th position beating athletes with many years more training and experience than him.

James is a member of the Thames Turbo Sigma Sport Triathlon team who have kindly sponsored James with the essential equipment needed to compete at the top level. The Sigma Sports shop in Hampton-wick has organised a Pinarello racing bike and racing uniforms which have been used throughout the season. The team, which has been superbly managed by Roland Rutt, has just been crowned the London League Champions for a second year in a row, which shows the depth of talent within the squad.

He has certainly made an impression within his first season and looks forward to challenging the more experienced athletes in 2009.

When James is not training, he is working with a new Swim Bike Run brand called Zone3 which is to launch in early 2009. Details can be seen at www.RaceZone3.com

Racing as a Pro on the European Circuit

I wouldn’t say I exactly toured the European circuit, but I did do a few race overseas which were full of highs and lows but all in all a great experience. My first was a hard lesson in Crete when I travelled there for a European Cup race in April. After months of preparation, I felt ready to take on some of the best athletes in Europe. It was a horrible journey to the Western side of Crete to a town called Hania. After expensive flights and travelling from one side of the island to the other with my bike, I was eventually in the race hotel. Final preparations were going well, however, the day before the race I came down with a violent stomach bug which left me completely drained and life-less. There was no way I could race and I couldn’t have been more disappointed. I was absolutely gutted, especially because I’d been thinking about the race probably everyday for a month before and then also after making such an effort to get there. I had to try and move on, but this was not a good start to my season!

Thus, my first official race was the Morden 6n6 which was great fun. Its always nice to wear the team colours!

My next International race was when I went to race in France at a venue called St Jean De Monts, just an hour away from Nantes. It was a fantastic race and I would recommend it to anyone! Probably the most enjoyable race of my season. Hundreds of people raced and there was a huge range of standards, from novices to internationals. Everyone started on the beach together in preparation for the 1500m sea swim. I end up exiting the swim around 1.30m up on the rest of the field. This was great exposure for the Zone3 branded wetsuit I have developed. The bike course was draft legal which made it good fun and the run was on a mixture of sand and tarmac which again made it more interesting. There were large crowds and it as great to get 3rd position and therefore get some podium action! Racing Triathlon in France was nothing like in the UK, an amazing experience, which I would recommend to anyone!

Following success in Nantes, my French team then invited me to race in the Beauvais Division One Grand Prix which was the weekend after. So, I left my bike with the team manager and asked him to hang on to it for me until the next weekend. This was a huge step and I would be racing pretty much a full world cup line up over the sprint distance. The athletes included Tim Don, Kris Gemmel, Frederic Belaubre, Will Clarke etc. I would usually say I was one of the strongest swimmers on the start line, but after only two minutes of the race I must have been about 40th, with high-charged athletes all around me – it was crazy! The bike was relentless with really powerful changes of pace, slow – max – slow – max etc. It was also a very tight course and with 30+ in each of the front two packs it made it hard to weave in and out of people to progress any further up the field. I ran reasonably with a low 16min 5km but the top 20 all went under 15.30 which shows the quality of the field. It was a fantastic experience which set me up for the following weekend where I would race for GBR in the European Cup in Athlone, Ireland.

What a start I had on the swim! It was a two lap swim in the River Shannon. The current was strong, so there was plenty of opportunity to draft. After getting a body length or so within the first 400m, I then sat back and let the likes of Richard Stannard, Raphael (World U23 Champion) and Vincent (World Junior Champion) take their turns on the front. At 750m you had to climb back on to the pontoon and dive back in for lap 2 – it was pretty fun! Exiting the swim in 4th position, I then had a reasonable transition and was safely in the front pack by lap 1 out of 8. The group swelled from around 6 athletes up to 20 or so by the time we entered T2. The run was 4 laps through the town with a long, sharp hill on each lap. I end up in 8th position with a 33.42m just 1.30m off the winning time. I was incredibly happy considering the strength and experience of the other athletes. This was still only my 3rd ever Olympic distance Triathlon, so I was very happy.

 

Reflecting on the season gone, I think I’ve learnt an awful lot and I think the experience is crucial to future success in Triathlon. I’ve learnt how I can improve my training over the winter, get stronger, hopefully less injured and how to peak for the big races. I’ve also got all of the race experience which is especially crucial in ‘rough’ swim conditions and in tight drafting on the bike. I’m currently on the search for a sponsor for next season, so I can really make the most of my training and racing. London 2012 is still a target and I’m looking forward to seeing how I develop in the mean time.

I am very grateful to Thames Turbo and Sigma Sport who have been very kind to help with all of my equipment and maintenance needs.