TRIATHLON

Wanaka athlete, Dougal Allan second at IRONMAN Sweden

By Sportzhub.com

Local Wanaka athlete, Dougal Allan stormed home to second place at IRONMAN Sweden yesterday.  After a disappointing result at IRONMAN Canada a few weeks ago, Allen set his sights on this race to set his demons aside.

“I was really keen to finish Sweden with a result I could be proud of. I was quite relaxed as I hadn’t told too many people about my plans. Here in Sweden I was largely anonymous which I really liked. I was able to spend some time training on the course and getting my head in the right space to try and nail my race plan. It was also my first trip to Europe so I was enjoying looking through castles and trying some of the food with my wife and son."

Once racing got underway swimmers had to battle the choppy waters of the Baltic Sea.

“I had envisaged losing 10-15min on the swim but had believed I would close that gap on the bike and would end up running for the podium.” Commented Allan. “The reality was quite different. The swim was the roughest I have done, but I actually had a lot of fun and found myself in a big group of pro men and women.”

Swedish triathletes Karl Johan Danielsson exiting the water first followed by Patrik Nilsson. 

“I lost only 10 min to the leaders in the swim and was quickly into my work on the bike.”

The local pair continued to swap the lead a number of times in the cycle, with the chasers ten minutes back at one stage finding it difficult in the conditions for the first 120km on the island of Öland.

“The course was flat but the wind was strong and as I passed riders the would latch on and the convoy started to grow. No one else wanted to help so I just kept to my pacing plan. At 100km one rider attacked off the front and for the first time in years I watched as he rode away. By now I was in 4th with two leaders still 10 min up the road. My ride just didn’t create the gains I had expected, but I was proud of my discipline to keep to my plan and trust it, as much as it hurt my ego to let those riders keep their gap.”

Danielsson lead off the bike but was soon caught by Nilsson, who then extended his lead on route to the win.   Behind things were heating up with Allan finding a good set of legs off the bike.

“Onto the run in 4th and I was again determined to stick to my pacing plan. Within a few kms I passed the guy for 3rd, perhaps he was paying the price for his ride. Then I heard I was closing the 10min gap to 2nd. Eventually at 24km I moved into 2nd and ran the rest of the run with a healthy margin ahead of 3rd and a big gap up to 1st. My run split (2.52) was my highlight of the race,” commented Allan.
 
“I was determined to stick to my race plan and trust my numbers: heart rate, power, pace etc. If I got this right and finished exhausted I knew I would be happy and my placing would take care of itself. The crowds here in Kalmar are unlike anything I have experienced before. The whole course is packed and the finish line is full of big grandstands that send shivers down my spine even now as I reflect. The noise was deafening. It was an unforgettable experience.”

Nilsson won in 08:08, with Allan labelled “The Kiwi meat in the Swedish sandwich” taking second, with local Karl-Johan Danielsson thirteen minutes behind the New Zealander.

"So happy to beat some demons today in Ironman Sweden with a runner-up placing. Too many to thank just now, but certainly my wife and son as well as my coach and my sponsors deserve a shout-out along with those of you who sent me messages of encouragement after IM Canada. You got me home today", Allan posted on Facebook after the race.

In the women’s race German Astrid Stienen won from Camilla Lindholm Borg & Norway’s Mette Moe.
 
Top 5 men at #IMKalmar #IMSweden:
1 Nilsson, Patrik (SWE) +00:00 08:08:05
2 Allan, Dougal (NZL) +17:28 08:25:33
3 Danielsson, Karl-Johan (SWE) +30:02 08:38:07
4 Lindén, Andreas (SWE) +32:35 08:40:40
5 Näsvik, David (SWE) +35:01 08:43:06

The top 5 female at the #IMKalmar #IMSweden:
1 Stienen, Astrid (GER) +00:00 09:12:27
2 Lindholm Borg, Camilla (SWE) +05:38 09:18:05
3 Moe, Mette (NOR) +15:49 09:28:16
4 Csomor, Erika (HUN) +29:26 09:41:53
5 Haller, Esther (SUI) +46:24 09:58:51