European and World Title challenges are high on the ambitions of both the Cumberland brothers - who have started off the season well respectively. The brothers headed across the Severn Bridge and to Llanelli which would host the Euro Youth Olympic Trials, a sprint distance triathlon (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) - below you will find the words from both the boys after qualifying comfortably!
Ben
Training had been good but inconsistent leading into the race with a few problems including increased school work and revision. I felt good during the race and put together a consistently good performance, having a good swim where I came out of the water with the leaders and was onto the bike in the lead group. I was able to stay out of trouble and avoid the multiple crashes that happened during the 5 laps of a fast course.I then had amother solid transition and was onto the run. I struggled on the run but managed to finish as the third junior and book my place on the GB Team for Junior Europeans in Olsztyn, Poland, 27-29th May.
Josh
I started off on the left hand side for the beach run in; which provided me with a better line to the first buoy. After 100m I was in the front row of swimmers and on the approach to the first buoy I put a bit more effort in to get me round through and avoid the carnage. I stayed out at the front for the rest of the swim and exited the water first.
A quick transition (2nd fastest split in my race) got me out onto the bike in the lead. For the first 2/3 of the first lap I was working with someone else to stay away until we tactically decided to let the first chase pack catch us up. It turned out to be a smart decision as our pack worked well and extended the gap back to the chasers. The bike felt really smooth and fast to ride with such speedy and efficient accelerations out of the dead turns.
I entered transition 2, 4th out of our front pack of 5 and with another rapid transition (2nd fastest split again) went out onto the run in 2nd right behind the leader. Three of us broke away straight away and that soon became just 2 of us as the third person dropped off from the pace. For the rest of the 2.5k run I was sitting in 2nd place just running on the heels of the leader. With 400m to go Deri (the eventual winner) kicked and I had nothing left to give. I knew however that 2nd place would be good enough for youth Olympic qualification and held on to finish in that position.
From start to finish I was right up there at the front and felt strong throughout. Overall I’m really pleased with my performance and cannot wait to represent GB in Slovakia in July for the Youth Olympic festival.
We're really proud of the boys and the level they are competing at - keep it up chaps, don't forget if you want to ride as well as the Cumberland brothers - check out the Giant Propel range, the boys are racing on the 2021 Giant Propel Adv PRO1 for this current season!
