NEVIS CYCLE & TRIATHLON CLUB

Well, even after months out of triathlon competition whilst in St.Martin working at Tri- Sports Bike Shop, I managed to pull something out of the bag at the Caribbean Classic in St.Croix, this is how it went down,With my friend DeWayne Smith we left his home about 5.30 am for a 7.00 am start, on Sunday 16th November, we were the first athletes there, we set up our bikes on the racks and after that i almost fell asleep in a chair! Man it was an early race! Soon other racers started to gather, and as i looked through the crowd i saw James so i called out to him as loud as i can, i just had this happy feeling over me, i was among friends and making friends like Miranda Carfrae, one of the pro females.

OK, 7.00am and time to start, the wind starting to pick up did not matter to me i am here to race. The pros were the first to go then 2mins later the age groupers, i hit the water with determination as always, i stayed with the group for a while then my hands started to get slower and slower and I had no power, i start to say to my self “come on Reggie keep it together”. I look ahead the group i was with was putting a gap on me, WOW!!! I run out of the water to head back for the second lap, i look ahead to see where he group was and i say to myself “OK” it will be all about the bike and the run.

Coming into transition i look to see who was there and who wasn't, had a good T1, and i was out of there, i caught a guy on my way out but there was no one to show you where to go, he was going to make a wrong turn, i looked on the ground and i saw tire markers so i call him back and tell him to follow me, when we hit the road i went up into my 53 ring and my 17 back chain ring and he did not see me again. I was angry but still relaxed. The bike course took us to the east end of the island with the wind in our face, this part of the course can tell you who is the strongest, a lot of people think the west is the hardest part of the half iron man, but the east end of the island is just up and down and the wind hitting you, you cant hide.

My head was down and i was tucked into my aero position, i start passing people and i look closely to see who they were, they were team members but it still felt good, but I am still wondering where the hell are the top guys, i start to worry am i not pushing hard enough. Then we had to take a left off the main road by that time i am in my 53 /15 i was rolling, then lo and behold i saw the top guys on their way back to the main road, i started to count the seconds as i start to push harder, by the time i got back to the main road i saw one of my rivals going up the climb, i pass him and did not even look at him as i pass, it was a steep climb. I look back and he is off his bike, i look ahead i saw another one but did not know it was one of the pro ladies, this one i give a look, ha ha boy she was cute, but i had work to do then i look ahead again and there was another one, boy i was eating them up and spitting them out.

I still did not see my friend DeWayne, but i keep pushing don’t know what position i am in, on the second loop still nobody in sight, as i came off the main road to go up Lowry hill I saw two more up front, i smile, i kick in a next gear, i catch them at the of the climb, one was DeWayne, i tell him lets go, but he had a flat tire.Going into T2 i was the first to rack my bike, boy i was laughing to my self, i had a good T2 and was off into my run.

Well i think you know the rest of the story!! I WON!!. But I have to say the angels were smiling on me and i thank them.
I would like to say thanks to Tri-Sport for their sponsorship so i could participate in the event, and to Winston for his confidence in me. 

Reggie Douglas
The WhirlWind.