After a 3rd place at 2nd edition of winter triathlon ( jog – X-Country skiing – snowshoeing) I was ready for our second try at ‘’Pentathlon des neiges’’ with my good friend and teammate Ian Carbonneau. Sports were bike – jog – x-country skiing – speed skating and snowshoeing. With the hot temperature this year in Qc, the organisation had to remove speed skating. In 2009 we finished 4th and we learned a lot for this year.
So, on February 28th we left my house with our professional setup and our objective of winning the event. Temperature was perfect with a 0 celcius. The event is spectacular because it is in Quebec city downtown were lot of peoples are there to cheers 2400 participants in different categories.
Ian was the first to start with the bike. He did a good job as he gave me the relay in 1st position. My jog went really good has we increased our leads. I was feeling good. After the 6km of jog I gave the relay to my friend with 2 min 30 in advance. Bike and jog was our strength so we were expecting that our lead will decrease in the next 2 events. Finally Ian did a great job in the x-country skiing with the good glide we put on skis the night before. We kept our lead but by only 30 sec. I was the one who had to finish the race with the 6 km snowshoeing. I was in fire and nothing was hurting. After 1 lap of the 3rd I was very surprised that our principal adversary was just behind of me. I think my snowshoes were not the best for performance…Anyway I had to compose with it. My confidence was not the same but I was thinking about my strategy for the win… At each end of the lap, we had to do a 500 meter hill climb and I knew I was a little bit stronger than my compatriot. Finally, I attacked on last lap and I have to say that I suffered a lot for the last 3 min of the race. It paid off because we won by 15 sec. We were very happy and made some moneys with also good prizes. Next year, for us, we will do it in solo category with new objectives…
For now, I am preparing my MTB race season as the temperature is very good to ride outside. Tomorrow, jointly with the Expo Bike, there is a winter MTB race in downtown Quebec City where I expect to take place. +/- 1hour good workout!!
