Kirsten Nuyes leading the chase at Abu Dhabi (picture : ITU/Janos M. Schmidt)
Next to the victory of Rachel Klamer at Abu Dhabi, there was also the stunning performance by the Dutch-Belgian athlete Kirsten Nuyes. In her second WTS she gave her all, and her experience at Abu Dhabi speaks for itself. "The deal with the coaches was simple: run along as long as you can, afterwards we'll see what happens. And that is what I did..."
"It was only my second WTS ever, on the Abu Dhabi F1-circuit. Which gives me a very special feeling," tells Kirsten. "When diving in the water at the start I instantly got in a good rhythm and managed to find some fast feet to follow. The stretched out line of athletes showed me that I was doing good. But at the turns I lost a lot of places.
After a bad transition I barely hung on a select group, but this course was everybody for himself and making sure you didn't crash..."
Picture: ITU/Janos M. Schmidt
Despite the race being a sprint distance, differences were very large. It shows that the first race of the WTS circuit was a tough one, and the course didn't help on the matter. "After getting off the bike dead, I had to run for places," Kirsten continues. "The deal with the coaches was simple: run along as long as you can, afterwards we'll see what happens. And that is what I did...
I finished 28th and I think that is a correct spot for me to be in. It proves that I made a huge leap forward. It was a tough, dangerous course, but very exciting to race on! It leaves me hungry for the next one. Next step is trying to improve and work on my weak legs, so I can race some more," says the youngster, trained at Wuustwezel by living legend Marc Herremans.
Original article on 3athlon.be by Hans Cleemput on 05/03/2018
Translation by @T0v3