Ok, I’ll fill you in on the joke - Weyer is the town which hosts Powerman Austria and it was the scene of my most recent painful day on the Duathlon world circuit and that of a very humbling experience (it’s bad – I know!).

I had decided to fill the summer gap in my Duathlon season by focusing on two big Powerman world cups which were exactly two weeks apart. The first was the 10k/60k/10k Powerman Vlaanderen in Belgium and the second was the 15k/78k/7k Powerman Austria in, well, Austria. Anyway, considering I had been racing hard since March I knew it was going to be a gamble to get through two such hard races so close together but still, I looked upon it as an adventure and to add to the adventurous nature I decided do drive to both races in my newly acquired camper van. Believe me, when it comes to getting to races and arriving relaxed you don’t know how badly you need one of these until you have it! Driving to Geel in Belgium was a doddle.

The race, as always in Belgium, was a little different. In true Belgian style, the first run was super fast and was led out by the likes of Joerie Vansteelant and Anthony LeDuey, who were absolutely flying. I actually had a fairly solid run and bike to exit the bike in about 20th place - just one place down from my seeding of 19th. That was when the dreaded cramp sunk its fangs in and from then on the final run became survival -I lost 12 places! Ouch! That really was painful. Fellow Brit Lee Piercy had been ahead of me until the ‘man with the hammer’ got him as well and he had to pull out.

Some people might not realise just how hard Powerman is. Now, those who have met Lee will know that he is an absolute giant and rock solid too, and so to illustrate my point, when I found him, having crossed the finish line, he was a shivering wreck and barely able to raise his head. Shortly afterwards he was taken to hospital. Such is the nature of Powerman. And so I was first Brit at the finish, but apart from that I wasn’t exactly happy with my time or position in the race having lost so many places on the second run.

I’m glad too say there was some solace for Lee by the way,as his girlfriend, Emma Dews, won the ladies event with a performance that really made the Du world sit-up and take notice. She follows in the illustrious footsteps of Annie Emmerson, Vicki Pincombe and Cat Morrison as a Powerman winner. Big respect Emma! It was also nice to see Michelle Parsons back with a great second place after a long comeback from Achilles surgery. Michelle is such a tough competitor and it’s testament to her that she can come back to the top of the world so quickly. Their performances as first brits makes mine look, well, pathetic. Michelle went onto finish third at Powerman Austria too - a race she’s won before so she’s on the way back to the very top.

And so onwards to Austria and WOW what a place. I drove for 18-hours across two days in my now ‘faithful’ camper van and arrived in a country that I had never visited before and yet I felt so very much at home. The mountains in the national park region are just breathtaking and having arrived on the Wednesday I used Thursday to recky the bike course. I suddenly realised that Powerman Geel was a VERY, VERY easy race. I had raced on courses like this in my road racing days as a cyclist, but I was riding in a bunch not trying to time trial around it, and more to the point I hadn't just run 15k flat out. The main climb was well over 8k in total and had three very steep steps on it. I rode it in training on the Friday with my wife, Leda, who had come along on the trip as my soigneur delux - never have I looked upon a mountain bike’s granny ring with such jealously (and she wasn’t even using it).

Anyway, onto the race. At first it all went so smoothly. Pasta and espresso in the camper by the start and then feet up and watch all the other athletes arriving and buzzing around while I lay back on my sofa (camper - you need one in your life, ok?!) and contemplated the start. I had a good warm up and arrived on the start to find myself lined up next to the great man; Vansteelant himself. The start went well and the run went to plan too. It traced it’s way out of Weyer in the direction of the mountain valley and then back as it crossed the river a number of times. I was in a good group as we headed out onto what has to be the most epic bike course in World Duathlon.

The first accent of the main climb saw some drop off and a couple take-off ahead. I figured the best option on the bike leg was to take the first main climb steady and then start to wind it up. Little did I know what was to come. I had been told by Oli Mott and Toby Jameson, who have both done very well in the race previously, to expect fans and crowds on the course which were unlike any other Duathlon in the world and they were so right. On the run I just couldn’t get my head around how one family for instance, who had set their dining table up outside their house next to the road could stand up from their meal and hammer the table, screaming until they were hoarse for every single athlete that passed – first to last the same. This was the pattern all around the course. One of the main climbs on the bike course had a massive crowd complete with writing on the road and even a Tour de France style Devil painted from head to toe in red with fork and tail to match running alongside you screaming a strange German/ Dutch mix in your ear. Even on the quieter parts of the course out in the middle of nowhere in the mountains there were other sports mad lunatics hammering out their homage to this epic event. One such man illustrated the spirit perfectly. He looked a respectable middle aged man stood alone (strangely) outside his small isolated farmhouse on the edge of a mountain and as I passed on the first of two laps there he was, hammering out a ferocious beat on an up turned metal dustbin with what looked like a baseball bat. When I passed on the second lap the bin was virtually flattened and he had taken to his knees in order to still beat it hard enough to be heard. As I said, the crowds are like no other in world Duathlon.

Anyway, sadly there’s no happy ending to my story and therefore I’ll cut it mercifully short(er). On the second lap I took a gel from Leda at the top of the main climb and that was that. I’d been using Sport Beans until then and at that point I ejected all of my nutrition onto the beautiful Austrian mountainside and as a result, and to no surprise, the plug was pulled, the lights went out and the house fell down to use multiple metaphors. I just lost it big time, and as a result lost touch of the group I was with and went from around 23rd down to about 40th by the end of the bike, and then 42nd by the end of the cramp ridden run. I saw people I had passed ages ago streaming by and there was nowt I could do about it. I was in what I call ‘low power mode’. The pilot light was still on but the boiler room was collecting dust.

The final run was terrible and for the first time ever in my Duathlon life I was just surviving. Being passed was irrelevant. Just getting to the finish was my goal. To hear I was 42nd was pretty bad considering I was seeded 17th in the world going into the race, but with what happened I was just glad to finish.

Why was I sick? I have no idea. The story doesn’t end there though. I drove the 16-hour journey back through six different countries (Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium, France, England) and then slept for a solid 1- hours the next day to help recover. On waking I had an espresso to help refuel and decided to check my emails and the results of the race to see how much time I had lost. I was, shall we say, dis-chuffed to find that I was the only person in the whole race to have been DQ’d! I have no idea why at all. I’ve written and asked why but have no answer as yet. I’ve now resigned myself to the strangely comforting thought that they are kindly trying to cover up my woeful performance by DQing me. And why not, I deserve it.

One last thing - if you do any Duathlon in the world before you hang up your wheels and racing flats do Powerman Austria. The course is epic, the crowds are great and the area is just something else. You’ll find it particularly green at the top of the mountain.