Ryan Bailie has made it three consecutive Top 20 finishes from three starts in the ITU World Triathlon series, fighting back from an ‘off’ day in Yokohama to finish in 16th place.
The 23-year-old has maintained his Top 10 ranking, climbing one spot to No. 6 on the 2014 ITU World Triathlon rankings.
On Saturday, Japan hosted the third instalment of the 2014 series, with the 1.5km swim starting in Yokohama Bay.
“I tried to apply as much pressure to my first strokes as I always do but nothing seemed to be there,” said Bailie.
The Australian struggled to find any rhythm across the 1500m swim, coming through the first transition in just a shade over 19 minutes, 34 seconds back on the leaders.
Out on to the 8-lap bike leg, Bailie formed part of a chase group which hauled in the leading group ahead of them, thanks to a mountain of work undertaken by New Zealander Tom Davison.
“Tom single-handedly closed the gap to the front group within a few laps, with the efforts of some others occasionally rolling over him”, Bailie reflected.
With a large leading group entering the second transition together, no less than 32 riders started the run together, Bailie clocking through in 31st position at T2.
At the head of the field, world champion Javier Gomez and countryman Mario Mola, Olympic medallists Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee, and South Africa’s Richard Murray ensured the leading pack was soon stretched.
Bailie’s 10km run time of 31:46 promoted the recently selected Commonwealth Games representative up to a 16th place finish.
“With the pace very high and the heat rising I settled into my own rhythm, which certainly felt a struggle at times. The run was a mental battle, but I was happy to come across in 16th on an off day” said Bailie.
The next ITU World Triathlon race takes place in London on 31 May.
Watch the race highlights from Yokohama below:
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