The day before the competition, the contestants and coaching staff came to the competition venue one after another to familiarize themselves with the track conditions.
For a triathlon, it is essential to be familiar with the venue in advance. Players must understand the competition route and the situation in the transition area in advance.
There are two transition areas in a triathlon. One is the transition area between swimming and cycling. In this area, athletes must take off their waterproof clothing and swimming caps, put on their shoes and helmets, find their bicycles, and then start riding. This process is a race against time, and each person has one bicycle and cannot ride the wrong one. If you don’t know where your bicycle is parked, you will definitely be blind when looking for it during the competition, so the players must know the placement of bicycles and equipment before the competition. Location.
The other transition area is the transition area between cycling and long-distance running. Players must park their bicycles at a designated location, take off their helmets and put on running shoes. This parking location cannot be mistaken. If you do not familiarize yourself with the venue in advance, it will also take time to find a location now.
At the same time, the contestants also need to search for some other information, such as the water temperature of the water area, the flow direction of the water, the wind direction on the flat land, and the slope of the road surface. This is all information that the contestants should know in advance.
…
April 8th is the start time of the Asian Triathlon Championship, but the first is the women’s group competition. The official competition time for Zhang Guan’s men’s group is April 9th.
On April 9, the sun was shining brightly. More than 30 players from more than a dozen countries and regions gathered together on the shore, waiting for the start of the competition. Of course, those dozen or so people are the ones who are really powerful, and the others are just here to make soy sauce.
It is now April, so the water temperature is not too high, and waterproof clothing is also essential.
Many people think that during the triathlon swim, the athletes wear swimsuits, but in fact they wear waterproof suits. The main function of the waterproof clothing is to keep warm, so that after swimming for 1.5 kilometers, the body of the athlete can be kept as dry as possible to prevent the athlete from catching a cold.
At the same time, waterproof clothing can protect weaker players. When wearing waterproof clothing, the body's heat loss will be slower and physical energy consumption will be smaller. This can also be regarded as a disguised protection for weaker players.
If the water temperature exceeds 20 degrees Celsius, it means the temperature is relatively high, so there is no need to wear waterproof clothing. However, no matter what the water temperature is, swimming caps must be worn. At the same time, players can also use swimming goggles and nose clips, but equipment to assist swimming is not allowed.
The referee signaled the players to get ready, and then there was only a "bang" sound, the starting gun sounded, and the players jumped into the water one by one.
The Japanese player took the lead, while other players followed behind the Japanese player.
After all, Japan is the host country. Japanese players must have trained in this water area and are relatively familiar with the conditions in this water area. Following the Japanese players and advancing according to the rhythm of the Japanese team will definitely save energy, so all countries participate. The players all chose to follow the Japanese team.
However, after only five or six minutes, some players began to fall behind. After all, Japanese swimming skills are among the best in Asia.
The first player to fall behind was Malaysia’s Ismail. Malaysia sent two athletes to participate this time, one Malay and one Chinese. The Chinese athlete could barely keep up with the large group at the beginning of the competition, but the Malay Ismail's swimming level was really poor. It was too bad. After swimming only more than 400 meters, I was already left behind by the large group.
After 800 meters, Mongolia's Gansukh was also left behind by the large group.
Gansuhe was the only competitor from Mongolia. Before that, Zhang Guan didn’t even know that there were people in Mongolia who were engaged in triathlon. Only later did he find out that Gansuhe had lived in Russia for more than ten years, so he knew Get involved in triathlon.
After 1,000 meters, the Japanese players began to accelerate, and the layers between the players gradually widened. When the Japanese players began the final sprint, only nine players could keep up with the pace of the Japanese team. They were members of the national team. Athletes Jiang Zhihang, Hong Kong players Wei Anzu and Li Zhihe, Korean players Heo Minho and Jin Zhushuang, Kazakh famous players Garg and Smurov, Uzbek Yunusov, Iraq's Sabagh
Zhang Guan was in the second group. He was about 30 seconds slower than the Japanese. After the Japanese players started to accelerate, the gap widened to 1 minute.
Ryosuke Yamamoto of the Japanese team was the first to land, with a time of 19 minutes and 02 seconds, followed by South Korea's Heo Min-ho, with a time of 19 minutes and 03 seconds. Another Japanese player, Yuichi Hosoda, came in third with a time of 19 minutes and 04 seconds. Subsequently, the first group of players also came ashore one after another, and the time spent was within 19 minutes and 20 seconds.
Taking into account external factors such as water temperature, this result is considered good. It is April after all. If it had been in August and September and the water level had increased, the players' results could have been improved by at least thirty or forty seconds.
After the athletes in the leading group landed, it took nearly a minute for the athletes in the second group to finish the 1.5-kilometer swim.
"Look, that's Zhang Guan. He came up. What's his score?"
"20 minutes and 03 seconds, ranked 15th. This is a very good result!"
"There are more than thirty contestants, and he is ranked fifteenth, which is also above the middle. By the way, isn't Zhang Guan here to sell advertising? I originally thought Zhang Guan would be the last one!"
"Nonsense, that's Zhang Guan! His physical talent is the best in the world. With just his physical talent, it's impossible for Zhang Guan to swim to the bottom!"
"That's true, and Zhang Guan is only 1 minute behind. Maybe he can catch up later. Don't forget, the next event is bicycles!"
"Yeah, I almost forgot, Zhang Guan won the Tour de France last year. Compared to riding a bicycle, no one here can compare to Zhang Guan!"
…
"20 minutes and 3 seconds? 15th place? So fast!" Coach Hideki Yamane's face looked a little unnatural.
Although Zhang Guan was 1 minute slower than the Japanese players, this result far exceeded Yamane Hideki's expectations.
Swimming is just one part of a triathlon, taking the shortest time and covering the least distance. For example, the subsequent 40-kilometer bicycle ride takes the contestants about an hour, and the final 10-kilometer long-distance run also takes the contestants more than half an hour. In comparison, swimming that can be completed within 20 minutes has minimal impact on the results of the competition.
The more critical point is that cycling is Zhang Guan’s strongest point. This does not need to be tested in actual combat or cited. Zhang Guan’s achievement of winning all four jerseys in the Tour de France for 21 consecutive stops is enough to prove this. a little.
Yamane Hideki doesn’t know how much time Zhang Guan will regain in the 40-kilometer cycling, but the Japanese team is far inferior to Zhang Guan in cycling. This is an indisputable fact.
"We only have a 1-minute advantage. Zhang Guan is definitely capable of winning back in the cycling event!" Yamane Hideki seemed a little anxious. She suddenly felt as if she had been cheated.
"Is it possible that Zhang Guan is not here to sell advertising? Is he really here to compete?" Yamane Hideo said to himself.
The second chapter has been delivered. Thanks to Supreme Basketball, Nightmare, Jolivia, Dongfang Yiying, Duocai Ni, xsf98000, and Bubble 2016 for the reward!
(End of chapter)