THEY SAID IT:
PAULA FINDLAY AT THE POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
I was not expecting it [to get the win] – its been such a tough year for everyone, not racing at all. I didn’t really have expectations coming in, but just felt good all day. To come back here on a course that I did well on last year and to win against a bigger field was just fantastic.
Last year I felt like I was just hitting my peak at this time, and this year I’ve been healthy all year and had a good build up to this. The course suits me well – I really like riding flat, power courses and I think it helped to know the course.
I had a great year in terms of not racing at all for the first time in 10 years – it took a bit of stress away. I was able to train consistently without any pressure. We weren’t sure if any races were going to happen, so Eric [Lagerstrom] and I stayed relatively fit, but not race fit, so when it looked promising that Daytona was going to happen we were able to ramp up over the two months leading in and get ready for this. We had a bit more of a relaxed year – we got a new dog, and had a bit more of a normal life. I think it was a blessing in disguise and helped me have a good race here.
At the finish line Findlay made a special shout out to Lulu – at the press conference she was asked about that:
One of my best friends, her daughter was diagnosed with cancer this year and she’s going through chemo. She was watching the race and she’s been so brave this year – it’s pretty amazing what she’s gone through, so, when I was suffering in the race, I just thought about her, that’s way harder. I wanted to say hi to her after the race – she was watching, so she appreciated it.
GUSTAV IDEN AT THE POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
My body was really smashed after the race – I’ve never felt so dead after a race before. Yesterday was the hardest race I’ve ever done I think. The last few kilometres I could relax a bit, but before that it was such a hard race.
When the Olympics got postponed I was really disappointed. I felt like a lot of the point of the year was gone. I knew a whole year of more focus could be hard, especially if all the races were cancelled. I wasn’t sure this race would happen, but if it did, I decided to prepare fully for it. It was nice to get something out of this year, which has been pretty strange so far.
Of course the money is a big thing for me, but as I said before the race, this is the triathlon in the history of triathlon – the deepest field and everything. I felt like whoever won here would be the top triathlete of 2020. To be able to actually win here, and to be able to say that I’m the best triathlete of 2020, that’s pretty cool.
The bike was pure torture. You’re put in a position where you can’t move, you can’t do anything except push the power. You can’t go harder, because that will affect the run, and you can’t go slower because then you’re too far back. You are kind of locked in this position in terms of power and speed. That stressed me out because it felt a bit claustrophobic to not be able to move or sit up or anything. Even though I was pushing quite hard, I wasn’t gaining anything on the front group … the bike was 100 per cent torture.
The Olympics is a different type of racing. Even though I won here, I’m not happy with my swim yesterday and that’s one thing I really have to work on to be able to win the Olympics next year. The good thing is I know I have the endurance and no matter how hard the bike could go in the Olympics, I know I can be among the top runners, so I’m not going to make it easy for the top guys in Tokyo next year.