RACING » SPAIN
hat an amazing privilege it is to
travel the world and do what I
love – race triathlon. As I travel I
get to meet different people of different
nationalities. It is amazing to see how
differently we think about things.
I arrived in Marbella on Spain’s beautiful
Costa del Sol late on Thursday evening,
just before the Saturday race on 27 April.
I had thought of renting a car from the
airport as it’s always difficult travelling
with a bike box on public transport,
especially if there are changeovers from
bus to train and so on. Luckily, and how
grateful I was, my Airbnb host said he
would collect me. I’m glad I didn’t have to
drive on the wrong side of the road in a
strange location in the dark!
The next morning, I went for a run to
explore the scenery and race venue. The
closer I came to the start, the more in
awe I was of my surroundings. IRONMAN
70.3 Marbella is held in Puerto Banús,
to the west of the town. A luxury marina
and shopping complex, it’s a playground
for the rich and famous who flock here
for the beaches and the buzzing nightlife.
Superyachts fill the marina, and on the
roads luxury cars – Rolls Royces, Ferraris,
Lamborghinis and Mercedes Benzes – are
a common sight.
It felt like Cape Town on steroids! Or
perhaps Hollywood… The beaches are
certainly as beautiful as Cape Town’s –
but without the wind – and are lined with
small restaurants. The classic local dish
is espetos de sardinas, a skewer of spicy,
barbecued sardines that you douse with
lemon and eat with your hands – but
like in South Africa, there’s a range of
international cuisines to choose between.
The water temperature is cold, though,
so no one was actually swimming in April.
Marbella is known for it’s good weather,
and we had lots of sunshine all weekend,
with temperatures of around 23°C.
I didn’t find the people quite as friendly
as at home in South Africa, though. I’m
used to borrowing a bike pump when
checking my bike in transition before the
race, but in Marbella that doesn’t happen.
Everyone brings their own, and there’s
even a huge holding area for bike pumps.
I asked about five people if I could use their
pump, and they just said no. In the end I
had to go to the bike mechanics for help.
The swim in the Mediterranean was
chilly. The water was around 15°C (I
hate cold water) and also very salty. The
W
Andreas Dreitz, Alistair
Brownlee and Domenico
Passuello were first across
the line in the men’s race.