East of England Regional Team Sprint Relay Championship.

A very late entry to my calendar, I decided to participate solely for the craic!
Instead of all the pre race planning, and self imposed pressures, I thought it would be a great event to enjoy.
Held on the 9th August, my club had entered 7 teams of three athletes. The format was to be that, each team member had to complete the swim, one after the other, passing the timing chip to the next swimmer, on leaving the water. After the last swimmer came out, they then passed the tag to the first cyclist, etc, then repeated for the run leg.
The majority of our club entrants camped overnight at the venue (Box End, Bedford), we had arranged a nearby hotel, and the rest appeared on the morning.
The weather was superb, quite a hot day and I was glad that we had the use of our club Gazebo.
The race went quite well, for me. Pretty much as I forecast for my self, as I don't do Sprint events.
The 750m swim was started from the dry bank, a 'Le Mans' start, as it was announced as. A brief dash into the water, encountering quite a rocky lake bed! Out of the water in 15:42, I placed the timing chip on my mates wrist.
The good thing about the break between each leg of the race, meant that each person could wear clothing specific to the leg, rather than just the usual tri suit.
So, I chose to just wear jammers under my wet suit, then went off to our Gazebo, to change into a dry skin suit, ready for the bike leg.
Pretty soon, I was positioned by my bike, helmet and shoes already on.
Our third swimmer exited the water, putting the chip on my wrist.
ut of T1, I crossed the 'Mount Line', jumped on my bike and was off.
It was quite fast 10km loop. Just a couple of short, sharp digs, nearing the end of the loop.
Approaching the turning point, to start the second lap, I was flying. The 'T' junction was announced as a closed road and had a Police Officer manning it, along with a handful of marshals. Instruction had been given that, although it was effectively a closed road, caution was still to be taken.
Coming to the junction, I could clearly see the traffic stopped to my left, the Police car, with blue flashing lights and the Police officer. All appeared to be good to me, so I was ready for a quick turn.
Just as I neared the giveaway lines, the TE Official stepped out (clipboard in hand), screaming "FOOT DOWN, FOOT DOWN!" I sat up, grabbed the brakes and slammed on. Grinding to a halt, about 2 feet over the lines, I put my foot down, then set off again.
But I was very surprised as the official shouted out 'Number 4 disqualified for dangerous riding'!
As I embarked on the 2nd lap, I was gutted. I couldn't recall anything in the race brief about a 'Foot Down' junction, nor had I heard anything at the pre race brief that morning. Nothing for it, but to continue as best I could, pass the info to our teams, then discuss it with the organiser/ referee.
Back in T2 I had clocked 38:47.

A little disappointing, but I had briefly lost my mojo, as I mulled over the DQ threat. I handed over there chip, warned my mates about the junction, then headed off to see the organiser. I was obviously not the first to complain, as he was already prepared with an answer. It was a closed road, and the official was wrong. The assistant referee had already been deployed to speak with TE official.
I then went off to the Gazebo and changed into shorts and vest, ready for the run.
In between each leg, the rest of my club gathered at transition to shout encouragement to anyone in our colours as they arrived/ departed.
Finally, I was handed the chip and set off on the run. 2 laps offroad, within the grounds of the facility. Sun getting higher, it was quite a sweat fest! Running through the timing gate for the last time, I had finished in 22:35. A bit slower than expected, but still faster than my 5km stand alone time of 23:40.
A bit of a chill, as we waited for everyone else to finish and that was it.
A great day, which gave me the opportunity to meet more members of our large club. Plenty of laughs had by all.
Now for a week focusing on my next race, the Ely Monster Middle tri, on the 16th August.