With the Ironman 70.3 Cairns relay in the bag now, I’ve nailed my two target events for the year. I have no further racing planned. Usually I don’t need a target to stay motivated, but now that dust has settled I have found myself thinking about more races. There’s something about pinning a number on and actually racing that gets me excited!

In the past twelve months I’ve hit three big races, all different. First was the UCI Gravelista Gravel World Series Qualifier, then the UCI Tour de Brisbane, and lastly the bike leg of Ironman 70.3 Cairns (essentially a 90km time trial). All three were awesome races that pushed my limits in different ways.

By far the hardest of the three for me was Gravelista, where I was WELL out of my depth. I would like to get back there and give it another crack! It won’t be this year. Getting to Beechworth, accommodation, food, transport, and whatnot just to ride my bike makes for an expensive affair. I’d need to put in some serious training and considerably increase my fitness to make that worthwhile.

Ironman 70.3 Cairns was a totally different experience. Although I only did the bike leg, it was still a solid outing on the bike. I kept the hammer down from start to finish. The atmosphere of the entire day was something to behold. People cheering all along the ride and run courses, supporting the very first athlete across the line to the very last (deep into the night). It hasn’t ignited a huge burning desire to train up for a 70.3 triathlon, but perhaps a very small ember…

My fitness has taken a bit of a hit since Cairns, so I’ve got some “building up” to do in order to get back to full flight, then I’ll sort out a proper training plan. I’ve got all winter to think about racing.

Perhaps I’ll check out some smaller local races. Hunting Ground Gravel is coming up soon (a good option if I can pick up my fitness in time), then there’s usually a local(ish) time trial event at some stage. Longer term, maybe in the back end of 2025 I’ll target Amy’s Gran Fondo UCI Qualifier, or Gravelista again, and for 2026 revisit Tour de Brisbane? We shall see…

Have you got any big races or events lined up?