Racing Tales: Champions Cup - Moscow & Lipetsk

Race One: Moscow

A 1.8Km fresh water race in an Olympic Rowing Regatta about 30min drive from the hotel. This was the first ever open water invitational race that Russia had ever hosted. The event started off very warmly by being presented Russian gifts at the press conference the night before. Although I couldn't understand what everyone was talking about there, I got the sense that the organisers and press were very excited and proud to host this event.

The course was simple - dive off a pontoon, turn left and head straight for 900m. Turn right for 25m and make another right hand turn before continuing straight for 900m and finally turning right towards the finishing gate.

The Course

The plan for these races is always simple - go hard and don't look back. There isn't enough time for strategy. But of course always time for plenty of excitement!

Unfortunately all of the elite field missed the starting gun as we had no idea that there had been a countdown as it was in Russian. Not to worry though! A few shoves in the back and we were off, organising ourselves into a lead pack. The pace was strong for the first half but not at full speed until finally the field was strung out by the last quarter of the race. I had grand fantasies of gunning it up the right hand side of the pack towards the last turning buoy but each time I tried I found myself not making any ground once out of the direct draft from people in front.

Eventually the final hundreds of metres were a bit of a blur to me, only knowing that I had made up a few positions and finished sixth, a few seconds off the podium and 15sec off the win.

Finishing the race

For me, naturally winning is the aim of the game but in the company of this elite field, I am happy to come away with this result after some time of not competing. I look forward to things to come in the second half of the year.

Post Race: Left to Right - Michael Sheil, Valerio Cleri, Christian Reichert, Alex Studzinski, Vladimir Diatchyn, Daniil Serebrennikov, Evgeny Drattsev & Evgeny Bezruchenko

Congratulations to Evgeny Drattsev on the win.

Top ten results:

1. Evgeny Drattsev 19.05.89

2. Daniil Serebrennikov 19.06.06

3. Christian Reichert 19.07.06

4. Alexander Studzinski 19.16.71

5. Valerio Cleri 19.18.81

6. Michael Sheil 19.20.36

7. Maxim Sedov 19.22.61

8. Roman Yusopov 19.22.95

9. Vladimir Dyatchin 19.22.98

10. Victor Komendantenko 20.13.15

Race Two: Lipetsk

One week later the second race was held in the city of Lipetsk - Vladimir Dyatchin's hometown. This time the race was held in a river which was so upstream it was completely fresh water. Being a smaller city, the press seemed a lot more honed in on individual athletes rather than the event as a group like was the case in Moscow although I could be very wrong - the press conference again was entirely in Russian.

A simple course once again this time featuring a run in start from the beach and a run out finish through the same gate. A simple slight turn to the left headed us straight for 600m, before turning right for 300m, right for another 600m and a final right turn for 400m before finishing on the beach.

The Course

This race again was meant to be a balls out race right from the start however some younger Russians took control of the pack and we seemed happy to follow. I was in a world of pain from the outset having battled with a chest infection for over a week. It seemed today wasn't going to be my day so the best option was to sit 3rd or 4th, stick to Dyatchin like glue and hope to get lucky in the closing stages. Unfortunately this wasn't the case and I blew up with 400m to go, eventually finishing 7th some 20sec down on the winner - this time Daniil Serebrennikov.

The Start

With the very limited training I've completed in the last while compared to the rest of the field, I'm happy to take away some positives but of course would have liked to have built on my Moscow result.

The Finish

Top ten results: 
1. Daniil Serebrennikov 18.19.37
2. Vladimir Dyatchin 18.21.94
3. Alexander Studzinski 18.23.65

4. Valerio Cleri 18.25.64
5. Roman Yusopov 18.28.53
6. Sergei Khursanov 18.35.75
7. Michael Sheil 18.40.81
8. Nikita Nkrasov 19.39.36
9. Ivan Bondarev 20.55.57
10. Constantine Oleynik 21.06.77

Overall I was very happy to have competed in what was a very well run couple of events, considering it is in its inaugural year. I can't speak highly enough of the organisation, water safety and post race entertainment that was on show - all with the help of generous sponsors and trusty volunteers. It was fantastic to see so many age groupers getting involved and young Russians travelling from all over for a start.

Photos here and here.

Cheers,