And this has never been more true than for Bevan Docherty who suffered a penalty during the Hy-Vee Elite Cup in Iowa on the weekend...
Bevan's Race Report - Des
Moines
ITU
World
Cup
Des
Moines,
Iowa,
probably
not
a
place
you
think
would
host
the
richest
Triathlon
in
the
World.
However,
if
they
put
up
the
cash,
the
Worlds
best
will
come.
Des
Moines
in
the
past
has
been
both
good
and
bad
to
me.
The
first
2
years
I
finished
2nd,
and
last year
a
DNF
due
to
sickness.
The
race
win
and
the
200k
check
has
eluded
me
over
the
years.
Was this
year
going
to
be
the
one?
Going
into
the
race
my
form
was
certainly
on.
I’d
had
a
great
month
of
training
back
in
Santa
Cruz leading
up
to
the
event,
with
no
injuries
or
illnesses
to
give
me
any
doubt.
The
course
over
the
years
has
been
moved
around
a
lot.
It
is
now
settled
out
in
West
Des Moines,
with
a
fairly
static
course
that
offers
limited
opportunities
on
the
bike
and
generally
results
in
one large
pack
going
into
a
fast
flat
run.
I
got
off
to
a
great
start.
I
was
just
sitting
on
one
of
the
Russians
feet,
making
it
to
the
front
buoy
untouched,
then
just
settled
down
into
my
rhythm.
I
did
get
knocked
around
a
little
in
the
second lap,
however
still
came
out
of
the
water
positioned
well
enough
to
make
front
pack.
On
the
bike
and
for
40km,
it
was
a
whole
bunch
of
guys
jockeying
for
position,
with
no
one
standing any
chance
of
making
a
break
stick.
Finally
with
2
km
to
go,
the
“Clingers”
(guys
that
sit
at
the
back of
the
pack)
forced
their
way
to
the
front.
Now
maybe
I’m
just
getting
old
and
grumpy;
however,
in
cycling
there
is
an
unwritten etiquette
about
your
position
in
the
group
or
wheels
you
can
ride
on
relative
to
who
you
are.
Something similar
needs
to
be
established
in
triathlon,
before
“Joe
Blow”
from
Timbuktu
goes
all
Rambo
on
the pack
and
brings
us
down.
After
surviving
a
very
dodgy
entry
into
transition
two,
I
set
out
on
the
10km
run
at
a
relatively
conservative
pace.
As
expected,
a
lot
of
the
guys
went
out
hard
and
fast,
and
then
began
to fade.
Sure
enough
by
2km
I
had
eased
my
way
back
to
the
top
3
with
only
Tim
Don
up
the
road
and
was ready
to
pounce!
Just
heading
into
lap
2
of
4,
I
heard
my
number
and
name
cited
for
a
penalty,
THIS CAN’T
BE
HAPPENING!!!
A
penalty
can
be
issued
for
a
number
of
infringements
ranging
from
dismounting
the
bike
too
late,
discarding
equipment
in
transition
in
the
wrong
place,
and
many
other
things.
It
is
a
15
second
stand
down
which
has
to
be
served
in
the
“penalty
box”
at
the
end
of
any
of
the
4
laps
on
the
run.
15
seconds
might
not
sound
like
a
lot
of
time;
however,
when
you’re
standing
there
it
seems
like
an
eternity.
Also
the
field
is
so
competitive
that
the
top
ten
can
finish
within
a
matter
of
seconds
of
each
other.
I
was
quite
surprised
how
calm
I
remained
through
the
whole
thing,
but
back
onto
the
run
I
had
a lot
of
catching
up
to
do.
I
tried
not
to
go
too
crazy
to
catch
up,
and
now
that
I
was
stuck
back
in
traffic,
I
found
myself
weaving
in
and
out
of
the
stragglers.
Once
again,
I
bridged
back
up
to
the
lead group
of
runners
by
the
end
of
lap
2
with
Tim
Don
just
up
ahead.
Unfortunately,
I
the
penalty
had
forced
me
to
use
my
“trump
card”,
and
in
doing
so,
was
not
in
the
position
I
wanted
to
be
in.
At
the
7km
mark,
Courtney
Atkinson
surged
in
an
attempt
to
close
the
gap
on
Don
who
had
$$$’s
in
his
eyes.
This
was
enough
to
shatter
the
chase
group,
only
Kris
Gemmell
could
hold
the
pace
as
I
gritted
my
teeth
5
meters
off.
For
the
next
lap
I
tried
to
claw
my
way
back
on,
but
the
damage
was
already
done.
I
had
to
settle
for
4th,
with
Gemmell
winning
the
battle
for
2nd
and
Courtney
in
3rd.
I
would
later
learn
that
the
penalty
was
for
discarding
my
goggles
in
the
wrong
spot
–
a
very
trivial
penalty.
One
they
have
never
enforced
before,
and
also
a
very
costly
one.
I
will
end
by
saying
that
I
will
never
be
making
that
mistake
again,
and
lost
a
little
sleep
when
I
saw
that
Tim
Don’s
winning
margin
over
me
was
14
seconds…
Optimistic
as
always,
I
believe
you
get
the
good
with
the
bad,
so
I
look
forward
to
great
things
to
come.
Bevan
PS.
I
am
now
on
Twitter
and
facebook,
if
you
would
like
regular
updates
and
to
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me
day
to day
@BevanJDocherty
