On Saturday, April 30, the World Cross-Triathlon Championships for the paratriathlon category took place in El Anillo, Spain, as part of the elite race. The program included 1 km of swimming, 20 km of mountain biking, and 6 km of trail running. There were 14 paratriathletes at the start, including Benjamin Landier, a member of the Nice association Anices.
We asked the same Benjamin Landier to tell us about his achievement:
“Coming out of the water, I was second but 2 minutes behind the leader, which made me doubt even more as the transition was difficult, adding 1′ to my time.
As it had rained all night, the course was very muddy with passages through water up to the hub!! The only way to perform was to ride with power, which ultimately played to my advantage.
Returning at the 4th kilometer, I overtook the first very quickly to give him a blow to the morale and, as my legs were responding very well, I kept this pace until the end. For the more technical sections, I followed my wife’s advice, telling myself to go without thinking, essentially a time trial in the mud^^
I dismounted from the mountain bike with a 17′ lead, but I didn’t know it, and as for the running, I ventured into the unknown, as I don’t train in this discipline to avoid the risk of injury or interfering with my cycling training.
Jean-Stéphane SIERRA, the manufacturer of my carbon bike orthosis, had sent a carbon blade for my left shoe that I hadn’t tried in a race, and to my great surprise, I clocked 27′ on the 6 km muddy course, conceding only 2′ on the best time (4th fastest overall), I had gained too much of an advantage to be caught up, the strategy paid off.
This apparent ease must be tempered by the fact of my 13 years of experience in able-bodied triathlon up to the highest level before my accident; the neuro-muscular memory is there, and I am very trained for the para-cycling goals to achieve this year.
Moreover, this competition is just a parenthesis in my sports journey, which remains focused on cycling specialties such as track and time trial. Our French team is very strong, and I want to do everything to stay in it, but above all, make the Marseillaise resonate on the top step of the podiums.
According to the calendar, with the agreement of the sports director and my coach, I would like to be able to compete in world triathlon championships again to stay in touch with the world’s best and bring back more gold medals to my club ANICES, chaired by Mr. FILIPPINI.”
