Baldwin wins Boksman triathlon |26 June 2013
Baldwin said having raced over a total of 70.3 miles the weekend before and finishing eighth
The Boksman triathlon is a 2.6km swim, 120km bike and 20km run in the New Forest in the South of England. It covered a hilly course that challenges all competitors.
According to Baldwin, the day started well and he came out of the water in second place in 35 minutes 37 seconds – one minute behind leader Andrew Browning (34 minutes 40 seconds).
Within 30km of the bike, Baldwin reached the front, but had company in the form of Sam Baxter, one of Great Britain's top triathletes. At around the 75km mark Baldwin gained a small lead, at which point he made a tactical decision to put his head down and push the pace to try and extend the gap.
After Sam ran three minutes faster than him in the Ironman 70.3 UK, Baldwin knew how important it would be to have a lead coming off the bike. The gap continued to grow and after battling what seemed like a constant headwind for the final 40km, he got off the bike after 3h18:22 of riding, which was the fastest bike split of the day.
Heading out on the run, Baldwin had a 5-minute lead, but couldn't afford to be complacent. At the 4 mile mark of the hilly 20km off-road run, the lead had shrunk slightly to 4 minutes 30 seconds, but at 8 miles it extended to 5 minutes 30 seconds. At this stage, Baldwin was confident that as long as he raced sensibly, the win would be possible. He finished with the fastest run split of the day of 1h25:26 for an overall finish time of 5h21:11, winning the 2013 Boskman triathlon with a new course record time.
“It felt great to win my first race of the season, especially coming a week after such a tough race at Ironman 70.3 UK the previous weekend,” said Baldwin.
On July 7, Baldwin will compete in a team relay triathlon event in Nottingham, UK. He will race the 112 mile bike leg.
His next major race of the season on August 18 will be Challenge Copenhagen – Denmark's biggest triathlon event covering a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run.
Baldwin would once again like to thank sponsors ISPC Seychelles, Eden Island Marina, Vijay Construction and Air Seychelles for their continued support.