Canada's Paula Findlay headlines Vancouver T100 triathlon world tour stop
When the start gun goes off Saturday for the Vancouver stop of the T100 Triathlon world tour, Canada's Paula Findlay will be focused on being in the moment.
That's because the veteran racer has learned, over a long career, that a take-it-as-it comes mentality is best in a grueling three-sport race that lasts almost four hours.
"There is a lot of pressure, especially as a Canadian racing in Canada — you can get really overwhelmed by that," Findlay said. "And of course there's going to be adversity and obstacles that come up. But dealing with those and not getting stressed, that's the best way to get through these things."
The 36-year-old, who represented Canada in the 2012 Olympics and the 2015 Pan Am Games, is the headliner of a three-day multi-sport spectacular. Alongside the featured women's and men's pro races, another 3,000 amateurs will line up for a slate of races running Friday through Sunday.
For the 100-kilometre distance, competitors swim two kilometres in English Bay starting and ending at Locarno Beach, cycle 80 kilometres over six loops on Marine Drive around the University of British Columbia campus, and then finish with an 18-kilometre run over four loops on the gravel foot path along the beach out to Spanish Banks and back.
The goal for Findlay is to move into the medals after a fourth place finish in San Francisco two weeks ago.
"I think I have a shot at being on the podium and that would obviously be a dream. But I could also have a great race and come fifth or sixth," she said. "It is really crazy, these races are so competitive...so you really can't predict the outcome."
With two decades of international racing under her belt, Findlay probably would have called it quits by now had the T100 world