Sam Dickinson, 22, hopes to use his moment in the limelight at the World Championship Series event in Leeds on Sunday to propel him toward his goal.
While most of the attention at Roundhay Park was on the passing of the torch from Alistair Brownlee to Alex Yee, Dickinson produced a striking twist on the role of domestique for the British team.
Dickinson took the lead in the bike race midway through the 40km race and upped the ante with a break that forced British rivals to expand more energy to chase him.
It was a selfless and perfectly executed act that laid the groundwork for Yee to gallop to victory in the 10km race.
However, he did much for Dickinson, the prominent position on terrestrial television raised the profile of the young man from York.
“Absolutely not, I had a job to do,” he said when asked if being at the head of the race took him by surprise.
“I lowered my head and sent it.”
The incentive now for Dickinson is to return to training at the Leeds Triathlon Center and focus on becoming the focal point of the British team.
“I have to hang my head and hopefully the next time I get to the starting line I won’t have to be a tamer,” said Dickinson, who has worked his way through the age groups.
“I also want to show what I have in the career stage.”
The European Championship in Kitzbuhel later this month is next, if Covid rules are relaxed to allow the British team to travel to Austria. Then it’s Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“I am absolutely targeting those home games as well,” he confirmed. “Next year, I just need to fix my career and then I head to Paris.”
Although it was a nostalgic triathlon for Dickinson.
He has come to the race as a spectator since arriving in Leeds in 2016, hoping one day to have put himself in a position to compete and, as he proved, to prove that he belongs.
Born in York to athletic parents, his father was the captain of the combined service water polo team, his mother was a county level gymnast, he moved to the Leeds triathlon hotbed for the best chance of doing it full time.
“Since I started triathlon, I came to see this race when I was in London and then four or five years ago when it appeared in Leeds,” said Dickinson, who is in the world-class performance program funded by the Lottery. .
“Every year I would stand by, cheering on these guys, thinking that next year it will be me and you know what, in 2021 it was me, and I really hope everyone watching is proud.
“I was a kid watching once and got my first triathlon win here in 2013.
“I have good memories of this place and it is always special to have a local audience.”
Higher up the field, Jonny Brownlee finished ninth, but he knows he has work to do if he wants to be a medal contender in Tokyo.
“If I want to win an Olympic medal, I need to train hard for the next six to eight weeks and expect consistent training to come to Tokyo, fit, fast and ready to run,” said the two-time silver medalist.
The AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Leeds returns to the city for the fifth time and represents the pinnacle of triathlon competition in the UK.
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-07 16:37:24
