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Nelson Mandela Bay triathlete Alessandro Fanicchi will leave no stone unturned as he prepares for a major training block before the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, later this year.
Fresh from a second-place finish in his age group at Ironman 70.3 Durban on Sunday, the 19-year-old is already turning his attention to another important challenge — his matric exams as a homeschooled pupil.
Fanicchi will spend the next two weeks prioritising his studies while maintaining a light training programme as part of his recovery from Durban before shifting his focus fully back to preparing for the world championship in September.
His journey towards Nice had not yet begun, as his immediate priority remains his academics; however, once his exams are completed, he and coach Lucie Zelenkova will map out the next phase of a build-up that Fanicchi hopes will see him arrive in France in peak condition.
“The next big training block starts in about two weeks’ time. While I am busy with exams, I will be doing very light, structured training as part of my post-race recovery,” he said.
Though pleased with aspects of his performance in Durban, Fanicchi admitted he was disappointed after cramps derailed what looked to be a strong bid for a maiden Ironman 70.3 age-group victory.
He completed the swim in 27 minutes and 43 seconds before producing an impressive bike leg of 2:20:35. That effort helped him establish a lead of about 13 minutes and placed him in a commanding position heading into the run.
However, his race took a dramatic turn when severe cramps struck early in the final discipline, forcing him to abandon hopes of victory and instead focus on making it to the finish line.
Fanicchi completed the run in 1:35:10 and crossed the line in an overall time of 4:28:43, securing second place in his age group and 19th overall.
“My legs felt really good coming off the bike. I was pushing decent power, my speeds were up, and I was feeling in good shape heading out for the run.
“Unfortunately, as I reached one of the aid stations, I grabbed some liquids and electrolytes, and my legs just locked up.”
Despite the setback, Fanicchi believes the race served its purpose by highlighting areas that require attention before he lines up against the world’s best age-group athletes in Nice.
“The aim of this race in Durban was 100% a means of seeing where I’m at in all three disciplines, what the areas are that I need to improve and also taking a look at different fuelling strategies that I could possibly use in a race.
“I don’t want to give too much away at this point, but two areas I want to sharpen would definitely be my short, fast swims, as well as running off the bike.
“Working at a lower intensity while building volume, especially on the runs in the first two months, will help me build my body’s resistance and give me the ability to keep pushing.”
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The Herald