Lucy Byram produced an excellent performance to finish 6th at the T100 World Championship Final in Dubai. She rode her way through the field on the bike with the second fastest bike split of the day. The BMC athlete came home in a time of 3:34:56. Taylor Knibb (USA; 3:29:17) won the race with Julie Derron (SUI; 3:31:08) and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS; 3:31:42) rounding out the podium spots.
Proud of my race
Toeing the line for the final event in the T100 series, Lucy Byram wanted to post another solid result in other to stay in the top 10 of the series standings and establish a contract for next year’s events already.
After a fast, non-wetsuit swim, Lucy exited the water in 12th place, leading out the 2nd chase group into T1. As the difference towards top 10 was limited to 45 seconds only, Byram made light work of that deficit in the first kilometers of the bike. After 11k, she had bridged the gap and continued the hunt towards the athletes in front of her. Halfway through the bike, the British athlete had a solid grip 9th place and had cut down her deficit over 6th place to 40 seconds only. As the conditions were heating up on the back half of the bike, so was Lucy. Within 20k of the halfway mark, she caught up and took control of 6th place. With Lee, riding 1 minute in front of her, with 30k to go towards T2, Byram had her target locked. Pacing herself incredibly well, she managed to connect with Lee as they entered T2 together. Covering 80k on the bike in 1:56:14, resulted in the second fastest bike split of the day for Lucy. Battling for 5th place, the duo took off for the closing 18k run.
Just as on the bike, the BMC athlete immediately found her rhythm and was able to open up a gap over Lee in the first kilometers. Passing the halfway point, still running in 5th, Lucy started to feel the heat of Duffy and Matthews down her neck. With five kilometers to go, Byram had to settle for 7th position, but not for long as she was coming closer and closer towards Simmonds in front of her. One kilometer later, Lucy made her pass and took over 6th place again. A position, she didn’t give up in the final kilometers as she crossed the finish line in a time of 3:34:56.
Lucy Byram showed great consistency this season as she finished every T100 event inside the top 8 (except in San Francisco). That consistency pays off as Lucy was rewarded with 6th place in the T100 World Championship standings, securing her contract for next year.
"I am really happy with my result. I didn't have the best swim unfortunately, but felt very strong on the bike and really happy with my run and how I handled the heat. Being a part of the T100 series in its first year has been incredible Racing the best women in the world and growing my own confidence along the way has been magical! I’m so proud of what I have achieved this year and I look forward to stepping up even more next year."
