Checking in with Sarah-Anne Brault

Taylor Reid checks in with Sarah-Anne Brault ahead of this weekend’s 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships.

Taylor Reid:  Where have you been training for the past month leading up to the Grand Final?

Sarah-Anne Brault: I’ve been in Vitoria, Spain and I raced a few times in Europe. Vitoria is our summer European base and it’s been great for training, as well as being close to a lot of races, since everything is close in Europe.

TR: You skipped the last WTS race in Edmonton. Did you do this so that you could have a large training block leading into Chicago?

SB: I wish I could have done the Edmonton race on home soil (although in hindsight I’m happy I still have all my fingers and toes), but we made the decision to stay in Europe as late as possible in order not to disrupt our daily training environment any earlier than we had to. I also got to race a French Grand Prix in Quiberon two weeks before Chicago, which served as good prep.

TR: Do you have any pointers for the age groupers how are racing there first World Championships?

SB: I haven’t actually raced a World Championships race for several years now (some bad luck and bad timing), but I’d say it’s important not to get caught up in the hype. Enjoy the buzz and the event, but don’t be intimidated. It’s just another race and you do what you can on the day. Make sure to enjoy the event and make some friends in other countries so you can go visit them!

TR: Do you think that the Chicago course suits your racing style?

SB: The course should be quite technical on the bike, which I typically enjoy. It’ll be interesting to see how the legs will feel after 100 u-turns, but we have trained for it.

TR: If you could train and live any were in the world where would it be?

SB: I’ve been lucky enough to have seen a few training spots during the years. I really loved New-Zealand (South Island) as a country to live and train in, so that would be my number one pick!