This is my first installment of what should be a regular blog on TRI247, I have been given free reign to write about anything (Ed: well, almost anything...). So over the coming months I will try to give you something of an insight in to the life of a full time triathlete, some gossip from the World Cup circuit and any other facts, figures and features from the triathlon world that cross my path.

A key year for us all

2007 has arrived and for me anyway that is another year closer to Olympics. In fact, qualifying for the Great Britain Team for Beijing will start and finish for a lucky few this year. The selection policy for the 2008 Games is out and the first two qualifying races will be the World Championships in Hamburg followed a fortnight later by the test event the BG World Cup in Beijing, China. So it is feasible that as the British pros sit down for their Christmas dinner this year four out of the potential six team members going to the Games could have already booked their places on the plane to Asia.

It's a hard life...

So a fairly important season ahead then! I will start the season in the lion’s den Down Under -- home of cricketing humiliation for England and all things sporting mad. The first World Cup of the season is at Moloolaba, on the Sunshine Coast, and this will be my first port of call. I will venture south in early March and, Lorretta permiting, meet up with the family Harrop for a few weeks of preparation before the main event. Lorretta (Olympic Silver medalist, World Champion and World Cup winner) has recently given birth to a baby boy called Hayden Luke Jones and I know she was doing some light training right up to giving birth so it will be interesting to see if she is back at it now she has a family. I hope so because if she gets the bug back you would not be a fool to bet on seeing her in Beijing trying to go one better than last time.

All change at the top

It has been all change at the BTA or BTF as it is now called. Will it make a difference? Only time will tell, but from my experience of working with the outgoing Board I can safely say that everyone of them worked and continues to work very hard for the benefit of our sport. This is not always thought to be the case by everyone, but then that’s politics. I have decided to step down as athlete representative for British Triathlon to concentrate on my aim of getting into the Olympic Team but I will be continuing with my role as athelete representative for the ITU and ETU albeit with help from Jessica Harrison and Kiwi Kris Gemmell. I think it is vital that Executive Boards have an athlete’s opinion on certain topics, after all the athletes have to be the most important people or sport does not work.

Showing off at Sandown

Next month at Sandown is the TCR Show. I have been going to this for several years now and love it. The show grows year on year and I think it is a must for all multi-sport athletes. With so much on offer, everyone in attendance cannot help but learn something from this superb weekend. The 220 awards dinner on the Saturday evening is always fun and with Graeme Obree as guest speaker this year it should prove an interesting evening.

I write this blog from a training camp in Spain a group of the British Team has come out to the mountains in the south to get in some quality riding. It has been a good camp and set most of the athletes up for a good February and spring in the UK. See you at TCR.