She was runner-up last year and Canada’s Paula Findlay goes into Saturday’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in the perfect frame of mind to go one better.

She posted on social media earlier this week about how “the pressure and stress of racing is crippling sometimes and sucks the enjoyment out of it for me, regardless of the outcome at the end of it all.”

But she said that Finland and the 70.3 Worlds “feels different”, adding: I’m more relaxed, excited, optimistic, and not actually dreading it at all. I am proud of the work I’ve done to get here fit and healthy, so I’m trying to soak in race week and all that comes with it.”

‘Hopefully it brings out the best in me’

And asked about that at the pre-race press conference she expanded: “Yeah, I don’t know why I feel so different about this race. I’ve been in Lahti for about a week, and I’ve felt really relaxed.

“It’s easy to train here. I’ve been in Europe for a month almost, so I’m on the time zone, and I know my dog is in good hands at home with my dad, so I have no stress on that side.

“And, yeah, I do often bring a lot of pressure and stress into races. It ruins it for me sometimes, even if I have a good result. At the end of the day, I’m not looking forward to the next one but this time I kind of am. So hopefully that brings out the best in me.”

‘Crazy breakthrough’

Part of Findlay’s European road trip was taking in the UCI World Cycling Time Trial Championships in Scotland, where she finished 25th wearing the Canadian national champion’s aero suit.

And she goes into this weekend’s race in excellent triathlon form too, with an impressive win at 70.3 Chattanooga this season and a podium place at the PTO US Open earlier this month, which was won by Taylor Knibb.

And it’s clear that last year’s second place to Knibb at the 70.3 Worlds helped to accelerate Findlay’s progress to #5 in the latest world rankings.

She explained: “Last year this race was kind of a crazy breakthrough for me at this level, and it just gave me confidence, if anything, that I belong and can race at this level.”

Asked what she’d learned from that experience and would take into Saturday’s race, she added: “That it’s not over till it’s over. When I left transition with Flora [Duffy] and Lucy [Charles-Barclay], I thought for sure I was going to be fourth.

“And I was happy with that, but I never gave up on myself and ran really strong and ended up second. So, yeah, anything can happen. And everyone’s fast and amazing here, so we’ll see.”