Taylor Knibb showed her prowess across all three disciplines at the PTO Tour US Open in Milwaukee, despite by her own admission having a tough time in the swim and on the bike.
Looking ahead now to the Paris Olympic Test event on August 17, Knibb shared that she was straight back to business after Saturday’s massive win, with last year’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion showing she’s also the woman to beat over the 100km distance.
Taylor Knibb on US Open win
After having a hard time of things from the first stroke of the swim, Knibb shared that she was relieved to cross the finish line in first after having to squeeze as much out of herself as possible to stay away from last year’s winner Ashleigh Gentle.
“Well I’m relieved, I’m glad that’s over, I think you have some races that go well and some that don’t and when I got started in the swim, I just thought to myself, this is going to be a long day.
“I was in the water and just thinking get me out of this, get me on to the bike and the bike felt the best, but it was just a really interesting day.
“I was talking to my coach this morning and I said you know what, I think I am only confident in my run, which is ironic, but I guess it is all relative.
“Whilst my biking isn’t where it was last year, I’m running this year which is a big plus and I am just putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”
“I knew that some people would be overriding”
Having been so used to coming off the bike in middle distance races with large gaps to the rest of the field, Knibb had less than two minutes in Milwaukee, but said that she’d stayed pragmatic about the bike legs of others and dealt with the scenario accordingly.
“I knew that some people would be overriding, so I thought we’ll see how this unfolds on the run and see how it goes on the first few time splits and see how it goes from there.
“My first kilometre was probably my slowest split of the day and it took until maybe the third kilometre for me to start feeling good and to get into my rhythm, so I think my second lap was probably the quickest of the day.
“It was just about finding a rhythm and learning how to run, because I am still trying to figure out how to run and it’s a work in progress.”
Asked about celebrating the win, Knibb reiterated her commitment to qualifying for the Olympics in Paris next year, with all eyes now on the Olympic Test Event in 10 days time.
“I am definitely going to be getting back home to business and ready for Paris now as in terms of celebrating, it’s more about appreciating every step of the way and thank everyone who got me here and helped me through this past week and the next race is in Paris on August 17.”
