Mitch Robins - Holten ITU Premium European Cup

Bonjour!
I'm very happy to be back in the land of the living after a very busy and sleepless weekend in Holland. It ended up being a successful weekend for myself, crossing the line first and running better then I ever have, a good sign that my injured groin is now a thing of the past.
I made my way up to Amsterdam on Thursday via a very expensive night in Zurich. Holten is a small town out in the sticks about 100km east of Amsterdam, with lots of nothing and some surrounding farmland. The race was all set up on Friday and it looked like an awesome place to be - big grandstands at the finish, beers tents and the whole community was involved.
Saturday rolled around quickly, and the gun went off for the swim start about 1.30. The swim was in a lake out of town, making 2 separate transition areas. My swim was just OK, I dived in and got swamped, starting the first lap somewhere in the 2nd group. I swam hard in the 2nd lap and made it towards the front, with only a few guys escaping off the front, but not for long.
The ride was about 7km into town, then 5 laps of the circuit through the main street. The group was really edgy with all the sharp turns and wet cobbles, but somehow we managed to stay upright and make it home in one piece. I played it smart on the bike, sitting pretty in the group doing as little as possible and saving myself for a quick run. Into the second transition I moved towards the front and hit the run ready for a battle.
The pace was set early by 2009 U23 world champ Franz Loeschke from Germany, and about 5 others. I was happy running along like this for a while, but I decided to push at the 4km mark a little and string the group out. At the halfway point it was only myself and a Belgian athlete left, he was determined to lead and I was more then happy to follow. I was feeling under control and wasn't content running in second place, so with 1500m to go I hit the gas and dropped him like a bad habit. I pushed quite hard the last km, which allowed me to soak up the finish line and enjoy the win.
I am back in France now to reassess and see where to go from here. I will update again soon when I get some concrete plans.
Thanks for all the emails and Facebook/Twitter messages, I love reading it all and value the support big time.
Mitch