Well, Jordan Rapp I was not, but it felt good to return to triathlons post-bike/car crash with a sprint in Montpellier over Easter weekend.

The weather conditions proved ideal.  Far cooler than the heatwave in Paris, Montpellier offered a morning temperature of 15 degrees, perfect for biking and running.  At 14 degrees, the swim split was outright freezing, and the dammed-off river basin collected a ton of debris and rubbish (I was even knocked in the head by a floating coke bottle at one point).  Why they don’t hold the swim in the sea or in one of the lovely nearby étangs escapes me.

I found the bike course to be scenic and well-marked.

The run course, on the other hand, proved disastrous.  It was so poorly marked that I and the poor souls following me took a wrong turn resulting in a 3km extra detour.  My fault for not studying the map in advance.

All in all, this represented a perfectly refreshing event to return to the sport following my accident recovery.  The Hérault region surrounding Montpellier is so gorgeous that I’m considering making this my focal point for the 2011 triathlon season.