Triathlete Aileen Reid is in a good place for season opener

Aileen Reid has been off the radar for the past number of months as she made the switch to a new coach and has been based in the warmer climates of Australia. The group which contains a host of world class athletes have been putting in the hard yards with Aileen enjoying the change of scene.

Reid's swimming has been particularly strong of late as she put in an excellent performance at the highly competitive North Bondi Classic swim race. Former world number one, Annabel Luxford and Ireland's Aileen Reid went one and two in the race which had 998 competitors.

Heading into this Saturday's ITU Devonport Sprint Oceania Championships in Australia Aileen is simply looking to get a feel for how her training in progressing.

"Everything seems to be going well and I'm enjoying training here in Canberra with my new training partners. Things are different and it's hard work but that's why I'm here." Commented Reid.

The Devonport event has attracted a high quality field with renowned runner Gwen Jorgensen of the USA, Australia's rising star Ashleigh Gentle and GB athlete Jodie Stimpson all expected to be in the mix.

Many of the athletes racing are members of Aileen's training group. "Six of the guys and girls I train with regularly are racing in Devonport so it's a great team trip and a chance to blow the cobwebs off as they say."

The course is regarded as a fast one with last year's winner Ashleigh Gentle completing the 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run in under 55 minutes.

Next up for Aileen is the Mooloolaba World Cup on the 17th of March followed by the first World Series race of the year in Auckland on the 6th of April.