We caught up with Junior Provincial Team athlete James Sikich, fresh off a European racing block and a 3rd place Junior in the Elite America’s Cup in Magog!

TriBC: Congrats on your recent race performances! You placed 17th at the Europe Junior Cup in Holton, Netherland – Can you share a bit about that experience – What was race day like and how did your race unfold?

James: Holten was an amazing experience for me as it was my first time racing outside of North America. The scale of the race and the support there was the most I have seen. Starting the race I had a crunchy start at the first buoy I looked back and was one of the last few. I got out and had a fast transition and saw that I had missed the chase group ahead but had 3 guys to work with. We were slowly gaining on the pack ahead for a little bit but the size of the pack ahead allowed them to pull away. Eventually my bike pack grew a little and we were able to get into a better rhythm but we did not catch the group ahead. Getting off the bike I made sure to get into transition near the front, I got into transition second and had a fast transition. Came out second and immediately moved into the front of my pack. After a few hundred meters a Dutch guy and another Canadian caught me and I worked with them to run my fastest run split through 5km of the long 5.6km course. We went out fast and were reeling in a lot of guys from the packs ahead. I crossed the line and got told I was 17^th which I was very happy about.

Your most recent race at the Europe Junior Cup in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, saw you cross the finish line in a super impressive 8th place, but ultimately you were disqualified. Can you share how that race unfolded, and what happened for you to be disqualified?

The race in Tizzy was also exciting because of the fun format, it was two back-to-back days, heats and finals with different courses, doing super sprints both days. Both days were extremely hot and humid and took a lot of work to stay cool before and during the race. Going into the race I wasn’t sure I was going to qualify for the finals on Sunday. On the first day’s race, after coming out of the water far back, I was lucky that the whole race came together on the bike after doing a lot of work with a small group. Coming off the bike in a good position, and feeling good on the run, I placed second in my heat. Comfortably qualifying me for the finals. On Sunday, after coming out of the water far back again, I was lucky to be able to have a good group so we could bridge to the main pack on the bike after coming out of the water far back again. We joined the pack with one lap of the 5 lap course left and I worked to recover from the effort and heat while also maintaining a good pack position on the technical, new course. Coming off the bike I was tired and hot and I struggled for the first part of the run dropping back but slowly felt better. Unfortunately, I got a penalty for a mount line infraction and in the heat and effort of the race I forgot to check the penalty board and did not serve my penalty, causing me to be disqualified.

What has the overall experience been in Europe – What has been your favourite part?

Racing in Europe was great, it was my first time being to Europe so the travel and vacation aspect of the trip was amazing. My favourite part was getting to train in new pools and run and bike on the very well-maintained Dutch roads was so fun. I still can’t get over the venues and the scale of the races.

You have also competed at the Americas Triathlon Championships in Miami, and USAT events this year – how did those events go, and how do they compare to Europe?

Miami was a very early start to my racing season in March, as well as coming off a complicated winter training season. I was not confident going into the race, but racing gave me a lot of lessons and some good learning to take back to some more solid training at home. Miami was really fun to race with the quality of the field and racing on the Nascar track was really nice. Racing the USAT race in Wisconsin was a better start to a more condensed block of June and July racing, traveling with the provincial team provided a lot of benefits of being in a group, having people to train with and good coaches to help wit race prep. I walked away from the race pleased and ready for more. Overall, while USAT racing provides good competition the quality of racing in Europe is a lot better especially the swim speed.

Let’s go back to the beginning… How did you get started… What got you into triathlon?

I learned about triathlon when I was five from a magazine article. After begging my mom to let me try one and her learning that kids triathlons existed. I first competed when was six at the Northshore Triathlon and have been racing for 13 years now.

What club have you been a part of, and how has that impacted your development? 

I am apart of Exceleration Triathlon. Training with Kris has pushed me in training and racing and brought me to the level I am now not only physically but has given me my positive mentality. The group I train with has also kept me motivated with triathlon, having great teammates to train with is definitely essential for progressing in sport.

How did the pandemic impact your sport involvement and pathway, what helped you get through it?

For me, the pandemic started me training 7 days a week for something to do. Coming out of lockdown I kept with the routine and this eventually led me to start taking training and racing more seriously.

You competed in the 2022 BC Summer Games – can you share a bit about that experience?

BC Games was a really fun way to get a lot of race experience in a short amount of time with different coaches while competing against athletes that I am still good friends with and race against often.

You are part of the Provincial Team and CSI-P (Canadian Sport Institute – Pacific), how has this helped your development in sport?

The support for racing projects helps making focussing on traveling and racing easier leading to better performances. Being CSI-P carded has given me the opportunity to access facilities that facilitate training, work with great strength coaches that assess and build programs for me, and my favorite part is the testing component. Getting to test lactate and VO2 in the labs with professionals is really interesting to me and helpful for my training.

What’s on your pre race, or training, playlist?

Personally, I’m a big fan of comedy podcasts during training and for taking my mind off the race during warm up, but on the music side I love The Tragically Hip and Pearl Jam.

Thanks for your time, congrats on a great season so far and we’re excited to see more of you in the future! 

Thank You!