Simon Lessing Poster
Here’s another centre-fold poster. Yesterday I gave you Dave Scott at the 1987 Hawaii Ironman. This is Simon Lessing winning the 1991 European Short Course Championships in Geneva. 1991 was peak baggy-vest. And that Cannondale has to be in my top 5 tri-bikes of all time.
The race took place on 8th September. And was Lessing’s first senior European title. He’d won the junior title in Losheim on 27th July.
1991 was Simon Lessing’s 3rd season racing in Europe. After leaving South Africa to start the adventure in the spring of 1989. And it was a busy one. My records show that he raced at least 11 times.
Image: Triathlete (FR) Octobre 1991 by Frederic Mons
1991 was the first year of the draft-free ITU World Cup Series. But Simon only took part in 2 rounds. St. Croix on 5th May. Where he got 6th. And Embrun on 15th August. Where he finished 2nd behind Mark Allen.
Lessing also travelled to the UK to race the British Short Course Championships in Wakefield in Yorkshire on 11th August. Where he got second behind Spencer Smith. I was there too!
Simon was again active on the French scene, racing for Salon Triathlon. On 26th May he won his home race in Salon. Then on 2nd June he finished 6th at the prestigious Haut de Seine Triathlon in Paris. With quite a poor run by his standards. Mark Allen won.
However, by 7th July Simon was back on form as he won the hilly Vars Triathlon. Followed by another win in Coucouron a week later.
On 21st September Simon was suffered a rare loss in a French domestic race. This time beaten into 2nd place by Patrick Girard at La Coupe de France des Clubs in Sete. The race came down to the last 100m.
Simon finished his season by getting 6th at the World Short Course Championships on the Gold Coast in Australia on 13th October. Here’s what he said about it in the October 1992 issue of 220:
“I had two bad races in 1991. St. Croix and Worlds. It just didn’t come together at all. I peaked for Geneva and by the time Worlds came around I wasn’t motivated, I was on my own in Australia. I had a poor swim, my wetsuit opened up. The first two laps on the bike were OK but on the third I got caught up with the veterans coming out of the water. I had a good run and made up some places but I don’t like flat courses at all.”
