RICHARDS TO REFLECT ON RACING FUTURE AFTER 20 BEACHES WIN
Danielle Richards admits she surprised herself at the Shaw and Partners 20 Beaches.
“Yeah,” she laughs. “Massively.”
Just days earlier, back at home in New Zealand, the 2019 ICF World Champion was on the water when she couldn’t help but feel a little worried.
“I tried to do some 600 metre efforts and I couldn’t hack it,” Richards told The Paddler. “I didn’t have it in me to keep going.
“Since moving down to Mount Maunganui, I’ve been trying to find a routine where I can still paddle, coach in the afternoons and still work for Canoe Racing New Zealand.
“It’s taken a little bit. I’m definitely still lazy some mornings. And a lot of my training is done on my own.
“I’ve done a lot of hard work but I really didn’t know how it would play out over here.”
Saturday was Richards’, nee McKenzie’s, first race on the Shaw and Partners Australian Ocean Racing Series this year.
In fact, she’s only lined up in three ocean ski races in the past 12 months, after stepping away from the sport to pursue a place at the Paris Olympics.
Although watching her race, you wouldn’t have been able to tell.
Richards kicked clear of the field for a commanding victory and her third Yanda Morison trophy.
“Honestly, I was coming across to see how I was going for the races in Perth later this year,” she says. “And it turns out that it’s alright.
“It almost feels like the pressure has been lifted in a way.”
“It’s awesome to be back racing. It kind of feels weird flying in from New Zealand, but it’s only three hours. It’s really easy.
“It’s just such a cool vibe to be able to catch up with friends. It was cool to have so many boats on the water, everyone was out there supporting and cheering.
“I think that’s what the sport is about. Enjoying the paddling, enjoying the company and all of the people around.”
Richards’ return to racing set up another anticipated battle with two-time ICF World Champion, Jemma Smith.
The revised course is one both athletes know well. Coming into the race, both Richards and Smith had two 20 Beaches titles to their names.
One question coming into the race was how Smith would be able to back up after her outstanding victory in the grueling Shaw and Partners Coolangatta Gold 42 kilometre ironperson race just six days earlier.
It was one Richards’ was keen to find an answer to once the starting gun fired.
“I just tried to go hard off the start and lay the pressure down,” she says.
“Jemma works so hard. She’s a workhorse. I started hurting not too far into it and thought she’d hunt me down.
“But then something just clicked. I was in a new boat, Epic’s new V14L. And it’s the first race I’ve done in open ocean in a long time. I just slowly found a rhythm and started working hard.
“I found myself doing a little bit of self-motivation, and once I was in the lead I just had to keep going from there.”
Speaking at the finish, Smith said that early move proved to be the difference.
“I felt really comfortable in the first half of the race when Dani put the foot down,” Smith recalled. “I just couldn’t respond today.”
Richards would go on to claim victory in a time of 1 hour, 30 minutes and 9 seconds, which was around one and a half minutes ahead of Smith [1:32:09] in second.
Surf ironwoman Hannah Sculley [1:34:58] finished third after making the trip down from the Gold Coast for her first 20 Beaches campaign, outlasting Phoebe Woodhouse [1:35:25] in their battle.
Rising star Kaitlin Rees [1:35:28] rounded out the top five, while also taking out the Junior age category.
To view the full results of the Shaw and Partners 20 Beaches, click here.
For Richards, the trip across the Tasman was well worth it.
“It’s funny, you don’t come to do this race for a guaranteed downwind,” she says. “It’s always going to be hard and you have to know that.
“I feel like I still have a lot of improvement to go, but I know Jemma would’ve been really fatigued coming off last weekend.
“Today was all about making myself feel really good.
“I was maybe a touch nervous lining up, which is a good thing. I liked that because that’s when you know it still means something to you.”
That realisation might have been the greatest reward for her efforts.
Speaking with The Paddler after the race, Richards subtly dropped a bombshell.
“Race Week for me will be when I decide whether I keep paddling or reflect on what I do next.
“I don’t mean stopping paddling completely, just a change of priorities.
“But if anything, after this race, I’m actually more pumped than ever.”
Smith was full of praise for Richards after sharing another hard-fought battle.
“Dani paddled absolutely incredible,” she said. “So I’m really happy to take second.”
Particularly after the week she’d had.
Smith was still beaming after her victorious return to ironwoman racing. But as upbeat as she always is, she admitted she was feeling the effects of the Coolangatta Gold.
“It was always going to be a really tough turnaround,” she said. “But I definitely wasn’t going to miss the chance to race on the stretch of coastline that I live and train on.
“It’s always so special to line up at the 20 Beaches. It’s such an iconic race.
“It’s a bit of a tough turnaround, but I’m really glad I turned up. It’s so great to catch up with everyone.”
Like Richards and Smith, Hannah Sculley had one eye on the Shaw and Partners WA Race Week, as she continues to gain experience in the discipline of downwind paddling.
“I’m pretty happy with a third,” she said. “I had my first race in the ocean ski of the season last week and wanted to come down for this one.
“I didn’t really know where I was. I hadn’t paddled this coastline before, so it was such a good experience.
“I knew they were going to go off fast. I caught a bit of their wash at the start, and when they scooted away, I just got into my rhythm.
“We have a few weeks until Race Week, so I’ll try to spend a bit more time in the ski before heading over there to see where I’m at.”
Cory Hill won the men’s race, collecting the Steve Wood trophy for a fifth time.
To read about his race, and why his recent wins have helped him brush-up on his surfski history, click here.
