FIGHTING WATER AND FIRE

Tough conditions and Mount Etna in the background make for a unique tri, as our writer found out....

- WORDS SEAN MCFARLANE IMAGES CARLO STRIPPOLI, EMANUELE SPAGNOLO AND NICOLA MARI.

I’ve been thinking about this climb for months. If I can just get up it, I’ll feel I’ve broken the back of this brutal bike leg. But talking of broken backs, mine is straining. Like fudge doughnuts, sustained climbing on a bike is a weakness of mine. I can feel the calories burning at an alarmingly rate and thinking of chocolate-filled pastries is not helping. My mind is all over the place, grasping at a wide range of topics in an attempt to get up this huge stretch of rising tarmac.

The occasional tourist bus passes, its occupants straining their necks to give me looks of either bewilderment or awe – it’s hard to tell. They look ever so comfortable in their air-conditioned vehicle. I am not. The landscape is changing – the tree cover easing to expose the impressive fields of lava. Up ahead, Europe’s most active volcano smoulders, seeming to say “come and get me”. It last erupted just a few months ago but we’re all hoping it fancies a quieter day on this occasion.