Interview: Aileen Reid

Republic of Ireland triathlete Aileen Reid finished sixth in the 2015 European Games in Baku on Saturday afternoon.

The 32-year-old, who recorded a time of 2:03:58 in Azerbaijan, entered the competition hoping for the gold, but Olympic champion Nicola Spirig took first in the showpiece event with a time of 2:00:28.

After the race, Reid gave her initial reaction to Sports Mole, and spoke glowingly about the set-up of the inaugural European Games.

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Will you take the positives from today's race?

"The positives that I will take is that it was a reality check, and I know what I need to work on, which I have always known, but it is an important reminder ahead of the test event in Rio this year.

"I know it will be a tough bike course, so it is a reminder that is what I need to work on and I now have a whole year and a little bit to make my biking a lot better."

Is there ever such a thing as a bad race? Or is every competition a learning curve?

"It was a great race to come to. Obviously the atmosphere and everything else was fantastic and this is not going to impact my rankings in the World Series.

"Obviously I wanted to do well and podium, but I am going to take away some valuable lessons and it is important to do that. I want to be a better athlete and when you make mistakes you have to learn from it and build on what you've got and hopefully be better."

What about Azerbaijan as a whole? Have you been impressed with the set-up?

"I have nothing but good things to say about Azerbaijan. It really surprised me how well it was all set up. At the airport, all of the volunteers were very welcoming and people have been messaging me on Twitter and Instagram and everything else saying 'Welcome to Baku'.

"The set-up and facilities and Athletes' Village are absolutely fantastic. I would put it on a par with London 2012 and Glasgow 2014, I have been really impressed."

Will you be back tomorrow to cheer on the boys?

"I would love to be back tomorrow, but I am off very early in the morning. This is my sixth race of the year and it has been a lot of time on the road so I am going to have a mid-season break now, which I am very excited about, and I will be ready to come back in Hamburg, which is four weeks away."