It’s been a horror month for the Albury triathlete, who will have to put injury setbacks and what he described as his “worst result ever” behind him ahead of the ITU World Series race on the Gold Coast on April 11.

He’s finished 34th and 40th in his two most recent ITU World Cup races in Mooloolaba and New Zealand, after being involved in a crash in the cycling leg of the season opener in Devonport.

Featonby said he was frustrated by the start to his season, but was concentrating on putting it all behind him ahead of the trip to Queensland.

“Obviously it isn’t exactly the start to the season I would have liked,” Featonby said.

“Going into the season I was the fifth ranked Australian competitor on the international tables, so I think I’ve been feeling a bit of pressure as a result of that.

“I’ve made a few mistakes and there’s been a bit of bad luck mixed in there as well.”

After injuring his shoulder in the crash at the Devonport world cup event, Featonby’s preparation for the following two races was compromised.

Going into the race at Mooloolaba, the 26-year old athlete knew he was a little bit underdone.

“I had about 10 days of recovery for my shoulder, I’d done a little bit of damage to the cartilage so swimming was out of the question,” Featonby said.

“The past four years at Mooloolaba they’ve held the swim in the Mooloolah River, which we were expecting them to do again, given that Cyclone Nathan was wreaking havoc with the swell.

“The organisers were pretty adamant that they wanted to hold the swim leg in the surf, which a lot of us weren’t happy about.

“I got through that OK, but I let myself down a little bit in the bike leg, the crash from Devonport was still on my mind and I made some poor decisions as a result of that.

“I’ve been trying to take things a little bit easier since then, making sure I’m looking after my body and doing my best to put the problems of the last month behind me.

“I get confidence through training, so I’ll go back to the track and back myself to get through it.”