I’ve been trying to figure why my race was awful today . It was for a sprint distance
I did the same race a year ago and overall 4 minutes slower
A year ago my ftp was 190 and then it increased to 229

For the first time in an event my quads were not feeling strong on the bike segment , my avg hr was 151 and avg power was 184 . It was raining at times and a little windy but still doesn’t mirror all the work I put in .
My swim times in the pool have improved and I’ve had coached sessions . but today in open water I ended up 1 minute slower than last year
I have been feeling fatigued the last few weeks and I’ve been pushing /trying In training . Week building up to today I rested , My taper wasn’t great , bike was in the shop and did not do my usual taper routine . But still you’d think with the progression over the last year the result would improve. The only take was the run which I had a PR which was 53 seconds quicker than last year, was done just under 22 mins

Il not sure if it boils down to something as simple as tiredness ?

Possible over training, a small illness not generally noticed but affecting performance, etc.
Possible weather conditions affected you subconsciously

Not much of a triathlete here, but I imagine you can look up the race splits for both years online. Go see if the whole field was slower. Either way, that would be an insight.

Can you say what the distances are for this sprint? I ask because you mentioned weather conditions…specifically wind…and that could be a factor. For example, I’ve been in sprints that have anywhere from a 300m swim to a ½-mile/800m swim. If you’re swimming against the wind in a 800m…that right there could be a minute or two. The wind can just make water conditions generally less inviting. And of course, that wind will impact the bike and run too. Were there tides/currents present? What about your T1 and T2 procedures? Did any of that change from last year? Do results provide times for each discipline, and T times? And do you have last year’s results to compare them to see where your time increased? — Dan

Sometimes it is just your turn...

Wind can be a real challenge. A slight breeze can mess with your time. Possibly over-training comes to mind. I think that if you keep in good, consistent shape, there's probably no justification to go crazy training hard in preparation for a sprint. Just let it hang out on event day. I recently did a private AquaBike and I killed it, despite not "training" for it.