With Ironman 70.3 Staffs getting ever closer – three weeks people! – we held a Twitter Q&A with triathlon coach Simon Ward last night, focusing on the 70.3 training and racing issues that our readers are facing….
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>>> Move to the middle – Ironman 70.3 training plan
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Welsh race organisers Always Aim High have got a new iron-distance event up their sleeves – The Legend, taking place in Snowdonia in July 2016.
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Billed as “arguably the UK’s toughest and most stunning single-lap iron-distance race”, it will be fully supported and feature a family-orientated festival of triathlon.
The race will start on 12 July with a 3.8km swim in Lake Padarn – home to the Slateman Triathlon – before sending athletes on a 180km bike through “mind-blowing scenery, flawless tarmac and of course a number of iconic climbs”.
Finally, the run stage comprises of a full-length mixed terrain marathon set in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park. The route takes in key climbs such as Bwlch maesgwm, Pen-y-Pass and the infamous Dinorwig Quarries.
Pre-registration is open already here. Routes and all other information can be found here.
(Images: SportpicturesCymru)
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Will you be racing The Legend? Let us know in the comments below!
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The fourth Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon was held in County Galway, Ireland on Sunday (24 May), with nearly 1,200 competitors taking part in eight races, including the brand new Starter Sprint. Once again the Olympic distance was a Triathlon Ireland National Series race.
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>>> Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon 2014 race report
The longest race was The Gauntlet, a tough half iron distance with 200 hardy souls competing for the title. First male home was Kevin Thornton from Galway Tri Club, leading from the swim exit and smashing the course record with 4:15:08. A tight race for second was won by Mariusz Olejniczak of Naas Triathlon Club pipping UK elite Matt Leeman by just 30 seconds. Siobhan Gallagher (Donegal) led the women’s race home in a time of 5:11:39 followed.
“I really enjoyed the course”, said Kevin Thornton after the race, “The lake was fresh but I was happy with my swim. I really loved the bike course through the Burren, it’s a very honest course and I absolutely loved the two hills. The trail part of the run was especially great, I’d done the Olympic here a few years back and think it’s a great venue for triathlon”.
Aichlinn O’Reilly, winner of the Olympic distance race
First over the line in the Olympic distance was young Aichlinn O’Reilly of Westport Triathlon Club in his very first standard event, his time was 2:05:15. He was third out of the lake but moved into first place about 12km into the cycle and held pole position all the way to the finish.
Second home was Max Hazell (Wiltshire) with last year’s runner up Aaron O’Brien (Limerick Tri Club) in third and Brennan Townshend of Loughborough in fourth place. Kitty Perle (3D Tri Club) was a clear winner in the women’s event in 2:32:37 followed by Olivia Ross-Hurst (Ful-On Tri) in 2:36:21 and Joanne Flanagan (Ennis Tri Club) in 2:37:08.
An elated Achlinn O’Reilly spoke in glowing terms after the race, “I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure what to expect in my first ever senior race, I’d hoped to finish in the top three but winning was absolutely amazing, particularly against some overseas competition”.
Trevor Woods from Cork Tri Club won the Sprint Plus race (800m/44km/8km) in 01:53:46. The women’s race winner was Rachel Clancy of Limerick Triathlon in 02:10:50. The Super Sprint was won by Kieran Jackson – (1:01:38), with Claire Scott (Peninsula) winning the women’s race in 01:18:36.
The Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon is the first of the five Castle Triathlon Series weekend events to take place over the course of this year in Ireland, England and France this year. For more info head to www.loughcutratri.ie.
The Gauntlet (1.9km/90km/21km)
Male
1: Kevin Thornton – Galway Tri Club (4:15:08)
2: Mariusz Olejnicza – Naas Tri Club (4:25:29)
3: Matt Leeman – Hockley (4:25:59)
Female
1: Siobhán Gallagher – Donegal (5:11:39)
2: Adele Neill – Hi Elbow (5:27:35)
3: Maire Fox – 3D Tri (5:38:01)
The Lough Cutra (1500m/44km/10km)
Male
1: Aichlinn O’Reilly – Westport Tri Club (2:05:15)
2: Max Hazell – Wiltshire (2:07.18)
3: Aaron O’Brien – Limerick Tri Club (2:09:09)
Female
1: Kitty Perle 3D (2:32:37)
2: Olivia Ross Hurst – Ful-On Tri (2:36.21)
3: Joanne Flanagan – Ennis Tri Club (2:37.08)
The Prendergast – (800m/44km/8km)
Male
1: Trevor Woods – Cork Tri Club (1:53:46)
2: Mark Nolan – Cork (1:55:54)
3: Martin Divilly – Team Collinamux (2:01:56)
Female
1: Rachel Clancy – Limerick Triathlon (2:10:50)
2: Katherine Sherry – Dublin (2:33:13)
3: Caroline McMenamin – North West Tri Club (2:35:48)
The Viscount Gough (400m/22km/4km)
Male
1: Kieran Jackson – (1:01:38)
2 Darren Dunne – Nenagh Triathlon (1:03:36)
3: Ronan Dirrane – Predator (1:09:18)
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Female
1: Claire Scott – Peninsula (01:18:36)
2: Miriam Wall – Galway (1:20:12)
3: Jessica Dunne – Galway Triathlon (1:21:10)
The Castle (200m/13km/2km)
Male
1: Bill Thuillier – Kinsale Tri Club (00:52:04)
2 Cyril Sullivan (00:52:24)
3: David Stewart (00:53:25)
Female
1: Lucy Cottee (00:49:23)
2: Ciara O’Boyle – Predator (00:52:17)
3: Brenda Breathnach – Ennis Tri Club (00:53:20)
For more information, and online application, visit www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk.
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Did you race at Lough Cutra last weekend? Let us know in the comments below
The latest issue of 220 Triathlon magazine went on sale today, featuring F1 star Jenson Button talking exclusively to the UK’s favourite triathlon magazine about his love of all things swim, bike and run.
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Other highlights in this month’s issue include:
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Get ready for your first Ironman in eight weeks: key steps to your first iron start line, plus a 1hr open-water, confidence-boosting session
Turn training into race-day success with nine tips for intermediate athletes
Imagine yourself to a better race, plus a 60min bike-boosting visualisation session to try
Train with Chrissie: bike-handling skills with pro MTBer Oli Beckingsale
Teuton power: why are Germans so strong in tri?
Regional express: in-depth analysis of the UK’s best regions for triathlon adventures
Gear focus: triathlon bikes
Open-water goggles mini grouptest
Lightweight run shoes grouptest: ten pairs of featherlight footwear rated
Find 220 Triathlon on sale at newsagents across the UK, and the digital edition can be picked up via the iTunes store, Google Play and Zinio.
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Bonus digital content includes: exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from our Jenson Button cover shoot; watch Normann Stadler’s famous ‘meltdown’ at Kona 2005; Joe Beer presents three videos on how to make the most of your A-races this season.
Bright and pleasant conditions at this year’s Eton Sprints welcomed just under 1,000 triathletes at Dorney Lake last Saturday (23 May), with qualifying spots for the ITU World Champs in Chicago this September up for grabs.
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ITU qualifier age-group waves started heading off from 9am, and it didn’t take long for all areas of the flat and fast course to be populated by focused athletes. The first person back was Hannah Lord who also clocked up the fastest female time of the day. Hannah’s dolphin-like swimming abilities saw her take an early lead which she maintained and even strengthened finishing in 1:05:56, four minutes ahead of closest rival Zoe Cresswell.
Competing in the ‘junior’ category, Ryan Griffiths blew competition from all age groups apart as he completed the sprint course in a stunning 1:00:28. Ryan was consistently fast in all disciplines, but especially notable was his swim time of just 9:14. Danny Russell (Tri Training Harder) was his closest opposition, with Edward Castro (Bedfordshire Road Cycle Club) just pipping Harry Palmer into third best male time of the qualifiers.
Once the qualifiers were over, the Eton Sprint age group waves got underway, and another famous face was to be seen competing. Phillip Graves, the youngest triathlete to win an Ironman competition, is an inspiration to many.
Athletes of all abilities got the special opportunity to compete with him today, but unsurprisingly he took an assured victory, and was the only person on the day to complete the course in under an hour, finishing in 58:57. Scott Wiseman (Ashford Tri Club) and Oliver Bradford (Ful-On Tri) were Phillip’s closest competition but were several minutes behind despite clocking up fantastic times.
Possibly the most entertaining finish of the day was in the ladies (non-qualifier) wave as Sarah Lewis and Anna Sykes-Brown battled it out to the finish. In the end it was Sarah (1:06:29) who grabbed the win by a tiny margin, finishing just nine seconds ahead of Anna. Louise Croxson was third fastest female during the Eton Sprints waves.
For full results head here.
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Did you race the Eton Sprints? Let us know in the comments below!
There may be no Gomez to contend with as he sits this one out, but racing is sure to be fierce in the London stage of the World Triathlon Series this weekend as the Brownlees go head-to-head for the first time this season.
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Sunday’s race in Hyde Park will see both Alistair and Jonny take on the sprint distance course comprising a 750m swim in the Serpentine followed by a technical 20k four-lap bike course and 5k, two-lap run course around Hyde Park.
This will be the first time we see both brothers racing together this season. After placing fifth in the 2015 WTS opener in Abu Dhabi, Jonathan Brownlee (2186pts) followed up with two strong back-to-back victories in Auckland and the Gold Coast before taking a break for training. In Jonny’s absence, older brother Alistair (1540pts) entered the circuit in Cape Town by winning the gold medal and then earned a silver medal in Yokohama.
Wearing the gold number 1 in the men’s race will be Spaniard Mario Mola (2958pts), who is a strong contender at sprint distance, taking the victory in London in 2014 and winning in Abu Dhabi earlier this year with an impressive final kick to the line. Joining the Brownlees on the start line for Great Britain are Adam Bowden, Tom Bishop, Matt Sharp and Grant Sheldon. See the full men’s start list here.
Women’s race
Racing in front of the home crowd on Sunday will be Non Stanford (501pts), who won on the course in 2013 to also take the World Championship title. Since then she has been rehabbing injury though, only returning to the series in the Yokohama race earlier this month where she placed seventh. She put in a strong performance though and looked likely to take bronze, until a 15sec penalty for not getting her wetsuit fully into the box in transition was added.
Vicky Holland (800pts) will also be competing and is having a strong season after taking her first WTS stage win in Cape Town last month. Emma Pallant and Sophie Coldwell complete the line-up for Great Britain.
All athletes will have to put in an impressive performance to beat the seemingly unstoppable Gwen Jorgensen (3200pts) though, who will line up wearing the gold number 1 in the women’s race and is so far undefeated this season. Other female athletes to watch include fellow USA competitors Katie Zaferes and Sarah True, as well as Andrea Hewitt (NZL). See the full women’s start list here.
Paratriathlon
With just a little over a month until the Rio Paralympics qualification period opens, GBR’s paratriathletes will be looking to gain points towards the World Championships in Chicago too. The paratri racing in Hyde Park is being held at 9:30am on Saturday and British hopefuls include Phil Hogg who took second in the World Championships last year and both Lauren Steadman and Clare Cunningham in the women’s PT4 category.
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The GB athletes will face some competition on Saturday – in the men’s PT1 category Hogg will race against four-time World Champion Bill Chaffey (AUS) who is returning after sustaining injuries in a training accident last year. Meanwhile Geert Schipper (NED) returns to London as defending champion.
For more information on the paratriathlon races and for start lists, click here.
TV coverage
The men’s race starts at 15:05 on Sunday 31st May and live coverage can be watched on BBC2 from 14:50 GMT or via triathlonlive.com (£). The women’s race follows shortly afterwards at 16:45.
We’ll be carrying full reports of both races right here on the 220 website shortly afterwards.
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Image: ITU/Delly Carr
Ironman have announced today that the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship will be a two-day event – with women racing on one day and men racing on the other (both professional and age-group) – allowing for a full day of triathlon for each, although numbers of race spots on each day are yet to be confirmed.
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“With the global explosion of Ironman 70.3 races, we expect approximately 4,500 athletes from around the world to qualify for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, which is too many for a single day of racing,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman. “We are focused on providing more opportunities for women to race with us globally and, after consulting with members of our Women For Tri Board, felt that having a separate race for female professional and age-group athletes would be a strong step forward for our sport.”
This move comes as increasingly questions are being asked about the equality of triathlon under the Ironman brand, with campaigns such as #50WomenToKona from Tri Equal gaining momentum across the internet and social media (see our earlier story here), with support from big name athletes including Rachel Joyce, Sarah Gross and Karen Smyers.
America to host
In addition, Ironman have announced that the United States will play host to the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Three cities, all of which currently host Ironman-branded races, have been named as the finalists in the selection process: Chattanooga (Tennessee), Lake Placid (New York) and St. George (Utah).
“The rotation of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship has elevated the race and allowed athletes from all over the world to experience a World Championship event at fantastic locations,” added Messick. “The finalists for the 2017 championship are all tremendous hosts to Ironman races and provide courses well suited for an event of this calibre. These cities also provide our athletes and their families world-class hospitality and endless scenic and entertainment options.”
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What do you think about Ironman 70.3’s announcements? Let us know by clicking on the ‘post a comment’ button below.
With kids’ triathlon firmly on the up in this country, a new race called WaldenJNR Triathlon is throwing its hat into the ring this weekend to become the East of England’s biggest-ever junior triathlon.
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>>> Kent schoolchildren head to Hever Castle for triathlon roadshow
It takes place on Sunday 31 May in Saffron Walden, Essex, and around 300 youngsters aged 8 to 16 will be taking part. according to the organisers.
Top British pro Lucy Gossage (winner of Ironman Lanzarote 2014) will be there as guest of honour, giving the young athletes a chance to “run with Lucy” on a short fun run.
It’s also set to be a qualifying race for the Eastern Region Team for the Inter Regional Championships, taking place at Mallory Park in Leicestershire on 6 September.
For more info, head here.
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Will you be heading to Saffron Walden this Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!
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Registration for the first ever Challenge Regensburg opens on Monday 1 June, with several hundred athletes already pre-registered – including two-time Ironman wold champion Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack.
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The race start on 14 August with a 3.8km swim in Lake Guggenberger, just outside the former capital of Bavaria, Germany.
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Athletes will then embark on a 180km bike around the local roads, followed by a marathon through the heart of Regensburg, a world heritage city thanks to its beautifully preserved mediaeval centre.
“I’ve been to Regensburg many times and it’s an absolutely stunning place to race,” said McCormack. “I can’t wait to get back there to enjoy the Bavarian hospitality and spectacular course.”
For more information and to register, head here.
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Will you be racing in Regensburg? Let us know in the comments below!
With WTS London just days away, Boardman Bikes have given their star triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee special patriotic paint jobs to help ensure the home crowd gets behind them in Hyde Park.
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>>> WTS London 2015 preview
The standard black and yellow Boardman Elite Air 9.8 bikes that they usually ride have been stripped, sanded back and meticulously hand painted in blue and red with a Union Jack emblazoned on the head tube to match the side panels of their GB sprint suits.
Boardman Bikes hope that with these bikes, a home advantage and strong support from the UK spectators, the Brownlees will both be able to close the points advantage that Javier Gomez and Mario Mola currently have, and put them in a strong position going into the WTS Hamburg round in July.
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What do you think of the new paint jobs? Let us know in the comments below!
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