Race Reports
01.06.08: 3 from 3 for Skipper at Cheshire Triathlon
Paul Skipper continued his winning start to the season with a 3rd straight win at Nantwich this Sunday. Here's what he had to say.......
"After entering the super spint by accident I had to start pretty much last in order to do the sprint event. As the quickest swimmers go off first this meant abit of bobbing and weaving to make my way through the Novices trying to enjoy their first event. Apologies to anyone I swam over! Despite expending abit more energy than i would have liked I managed a reasonable swim and kept my hopes of a third straight win intact. A couple of minor hold ups on the bike didn't really effect my race and I clocked the fastest bike split of the day. So as I entered transition I new that if I could avoid a stitch on the run like last year I would be close to the win. Whilst I didn't feel great for the first two laps I settled and managed to pickup up the pace on the last two. All in all a solid race and I crossed the line in 58:15, a minute clear of second. I felt in shape to go alittle faster but pleased that my fab start to the season has continued. Was great to see loads of familiar faces racing, especially those MTC'ers doing there first event. My first Olympic distance of the year is next week at Tatton and I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully I can keep my winning form going.
We hope Paul can keep on winning too. So good look next weekend which will also see Paul Hawkins racing at Bala Middle and Jacqui racing the elite field at Blenheim.
01.06.08: 220 Cover Girl
For all you 220 readers out their; Do you recognise the cover girl for the Women's Supplement this month? Answer on a postcard to......
29.05.08: Gilmour wins 1st Salford Quays Aquathlon
With one week to go till the world Junior Triathlon Champs in Vancouver, Canada, Jez took the opportunity to work on his open water swimming and transitions. The instruction was to run no more than one lap hard and thanks to some impressive swimming this was enough to see him finish well clear of second. Despite an unfortunate virus following the Europeans in Lisbon and a small accident on the bike whilst crit racing at preston, Jez is looking forward to his first World Champs and we wish him all the best.
The Junior race will take place on Thursday 5th June starting 9.00am local time which will be 5.00pm GMT. It should be live on www.triathlon.org.
25.05.08: Silver for Louise Kelly at the European Age-Group Duathlon Champs
The competitors at the European Duathlon Champs faced challenging conditions due to the blistering heat but Lousie took up the challenge and came away with a Silver in the 24-29 Age Group. Like Jacqui in the European Triathlon Champs this was good enough to earn her 5th overall a results that left Lousie pleased but sure she could make improvements. Louise said:
''.. finished 2nd in age group, 5th overall. Not my best race ever, but could have been worse. I was 2nd overall off the first run, dropped 3 places on the bike and another as I fell over in T2! Run 2 was horrid in the heat but after running through the cramp I managed to regain the place I lost in transition. I was pleased to get top 5 but was hoping to get age-group gold. Lots to work...''
Another great result for the TriCentral team.
18.05.08: Jacqui Slack takes on the Corus Elite Sprint at Green Park
14th overall was a great start to Jacqui's elite racing season. With Blenheim, Windsor, London and the remainder of the Corus Series to look forward to it was important Jacqui got off to a good start. The swim was a grim affair in a small lake with a number of technical and shallow sections that split up the pack. Jacqui placed well just 5 seconds behind Andrea Whitcombe as they exited T1 but she was unable to catch her wheel If she had managed it she may have been able to work upto the lead group. After a solid performance on the bike Jacqui was pleased with the way she ran coming in ahead of everyone she finished the bike with. The conclusion was that some focused work on the swim and bike should stand her in good stead for the rest of the season.
Next race Blenheim.....
17.05.08: Paul Hawkins wins Keswick Mountain Festival Triathlon
Despite his Ironman training being in full swing Paul Hawkins took the opportunity to race for the second weekend running at the Keswick Triathlon. With a 750m swim / 35k bike / 8k off road run the race was still a little on the short side for Paul but he still managed to come home first in 2:00:46. With Manchester Triathlon Clubs Daniel McParland 2 minutes back in second and Ben Bardsley almost 5 back in third Paul was pleased with the result and looking forward to his first long test of the season at Bala Middle.
11.05.2008: TriCentral 1st and 2nd at Wilmslow Triathlon
http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/sport/s/1050579_skipper_sets_triathlon_record
Read on for Skip's blow by blow of the day's racing:
Trained pretty hard since getting back from skiing and wining Skipton. Swim is going well (for me) and biking feels v.good, so was really looking forward to Wilmslow. Teammate Paul Hawkins who won it last year having managed to get a late entry so TriCentral had their sights on 1st and 2nd not wanting to let the guys at the Europeans steal all the limelight!
Not sure who was in my lane but he was an amazing swimmer, as he lapped me I thought I’d work hard to stay on his feet but he was half a length clear before I even knew it. I was happy with my 5:30 (own timing) he must of been close to 4 mins flat.
Out onto the bike course and early morning dramas of puncturing on the ride to the event and having to switch wheels was forgotten. I was pushing really hard, apart from 2 guys in the wave before all the peeps to watch went off in the last wave with me so I was important for me to get in front of as many as I could on the bike.
I was pleased if not a little surprised to see Paul in the distance, this was incentive enough to carry on pushing hard and by halfway I’d made the catch. I was greeted with “What the $*£# are you on!” having usually shown the field a clean pair of heels on the bike. Despite best efforts to get away it wasn’t happening and we just cancelled each others moves out. Not sure he’ll be riding the demo bike he was on again after the flex it seemed to have.
Into and out of T2 together. Everything was looking like it was gonna be a painful 6.8k run. The first k or so I ran off his shoulder, as we got to a downhill section I tried to get away but was instantly marked. The down was immediately followed by an up an Paul pulled maybe 15 yards on me. Despite best efforts I couldn’t close the gap and was having to dig pretty deep just to keep the gap as it was. Just as I was thinking it looked like I’d put up a valiant fight the gap got a little smaller and I managed to get back onto the shoulder. Pauls chest had tightened and I was able to take advantage and make a move and hold on to take the win.
Everything seemed to fall my way today. Got a feeling Friday’s training ride with Paul could see me severely dropped on some hills!
11.05.2008: Jacqui takes 2nd in Age-Group (25-29) and 5th Overall at Eurpoean Age-Group Triathlon Champs
Lining up alongside Emma-Kate Lidbury it was always going to be a challenge for Jacqui to take gold, but with a 19m 30s 1500m swim and a fast transition Jacqui headed out onto the challenging Lisbon bike course leading. A lightining fast bike and solid run from Lidbury saw her come home to take the win not just in the 25-29 age-group but also overall. Jacqui came in a comfortable second to take the silver and 5th overall.
10.05.2008: International Success: Jez takes 9th at European Junior Elite Championships and qualifies for the Worlds
Coaches report: I can safely say I was at least twice as nervous watching Jez step out onto the pontoon for the start of his first major internation competition as for the start of my own race the following day. With 77 competitors from all over Europe stepping upto the mark it was an awesome sight to see the pontoon almost tip over as they moved into position for the start.
The swim section of junior international is always a fiercely competive affair as many of the athletes come from a swim background. Drawn in position #1 saw Jez start on the far right of the pontoon so it was critical for him to get a fast start and head across quickly towards the centre of the group. Luckily speed is not something Jez is short of and he made fast work of the swimmers around him and as the group started to come together he comfortably made his way across the field. Unfortunately the fasters swimmers were mainly grouped on the far left of the start and by the time everyone came together he found himself mid-pack. Whilst this may not initially seem like a bad place to be, unfortunately, even with few gaps in the field, it meant that he exited the water 45 seconds behind the leaders simply due to the numbers in the group.
Through T1 and out onto the bike the race had split into a number of packs. Johnny Brownlee one of the pre-race favourites was position well with around 5 other athletes ahead of the main field. Matt Sharp was well positioned in the first main group with Jeremy just off the back of a third pack. Some excellent riding saw Jeremy find his place in the third group and begin to force the pace to make up time on the athletes ahead. A number of crashes and some strong riding from Silva (POR), Luis (FRA) and Vasiliev (RUS) say them enter T2 first with Johnny Brownlee in the next pack and Jez in the third in about 25th place. Unfortunately a puncture for Matt Sharp saw him finish the bike in the fourth group.
If one thing was for sure then both Johnny and Jez were going to run fast. As the second lap began it was clear they were both making up places. As they entered the stadium for the finish Johnny had made his way through to third and Jez had taken over 15 places to come in 9th. Both ran 16:13 the second fastest run time of the day. 9th was a fantastic result for Jez in only his 3rd triathlon! It has gained Jez selection for the GB Junior World's Squad in Vancouver in June.
04.05.2008: Louise Kelly takes the win at Kendal Spring Sprint Triathlon
Louise proved too strong for the rest of the field in her first ever Sprint triathlon. With an overall time of 01:15:51 on this tough course Louise came in as first lady, setting a new course record by over 6 minutes. Lousie is looking set for a good year.
28.04.2008: Win for Hawkins at Chirk Sprint
TriCentral.co.uk team member Paul Hawkins won the Chirk Triathlon on Sunday April 27th with a time of 57 minutes and 25 seconds (1 sec slowe than his own course record despite the poor conditions). Paul finished 3 and a half minutes clear of 2nd place, continuing an impressive set of early season results for the TriCentral race team.
21.04.2008: Jeremy Gilmour qualifies for European Junior Elite Triathlon Champs, Lisbon.
With his impressive thrid place at the National Junior Elite Duathlon Champs this weekend (Parc Bryn Back, Tredegar) combined with a solid performance in the 750m TT at Loughborough earlier in the year secured Jeremy his spot at the Europeans. Jeremy will line up along side Jonathan Brownlee and Matt Sharp on the pontoon in Portugal for his first Internation triathlon competition.
Jacqui will also be making an appearance in Lisbon in the Age-Group triathlon where current form should see her pushing for a medal. All the TriCentral team wish Jeremy and Jacqui all the best.
20.04.2008: Skip takes the win at Skipton
Paul Skipper continued to impress with hsi early season form taking 1st place overall at the Skipton Triathlon. Read his race report below:
400m 20k 5k - Skipton is a new event for me, from speaking to teammates I heard it was a good event, nice pool and rolling bike course. My race prep was a bit unorthodox. I was skiing the week before and only got back to Manchester 7pm the night before the race. Managed to get a couple of hour runs and one 4k swim in whilst away and apart from abit too much beer, some bruises and a knock to my right leg I felt in pretty good shape for the race.
I didn’t really get into the swim, I struggled to really push but felt the pacing was even and go out the water in just over 5:30. So far so good. T1 was pretty smooth and so out onto the rolling bike course. There was a nice tail wind on the way out. I was the first out of the water of my slot of 6 swimmers so didn’t see anyone for a while.
I was riding hard as the wave behind me was stacked, and there was a few peeps to watch in the last couple of waves as well.
The disc was sounding good and although I could feel a few niggles they were not effecting me at all. The way back into the wind was tough, made sure I was spinning raher than grinding and just got on with it.
The run was twice out and back. I had a watch so at the turn around I it the lap button so I could clock how far behing the top guy from the wave behind was. They started 3 mins behind so I needed at least 1:30 after the turn around. First into sight was Danny McParland, one of 10 or so peeps who probably felt they were in with a chance of the win, and the person I though would definitely be a big rival as going really well at the moment and has a good run. As I looked at the watch I saw that I had a lead over the other wave but with over half the run left it was no forgone conclusion especially with the faster swimmers going off in the last waves an no idea how anyone before me had done.
I crossed the line in 1:01:05 and currently in the lead, the waiting game began. Twelve or so minute later with all the main contenders finished I was still in the lead. Chuffed with the win and a well paced race; ideal start to the tri season
15.04.2008: TriCentral Athletes Excel in London Marathon, Ironman South Africa, National Duathlon Championships
TriCentral.co.uk athletes put in some outstanding performances this weekend with Jeremy Gilmour winning the three mile London Mini-Marathon, a prelude to the Flora London Marathon on Sunday morning. Gilmour outsprinted two members of the Great Britain Junior men's team from the World Cross-Country Championships, Simon Horsfield and Dewi Griffiths, to cross the line in 14:37.
30.03.2008: Jacqui Slack takes 2nd female at East Leake Triathlon
Jacqui came in second behind Vanessa Raw at East Leake with a solid swim, bike, run performance. Using the race as training Jacqui crusied to her second place and was pleased with the way things went. Following her third in the North West Duathlon Champs everything is looking good for her main season events.
30.03.2008: Early season racing see a silver for Gilmour in first duathlon
Jez and Skip took the journey upto Lancaster for their 'Drafting Duathlon'. For Jez this was ideal training for the National Junior Duathlon Champs and for Skip it was a just abit of fun to keep him sharp. Some strong running from Jez and impressive cycling from Skip saw them take 2nd and 5th respectively with both getting what they needed out of the race. The race was won by Richard Hunt with Jez 20 secs back.
16.03.2008: Tricentral.co.uk begins the season with a bang at North West Duathlon Champs.
Lousie Kelly was crowned North West Duathlon Champion taking the win from Nicola King of Tri Preston by a clear 2:30. Jacqui Slack picked up the bronze in this testing duathlon.
In the men's race Paul Skipper had a great result coming in 2nd overall behind in form Paul Roby a great result given the strength in depth of the competiton and Paul's dislike for big hills.
