>>> Olympic silver medallist Emma Pooley retires from cycling to focus 100% on triathlon

Former pro cyclist Pooley finished the challenging route (10km run/150km bike/30km) in 7:01:49, more than 10mins ahead of Germany’s Julia Viellehner who celebrated her 30th birthday on race day. Denmark’s Susanne Svendsen finished third.

Gael Le Bellec wins ITU Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Champs 2015

In the men’s race, Le Bellec finished the route in 6:20:36, more than 4mins ahead of Belgium’s Seppe Odeyn, who jumped on the podium with second. Denmark’s Søren Bystrup repeated his third place from last year. Overall there where more than 1,400 competitors over the whole Powerman Zofingen weekend.

(Images: Raphael Galliker)

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220 Triathlon were out in Sweden following the events, as 120 teams took on the 26 islands and sea stretches making up Stockholm’s archipelago. In the men’s race, we saw a front group of teams play to their respective swim and run strengths putting on thrilling performances over the 75km swim-run course. Swedish team Addnature Osterjosimmet led for much of the race – no surprise as both members, Simon Borjeson and Rasmus Regnstrand, are experienced racers and used to training in tough conditions, recently completing a swim-run from Sweden to Finland!

Borjeson and Regnstrand completed the infamous 1.4km swim leg of the race against a strong current known as the ‘pig swim’ in just 23mins – a section that takes many competitors an hour. Occurring in the middle part of the race, when athletes have already been facing the gruelling trail runs and sea swims for five hours or more, it is notorious for throwing racers off course and sapping energy.

With a gap of 11mins at one point on the course, Borjeson and Regnstrand were looking strong for the win, however the second part of the race focusses more on trail running, with one section from Orno to Angsholmen totalling almost half marathon distance. With both the 2014 and 2013 race winners on their heels, nothing was certain and in the end it was the other team’s running strength that saw them clinch the victory.

Finishing strong

Crossing the line first in 8:29:11 and visibly emotional were Team Head Swimming, comprising Bjorn Englund and Paul Krochak, who won in 2013. “It took so much morale and character for us to catch them,” said Englund. “We kept good pace but had mixed emotions [when we passed them]. We were so tired but we wanted to look so strong! We hammered it to the finish. Paul was so strong, I thought I was going to faint at one point but he kept us going.” 

When asked about race conditions Englund said: “The conditions were tough. I don’t think the waves have been this big in my seven years here.” Last year’s winners and course record holders Lennart Moberg and Daniel Hansson came in second, with Borjeson and Regnstrand finishing fourth.

Record smashed

The mixed race was no less exciting, with a course record being set by winners Steffan Bjorklund and Marika Wagner who finished fifth overall in 8:55:39 and took nearly an hour off the course record. Wagner said: “It’s been a great day. We have been solid and not too stressed about other teams or times – just doing our own thing! It’s been a tough race, but solid. Our plan was not to get too eager in the beginning but to keep good pace.”

In the women’s race, first place was taken by Sweden’s Annika Ericsson and Maya Tesch in 10:30:36, while several GB athletes on the course also put in strong performances. Mark Threlfall and Jack Grundy of T3 Triathlon came ninth overall in 9:24:41, while Bike Science’s Ed Charlton-Weedy and Paul Horsfall finished in 10:30:19. Also competing for GB was Pippa Middleton who, along with many other teams, was still on the course at the time of publishing. To find out how her and the rest of the competitors got on, see OtillO’s live tracking here.

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We’ll be posting a gallery of images from the race online soon. Plus, don’t miss the next issue of 220 Triathlon for a full feature on the development of swim-run racing including tips on how to try the format yourself.

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>>> Kona 2014: How the British pros got on in Hawaii

There are four British men on the list: Tim Don, Joe Skipper, David McNamee and Fraser Cartmell. Out of this four, Don is ranked highest thanks to a raft of strong performances that have included wins at Ironman 70.3 Monterrey, Ironman 70.3 Latin American Champs Brasilia and the Ironman 70.3 North American Champs St. George. He also came second at Ironman 70.3 Boulder, and could deliver big things on his Hawaii debut.

Joe Skipper comes third at Ironman UK

Joe Skipper meanwhile has enjoyed a stellar 2015 that included fastest bike leg at Ironman Texas, third at the ITU Long Distance World Champs and third at Ironman UK. It was David McNamee, racing his first M-dot season since leaving ITU racing, who won Ironman UK this year in a time of 8:46:37. Cartmell top results this year include second at Ironman UK, and sixth at Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau.

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Top name on the men’s starting list? 2014 champ Sebastian Kienle, of course. The German superbiker won Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau back in June, and came second at Ironman Frankfurt. It was his compatriot Jan Frodeno who won out at the Ironman European Champs, and Frodeno sits second in the rankings thanks to a win at the 70.3 Worlds recently.

Jan Frodeno wins Ironman 70.3 World Champs 2015 (image: Nils Nilsen/Ironman)

Other top-ranked men include 2013 Kona champ Frederik Van Lierde (BEL), Ben Hoffman (USA) who came second last year, multiple Escape from Alcatraz winner Andy Potts (USA), Nils Frommhold (GER) and Timothy Van Berkel (AUS). Bart Aernouts (BEL), Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) round out the top ten on the start list.

Female starters

Among the 42 pro women on the start list, there are six British names: Jodie Swallow, Rachel Joyce, Leanda Cave, Lucy Gossage, Susie Cheetham and Corinne Abraham.

Jodie Swallow wins Challenge Dubai

Out of this six, Swallow is highest ranked in third position, thanks to a superb 2015 that’s included smashing the course record at the Ironman Africa Champs in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Joyce meanwhile finished one place higher than Swallow in Kona last year, where she grabbed third place.

Rachel Joyce on the run at Kona 2014 (image: Paul Phillips)

“I feel like things have come right this year at the right time,” Joyce tells 220. “Bring on Kona. I am hungry to get back there.”

Gossage and Cheetham have both enjoyed a string of good M-dot results this year, including wins at Ironman 70.3 Staffs and Ironman UK for Gossage, and 70.3 Dublin for Cheetham. They both shared the podium with Swallow in Port Elizabeth. Cave and Abraham are ranked 10th and 35th respectively.

No surprise that top-ranked female is 2014 winner Mirinda Carfrae (AUS), who’s had a quiet season so far, placing seventh at Ironman Melbourne and third at 70.3 Vineman. The Aussie rocket presents a huge threat off the bike though: “You can never have too many world titles,” she told 220 last year, after clawing back a 14min deficit at Kona last year to beat Brett Sutton’s protégeé Daniela Ryf (SUI).

Daniela Ryf wins Ironman Frankfurt

Ryf just won the 70.3 World Champs in Austria however, and presents a growing threat to the crown. She also won Challenge Dubai in hot temps last February. We’d be surprised if she didn’t reach the podium this year.

Rounding out the top-ten women are Caroline Steffen (SUI), Julia Gajer (GER), The USA’s ‘Honey Badger’ Mary Beth Ellis, Gina Crawford (NZL) and Meredith Kessler (USA).

Among the notable absences this year are Craig Alexander and Yvonne van Vlerken, who are taking a pass this year, while Linsey Corbin and Sonja Tajsich have or are dealing with injuries.

Full Kona start list.

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>>> The state of duathlon – feature

Organised by British Triathlon, it will be held in the magnificent setting of Windsor Great Park on 3rd April 2016. Places are limited to just 1,000 spots across mass participation sprint and standard distance races.

The full list of British Champs hosted at Windsor Duathlon is as follows:

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· British Age-Group Standard Distance Duathlon Champs (GB Age-Group qualifier)
· British Elite Senior Duathlon Championships
· British Elite Youth Duathlon Championships
· British Elite Junior Duathlon Championships
· British Paraduathlon Championships

The sprint races will involve a 5km run followed by a 20km bike, finishing with a 2.5km run. The standard distance doubles that (10km/40km/5km), and there will also be a relay (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run) and paraduathlon (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run) races.

Windsor Castle, viewed from the Long Walk

“This is an event that is set to become one of the real highlights in the world of multisport,” said British Triathlon’s director for major and national events, Jon Ridgeon. “With British titles available for both elite and age-group competitors alongside sprint, standard, relay and paraduathlon races for newcomers to the sport, this will be a true festival of duathlon.”

To register your interest in taking part in Windsor Duathlon, visit www.windsorduathlon.com. Registration will ensure you are the first to hear about entries opening to the general public.

Home Nation members will receive an exclusive priority entry window that will begin on 1 October 2015. To join your Home Nation in advance of entries opening, visit www.britishtriathlon.org/join.

(Images: Peter Suranyi / Diliff)

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The full calendar includes all Triathlon England and British Triathlon Age-Group Championships, as well as the Great Britain Age-Group Team qualification events taking place next season.

Great Britain Age-Group Team ITU/ETU Championship Qualifiers

Next year’s calendar has six qualification events for the 2016 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Triathlon World Championships, and five qualifiers for 2016 ITU Sprint and Standard Distance Duathlon World Championships.

>>> Group bike riding etiquette, explained for triathletes

With next year’s ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon and Duathlon World Champs being made draft-legal, British Triathlon has made all domestic qualifying races draft-legal to get British athletes ready.

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The draft-legal triathlon qualifiers include Eton Dorney on May 22, Strathclyde Multisport Festival on June 5, and Llandudno Sea Triathlon on June 19.

The draft-legal duathlon qualifiers include Oulton Park on March 6, and Bedford Autodrome on March 13.

British Triathlon Age-Group Championships 2016

The 2016 British Triathlon Age-Group Championships will get started with the newly-announced Windsor Duathlon on 3 April 2016.

The British Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships will take place at the Big Cow Sprint Triathlon on 15 May 2016, followed by the British Middle Distance Triathlon Championships on 22 May 2016 hosted at the Grafman.

The British Standard Distance Triathlon Championships return to Tri Liverpool on 14 August 2016.

Triathlon England National Championships 2016

The Triathlon England – National Championships kick-off with the National Duathlon Championships at Stockton Duathlon Festival on 24 April 2016.

The National Standard Distance Triathlon Championships will take place at St Neots Triathlon on 8 May 2016, whilst World Triathlon Leeds will host the National Aquathlon Championships on 11 June 2016.

Leeds Castle Triathlon will host the National Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships on 25 June 2016, with the National Relay Championships taking place at the Triathlon Relays in late August (date TBC).

The final Championship of the year, the National Middle Distance Triathlon Championships takes place at Vitruvian Triathlon on 10 September 2016.

The full British Triathlon events calendar for 2016 can be found here.

(Images: British Triathlon)

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>>> Helvellyn Triathlon race tips

After swimming 1.6km in crystal clear Ullswater lake, athletes must face ‘The Struggle’ on the 60km bike leg, involving 455m of climbing to the top of Kirkstone Pass, finishing with a 14km run up and down the mountain of Helvellyn (950m). 

This year’s men’s race was won by Alex Lawton, who set a new course record of 3:27:05 – more than 1min faster than 2007 winner Alistair Brownlee – while Bonnie Van Wilgenburg won the women’s race in 4:18:23. Full results here.

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>>> Joe Skipper and Eleanor Haresign win Challenge Weymouth 2014

Britain’s Stephen Bayliss was first out the water in 50:06mins with Jaroslav Kovacic (SLO) just one second behind him and Marek Jaskolka (POL) 1:30mins further back.

And so this group of three remained for the first lap of the bike with a chase group five minutes back led by Chris Fischer (DEN) and including Graham Stewart (GBR) and David Näsvik (SWE). 

However, by 99km it was all change with Jaskolka breaking away, Bayliss dropping back and Fischer and Stewart picking up the pace to chase Jaskolka. Jaskolka’s calculated decision to break away paid off and he proved uncatchable for the rest of the race, posting a 2:57hrs marathon split to take the win and European title.

Meanwhile behind him the battle for the podium continued with Näsvik holding second place until the 30km mark when Kovacic proved too fast and overtook. In the meantime Marques had been working his way up the field from seventh place and 16mins down off the bike to round off the podium in third, posting the fastest run split of the day in 2:45:19. Stewart was top-placing Brit in fifth. 

Women’s race

The women’s race was dominated at the start by Kate Comber (GBR) and Eva Potuckova (CZE) who exited the water first in 57:26. By the second lap of the bike course, Comber had put three minutes into Potuckova and came into T2 2:35mins up.

Up until this point, Sweden’s Camilla Lindholm had been under the radar, playing catch-up after a 1:11hrs swim and not registering on the timing system due to a chip issue. Arriving in T2 in third, she soon made her presence known. 

By 10km, she had formed a 1:13min lead over Comber and continued to extend this over the multi-lap course along Weymouth’s beachfront promenade, taking the European title 10:50mins ahead of second-placed Comber. Vicky Gill rounded off the women’s podium in 9:53:26.

Men’s results

1. Marek Jaskolka (POL) – 8:42:32
2. Jaroslav Kovacic (SLO) – 8:45:51
3. Sergio Marques (POR) – 8:46:51
4. David Näsvik (SWE) – 8:51:38
5. Graeme Stewart (GBR) – 8:53:04

Women’s results

1. Camilla Lindholm (SWE) – 9:41:31
2. Kate Comber (GBR) – 9:52:21
3. Vicky Gill (GBR) – 9:53:26
4. Eva Potuckova (CZE) – 10:06:52
5. Yvette Grice (GBR) – 10:09:49

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For full results head here.

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>>> Ironman Wales 2015 – in pics

It was Harry Wiltshire (GBR) who quickly set the tone amongst the talented men’s field, leading the way as he exited the 3.8km sea swim in 51:55mins for an early move, with local hero Olly Simon just a few seconds behind.

As the leaders headed up the infamous zig zag climb and 1km run through a roaring Tenby crowd to T1, it was Thomas, Nick Baldwin (SEY) and Felipe Manente (BRA) who were hot on their heels, with Craig Twigg (GBR) and Markus Thomschke (GER) a further 5 minutes behind.

It wasn’t long before Germany’s strong biker Markus Thomschke and rookie Thomas made their move to join Wiltshire and the trio pushed hard. Meanwhile, Croatia’s Andrej Vistica was also working his way up the field to join them, in a pace that Simon was unable to sustain.

Thomschke set the fastest bike split of the day, covering the testing 180km of climbing over 1,800m which saw him dismount in 4:57:15 in first place, being unable to break clear from Thomas for over 100km. Meanwhile Wiltshire was trailing in 3rd and Croatia’s Vistica was still chasing hard in 4th. 

Thomschke managed to hold his strong pace which guaranteed him a podium place, but he was not a match for the leg speed of Thomas, who despite having never run a marathon distance before, found the strength to produce a sub-3hr marathon, cruising to the finish in a superb time of 08:57:33. In the race for second and third place, Vistica managed to steal ahead of Thomschke at the 28km mark, and he stretched the lead to just over 2mins, finishing in 08:09:02.

Jesse Thomas wins Ironman Wales 2015

Greeted on the finish line by his wife and family, Jesse was emotional but clearly thrilled by his shock result for his first Ironman. “The longest I have ever run was 17 miles. It sounds crazy but I entered Wales as I love it tough. After my disappointment at my result at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, this has been the most magical day and a dream come true. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to racing Ironman.”

Women’s race

In the women’s race, Germany’s young performer Anja Beranek, who recently finished third in the 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, dominated the field with a stunning performance from start to finish. Although a strong swim from Carol Bridge (GBR) saw the pair exit together, it only took a matter of minutes for closest rival Katja Konschak (GER) to move into second place once out on the bike course. 

Anja Beranek wins Ironman Wales 2015

Beranek could not be touched on the bike as she steadily pulled away from her rivals and headed into T2 with a phenomenal bike split of 5:30:15 (7th overall), having extended the lead to a punchy 32:05mins.

With Beranek in a class of her own, the race was on for second and third place between Tineke Van Den Berg (NED), Eleanor Haresign (GBR), Tine Holst (DEN) and Konshcak, all jostling for podium as a close pack. However it was Tineke who managed to hold onto second place with Katja producing the fastest 3:13:50 marathon run to take bronze, finishing in 10:28:22 and 10:29:55 respectively.

Former Pro cyclist Emma Pooley showed that she can hold her own on the bike and the run and continues her transition to triathlon, finishing in a credible fifth place in 10:38:41.

Age-groupers

Around 1,800 age-groupers set off shortly after the pros at 7am with rolling starts, ranging in age from 18 to 76. Britain’s Andy Greenleaf (M30-34) was first age-grouper across the line in 9:31:01, while Spain’s Esther Leal Pareja (W35-39) was first female age-grouper in 11:29:25.

Full results can be found here.

Entries open for next year’s Ironman Wales will open online at 3pm BST on Monday 14th September here.

(Images: Ross Grieve / Huw Fairclough / Dirty Green Trainers)

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>>> Brighton and Hove Triathlon incoming

There will be three distances on offer: the Super Sprint (400m/5km/2.5km), Sprint (750m/20km/5km) and Olympic (1,500m/40km/10km). Entries are also available to enter as a relay team for two or three people each.

The races will take place on Sunday 11 September 2016, and there are just 1,500 entry spots available. They’ll go on sale a week on Saturday (26 September, 2015) here, and those who are pre-registered will receive a one-week early bird entry period. 

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(Main image: Garry Knight)

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