Loughborough I narrowly miss out on London title

LOUGHBOROUGH just missed out on victory at the Accenture British Triathlon Mixed Relay Cup in London at the weekend.

Fifteen teams lined up alongside London’s docklands on a scorching evening in the capital including two teams from Loughborough but it was Team Leeds I who lifted the cup for a second consecutive year after a solid all-round performance which saw the quartet take the tape nearly a minute ahead of a fast-finishing Loughborough I squad.

The eventual winners were off to a strong start on the 300m swim, but it was Loughborough I’s Sophie Coldwell who lead out of the first T1, with Hall and Natalie Van Coevorden (Australia) for company. The trio created a 30-second lead following the 5.6km bike leg and it was Coldwell and Van Coevordon who then broke away on the 1.4km run to tag Barclay Izzard and Marcel Walkington, respectively.

Come leg two and all three teams maintained their dominance. Not even a strong bike from Jodie Stimpson could impact Taylor-Brown, who biked solo to extend her lead to 40 seconds over the field. The two-time 2018 WTS medallist handed over to Bishop after a classy run, followed by Stimpson who worked hard to close the gap. At this point, both Loughborough II and Bath squads had put themselves back in the running, closing in on Australia.

It was going to take something special for anyone to deny Leeds I the title and Tom Bishop cruised home to confirm victory.

Behind them a battle ensued for second place and it was Chris Perham that outsprinted the Australian Matthew Roberts and claimed silver for Loughborough, with Australia third, New Zealand fourth and Loughborough II in fifth spot.

Afterwards Chris Perham (Loughborough I), said: “I felt I had to push the swim to try and break the Aussie team and get some time back on Tom Bishop. We worked together on the bike on the first lap and then it got a bit tactical. I just tried to save enough energy for that run – I knew I’d need it.”

Jodie Stimpson (Loughborough I) said: “That was such good fun. Relays are always cracking fun and the smallest mistake can make a huge difference. Thanks to the crowds for sticking around and giving us some support – it really adds to the race.”