Tough going for triathletes in scenic spots
TWO of Rossendale Triathlon Club’s most experienced triathletes recently competed in events in very scenic parts of the world. However, these stunning locations inevitably mean challenging bike and run routes.
Steven Gregory was closest to home, travelling to Plas y Brenin in the Snowdonia National Park to take on one of the toughest triathlons in the UK.
Over the course of the weekend the organisers put on triathlons of various different distances, Steve had opted for the Legend distance, a 1.9km open water swim, 92km bike and a 21.1 km run.
Steve was second out of the water with a great time of just over 30 minutes and after a quick transition it was on to the undulating bike route. Steve stuck to his schedule on the single loop bike route in order to save something back for the run and despite two tough climbs finished the 92km bike in 2 hours, 59 minutes.
Now all Steve had to do to complete the triathlon was summit a mountain.
A relatively flat 12 km section was just the warm up as a 3.5 km climb up rocky paths to the 872m summit of Moel Siabod lay ahead. With the gruelling run dispatched in 2 hours and 28 minutes Steve crossed the finish line to give him an overall time of 6 hours and 2 minutes, good enough for 2nd place in his age category and 11th overall, an excellent result.
Brad Lincoln travelled a little further afield to the Oisans region in the French Alps to take on arguably one of the toughest triathlons in
Europe, the Alpe d’Huez triathlon.
Again, the organisers arrange for various distance triathlons and duathlons over a 4 day period with Brad opting for a triathlon consisting of a 2.2 km swim, 118 km bike and a 20 km run.
The swim took place in the crystal clear waters of Lake Verney, a hydroelectric reservoir not normally open to public swimming. Brad survived the mass start where it can get a little physical and completed the swim in 39 minutes, 33 seconds.
Brad likened the bike leg of the race to a short Tour de France mountain stage as it is only about 75 miles long but has over 10,000 feet of climbing. It had three alpine climbs with extended periods of climbing at over 8%.
With the smaller ‘hills’ out of the way the serious climbing began with the 20km climb up Col d’Ornon and shortly afterwards the legendary climb that features regularly on the Tour de France, the 21 hairpin bends of the Alpe d’Huez. This climb is 13 km long and has gradients of between 8% and 12%.
Brad reached the top after 5 hours and 27 minutes and after a quick change into his trainers began the 3 lap 20km multi terrain run. Brad was now at an altitude of 2000m which can make a difference to your breathing and your exposure to the sun.
Brad’s legs were understandably feeling fatigued on the first lap but the crowds of supporters spurred him on and laps 2 and 3 became a little easier.
With the run completed in 2 hours and 18 minutes this gave Brad an overall finish time of 8 hours, 33 minutes an absolutely awesome achievement.