Team Trisports elite athlete Stephen Harrison made it two wins in a row on Sunday as he took another dominant victory at Round 3 of the Sunday Cross Country League, held in Digswell.

In clear but cold conditions, Harrison recorded a time of 32:42 to finish nearly a minute ahead of his closest competitor.

Also having a great race, veteran athlete and Ironman specialist, Gavin May finished second for the club in an impressive time of 36:16 to just miss out on a top ten finish.

And Steffan Ford came home third for the Hitchin-based club in 37:09 to secure a top twenty finish from the 260 athletes competing.

Turning to the ladies; Kate Turner was the first of the club’s female finishers in a time of 41:43, followed home by Paula Adams in 42:20.

And rounding out the top three for the ladies, Gemma Sargent stopped the clock at 42:55.

This means that with three rounds complete the club continues to hold first position in the Overall, Mens A, Mens B, Womens A and Womens B championships and second place in both the men’s and women’s Masters championship

Sticking to the off-road theme, four athletes from the club travelled down to Hillingdon cycle circuit, also on Sunday, to race in the ninth and final round of the Central Cyclocross League series.

In an eventful race, Keith Perry (pictured) not only finished the challenging multi-terrain course top club finisher on the day (5 laps – 1:00:04) but also ended the series as the top placed club athlete overall.

Also competing was Mick Humphries, who managed to complete five laps within the 60 minute race time to stop the clock at 1:04:09.

There were unfortunate DNF’s for Simon Douglas and Simon Hall, as the latter stopped his race to take care of the former after a crash that required a brief trip to A&E. Thankfully just bumps and bruises were diagnosed.

At the end of the nine race series, the club’s top three finishers were Keith Perry, fellow veteran Tim Smith and Simon Douglas.

Friday before-last saw the club hold its first Annual Awards event under its new name.

On a great night enjoyed by all, the club formally recognised the outstanding achievements of several athletes, who not only achieved success against the clock but also embodied the club ethos of fair play and supportiveness towards their fellow athletes.

Winning the blue ribbon awards of Male and Female athletes of The Year; Rob Wilson and Kate Turner were deservedly rewarded for outstanding seasons in which Wilson went under ten hours for an iron-distance event and Turner built upon her award-winning novice season in 2009 to win the toughest round of this year’s Club Championship and finish runner up overall in the competition.

Drew Lowrie and Elodie Levis were popular and deserving winners of the Most Improved Male and Most Improved Female awards respectively, with Lowrie coming on great strides in both training and racing and Irving show great commitment and tenacity to build upon her novice season.

Adam Laycock and Gemma Sargent were crowned overall club champions, as both excelled across the three race series that consisted of a sprint distance, Olympic distance and middle distance event. Laycock in particular, an iron-distance specialist, put in a truly dominating performance across all three rounds to show some blistering speed and power in the shorter distance races against specialist short course athletes. And Sargent’s two victories and a 2nd place ensured that she also wrapped up the female championship in strong fashion.

There was also success for fellow ironman specialist and veteran athlete Gavin May, who finished runner-up in the Mens Club Championship ahead of Steffan Ford, who put his short-course skills to good use to finish third overall.

In the Women’s championship, Kate Turner finished in an excellent second place overall, with Katy Jinks also having a great season to finish round out the women’s championship podium.

And lastly; Tim Smith was a very popular winner of the newly created Team-mate of the Year award. Smith’s contribution as both an athlete and coach were recognised by his peers in winning an award that is voted for by the entire club membership.

On the racing front; last Saturday saw nine athletes brave the freezing cold conditions to race in Round 8 of the Central Cyclocross League event, held in Reading.

On a deceptively challenging course that required riders to carry their bikes for large sections of the course, it was Simon Hall (6 laps – 1:04:28) who finished first for the club. Ian Hobbs was next across the line (6 laps – 1:07:54), with Katy Jinks rounding out the top three (6 laps – 1:09:03).

Also competing were; Tony Shortland (6 laps -1:09:37), Tim Smith (6 laps – 1:10:08), Simon Douglas (5 laps – 1:01:53), Anna Holden (5 laps – 1:02:38), Steve Mussett (5 laps – 1:02:55) and Keith Perry (5 laps – 1:03:47).

The club continued to apply the winning formula at the weekend as it completed a clean sweep at, and also hosted, the second round of this year’s cross country championship.

As in 2009 the event was held at Chicksands; this time on a slightly modified course to take into account the large number of athletes participating. The big turn out was no doubt due in part to last year’s event being voted as the most popular in the series!

Ensuring that home honours were upheld, elite athlete Stephen Harrison blitzed his way to a superb overall victory on the undulating 5.6 mile multi-lap course in a time of 31:41.
 
In addition to one of our own winning the race outright; the other 42 members of the club competing helped secure victory in every one of the team competitions on the day. This superb team effort means that the club now lead the series overall in the Mens A, Mens B, Mens Masters, Womens A and Womens B categories; and also hold 3rd place in the Womens Masters competition.
 
The club now looks forward to consolidating its dominant position at the forthcoming rounds. So make sure to turn out and represent your club at the remaining rounds!

Also over the weekend, Simon Shaw competed at the St Neots Half Marathon and secured an excellent result to come home in a superb time of 1:22:31. A new personal best time by six minutes and a finishing position of 19th overall out of over 800 competitors.

And finally; Gary Smith raced at a wet and windy Castle Combe Duathlon at the weekend and completed the 2 mile run/10 mile bike/2 mile run event in a time of 49:09 to finish 16th overall from a field of more than two-hundred and 8th in his age-group.

The focus now switches to this weekend’s Central League cyclocross fixture in Reading, where the club continues to gain a great reputation for fielding strong athletes and a supportive attitude towards the Central Cyclocross League. So once again make sure to support this fixture if at all possible!

The club saw one of its members honoured at the British Triathlon Annual Awards in Leicestershire at the weekend.

Veteran athlete Anna Priestley saw her season-long consistency pay off as she picked up an award for being the highest ranked female in the British Ranking Series Age Group 55-59 for duathlon.

Priestley’s award follows on from the bronze medals she gained at the European Duathlon Championship and British Championship and caps an impressive first season in duathlon.

On Friday night the club will be hosting its own awards evening, as it looks to recognise the various achievements of its members during the 2010 season.

The club’s ladies (pictured) continued their sparkling season at the weekend, this time racing as the A Team on behalf the Central Region Cyclocross League at the Inter Regional Championships in Leicester.

On a technical course the four member team of Gemma Sargent, Naomi Woodland, Kate Turner and Anna Holden all finished the race to record 10th place for the team and uphold central league honours on their first outing at championship level.

Their top ten finish was in fact a hard earned one as both Woodland and Turner had mechanical failures which required bike changes at the designated pits area. Luckily, this is part and parcel of cyclocross racing and the team had spare bikes and a pit crew at the ready in case of such incidents.

The day before, 13 athletes from the club also continued their cyclocross adventures at Round 6 of the Central League Series held in Milton Keynes.

Held on a less technical course that the previous week’s event at Hillingdon, this was a race for the strength merchants as sticky mud and plenty of gradient meant strong legs were required throughout.

Earning the club’s first ever podium finish in a cyclocross event, veteran athlete Jackie Perry finished a superb 2nd in women’s race to further enhance the club’s involvement with the Central League Series and its newfound winter racing activity.

Finishing first for the club overall, Steffan Ford enjoyed plenty of wheel to wheel battling to come home in a time of 1:10:01 and a highly respectable placing of 39th overall.

Joel Farrow also continued to show his natural aptitude for the sport to finish second club athlete in 1:11:54. And rounding out the top three, Tim Smith put his cycling experience to good use to cross the line in 1:15:55.

Also competing were; Simon Douglas (1:09:01), Michael Humphris (1:09:36), Darren Greene (1:10:40), Mick Clark (1:10:47), Sean Bradley (1:11:33), Paul Duttton (1:11:35), Steve Mussett (1:12:44) Keith Perry (Time 1:12:50) and Simon Hall (DNF)

Ensuring that the multisport racing continues, Gary Smith competed at the famous Ballbuster Duathlon on Sunday and completed the gruelling 8 mile run/24 mile bike/8 mile run in a fantastic time of 3:04:31 to improve on his time from last year by over ten minutes and secure a superb finishing position of 34th overall out of more than 400 competitors.

Also going multisport, Darren Greene followed up his cyclocross exploits on Saturday by racing at the Wadenhoe Quadmire Challenge Duathlon on Sunday. An off-road event consisting of a 2 mile run, 6 mile bike and second 2 mile run, Greene clocked a time of 1:20:15 on a technical multi loop course including steep descents and a river’s edge run with a lot of mud.

On weekend that featured standout performances across a variety of race types, Mike Russell continued that trend at the Stevenage Half-Marathon to earn a new PB time of 1:25:5 for 36th place overall and an excellent 3rd in the MV50 age-group. Ian Hobbs also competed and set a massive personal best time of 1:49:09, an improvement of more than eight minutes

And finally, three athletes from the club competed at the Mornington Chasers Regents Park 10K Winter Series on Sunday. New members Tony and Liz Ward made the most of the club’s coaching input to set new PB times of 39:19 and 51:44 respectively. In Tony’s case, he went under forty minutes for the first time to cross the line 29th overall out of 420 finishers. Also competing was Rob Davies, who stopped the clock at 41:36.

With an off season that’s rapidly becoming as impressive as the triathlon season itself, Team Trisports were in action on two fronts over the weekend.

First up; the club’s female athletes (pictured) once again stole the show with a great turn out and performance at the Candleford Cander Ladies 10k on Sunday.

Run over an undulating course through the Oxfordshire countryside made famous by the ‘Larkrise to Candleford’ books by Flora Thompson and the recent TV series, it was Paula Adams who crossed the line first for the club in a superb time of 41:11. 

Recent additions to the club, Kay Finch and Jo Ravenhill also put in a great performances to finish 2^nd and 3^rd Senior Lady respectively with times of 41:22 and 42:22.

Jackie Perry upheld Vets honour by stopping the clock at 43:59 and led home a quartet of PB performances from Naomi Woodland (46:36), Elodie Irving (47:01), Zoe Bentley (48:36) and Kim Humphris (49:54).

Also competing were Lesley Dutton (46:47) and Alyson Sprawson (53:27).

From on road to off; five members of the club travelled down to Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, also on Sunday, to take part in Round 5 of the Central Cyclocross League series.

On a brilliantly designed course that provided a fiendish variety of terrain, gradient and no shortage of mud, it was Steffan Ford who once again stamped his authority on the race to be first club finisher (6 laps 1:15:00).

Following Ford home, Gemma Sargent narrowly missed out on a top three finish in the women’s race to also finish on six laps with a time of 1:21:12.

Also competing were; Simon Douglas (6 laps 1:21:34), Keith Perry (5 laps 1:12:19) and Paul Dutton (DNF).

Next Saturday sees Round 6 take place in Milton Keynes and the club will be looking to turn out in numbers as it continues it’s cyclocross adventures.

Team Trisports got their cross country title defence off to a flying start at the weekend by finishing the first round of the series leading four out of the six categories contested.

In bright but brisk conditions the club fielded 38 athletes to contest the 5 mile race held in Cheshunt.

Finishing first for the club, Elite athlete Stephen Harrison set a storming time of 27:55 to finish 3^rd overall.

Steffan Ford also impressed finishing 10^th overall out of the 300 competitors who raced. His time of 30:26 was enough to see him finish 2^nd for the club ahead of team-mate James Bedford who had a great race to be the 3^rd club finisher in 31:32.

In the womens race, it was two new members who grabbed the headlines on their club debut.

Kay Finch (Pictured) set a superb time of 34:31 to finish for female athlete for the club and 9^th female overall.  Just one place behind, Jo Ravenhill clocked a time of 34:47 to finish 2^nd club female and 10^th female overall. And in typical gusty fashion, Gemma Sargent once again gave her all for club honour to finish 3^rd club female in 35:26.

The race also marked the club debut of Mark Harris and Tony Ward.

After such a strong outing the club now finds itself leading the Mens A Team, Mens B Team, Mens Masters, Womens B Team categories and holding 2^nd place in the Womens A Team category.

Full Results: Steve Harrison (27:55), Steffan Ford (30:26), James Bedford (31:32), Mark Harris (31:40), Andy Chatterton (31:42), Gavin May (31:52), Pete Ryan (32:26), Mike Russell (32:39), Tony Ward (32:46), Rob Davies (34:20), Kay Finch (34:31),  Jo Ravenhill (34:47), Gemma Sargent (35:26), Mark Young (35:37), Darren Woodall (36:07), Steve Chalk (36:23), Mark Grayson   (36:25), Jackie Perry (37:31), Dave Welch (37:42), Katy Jinx (37:53), Pete Eames (37:55), Drew Lowrie (38:28), Simon Douglas (38:29), Lesley Dutton (38:49), Richard Thomas (39:08), Anna Holden (39:12), Ed Manson (39:13), Stewart Sprawson (40:02), Elodie Irving (40:09), Naomi Woodland (40:09), Steve Moakes (40:09), Keith Perry (40:27), Tony Shortland (40:45), Sam Tophill (41:29), Paul Dutton (42:01), Kim Humphris (42:47), Mick Clark (43:20)and Alison Sprawson (44:46).

Remaining off road, three athletes from the club competed at the 4^th fixture in the Central League’s cyclocross series in Icknield on Sunday.

The hour long race was contested over a course that mixed undulating grass banks and bumpy woodland sections along with some aggressively steep climbs.

Finishing first for the club in 34^th place, Simon Hall enjoyed a close battle with his club mates Tim Smith and Mark Beaver who came home just behind in 36^th and 38^th positions respectively.

And finally, Dil Wetheril competed in the Henlow 10 last week setting a time of 64 minutes in the process.

Sunday saw the continuing popularity of cyclocross racing for Team Trisports as 21 athletes took up the challenge and raced at Round 3 of the Central League series in Hemel Hempstead.

With the senior, veteran and female athletes all racing simultaneously in a 60 minute event over a fun and challenging course that had a perfect balance of technical and physical sections, it was the athletes who could combine skill with aggression that succeeded on the day.

Like much of the 2010 season, the club’s female athletes (pictured) garnered the most attention and were rewarded for their impressive race performance with an inivtation to compete in the Inter Regional Championship’s in November.

With six women placing inside the top ten in the Women’s Race, Kate Turner capped off a near perfect afternoon’s racing with a superb 3rd place. Naomi Woodland and Katy Jinks followed Turner home in 4th and 5th respectively.

In the Seniors Race Steffan Ford, who has produced a series of impressively strong rides across all three events contested so far, finished in 8th position and was classified the top club finisher on the day. Club-mate and elite athlete Stephen Harrison showed his class in the crisp but clear conditions to finish second for the club on his cyclocross debut. Joel Farrow was yet again on form as he rounded out the top three for the seniors.

The Veterans Race saw Ian Hobbs finish in 16th place in his category and first club vet, with Simon Hall next home for the club and Tim Smith in third.

Full Results: Women Race: Kate Turner (3rd), Naomi Woodland (4th), Katy Jinks (5th), Jackie Perry (7th), Anna Holden (8th), Gemma Sargent (10th), Lesley Dutton (13th). Seniors Race: Steffan Ford (8th), Stephen Harrison (11th), Joel Farrow (13th),  Mark Beaver (17th),  Simon Douglas (20th), Sean Bradley (22nd). Veterans Race: Ian Hobbs (16th), Simon Hall (N/A), Tim Smith (N/A), Tony Shortland (24th), Keith Perry (26th),  Paul Dutton (27th), Mick Humphries (28th), Steve Mussett (29th).

This weekend sees the return of the cross-country season, with the club looking to put out a strong field in order to defend the numerous titles it has won over the past two years.

Team Trisports made their second appearance on the cyclocross circuit travelling to Welwyn to compete in the Eastern Cyclocross League. The triathlon club have embraced the off road cycle racing discipline as part of their structured winter training programme.

Andy Chatterton was first home for the club in the combined Vets/Women’s race over 40 minutes in 15th on his mountain bike with Ian Hobbs (pictured) again the first man home on a cyclocross bike in 36th, just ahead of Mark Grayson making his debut and finishing in 40th.

Kate Turner made a storming debut to finish 3rd women overall and first for the club in 43rd, just pipping Naomi Woodland who was 4th female in 46th. First time out for Mark Beaver and Tony Shortland trying the sport on their mountain bikes saw Tony take the honours in 53rd just one place ahead of Mark.

Full Veteran/Women’s results: Andy Chatterton (15th), Ian Hobbs (36th), Mark Grayson (40th), Chris Priestly (42nd), Kate Turner (43rd), Naomi Woodland (46th), Michael Clark (47th), Tim Smith (48th), Gemma Sargent (50th), Michael Humphris (52nd), Tony Shortland (53rd), Mark Beaver(54th), Keith Perry (55th), Jackie Perry (57th)

In the senior race Steffan Ford was first home for the club in 35th over the one hour race format with Joel Farrow finishing in 40th on his first go at the sport. Darren Green (43rd) and Simon Douglas (44th).

Team Trisports will compete in Hemel next week before switching to running to embark on their defence of the Sunday League Cross Country Title.

It was a case of two wheels or two feet this past weekend as athletes from Hitchin-based triathlon club Team Trisports either took part in their first cyclo-cross race on Saturday or ran Standalone 10k on Sunday. And for a dedicated few, they did both!

First up; Saturday saw 19 club athletes take part in the CC Ashwell Cross race, many of whom were racing a cyclo-cross event, and bike, for the first time.

Cyclo-cross racing has a die-hard following amongst certain sections of the cycling community and sees participants race either 40 minute or 60 minute multi-lap races, depending on their age-group, and race over off road courses that feature lots of mud, climbs and various obstacles that require the rider to climb off and carry their bike for certain parts of each lap.

Despite the understandable pre-race nerves, there was a great team effort from all who raced the 40 minute multi-lap event. And judging by the huge grins worn by all who participated, cyclo-cross is sure to become an integral part of their winter race programme.

With bright and sunny weather conditions making the learning curve a little less steep and also being cheered on by the many club members and friends and family who turned on to support, it was Andy Chatterton who had the honour of finishing first for the club in 19th position (+6:05).

Also competing were; Dil Wetheril (+8:48), Ian Hobbs (1 lap+0:42), Steffan Ford (1 lap+1:11), Max Lepoutre (1 lap+2:29), Tim Smith (1 lap+2:41), Chris Priestley (1 lap+2:57), Mick Clark (1 lap+3:56), Gemma Sargent – PICTURED (1 lap+4:09), Naomi Woodland (1 lap+4:14), Michael Humphris (1 lap+4:55), Simon Douglas (1 lap+5:33), Anna Holden (1 lap+6:00), Sean Bradley (1 lap+6:27), Keith Perry (1 lap+7:23), Darren Greene (1 lap+7:44), Jackie Perry (1 lap+8:04), Paul Dutton (1 lap+9:36) and Leslie Dutton (1 lap+10:41).

The fun continues this weekend as the series moves on to the Welwyn Wheelers Cross event at Stanborough Park in Welwyn Garden City on Saturday.

Onto Sunday’s Standalone 10k, where 24 athletes from the club took to the start line of this popular local fixture and put in a series of impressive times and performances, despite the humid and overcast conditions.

Finishing first for the club in a superb time of 38:09, Lee Thorp crossed the line in 30th position overall out of more than a thousand competitors. This was followed by another great performance from veteran athlete Mike Russell, who clocked a cracking time of 39:19. Rob Wilson finished just over the forty minute mark in a time of 40:51 to become the third club finisher.

Kate Turner was the first female athlete home for the club in a fast time of 42:42 to continue her strong 2010 season.

First of the athletes who raced on both Saturday and Sunday, Michael Humphris showed little signs of fatigue on his way to a time of 43:04. It was also a case of two races in two days for Naomi Woodland and Tim Smith, who finished in 48:48 and 51:52 respectively.

Making their club debut, Sean Story (41:47), Andy McPherson (43:11) recorded a rapid time of 41:47. The race also marked the 10k road race debut of Joel Farrow, who rose to the occasion admirably to record a time of 43:11.

Also racing were; Greg Evans (42:44), Darren Woddhall (43:00), Jon Wilson (43:04), Mark Beaver (45:58), Drew Lowrie (45:47), Pete Eames (46:19), Richard Thomas (46:40), Tony Shortland (47:21), Kim Humphris (51:33), Graham Perry (51:58), Alyson Sprawson (54:24) and Stuart Sprawson (54:24).

And last but by no means least, Dil Wetheril followed his cyclo-cross exploits by keeping the tri flag flying at race three of the Puretri Bedford Sprint Series Triathlon on Sunday. Taking place over a 400m pool swim, 25km bike and 5km run, Wetheril set a great time of 1:13:43 to finish 29th overall out of more than 290 competitors. Also competing in his first race for the club, Andrew Chadwick recorded a time of 1:22:17 to finish in the top third of the field.