FORD FASTEST FOR FVS TRI
Ten members of Hitchin based triathlon club FVS TRI took part in the MK Triathlon on Sunday, with Steffan Ford finishing first for the club in an excellent time of 2:10:30. The Olympic race distance of 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run saw Chris Baxter finish just 10 seconds behind Ford in a time of 2:10:40. Simon Hall and James Bedford also set sub 2:20 times in 2:13:04 and 2:19:17 respectively. Sean Bradley set his best ever Olympic swim time of 23:25 on his way to a finishing time of 2:27:20. Also competing were Paul Habibi (2:23:08), Will Long (2:29:33), Ben Dyson (2:32:05), Anna Holden, who made her Olympic distance debut in a great time of 2:34:54 and Kevin Bradley, who set a time of 2:54:05.
Also on Sunday; two athletes from the club took part in the Trentham Big Half and were met with wet and windy conditions for the event. First to cover the race distance of 1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike and 13.1 mile Run was Simon Shaw who set an excellent time of 5:26:49. Following him home was Helen Shulver, who crossed the line in 5:36:50 to finish 5th woman overall.
A great turnout by athletes saw FVS TRI enter 13 teams in the Fairland Valley Lake Relays on Tuesday. The 3km course contested by teams of 5 men and 3 women saw great efforts by all concerned over what is a short and sharp distance for endurance orientated triathletes. Narrowly missing out on a podium position were the Women’s A team of Gemma Sargent (11:32), Katy Jinks (12:06) and Sarah Stimpson (10:36), who set a fantastic total time of 34:14. The men’s A team also put in a superb effort against run specialist opposition to finish in 16th position overall, with a total time of 53:48. The team consisted of elite athlete Stephen Harrison, setting the fastest time for the club and the joint 4th fastest time overall in an awesome time of 9:12, James Foy (10:14), Ed Manson (11:33), Mark Grayson (11:07) and Dave Welch (11:42). There were also strong performances from the club’s veteran athletes; with the women’s veteran team posting an impressive 4th place finish in their category and the men’s vets finishing inside the top 5 veteran teams and a mere two seconds behind the Men’s A team!
Full Team Results:
Men’s A: Stephen Harrison (9:12), James Foy (10:14), Ed Manson (11:33), Mark Grayson (11:07), Dave Welch (11:42) – Total time: 53:48
Men’s Vet A: Brian White (10:57), Dil Wetheril (10:41), Chris Baxter (11:02), James Grierson (10:36), Mike Russell (10:34) – Total time: 53:50
Men’s Vet B Mick Humphris (11:19), Gerry Corrance (11:41), Gary Shanahan (12:48), Greg Evans (11:42), Richard Allen (11:04) – Total time: 58:34
Men’s B: Matt Hickman (12:18), Max Lepoutre (12:14), Darren Woodhall (12:05), Brian White (11:21 – 2nd run), Mick Humphris (11:44 – 2nd run) – Total time: 59:42
Men’s C: Mark Malone (12:46), Ryan Johnson (13:04), Stephen Harrison (9:32 – 2nd run), Tony Shortland (13:56), Gerry Corrance (11:47 – 2nd run) – Total time: 1:01:05
Men’s D: Simon Douglas (12:42), Ian Hobbs (12:11), Paul Dutton (14:20), Tim Smith (12:50), Stephen Harrison (9:26 – 3rd run) – Total time: 1:01:29
Men’s Vet C Kevan Armstrong (12:15), Kevin Bradley (12:45), Steve Mussett (13:23), Steve Moakes (12:14), Will Long (12:11) – Total time: 1:02:48
Women’s A: Gemma Sargent (11:32), Katy Jinks (12:06), Sarah Stimpson (10:36)
Women’s Vet: Samantha Tophill (12:56), Rachel Armstrong (12:04), Tracy Kennedy (12:59) – Total time: 37:59
Women’s B: Suzy Hawkins (12:20), Kate Turner (12:22), Naomi Woodland (14:00) – Total time: 38:42
Women’s C: Helen Shulver (12:34), Elodie Irving (13:28), Lesley Dutton (12:58) – Total time: 39:00
Women’s D: Meline Fletcher (17:01), Gemma Sargent (12:08 - 2nd run), Samantha Tophill (13:20 – 2nd run) – Total time: 42:29
Women’s E: Sue Gipson (14:48), Lynn Allen (15:20), Suzy Hawkins (12:29 – 2nd run) – Total time: 42:37
From short and sharp relays to ultimate endurance events; club member Chris Suckling cycled from Lands End to John O’ Groats averaging 150 miles a day over a 6 day period to complete the challenge in a on the bike time of 53 hours and 27 minutes
Bike coach Alex Turner competed in the Verulam CC 25 on Sunday and went well under the magic 1 hour barrier with a great time of 58:46.
And finally; Tim Smith and Kevin Smart took part in the Stevenage Cycling Club ‘Evening 10? series on Wednesday and set respective times of 26:11 and 26:21.
Race Report: Bam