STRATFORD Triathlon Club members took on the longer standard and middle distance races of the Avenger Triathlon in the scenic grounds of Ragley Hall on Sunday.
Alison Bagnall finished second in the women’s race (2 hours, 59 minutes), showing her strength and speed on the bike section, completing the 46km undulating circuit in 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Beating her 2016 result by nearly five minutes as she finished third, she is showing her recent training in the pool and on the bike are paying dividends.
Martin Helliker came ninth in the men’s 30-34 age category (3 hours, 12 minutes, 39th male overall), showing his ability to try different distances throughout this season with brilliant results.
Philippa Knights, the only other female triathlete from Stratford, came fifth in the 40-44 women’s category (4 hours, 12 minutes, 29th woman overall).
Usually an athlete who prefers the longer distance races, Philippa showed she is nothing but adaptable with a very respectable finish.
Andy Smith raced in the middle distance race (1.9km swim/90km cycle/20km run) and finished in a strong 5 hours, 52 minutes, coming seventh in the male 40-44 category (40th male overall).
His team-mate Ricky Davies (6 hours, 18 minutes, 58th male overall) showed his strength on the bike with an excellent sub-three-hour cycle in the Worcestershire/Warwickshire countryside.
Completing the trio of Stratford athletes was Mark Loosmore (ninth male 45-49 category, 6 hours, 7 minutes, 51st male overall).
Emma’s success in Denmark
EMMA Bexson enjoyed a return to form with a successful race in the European Championship Middle Distance Triathlon on Saturday.
Bexson finished fifth in her age category at Herning with an overall time of 5 hours, 2 minutes.
The race was unusual in that part of the run goes through the local shopping centre. She completed the 1.9km swim (33 minutes, 58 seconds), emerging from Lake Fuglsang 14th in the women’s 40-44 age category.
A strong effort on the 90km bike saw Bexson move into eighth position in her age category. However, she had saved the best for her run, with incredibly consistent splits which moved her into fifth.
Afterwards, although frustrated by not managing a sub-five-hour race, she was pleased with her confident performance, saying lessons were learnt from April’s race in Seville by a marked improvement in fuelling over the course of the Herning race.
