A PUNCTURED tyre could not stop Stratford’s Rachel Pearce from winning the Henley Sprint Triathlon for the third year in a row.
Held in Henley-on-Thames, the race comprises a 400m swim, 25km cycle and 5km run. Pearce got off to a strong start, clocking 6:36 for the swim section, and was hopeful of beating her time from last year.
The cycling stage also started well but, with five kilometres of cycling left, her bike sustained a puncture.
“I decided my only option was to try to carry on riding with a flat back tyre, but I found the rest of the race very tough,” said Pearce.
Nevertheless, her time for the cycling stage was the second-fastest of the entire field and she ended her triathlon by covering the 5km run in 22:52, giving her a combined time of 1:21:08.
Although her time was not as fast as 12 months ago, she still won comfortably by more than a minute.
