Britain’s elite triathletes had a strong showing at the ETU European Championships Geneva. Ben Dijkstra won a bronze in the junior race and the seniors recorded four top ten finishes.
Commonwealth Champion, Jodie Stimpson, made her return to competition after an Achilles injury. She was perfectly placed on the bike alongside the Olympic gold and silver medal winners, Nicola Spirig (SUI) and Lisa Norden (SWE) until a flat tyre forced her to stop for a wheel change.
Britain’s Lucy Hall and Jessica Learmonth were already up the road having led out of the swim. Early into the run Spirig took the lead and ran away to victory. Lucy Hall held on for fifth and Stimpson finished ninth.
Like Hall, Tom Bishop finished fifth in the men’s race. He was strong throughout the race, in which ITU World Champion, Javier Gomez (ESP), suffered similar misfortune to Stimpson, and had to stop for a wheel change. Matt Sharp had a solid race, finishing ninth.
In the elite junior men’s event Ben Dijkstra, Jimmy Kershaw and James Teagle all had strong races, at times dictating the pace on the bike from the front. Dijkstra, who is just 16 racing against athletes up to three years older, was in contention right until the end, finishing third in a very tight sprint finish.
Teagle was 16th and Kershaw 20th. Bronwen Owen was 12th in the women’s junior race.
British Triathlon Performance Director, Brendan Purcell summed up performances, commenting: “The Europeans is a good opportunity to learn championship delivery. It’s particularly valuable for young and developing athletes.
“It was exiting to see the junior men riding off the front of the bike pack, and Ben getting a result at the end. There were some different tactics from Tom Bishop, which helped him to run well, and Lucy Hall demonstrated that the extra focus on her run is starting to pay off.
“It’s great to see Jodie back. She looked strong until the mechanical and although the result isn’t want she wanted, she got to practice a hard run off a hard bike, which helps set her up nicely.”
Tomorrow sees amateur triathletes take part in Age-Group races followed by elite junior and senior relay events.
Results, Geneva ETU Triathlon European Championships
Elite women (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run)
1. Nicola Spirig, SUI, 2:07:15
2. Annamaria Mazzetti, ITA, 2:08:14
3. Ainhoa Murua, ESP, 2:09:16
4. Vendula Frintova, CZE, 2:09:45
5. Lucy Hall, GBR, 2:09:59
9. Jodie Stimpson, GBR, 2:10:50
11. Jessica Learmonth, GBR, 2:11:00
23. India Lee, GBR, 2:13:24
Elite men (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run)
1. David Hauss, FRA, 1:52:55
2. Sven Riederer, SUI, 1:53:13
3. Kristian Blummenfelt, NOR, 1:53:16
5. Thomas Bishop, GBR, 1:53:22
9. Matthew Sharp, GBR, 1:54:07
30. David Bishop, GBR, 1:59:34
Elite junior women (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)
1. Laura Lindemann, GER, 1:04:06
2. Jeanne Lehair, FRA, 1:04:42
3. Lena Meißner, GER, 1:04:50
12. Bronwen Owen, GBR, 1:06:00
Elite junior men (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)
1. Lasse Lührs, GER, 57:41
2. Ignacio Gonzalez Garcia, ESP, 57:42
3. Ben Dijkstra, GBR, 57:42
16. James Teagle, GBR, 58:32
20. Jimmy Kershaw, GBR, 58:42
