The Great Britain Age-Group Team enjoyed a glorious weekend in the Austrian Alps as they helped themselves to 41 medals at the 2014 Kitzbuhel ETU Triathlon European Championships.
The changeable mountain weather saw rain and cold temperatures replace the warmth Kitzbuhel had basked in during the build-up to the racing as the sprint distance event got underway on Friday, 20 June, but this did little to dampen the spirits on a keenly contested day's racing, as Great Britain took home a healthy crop of medals of seven gold, seven silver and nine bronze.
Tom Stead (M16-19), Paul Brown (M35-39), Tanya Brightwell (F40-44), Joyce Mark (F55-59), Margaret Hollamby (F60-64), Barbara Walton (F65-69) and Peggy Crome (F70-74) all won their age-groups, with the clean sweep of the 55-and-over women's categories a notable success.
Jonny McLean (M35-39) was one of Great Britain's returning champions from 2013 and was delighted to have won silver this time around, coming home behind his Great Britain teammate Paul Brown. "The race was great and I was well happy with the silver and the way I performed on the day," McLean said.
"It had started raining heavily about an hour before our wave and when it rains out there it really rains so although it had stopped before we got in the water the roads for the steep descents on the bike were treacherous. Water and carbon brake pads are not a good combination.
"Out on the bike I was soon on my own until Paul Brown took me shortly after the last descent. We headed into T2 and out on to the run within seconds of each other but I couldn't get close enough as Paul had a fantastic run and added the Gold to what has already been a cracking season for him."
The standard distance race on Sunday, 22 June, was another great day's racing for the Great Britain Age-Group Team as they won seven gold, six silver and five bronze medals in much warmer conditions than the sprinters had seen.
Eloise Du Luart (F20-24) was among the gold medallists and said: "I was unsure how I would respond over the challenging, hilly bike course, let alone run a 10km after it, so all I could do was go for it and hope my legs were awake on race morning.
"After an average swim, all the amazing support on the climbs and in the villages saw me coming into T2 in second just 33 seconds behind the leader. Once again, the crowd and atmosphere were contagious and spurred me on to take the lead after the first two kilometres of the run. Luckily, my legs didn't die until I crossed the line to take the win. I am sure everyone who raced would agree that despite the course being tough it was just awesome - the atmosphere, venue and total support was second to none."
Alistair Brownlee added a touch of Olympic gold-medal winning glamour to the elite race, but the age-group races had their own superstar. Switzerland's Brigitte McMahon became the first female Olympic triathlon champion when she won gold in the sport's inaugural Games, the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and here she lined up in the F45-49 age group, in both the sprint and the standard distance race, setting Great Britain's challengers a tough task.
Jane Hansom put in an excellent performance in the standard distance race to finish second behind McMahon, who doubled up to win gold in the sprint as well, and was understandably pleased with her performance. "It immediately seemed a lot more competitive than last year's ETU Triathlon European Championships in Turkey," Hansom said. "Nicola Sprig and Alistair Brownlee were here and the depth of field was definitely more competitive given I was up against a previous Olympic gold medallist in my age-group.
"I had a pretty good race on balance despite my chain coming off at the top of a steep climb. The run leg was stunning around the edge of the lake and despite the heat and a recent calf injury, I tried to go as steadily as I could before ramping it up in the last two kilometres. It was not quite good enough to catch the Olympian in the lead but I was pretty happy with second given I'm not as race ready as I will be at the Edmonton 2014 ITU World Triathlon Championships in September.
The Great Britain Standard Distance Age-Group Team Manager, Ian Kitchen, said: "It has been really good. It is a fantastic location and the organisation has been absolutely first-rate so it has been a great event. This is the third ETU Triathlon European Championships I have managed and it has been by far and away the best I have seen and everybody has loved it.
"It has been very tough competition, particularly from the Austrians on their home territory. There were some very steep climbs and descents on the bike course and the Austrians are much more used to that than we are, so we are very pleased with the number of medals we have come back with.
"The British team dominated in Turkey last year in terms of the number of athletes, so we got a good medal total. This year there were a lot more countries with strong teams. I think with Austria being so central it pulled in a lot more countries. So it has been a better European Championship, because it has felt like a truly Europe-wide competition.”
Great Britain Age-Group Team medals
Sprint
Gold
M16-19 Tom Stead
M35-39 Paul Brown
F40-44 Tanya Brightwell
F55-59 Joyce Mark
F60-64 Margaret Hollamby
F65-69 Barbara Walton
F70-74 Peggy Crome
Silver
F35-39 Elizabeth Bullivant
M35-39 Jonny McLean
F55-59 Jane Hamp
F60-64 Margaret Jagan
F65-69 Anne Fish
M65-69 Michael Smallwood
M70-74 Don Shotton
Bronze
F16-19 Rosie Lindsay
F20-24 Alex Smethurst
M20-24 Lewis Eccleston
F30-34 Holly Grundon
F45-49 Celia White
F50-54 Claire Bloom
F60-64 Alison Vessey
F65-69 Elaine Scott
M70-74 Michael Dixon
Standard Distance
Gold
F18-19 Esther Colman
F20-24 Eloise Du Luart
F25-29 Kim Morrison
M35-39 Iain Robertson
F65-69 Jane Leslie
F70-74 Hilary Stevenson
M70-74 Bill Shackcloth
Silver
F40-44 Nici Cahusac
F45-49 Jane Hansom
F50-54 Caroline Whittaker
F55-59 Beverley Childs
M60-64 Barry Jameson
F65-69 Sandra Abrams
Bronze
M18-19 Thomas Garbett
M20-24 Michael Birchmore
F45-49 Catherine Linney
F60-64 Truusje Gamlin
F65-69 Paula McCann
In domestic racing, the Dambuster Triathlon hosted the final chance to qualify for the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Edmonton later this year and the first opportunity to qualify for the ETU European Championships in 2015.
Carl Shaw (30-34) of Tri Camp TFN Race Team took the overall win with a time of 01:59.20, with Alex Lawton (25-29) of Manchester Tri Club (02:01.18) in second and Michael Lavender in third (02:04.17).
In the women’s race, Lucy Neil (25-29) of RAF Triathlon took the title in 02:13.15 with Suzie Richards (25-29) of Leeds Bradford Triathlon Club in second with a time of 02:14.54. Hannah Lord (20-24) was third in 02:19.47.
The next opportunity to qualify for the Great Britain Age-Group Team is Tri Liverpool on 10 August with the final opportunity at Bala Triathlon on 7 September.
