This weekend saw multiple British athletes return from Holten with medals across Premium and Junior Cup races, whilst Fenella Langridge claimed silver at Challenge Roth.
2022 Europe Triathlon Premium Cup Holten
Eight Brits lined up on the start line for the elite men’s race on Saturday as Jack Willis, Tom Bishop, Ben Dijkstra and Iestyn Harrett all finishing in the top ten, with Willis and Bishop securing podium places.
The 750m swim was a non-wetsuit opening stage and it wasn’t until the latter stages of the bike leg that a distinct lead group emerged coming into T2. Willis, Bishop and Dijkstra were part of this group that started the run with a vital lead over the rest of the pack.
Spanish athlete Sergio Baxter Cabrera was amongst the leaders and soon set off to establish a gap that he would hold to the line. Behind him, the three Brits were challenging for the two remaining podium places. Willis was able to hold off a late charge from Bishop to take silver, whilst Dijkstra came home in fourth.
Iestyn Harrett finished nineth, Chris Perham 23rd, Sam Hart 30th, Joe Sherman 38th and Cameron Harris 51st.
The women’s race also saw Brits claim second and third as Sophie Alden and Olivia Mathias took their place on the podium.
The pair were part of a four-athlete breakaway from the swim and navigated the majority of the bike leg as a quartet, with only Quinty Schoens (NED) able to bridge the gap up to them before the final leg.
Mathilde Gautier (FRA) pulled ahead across the final discipline to secure the win, however was never out of sight of the Brits trying to chase her down. Alden, following a better T2 than compatriot Mathias, added to her advantage with a strong run to finish second.
Mathias completed the podium by staying ahead of Czech athlete Petra Kurikova, as the top four were the only athletes to complete the distance in under an hour. Annabel Morton finished 19th and Issy Morris crossed the line 26th having recorded the fastest run of the race and the only one to go sub 19 minutes.
2022 Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Holten
There was a similarly large British contingent competing in the junior races in the Netherlands, where Ryan Symington (5th), Oliver Conway (9th) and Harry Butterworth (10th) secured top-ten finishes in the men’s race, with Issy Hayes (6th) and Jessica Turnbull (7th) doing the same in the women’s race.
Racing alongside Hayes and Turnbull, Madeline Cooper finished 18th with Solomon Okrafo-Smart (16th) and Hugo Jinks (20th) also finishing inside the top twenty. Josh Cumberland recorded a DNF.
Butterworth, Conway, Cumberland and Hayes were all racing internationally for Great Britain for the first time in Holten, where Joao Nunu Batista (POR) and Luna De Bruin (NED) took the men’s and women's wins respectively.
Challenge Roth
Fenella Langridge claimed silver in Germany behind home favourite Anne Haug, with fellow Brit Laura Siddall crossing the line fourth.
Langridge was one of the leaders throughout, setting the pace on the swim alongside New Zealander Rebecca Clarke as she set off on the 180km bike and established an outright lead by dropping Clarke.
Throughout the two-lap bike leg, Haug and Siddall made their way up the order to complete the top-three coming into T2. Haug was just over five minutes behind leader Langridge, with Siddall’s gap to her compatriot 16 and half minutes.
The German set about cutting that deficit across the marathon to the finish line, while Siddall was under challenge from Judith Corachan Vacquera (ESP) further back. The Spanish athlete would pass Siddall and hold onto third to secure her place on the podium, the Brit racing to fourth place.
At the front, Langridge managed to stay ahead of Haug until around halfway through the final discipline before she shot off into the distance. The unstoppable German made it two in a row, with Langridge putting together a strong swim, bike, run to finished second ahead of Corachan Vacquera in third.
In the men’s race, Pete Dyson was the quickest Brit over the 3.8km swim, 180km bike and single lap 42.2km run as he crossed the line in 08:23:45 to finish 15th with Reece Barclay one place back in 16th. Barclay completed the distance in 08:25:33.
Having been well-placed coming out of the water, Tom Davis suffered double punctures whilst 13th on the bike leg.
Crossing the line in 07:35:48, Magnus Ditlev (DEN) took the victory ahead of Patrick Lange (GER) and Reinaldo Colucci (BRA). Jan Frodeno (GER) had been racing strongly and led the way from the swim through to the start of the run when he had to withdraw through injury.
IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne
Chantal Sainter (7th) and Frankie Sanjana (8th) both secured top-ten finishes in the women’s pro race, with Harry Palmer (9th) doing the same in the men’s pro race.
The 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run in western France provided the athletes with a stunning backdrop to race in.
Les Sables D’Olonne in the Bay of Biscay saw French athletes complete a one-two in the men’s pro race as Pierre Le Corre and Yvan Jarrige took first and second ahead of Belgium’s Sybren Baelde. It was a home two-three in the women’s pro race for Alexia Bailly and Charlene Clavel behind Marta Bernardi of Italy.
