Barclay Izzard and Kate Waugh both finished in the top-five in their respective races at World Triathlon Cup Pontevedra as they led the British results in Spain.
Elsewhere, a number of British triathletes competed in the first PTO Canadian Open in long course racing, while age group athletes triumphed at the Triathlon England Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships.
World Triathlon Cup Pontevedra (24 July)
There were top-five finishes for both Barclay Izzard and Kate Waugh as they continued their good form at World Triathlon Cup Pontevedra.
They were both part of the gold medal winning mixed relay team at the recent World Triathlon Championship Series Hamburg, and they were again towards the front of the racing in Spain.
In the women’s race, Waugh and Sophie Alden spent much of the race at the front, with Alden first out of the swim and part of the lead group on the bike along with Waugh. With a 50 second advantage heading into transition two, members of the chasing group closed the gap to the front of the race over the 10km run with Waugh finishing fifth and Alden 13th.
Iona Miller crossed the line 23rd in her first World Triathlon Cup race, which was also only her second international race over the standard distance.
In the men’s race, Tom Bishop and Jack Willis were towards the front after the swim, but it would all come down to the run after a pack of more than 40 athletes arrived at the second transition together.
With a leading trio forming on the run, Izzard was in hot pursuit behind, recording one of the fastest runs of the race to finish fourth, his highest World Triathlon Cup finish.
It was also a career best finish for Harry Leleu at a World Triathlon Cup event as he was the next British athlete to cross the line in 20th. Willis finished 22nd, two places ahead of Bishop in 24th.
PTO Canadian Open (23 & 24 July)
There was a lot of British interest at the first ever PTO Canadian Open – the first event in the new tour developed by the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO).
A strong British contingent in Edmonton featured eight British pro triathletes competing over the 2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run which saw Holly Lawrence end the day as the highest placed British triathlete, finishing sixth in the women’s pro race.
India Lee had been in the top-10 on the bike, crossing the line in 17th at the end of the run. Nikki Bartlett was 19th with Laura Siddall 23rd. A mechanical ended Emma Pallant-Browne’s race on the bike, while there was also a DNF for Fenella Langridge.
In the men’s race, Alistair Brownlee was part of the front group out of the swim, before sharing the race lead over the 80km bike with Sam Laidlow of France. Despite clearly being in pain early on the run, Brownlee produced a real gutsy and determined performance to finish the race as he crossed the line 24th.
David McNamee made his move through the field on the run to finish 17th.
British Triathlon Super Series Mallory Park (25 July)
Youth, junior and senior athletes were all racing at Mallory Park, where the latest event of the British Triathlon Super Series was held. The wet weather certainly didn’t dampen the competitive racing with the afternoon’s finals following the morning’s heats.
Youth B athlete Oliver Conway won the male Youth A and Youth B A final with Brandon Pye finishing second and claiming the Youth A win. Eve Whitaker was victorious in the female equivalent, earning maximum points in Youth B.
Lauren Mitchell was the first Youth A athlete over the line to also pick up maximum points despite a crash on the bike.
In the junior and senior A finals, Daisy Davies and Hamish Reilly both moved to the top of the overall rankings in the British Triathlon Senior Super Series after securing the win in their respective A finals.
Junior athletes Bethany Cook and Straun Bennet earned maximum points as they finished as the highest-placed juniors.
The B finals were won by Alex Boyer (Youth A & B Male), Seraphina Harris (Youth A & B Female), Toby Nisbet (Junior & Senior Male) and Jess Sails (Junior and Senior Female).
BRITISH TRIATHLON SUPER SERIES
Triathlon England Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships (24 July)
Mallory Park was the host of this year’s Triathlon England Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships where national titles and medals were awarded across the age groups.
James Hodgson was the fastest male overall, also becoming age group champion in the 25-29 age category. The honour of being the quickest female went to Hayley Rigby, who claimed the race win and the 30-34 age group title.
Over 20 national titles were awarded in total with champions crowned and medals awarded in each of the age groups.
There are still opportunities to become British and Home Nation champion in 2022 with championships still to come later this year.
Great Britain Age-Group Team Qualifier at Castle Howard Triathlon (24 July)
Castle Howard Triathlon was the latest opportunity for age group athletes wanting to qualify to represent the Great Britain Age-Group Team at the 2023 European Middle Distance Duathlon Championships.
There are many opportunities for age group athletes to qualify for the different multisport championships being held in 2023 including the first qualifier for super sprint triathlon which is being held on Sunday 21 August as part of British Triathlon Super Series Grand Final Sunderland. To find out more about the Sunderland event visit the event page here.
(Image: World Triathlon)
