Athletes and spectators enduring a 4am alarm clock this Sunday were well rewarded by fast racing and close competition at the final Welsh National Championship event of the year.
The race attracted 250 competitors and on paper this was the most competitive championship field of the year with returning medallists, elite and junior elite athletes and British and international Age-Group champions competing across the categories.
The race started at sunrise, with blustery conditions and the current making for a challenging swim which spread the field out.
A lead group of four athletes emerged from the water, with the 2015 Elite British Champion Morgan Davies leading from Sam Wade (Sense Core Race Team), Kieran John (Caerphilly Triers) and junior athlete Lewys John. Close behind at around a gap of 10 seconds was the leading M40-49 athlete Andrew Martin (Pencoed Tri Club) and Youth athlete Nathaniel Harries (Cycle Sense).
The third group out of the swim was a further 30-40 seconds back and featured the battle for the Female overall. Laura Sharp (Cadence Tri Club) led out of the water, with Carol Bridge (Rhondda Tri Club) 10 seconds behind in second. Meanwhile, Emily McLoughlin (East Grinstead Tri) and Gemma Roche-Clarke (Bridgend AC) were locked in a battle for third and fourth at a gap of about a minute to Laura Sharp.
With the lead athletes closely bunched coming out of the swim, it was on the bike where the order of the race took shape. Unfortunately, the early leader Morgan Davies was forced to withdraw from the race, meanwhile punctures ended the chances for 2017 British Sprint Champion Andy Martin and also current Welsh Middle and Standard Distance Champion Ross Simpson.
It was Sam Wade who returned to transition first following a storming bike split, taking a lead of over two minutes onto the run. James Dean (who wins a bonus point from the Welsh Tri office for listing his club as ‘Space Ibiza’!) biked through from the third swim pack to arrive second into T2. The next athletes were close behind with Lewys John, Nathaniel Harries and Tomos Nesham (Pencoed Tri Club) arriving 10 seconds later.
Kieran John was well placed in 6th heading out onto the run, while Iain Robertson (TORQ) and Gareth Hodgson (Team Cranc) had biked through the field to close in on the swim leaders.
In the Female race Carol Bridge biked strongly to open up a lead of three minutes over Emily McLoughlin in second. McLoughlin had also used the bike to move into a strong position overall, with Becky Schofield (Tri-Anglia) in third. Laura Sharp, Gemma Roche-Clarke and Paige Horsnell (Rhondda Tri Club) were the next athletes into transition and were within striking distance of the top three overall.
Onto the run it was Sam Wade who continued his dominance with a 16:16 fastest run split, winning the overall by 3 minutes. James Dean also had a strong run to pull away from the chasers for a clear second. Third place overall went to Iain Robertson following a strong run to move through the field.
In the female race Carol Bridge maintained her lead to to win the Welsh Senior title in 1h10’41, with Emily McLoughlin clocking close to the fastest female run split for the silver medal. Becky Schofield maintained her position to take third overall.
Behind the overall leaders there was close racing throughout the categories and the full medal list can be found below:
|
Category |
Gold Medal |
Silver Medal |
Bronze Medal |
|
Youth Female |
Laura Sharp (Cadence Tri Club) |
|
|
|
Youth Male |
Nathaniel Harries (Cycle Specific) |
|
|
|
Junior Male |
Tomos Nesham (Pencoed Tri Club) |
Lewys John (WDA) |
Samuel Holt (Denbighshire Tri Club) |
|
Senior Female |
Carol Bridge (Rhondda Tri Club) |
Emily McLoughlin (East Grinstead Tri Club) |
Gemma Roche-Clarke (Bridgend AC) |
|
Senior Male |
James Dean (Space Ibiza) |
Kieran John (Caerphilly Triers) |
Gareth Hodgson (Team Cranc) |
|
Female 40-49 |
Renske Bouwens (Monmouth Tri Club) |
Angharad Pocock (Cardiff Triathletes) |
Cathryn Jenkins (Celtic Tri Club) |
|
Male 40-49 |
James Manson (Cardiff Triathletes) |
Craig Flannery (AVK) |
Chris Jones (Celtic Tri) |
|
Female 50-59 |
Ceri Thomas (Pencoed Tri Club) |
Beverley Lewis (Cardiff Triathletes) |
Dawn French (Rhondda Triathlon Cub) |
|
Male 50-59 |
Rodney Savage (Cardiff Triathletes) |
Brian Phillips (NEWT) |
Simon Williams (Caerphilly Triers) |
|
Male 60-69 |
Edward Morgan (Taff Ely Tri Club) |
Anthony Fidow |
Paul Bennett (Port Talbot Harriers) |
|
Male 70-79 |
Roger Kiernan |
|
|
Full results can be found HERE
Series results and series winners will be announced shortly.
Welsh Triathlon would like to thank Pencoed Tri Club for a well organised race on Sunday. Thanks to all our marshals, volunteers and officials who made the event possible.
This is the last national championship event of the year. We hope that members have enjoyed competing in these races and we thank you for some great competitions this year.
The tender process for 2018 events is now open, and all clubs and event organisers who run races are strongly encouraged to bid for events. More information can be found here: https://www.welshtriathlon.org/news/welsh-triathlon-launch-2018-national-championships-tender-process_7594
