BAR Race 3 EG Tri Sunday May 15th 2011
An incredible 45 MSTC athletes took part in the East Grinstead sprint Triathlon on Sunday. Over 370 took part in the race and we finished with 12 athletes in the top 50. That is an almost unbelievable achievement.
It was great to welcome back David Ricketts, James Duddy and Callum into the world of racing after lengthy times out of competition. Each had doubts about their fitness but acquitted themselves very well, and we hope to see them racing regularly now.
We did have the usual 'sicknote' brigade claiming all sorts of injuries before they started, from David's popping calf, to Loz and his neck.
It was certainly interesting having an MSTC specific start. I don't think there were any particular issues with the swim although there may have been the odd length counting mistake which helped one or two! Loz did struggle a bit with his neck problem but gamely persevered.
The main problems were encountered on the bike leg. Ant Grey was bemoaning a rear mech problem which limited gear selection, but he was still pretty quick. He also misunderstood how you qualify for an ARSE award, and was seen groping Ian O's backside as he rode past!
Angela Murray had to stop when her chain came off but she stopped, fixed it and had barely any oil on her hands, with a slick(!) recovery. David Ricketts tried to ride into the back of Rachel in the Forest Row snarl ups, although Rachel's modified 'Ann Summers' trisuit may have been a contributory factor that distracted him! Further on Rachel got into quite a battle with Steve Mac as he desperately tried to avoid being chicked. In the end he resorted to the underhand tactic of a dodgy roundabout manoeuvre, to get into T2 ahead (although Rachel's bike split was still faster).
The main problem on the bike leg was the traffic. Loz thought he could get an edge on everyone by starting early, but found that this coincided with tractor traffic. Was this the same tractor that caused mayhem for the later starters, I wonder? He also had a chain issue, so had to go and overtake the same people all over again. Several riders got caught in the bottleneck that is Forest Row, many were held up by the ambulance following the earlier incident (rumour has it that a pedestrian stepped out in front of a cyclist), many were blocked at the chicane at the entrance to Hartfield. Some were held up by all of the above and Sunday drivers and red lights. Steve Mac got the better of the tractor by leaping onto the pavement and undertaking successfully, but had plenty of hold ups to make up for it. It is fair to say that this time it was quite a frustrating bike leg, although Rupert seemed to enjoy it, with the general lumpiness suiting his strength on the bike. Sharon enjoyed a moment of glory when she left Steve Birchall in her wake, then realised he was just messing about with his shoes, and he came storming past again.
Everyone felt sorry for poor Fiona in her first Tri, when she punctured early on the bike and was brought back by the sweep van.
The new run course was about 2 minutes longer than last year, but is still quite a quick route. A few of the faster athletes got caught out by the cunningly hidden low wall behind a tree on the dogleg, and Kev had to take split second evasive action. The most fun was had around transition when everyone came in at the end of Lap 1. There were different arrows for everything and it is amazing that only 2 managed to go wrong. David tried to finish a lap early and actually crossed the finish line before turning round and heading off again, looking a bit disorientated, although whenever David is near a transition he does look a bit like this, and Trevor tried to make up for it by attempting to start a 3rd lap before realising his error and trying to cross the barricades.
I have not reported on individual times as there is just too much information, but I will comment on Dave Jones' awesome run split of 17m33s only bettered by the first 3 in the race, which allowed him to take the MSTC crown,and James Dear's bike split which was 5th fastest overall. Also well done to Pete Harris with his 2nd place in the V50 men. The ladies race was comfortably won by Rachel from Sam. I think the general consensus was in spite of the traffic problems it was a great day for the club. Jean summed it up by saying it was an event she enjoyed all the way round, and several people commented on how good the marshals were especially on the run route. Clare even jetted in from warmer climes just to make sure she didn't miss out.
And finally, in the race of the day, with Ian 'bigging up' his athletic ability over Steve Mac, all eyes were on them. It was certainly a very close race with Steve only just narrowly winning by 10 minutes.
**Update:
Report from EG's safety officer:
The incident took place in Forest Row on the Hartfield Road just after the double roundabout as the road passes a parade of shops on each side of the street. A member of the general public stepped off the pavement to walk across the road and into the path of one of our competitors. Unfortunately, she is an elderly lady and was considerably shaken having come into contact with the competitor and falling to the ground. The competitor received cuts and grazes and no doubt bruises. The emergency services were called to the scene and the lady was taken to hospital, the competitor and his bicycle were recovered to East Grinstead Leisure Centre by members of EG Tri club.
We will be following up the incident with the police to find out how the lady who was taken to hospital is getting on. The competitor returned home unaided.
Men Winner 1.05.45
Dave Jones 1.11.23 8.58% 10pts
James Dear 1.12.34 10.36 9
Phil Couch 1.14.00 12.55 8
Loz Wintergold 1.14.42 13.46 7
Rob Hoodless 1.16.52 16.50 6
Dave Lashbrook 1.17.14 17.46 5
Pete Harris 1.18.11 18.90 4
Rupert Robinson 1.19.34 21.00 3
Colin Chambers 1.19.36 21.06 2
Ant Grey 1.19.41 21.19 1
Steve Alden 1.19.57 21.59
Kevin James 1.20.14 22.02
Steve Birchall 1.23.01 26.25
Steve MacMenamin 1.24.29 28.49
Martin Sanwell 1.25.59 30.77
Mat Record 1.26.18 31.25
Andy Heath 1.27.44 33.43
Trevor Moore 1.28.12 34.14
Andy Miles 1.28.49 35.07
Callum Murray 1.30.00 36.88
Justin Hampshire 1.30.39 37.87
James Duddy 1.32.38 40.88
Paul Wills 1.32.44 41.03
Gary Bates 1.33.20 41.90
Graeme Fitzjohn 1.35.06 44.64
Richard Bool 1.35.13 44.81
Ian Ogborn 1.35.14 44.83
David Ricketts 1.37.30 48.29
Alan Thomas 1.38.06 49.20
29 started
Women Winner 1.16.28
Rachel Baker 1.22.32 7.94% 10pts
Samantha Anderson 1.27.25 14.32 9
Margaret Hollamby 1.31.31 19.68 8
Sharon Chladek 1.33.25 22.17 7
Jess McMorris 1.41.20 32.49 6
Pippa Crouch 1.41.27 32.68 5
Jean Fish 1.43.45 35.69 4
Clare Cresswell 1.44.29 36.65 3
Rose Ryan 1.47.44 40.90 2
Kay MacMenamin 1.48.28 41.85 1
Jules Stuart-Colwill 1.49.35 43.32
Julie Williams 1.50.29 44.51
Sarah Hinton 1.50.44 44.82
Clare Parkinson 1.52.47 47.50
Angela Murray 1.59.07 55.78
Fiona Bussell DNF
16 started
Author: Steve Alden