Dambuster Duathlon/British age-group Championships,Title for Mosley

Triathlete Phil Mosley(Scott/Cliff/Specialized) "ticks a box" as he wins his first target of the year. Mosley is in good shape and is looking forward to 70.3 Ironman races in Vienna & Antwerp later in the summer. Phil celebrated his win with a take-away curry before penning this report, (more pics to come).....

This year’s Dambuster Duathlon, held at Rutland Water, hosted the British age-group Duathlon Championships and was a qualifier for September’s World Championships in Nancy, France.

With so much to fight for, the 800-strong field boasted strength in depth. In the men’s race, the first 10km run was completed in 32:32 by early leaders Richard Anderson and last year’s British Champion Julian Lings, while the first 70 runners all completed the accurate 10km course in less than 36 minutes. Hot on the leaders’ heels were eventual winner Phil Mosley in 32:34 and last year’s Dambuster duathlon winner Hugh Mackenzie in 33:08.

The leaders raced into transition with Mosley the first to emerge with his bike, ready to tackle the 42km undulating and wind-swept bike leg that included the infamous Rutland Ripple – a long straight road with several steep hills. Lings, Mackenzie and Richard Anderson were close behind but over the next hour Mosley gradually built a two-minute lead, giving him a winning margin going into the final 5km run. Unbeknown to them, Paul Carroll who started later in the 40-45 wave, was also having a good race. He completed the first run in 32:41 and produced a strong bike and second run to clinch second place overall and an age-group gold medal, while Hugh Mackenzie held onto third place.

The women’s field was 127-strong, but the podium places were even more closely fought. After two hours and eleven minutes, just four-seconds separated eventual winner Anna Turvey from runner-up Amy Forshaw. Turvey owed her eventual victory to her cycle time-trial prowess, after the initial 10k run left her over two-minutes adrift of early leaders Louise Bardsley (36:50) and Esther Rodriguez (36:48). During the 42km cycle, she put almost three minutes into the next faster rider, giving her a small lead going into the final run. A fast run from Forshaw meant she had soon closed the gap though, and the finishing line came just in the nick of time for Turvey to claim an excellent victory, while Louise Bardsley took third spot.

Men’s overall winners

Phil Mosley 01:54:13
Paul Carroll 01:55:39
Hugh Mackenzie 01:56:12

Women’s overall winners

Anna Turvey 02:11:12
Amy Forshaw 02:11:16
Louise Bardsley 02:12:10

More Locals in the action!
In the face of some fierce competition Keith Mahon, of Branksome, won the bronze medal in the 50-54 age category and finished an impressive 53rd overall. It was over two minutes faster than he managed at the same race last year, despite the course being lengthened slightly. Having won a gold medal in the sprint triathlon World Championships in 2011, Mahon looks in good shape for 2012. Chris Weeks from Bournemouth also gave a strong performance in the 20-24 age category, finishing 7th (67th overall). He completed the first 10km run in just 35:13 and produced a strong ride that ranked him in the top ten percent.
(photos, Mark Epton)