Thames Turbo Juniors Triumph at Hillingdon Duathlon

The Thames Turbo Triathlon Club Junior squad was out in force fielding a total of 24 young athletes on Sunday 6th May at the Hillingdon Duathlon.

Isobel Chant claimed the top sport the Tristar3 girls and Abigail Arden for won the Youth category. Second in their categories were Louis Wright (Tristar1), Freya Thomson (Tristar2) and Anthony Anderson (Tristar3) while Jacob Patterson and Zahra Chisholm both came third in Tristar1.

The race format was run, bike then a second run with varying distances depending on the athletes’ age. The event was held at the Minet Park Circuit in Hillingdon and hosted by Hillingdon Triathlon Club and was the first in the Triathlon London Junior & Tristar Series. This is a series of nine London-based events in which young triathletes compete and gain valuable experience in the sport.

Tom Chant reports:

“The Hillingdon circuit is a tough place for duathlons. It has a hilly sprint to start with then a windy and cold bike ride with the long drag uphill into the wind, of course. This is followed by a full lap run. Personally, it always seems particular cruel to send the Tristar 1s off out of sight around the circuit on the run and they take so long to reappear into sight again.

Each race witnessed the athletes sprinting off the start line and settling down in the first 750m run a combination of downhill and sharp uphill before descending into transition out of breath to jump on the bike.  You can tell the experienced ones because they wear their helmets on the first run – it’s so cold at Hillingdon you normally can’t do your helmet up and there isn’t time for putting on gloves and helmets. Athletes did 3-7 laps depending on age group, there were several close battles and many a determined face as they rode past the gathered crowds of expectant parents. 

The bike section highlights were a “too early” entrant back to transition – the un-named athlete (Antony Anderson) had to remount once he realised his mistake and chase the new leader. Additionally, the perils of tri-bars were realised by the winner of the boy’s Youth category, whose tumble mid-lap led to a dramatic amount of blood flow.

The second run started for all with the inevitable “jelly legs” and there were some very close finishes that came right down to a sprint on the line. It was great to see so many Turbos racing and shout for their fellow athletes. Plus, thanks must go to all the parents who came along to support their youngsters in the chilly conditions.

As always the organisation and briefings by Hillingdon Tri Club were excellent. Just one small request, though. Can they please somehow create some fine weather for the parents next time?”

The full club results are:

 

Pos	Name	Cat	Gender	Run	Bike	Run	Total
3	Zahra Chisholm	TriStar1	F	0:03:05	0:11:46	0:08:54	0:23:45
7	Tallulah Penney	TriStar1	F	0:03:22	0:13:07	0:08:07	0:24:36
10	Francesca Medri	TriStar1	F	0:03:38	0:14:02	0:10:53	0:28:33
2	Louis Wright	TriStar1	M	0:02:51	0:09:35	0:06:33	0:18:59
3	Jacob Patterson	TriStar1	M	0:02:48	0:09:47	0:06:54	0:19:29
4	Ryan Mullen	TriStar1	M	0:02:58	0:10:57	0:06:35	0:20:30
5	Cameron Fraser	TriStar1	M	0:02:56	0:11:17	0:06:25	0:20:38
8	Henri Wright	TriStar1	M	0:03:13	0:11:02	0:07:53	0:22:08
9	Max Morris	TriStar1	M	0:03:18	0:11:52	0:07:20	0:22:30
2	Freya Thompson	Tristar2	F	0:00:00	0:16:15	0:06:15	0:22:30
4	Siana Dennis	Tristar2	F	0:00:00	0:16:50	0:06:36	0:23:26
6	Ruby Penney	Tristar2	F	0:00:00	0:17:25	0:06:55	0:24:20
8	Kieran Desmond	Tristar2	M	0:00:00	0:16:20	0:06:53	0:23:13
9	Ethan Mullen	Tristar2	M	0:00:00	0:16:56	0:06:49	0:23:45
12	Luigi Medri	Tristar2	M	0:00:00	0:18:22	0:08:21	0:26:43
1	Isobel Chant	Tristar3	F	0:02:39	0:14:33	0:06:43	0:23:55
4	Alexandra Fraser	Tristar3	F	0:02:48	0:16:12	0:07:01	0:26:01
5	Ellen Fraser	Tristar3	F	0:03:02	0:16:56	0:07:05	0:27:03
6	Emma Wolfendale	Tristar3	F	0:03:00	0:16:26	0:07:59	0:27:25
7	Lydia Arden	Tristar3	F	0:03:07	0:17:37	0:08:24	0:29:08
2	Anthony Anderson	Tristar3	M	0:02:29	0:13:41	0:06:22	0:22:32
4	Dennis Houston	Tristar3	M	0:02:52	0:14:33	0:06:43	0:24:08
5	Cameron Chisholm	Tristar3	M	0:02:34	0:16:33	0:06:41	0:25:48
1	Abigail Arden	Youth	F	0:03:10	0:23:43	0:07:52	0:34:45