Triathlon

Another win at the QE2 and British Paratriathlon Series Winner - June 2011

The first time this event has been part of the GB Paratriathlon three race Series, the QE2 is held in Ashington, north of Newcastle. A morning start meant an early rise to get transition set up. Dave had a good swim, exiting first of the relatively small paratriathlon field. Very cold and windy conditions, with poor tarmac, a hilly and longer than usual course (23K) made for a challenging cycle, but at least it stayed dry. The run route was technically difficult for a racing wheelchair, narrow, poor tarmac, lots of twists, turns and hills. Dave extended his early lead, winning the race by an eleven minute margin and wrapping up the British Paratriathlon Series for the third time in a row (and every year since it began) with a race to go.

Gold again the British Paratriathlon Championships - May 2011

Held once more at Holme Pierrpont in Nottingham, conditions were not ideal with a strong breeze and the odd shower. The rain held off at the start and Dave began with a reasonable swim, exiting the water as the first in the Tri 1 class. The cycle was four laps of the road circuit around the lake with a stong side/tail wind on the home leg, switching to head/side on the out leg. Just for good measure, the breeze picked up further and the rain came down as the competitors came into the last lap. A long (5.6K) and technical wheelchair race with gravel, pot holes, a very steep hill and a strong headwind on the only straight section ensure that there would be no pb's set, but Dave held on to his early lead to win the British Championship for the third time in four years, and to the exit of T2 was around three minutes faster than the time set in 2010.

Seventh at the World Paratriathlon Championships - September 2010

The World Paratriathlon Championships were held Budapest in very poor conditions, with incessant rain over several days before and during the race. A very large field included 14 competitors in Tri1, including world champions, world record holders, paralympic champions and the current European Champion. Dave had a modest swim but very good handcycle and wheelchair disciplines and was the fastest of all competitors in transition, finishing in a time of 1:18:57, around ten minutes behind the leaders.

Winner again at the British Championships - August 2010

The British Paratriathlon Championships were held Nottingham over the sprint distance. A particularly weedy swim affected most competitors swim times, but very flat and fast handcycle and wheelchair races was always going to mean a fast time. The wheelchair route was around 200m short resulting in a particularly flattering time, and Dave finished in first place in 1:17:26.

Runner up at the Hyde Park World Invitational - July 2010

The largest ever field for a partriathlon event in Europe was invited to race at Hyde Park on the 24th July. A competitive field had disabled athletes racing in all classes. Paratriathletes from seven countries were invited on the basis of past performance. The event was run over the super sprint distance, half that of most international competitions. Dave started well with a good swim and was well ahead out of the water, but problems removing his wetsuit left him in second after T1. A decent cycle leg and a good wheelchair race (a full minute faster than the same race a year ago) had him finish in a clear second, several minutes ahead of the third placed competitor.

Runner up at the European Championships - July 2010

The 2010 European Paratriathlon Championships were held in Athlone in Ireland on Saturday the 3rd July. For paratriathlon the competitors now race over the shorter sprint distance, consisting of a 750m swim, 20km handcycle and 5km wheelchair push. Dave was racing against tougher competition this year and the event was won by Francesc Sola Garcia on the back of a very good handcycle discipline. Dave had to buy a new "recumbent" cycle a few weeks ago but was still very pleased to win the silver medal, just over four minutes behind the winner.

Another Win at the Mazda London Triathlon - and 1st in the GB Ranking Series

The final of three ranking events for Paratriathletes held in the UK in 2009, the London Triathlon held at the beginning of August is the largest in the world. Course changes this year made both the cycle and run routes far more acceptable for paratriathletes. The marshaling was a huge improvement and 'pushers' were in place at the steep uphill sections of the run route, where wheelchair athlete struggle. The paratriathletes were scheduled to start with a 500 competitor wave in the afternoon, but were delayed by 5 minutes to give them all a little more space. However, the faster swimmers caught up with the tail end of the wave within a few minutes and had to pick their way through dozens of tail enders. Dave worked hard and once again exited the water in second place in a very good time. A much faster transition that last year (also rerouted to make it shorter) and on to the hand cycle well in the lead in his class, he set another pb for this section for a sprint distance event (20km). The wheelchair was an improvement over Bedford as Dave had been training with Taunton Athletics Club and was able to keep up a better pace over the shorter distance (5km) although once again disaster nearly struck. Just over half way into the leg his cycle computer came loose and fell off, dangling on its cable before swinging over and jamming the steering. Fortunately he managed to free it and wrap it around the frame, losing just a few seconds. Yet another pb for the 5K.

The London win, along with his first place at Bedford put him one point ahead in the British Disabled Series, and therefore winner for 2009.

First in class at the Autoglass Bedford Triathlon

Held on the 19th July, 2009, this was the second of three ranking events for Paratriathletes held in the UK in 2009. Many of the GB squad members competed and some decent times were set on a relatively fast course. The swim took place on the river Ouse and the river weed raised a few complaints. But at least an 'out and back' route along the river posed little in the way of directional problems. Dave set a very good pace and exited the water in second place, well ahead of several athletes with much higher classifications. He had a very good hand cycle leg too, despite the wind and the challenge of a couple of steep hills. On a fast and mostly flat course he achieved his 'self timed' target of sub 1hr 40min for the 40Km. The wheelchair was again a challenge though, on a flat but very winding course with a couple of tight bridges to negotiate. And the light rain that started to fall during the 'run' didn't help. A finish of 3:00:50 was just outside his 3hr target, but a much larger transition than last year (to cope with a big entry as this was a worlds qualifier event) will have added a couple of minutes. And he still improved over ten minutes on his 2008 time, which was his first ever standard distance race.

European Paratriathlon Champion, 2009

The 2009 Championships were held in the village of Holten in the Netherlands on Saturday the 4th July. A very competitive field and an exceptionally hilly cycle course made this a highly demanding event. The Paratriathletes competed over the standard (sometimes called 'Olympic') distance, comprising of a 1500m open water swim, a 40km hand cycle and finishing with a 10km wheelchair run.

An eventful swim had Dave head off in the wrong direction after turn 2, following a visually impared competitor and his guide. Fortunately this only cost a minute or two and he exited the swim in second place in his class. Taking a small lead after transition 1, the cycle route began with a 7.5km flat section in very open countryside, the wind proving an initial challenge, before heading up into the woods for two laps of constant hill climbs and descents, with speeds ranging from a snails pace 3mph up to a scary 34mph on the downhills. Another minor blip during the cycle when he ran out of fluid at around three quarter distance and had to beg a bottle of water off one of the marshalls. Fortunately the hill training around Taunton had paid off, and Dave extended his lead to six minutes by the end of the cycle (though he didn't know it at the time), and almost seven minutes after transition 2. This was just as well, as his wheelchair speed was by far the slowest in the field. He managed to hang on out front, to win and become European Champion, by 2 minutes and 47 seconds, with a total time of 2:54:24. This was also a personal best for the standard distance, an improvement of over 10 minutes over his previous best time.

European Paratriathlon TRI1 Class Results, 2009