Chris Standidge starts his racing campaign with a convincing win at the Firefighters duathlons (you don’t need to be a fireman to enter!). The event is quite unique because you partner up and the time is based on both of you crossing the line. Here’s what Chris had to say about the event…

After a last minute change of partners, from Tony Cullen to brother David, due to Tony having a run injury, I was ready to try and repeat last year’s win to start the season off on a good note. The location had changed to Rivington, hard and hilly, with an initial 6k run on trails, then 37k bike on parts of the Ironman bike course, and then a final 6k retracing the initial run. The weather was cold, wet and misty, typical of the location (as you can see from the photos!)

I knew the run was going to be our advantage, so we took it out hard, gaining about a minute’s lead going into transition. I expected the bike to be a level playing field with the likes of Paul Hawkins and Chris Kitchin partnering together, so continued the strong pace but, at the back of my mind, would have still been happy if we were caught knowing we had a 2nd run to pull ahead again. The bike course was tough but we seemed to work well together; pushing each other hard all the way and, as we entered T2, we were told we had nearly 5 mins lead on the next pair. This allowed us to relax and just enjoy the 2nd run without pushing ourselves, which was a nice change! Thanks to David for being an excellent partner and for coming in as a replacement in the last few days.

With thanks to our sponsors:

www.wilier.it – Triathlon Frames
www.ffwdwheels.com – Race wheels
www.huubdesign.com – Wetsuits
www.zyro.co.uk/altura – Triathlon and cycle apparel
www.ismseat.com – Saddles
www.invisciddesign.com – Speedfil hydration systems
www.schwalbe.com – Cycle Tyres
www.limarhelmets.com – Helmets & Glasses
www.lakecycling.co.uk – Cycling Footwear
www.jagwireusa.com – Cables & Housing
www.amphibia-sport.com – Transition Bags
www.lezyne.com – Pumps, Tools, Bottle Cages
www.fenwicks.info – Lubrication
www.kapz.co.uk – Custom headset caps
www.racewaredirect.co.uk – Chain catchers and phone cases
www.shimano.com – Groupsets
www.camelbak.com – Bottles
www.max-mediagroup.co.uk – Team PR
www.joolzedymond.com – Photography