The second edition of the Shrewsbury Triathlon was recently held here in Shropshire and with TORQ sponsoring the event, we were hoping for some strong results, which of course we delivered…
Come and say ‘hello’ at the TORQ stand
James Emery: As with Dave, I found the swim easy and fast (the Shrewsbury Triathlon would be an excellent race for the nervous open water swimmer, all downstream and only 500m). I led the swim from the hooter and soon exited, stripping the wetsuit off before getting to transition to save time (fastest swim and transition overall).
With mm to spare at the mount line, I was jumping on at full speed (a cheeky smile back to make sure the line marshal was ok with the mount, thankfully yes – note to self, leave a bit more space in the future, if Jonathan Brownlee can get caught out in the Olympics then I certain can too). Time to really do some damage on the TORQ team bike! The road was somewhat busier than normal. I think we got caught out by the Church goers, farmers cutting hedges and cars getting stuck behind slower riders. With a bit of luck I managed to keep momentum up, but was slowed slightly in a few places – still everyone else is dealing the same issues (second fastest overall).
Aero and low on the Wilier and Ritchey bars
Onto the run, which was a multi lap / multi surface course and perfect for me. It was a case of getting up to speed and chasing down other runners. I must have been focused, because friends were trying to high-five me as I went past, but I was just hunting that finish line as quickly as I could, sorry!
Grumpy or focused?
Well, I lead my wave/age group from the start to the finish, but was beaten by last year’s winner again. A lot closer this time, so maybe next time I’ll get lucky and take the win in my home Triathlon!
All smiles now! I was hoping for a car (Honda) from the event sponsor but sadly no!
Dave Mawhinney: Having done the first Shrewsbury Sprint triathlon last year, I was looking forward to taking part in the second running of the race. After starting my Ironman Wales taper, I was keen to see how I would get on doing a sprint triathlon 2 weeks before my ironman race. After heavy rain a few days before race day, the river Severn was flowing fast and on starting the swim leg I quickly covered the 500m downstream swim thanks to my Zone3 Vanquish wetsuit.
After a very fast transition I was onto the Wilier Twinfoil and negotiating the undulating bike course. The road surface was very poor which made bike handling difficult due to having to concentrate on avoiding the pot holes! I quickly caught the people in my wave, who had exited the swim leg in front of me and caught a group of 3 other faster riders which helped push me harder on the bike. Into T2 and after another good transition I was onto the 5 km run.
Super fit age grouper
Despite having done very little speed work, I pushed it as hard as I could on the run, overtaking people from the previous wave which spurred me on. I managed to keep my speed and rhythm and covered the three laps crossing the finish line in a time of 1-04-19 two minutes faster than last year! I managed to win my age group too (8th overall), so considering the race was quite a number of hours too short for me, I was pretty pleased with that.
Visit the Shrewsbury Triathlon web site for more information www.severntriathlon.moonfruit.com
Thanks to Richard Dawson photography for the action images www.richarddawson4946.zenfolio.com
With thanks to our sponsors:
www.wilier.it – Triathlon Frames
www.ffwdwheels.com – Aero Wheels
www.ritcheylogic.com – Aerobars, Saddles and Finishing Kit
www.cycleops.com – Power Meters
www.racezone3.com – Wetsuits
www.limarhelmets.com – Helmets & Glasses
www.lakecycling.co.uk – Cycling Footwear
www.jagwireusa.com – Cables & Housing
www.scott-sports.com – Running Footwear
www.shimano.com – Groupsets
www.triathlonspecific.com/Sable/Sable.html – Swim Goggles (Sable Water Optic)
www.max-mediagroup.co.uk – Team PR
www.amphibia-sport.com – Transition Bags
www.schwalbe.com – Tyres
www.lezyne.com – Pumps, Tools
www.champ-sys.com – Custom Trisuits and Cycle Wear
