Iain added to his Palmares success with Bronze and Nick only narrowly missed podium when they both donned their GB vests at the ITU Duathlon Championships, Avlies, Spain.

ITU Duathlon Champs require qualification, ensuring a top class field and an opportunity to represent your country. Two races were on offer in Aviles Spain: a Draft Legal Sprint and the traditional Olympic Distance. TORQ had two in the line up and both had impressive outings, with Iain Robertson placing 3rd and Nick Shasha coming in 4th. Iain  had a solid first run, although off the pace of the lead pack he was close enough to catch all but Lee Piercy on the bike, who was flying. Iain came into T2 after a hard ride and knew the 2nd run would be a struggle; he was passed by a few people on the run, but most were from different Age Groups. When he crossed the line, Iain commented, ” I was unsure of my position, but heard GBR had a 1,2,3! An unexpected medal in what was the biggest AG in the field!”

Aviles World Champs was Nick’s 2nd race of the year for Great Britain. Some 1,400 athletes from all over the world raced the Sandard Distance or the new Draft Legal Sprint Distance. Opting for the latter and in a combined three Age Group start of 140 different athletes, Nick went through the 1st run at a blistering pace and managed to make the first group out onto the bike. Despite constant surges and attacks Nick managed to have a great bike and stay in a lead group of around 20. Coming into T2 and the group of 45 or so athletes in his 40-44 Age Group had been whittled down to only a few and Nick immediately attacked, hoping to win the race on the last run. Nick told us that, “Unfortunately, the last 3 athletes left in my Age Group were just too strong and counter-attacked. In the end I finished 4th, only 2 seconds from the podium and 7 seconds from winning. A fight, right to the last!”

Photo credits: Thanks to Tri247 and Jolekha Shasha for the photos

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