Steve Metcalfe and Mark Harris were 2nd and 3rd for the mens A team in 11th and 14th overall.

The women were also 2nd in the A Team competition and winners of the B Team event. with Jo Ravenhill (pictured far left) leading the women home with 9th overall and Kate Turner (18th) and Kay Finch (24th) making up the top 3.

Team Trisports enter the 2nd round as joint leaders overall with St Albans Striders.

FORD GETS HIS FIVE-A-DAY

Team Trisports Steffan Ford (pictured here in time trial action) raced the Cabbage Patch 10 and was rewarded with a sub hour PB in a time of 59:50 which was good enough for 79th from 1559 runners.

Simon Shaw and Brian White competed in the New Ware 10 multi terrain event and recorded times of 1:03:01 and 1:04:56 which earned White a silver in the male 50 category and Shaw 10th overall.

Last week Simon Shaw took on the challenge of the off road Rideway Run and came in 21st out of 517 in a time of 1:07:12.which set him up nicely for the start of the cross country season.

Team Trisports are defending champions of the Sunday Cross Country League which kicks off next week at Cheshunt.

SAME STOREY, DIFFERENT RACE!

Fourteen members of Hitchin-based Team Trisports CX continued their cyclocross adventures this past weekend at Round 4 of the Central Cyclocross League Championship.

Having played hosts as well as participants at the previous round; this time out team members could focus purely on racing to the best of their abilities on a Hemel Hempstead course that featured some extended sections of single-track that would have been more at home in a mountain bike race.

Once again it was Sean Storey who led the way for the club with a superb performance to finish 11th overall, and 3rd Vet, against vastly more experienced and specialist competition.

Elite triathlete Stephen Harrison put the previous races DNF disappointment behind him to finish second club finisher ahead of Joel Farrow, who has yet to finish outside the club’s top three in every race thus far.

Paula Adams was the first club finisher in the Women’s race and earned herself a 4th place cash prize to boot!

Finishing order: Sean Storey, Stephen Harrison, Joel Farrow, Tim Smith, Simon Douglas, Jon Wilson, Keith Perry, Mark Robertson, Dave Welch, Mick Humphris, Paula Adams, Heather Storey, Jackie Perry and Lesley Dutton.

HITCHIN CATCHES CYCLOCROSS FEVER!

Hitchin Boys School became the place to be on Sunday as Team Trisports CX hosted the second round of this year’s Central Cyclocross League Championship.

With the large crowd fully equipped with coffee, cakes and cowbells, 25 members of the club took to the start line of the hour long race for the Senior, Female and Veteran categories.

Finishing first for the club with an awesome ride to 15th position overall was Sean Storey, who enjoyed a race long battle with elite triathlete and club mate Stephen Harrison before a puncture prematurely ended Harrison’s race.

There was also another strong performance from Joel Farrow, who ended up 2nd for the club just 8 days after his 1st place performance at the Milton Keynes event the week prior.

And rounding out the club’s top three was Tim Smith, who dug deep in his usual manner to take the final podium spot.

In the Women’s race there was double celebration as Kate Turner and Paula Adams earned 2nd and 3rd place finishes respectively.

Competing were: Sean Storey, Joel Farrow, Tim Smith, Tony Shortland, Mark Beaver, Andrew Mussett, Sean Bradley, Ian Hobbs, Kate Turner, Mark Grayson, Michael Humphris, Michael Clark, Paula Adams, Craig Tribe, Paul Dutton, Mark Young, Mark Malone, Heather Storey, Darren Greene, John Wilson, David Welch, Lesley Dutton, Stephen Harrison (DNF), Steffan Ford (DNF) and Simon Douglas (DNF).

RED HOT AND HILLY AT MILTON KEYNES

The traditional winter sport of cyclocross got off to a red hot start, quite literally, on Saturday for nine members of the Team Trisports CX crew who kicked off their 2011 seasons at the Milton Keynes Bowl in temperatures that soared to 30c.

Taking the heat in his stride, Joel Farrow finished first for the club with an excellent ride on a course that tested every riders climbing and bike handling abilities and showed that Farrow’s strong 2010 season was more than just a one off.

Also putting in a strong performance, Simon Douglas, who having made the decision to make a full time switch from triathlon to cyclocross earlier in the year, finished second for the club with a ride that rewarded his determined approach to this season.

And rounding out the club’s top three, Tim Smith showed his cycling pedigree with a controlled ride to third.

Switching to the women’s race, veteran athlete Jackie Perry secured an excellent result of second lady overall and in the process made the Milton Keynes event podium for the second consecutive season.

Also racing were; Mick Clark, Dil Wetherill, Mick Humphries, Paul Dutton and Lesley Dutton.

STRONG WEEKEND FOR TEAM TRISPORTS

Team Trisports Ironman specialist Rob Wilson completed his first competitive Duathlon on the famous Cheshire motor racing circuit of Oulton Park. Wilson managed a 3rd place having to sprint to retain a podium position with a finish of 1:48:30 for the 2 lap run,9 lap bike, 1 lap run event.

Over in Spain, Helen Shulver (pictured) improved her long distance PB by over 10 minutes with an 11:27:25 for the Ironman distance at Challenge Barcelona. With splits of 1:12/5:42/4:26 for the swim bike and run the time was good enough for 29th female overall.

At Standalone elite athlete Steve Harrison continued his good form at the event with a superb 3rd in a time of 33:28. Top 25 finishes also for Lee Thorp 16th in 36:43 and Mark Harris 21st in 37:02. James Bedford was the lead veteran athlete with 39:18 with super Vet Brian White returning to form with a 39:57 and Andy Russell making his debut for the club in the junior men category with a 46:30. Andy McPherson (47:59), Craig Tribe (48:09) and Samantha Tophill (49:17) also represented Team Trisports over the 10k road race.

TRISPORTS FLYING ON RYAN AIR

Athletes from Hitchin–based triathlon club Team Trisports made the most of some late season racing at the weekend and in the process scored some great results.

First up, Pete Ryan raced the USN Dorney Lake Tri and secured a sub 2:20 time over the Olympic distance event to end his season on a high with a time of 2:19:21 to finish 11th overall and 4th in the 35-39 Age-Group.

Elsewhere, veteran athlete Brenda Bozwood-Davies (pictured) completed the Roade Sprint Triathlon in a time of 1:27:20 to lower her PB time for the event by 3 minutes faster than last year and in the process win her Age-Group.

On the same day, three members of the club entered the Lea Valley 30 mile Cycling Time Trial and battled the elements, and a strong headwind, with Ian Mackerness, Anna Holden and Naomi Woodland completing the inter-club time trial competition in the aforementioned order.

And finally, a core group of club athletes see their cyclocross season kick off in Milton Keynes next week at the first round of the 2011 Central Cyclocross League Championship.

Hot on the heels of Round 1, Team Trisports will be hosting Round 2 a week later at Hitchin Boys School on 9th October.

In addition to the main event, races will be available for juniors and youths, with loan bikes available via the kind support of British Cycling.

Any MTB owning grown-ups will also be able to race in the main event to find out for themselves what this exciting and full-on discipline is all about.

Anyone interested in racing should go to www.teamtrisports.org.uk for more information on how to enter.

THE GREENE MACHINE HITS HENLEY!

Three members of the club raced the inaugural Challenge Henley event this past weekend.

Taking place over the epic iron-distance of 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile full marathon run, it was Darren Greene who finished first for the club on the day with a great time of 11:57:29.

What made Greene’s performance all the more impressive was that it was his debut over the mammoth race distance.

Also competing were Chris Suckling (12:39:49) and iron-distance debutant Mark Malone (13:09:54).

Elsewhere, veteran athlete Brian White finished the London Duathlon in a time of 1:46:26 to finish a highly impressive 74th overall out of more than 13,000 finishers.

And finally, Tony Shortland competed at the Reading Triathlon, home of the first competitive triathlon back in 1983, and completed the non-standard distance in a little over three hours.

YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! TIDY!

Rob Wilson was once again in action at the weekend as he took to the start line of Ironman Wales.

Tackling the elements and the epic race distance of 1.2 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile full marathon run Wilson built on a strong swim and bike to cross the line in a superb time of 10:34:27.

Elsewhere, the penultimate round of the club time trial league saw seven Team Trisports athletes take part in the Stevenage CC 12 mile event last Saturday.

First home for the club, and an excellent 4th overall, was Ian Mackerness in a time of 27:36, followed by Sean Bradley (30:55) and Tim Smith (31:35).

Also competing were; Keith Cockburn (32:13), Mark Beaver (34:21), Mike Russell (34:34), Anna Holden (34:49).

An finally, Naomi Woodland completed the Jersey Triathlon in 2:51:34