March Results 2008

31st March 2008

3 members of Hitchin based triathlon club FVS TRI ran the Sandy 10 mile road race with John Rose home first in 1:10:50. Kevin Smyth was 100th from the 408 finishers in 1:12:50 and Steve Mussett used the event as his last preparation race for the London Marathon and was pleased with his 1:25:59 for 263rd. Steve won a place in the Club ballot for London and will be joined by Greg Evans who will both represent the Club on the big day.

Brian White raced over 16 miles in the Asics Kingston Breakfast run and was 1st V50 in a time of 1:38:25 and 18th overall.

IronMan Rob Wilson travelled to Wilmslow to compete in the Half Marathon and recorded a 1:29:34 for 230th from 3449 finishers on the gently undulating course. Rob is training for probably the worlds toughest long course triathlon when he will take on The Norseman event in the summer. The event starts with a 3.8k Fjord swim, followed by 180k on the bike and than a full marathon over 42.2k with the finish up a mountain! Rob will join the Hall of Fame alongside Mic Clark and Adam Laycock who both became Norseman in 2004.

Continuing the international theme, John Burgess is flying the FVS TRI flag in North America whilst on secondment in Michigan for a year. As conditions are still too wintry to compete outdoors, John completed the Ann Arbor YMCA Indoor Triathlon with a 15 minute swim, 15 minute bike and 15 minute run. With an age group win and 3rd overall on the day, John was pleased to be maintaining his race fitness!

FVS TRI couples Tim Smith and Alison Clayton Smith, Kevin Smart and newest member Suzy Hawkins swapped partners for the day to compete in the Icknield RC 2 up TT. The format involved 2 cyclists working as a team over the 30k route which took in the Chilterns and Dunstable Downs. Alison and Suzy were first female pair in 1:09:13 and Kevin and Tim were 4th overall in 54:51

Mike Bridge raced the Castle Combe Circuit Race on Good Friday. After working hard to bridge the gap to the leading group, Mike was forced out of contention in the bunch sprint. Despite the terribly windy conditions the average pace was still 24.5 mph.

Simon Patenall completed the Jurassic Coast Challenge which involved nearly 85 miles in 3 stages over 3 days. Day 1 was 30.5 miles from Lyme Regis to Chickerell covered in 5:15. Day 2 was a 27 mile romp from Chickerell to Lulworth Cove covered in 5:30 and the final day was a 28 mile leg from Lulworth Cove to Sandbanks covered in 7:03. Simon vowed never again although he will be racing from Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in September as part of a relay team which takes in a Channel swim.

24th March 2008

Windy Welwyn Hilly

The Good Friday Welwyn Hilly Cycle Time Trial attracted a record entry for the second year in succession boosted by the support of Hitchin based triathlon club FVS TRI. 40 members, including 11 women, made the start list with a further 20 unable to race due to the restriction on the number of places. The inclement Easter weather did enable some of the FVS TRI reserve riders to race when many cyclists from other clubs decided not to compete

The course was shortened this year to 26.2 mile due to traffic issues on the Welwyn to Codicote section but still attracted top riders from local clubs and sponsored teams. FVS TRI were pleased to be rewarded not only with the largest turnout but also with the winner of the B race with Rob Wilson recording a time of 1:19:03. Second home for the club was Mark Robertson in 1:19:59 with Dave Hard in 1:20:04. Penny Wylie was first women for FVS TRI in 1:31:44 just ahead of Chris Yuill in 1:31:53

52	Robert	WILSON	V40	1.19.03
56	Mark	ROBERTSON		1.19.59
57	David	HARD	V45	1.20.04
59	James	GRIERSON		1.20.20
61	Charles	HARRIS		1.20.42
65	Kevin	SMART		1.21.08
71	Robbie	LAUGHTON	V42	1.22.48
72	Jonathan	GILLHAM		1.23.06
73	Peter	BARDELL		1.23.16
77	Kevin	SAMBRIDGE		1.24.40
79	Jeremy	LINTOTT	V43	1.25.32
83	Brian	WHITE	V52	1.28.30
85	Tim	SMITH	V41	1.29.41
88	Robert	BESTER	V42	1.30.30
89	Ian	HOBBS	V40	1.30.09
94	Andrew	LOWRIE	V43	1.31.14
95	Tony	SHORTLAND	V45	1.31.29
97	Penny	WYLIE	LV	1.31.44
98	Christine	YUILL	L	1.31.53
100	Mike	RUSSELL	V48	1.32.26
101	Steven	CHALK		1.32.41
105	Richard	THOMAS	V44	1.33.31
106	Tim	SOMERS	V44	1.34.05
107	Keith	PERRY	V46	1.35.04
108	Stuart	SPRAWSON	V50	1.35.10
109	Chris	PENFOLD	V56	1.35.23
111	Paula	ADAMS	L	1.35.26
112	Mark	YOUNG	V45	1.36.11
115	Lesley	DUTTON	LV	1.40.25
116	Paul	DUTTON	V51	1.41.16
117	Jackie	PERRY	LV	1.41.34
118	Dawn	GREEN	L	1.45.42
119	Karen	DODSWORTH	LV	1.46.06
120	Alison	CLAYTON-SMITH	L	1.46.13
121	Matthew	HICKMAN		1.46.20
122	Meline	FLETCHER	LV	1.49.56
124	Clare	CHAPMAN	L	2.04.26
125	Susan	GIPSON	LV	2.08.35

Jon Gillham and Chris Yuill made it 2 races in 4 days braving the arctic conditions on Easter Monday to compete in the Thames Turbo Sprint Triathlon at Hampton Court Open Air Pool in Surrey. Jon was 28^th overall from 300 finishers in a time of 1:07 for the 426m swim,21k bike and 5k run and Chris was 147^th overall in 1:20. Transition times were a little slower than normal as competitors donned extra layers to combat the driving wind and occasional snow on the bike leg.

Sam Tophill completed the Oakley 20 last week in a time of 2:45:28.

17th March 2008

FVS Tri�s Brian White won 1^st Vet 50 in the Spring Ballbuster Duathlon based around Box Hill in Dorking, Surrey. The 5 lap race is very tough with each 8 mile lap including an ascent of Box Hill which was shrouded in early morning mist for the start of the event. Brian�s total time of 3:02:47 comprised of 47:45 for the first run lap, 1:20:32 on the 3 lap bike and 53:50 for the final run to give an overall 16^th place from 200 starters.

Four members of FVS Tri entered the 3rd and final circuit race in the Team MK Season Starter series. David Hard and Jon Gillham were joined by first timers Mark Racher and Mark Grayson for the 1 hour + 5 lap race which averaged 24.7mph on the MK Bowl Circuit. Mark Racher was very active at the front in the early laps leading for at least three with both Jon and David taking spells at the front. Unfortunately Mark Grayson had to retire mid race but David, Jon and Mark Racher were all involved in the bunch sprint finish.

Robbie Laughton competed in South Africa in The Cape Argus Cycle Tour over a 70 mile closed road course. He finished in 3:00:42 in 1822^nd position from over 38,000 starters with a 65^th category position from 616.The race was action packed with 80 recorded crashes and 43 hospitalisations!

Three members of FVS TRI raced the Clumber Classic Duathlon over an approximate 10k run/40k bike and 5k run with the run elements off road in Clumber Park The race acted as the first of the seasons World Championship qualifiers and so attracted a good quality field. Simon Hall was 89^th overall and 18^th in the competitive 40-44 age group with an overall time of 2:00:08. Sam Tophill was an excellent 3^rd in the 40-44 age group with a time of 2:17:11 and 207^th overall. Gemma Sargent qualified for the ITU and ETU Age Group `World Duathlon Championships for the 25-29 age group by finishing 4^th in a time of 2:26:11 and 238^th overall. With six qualifying slots per age group available at this qualifier, Gemma comfortably made the grade in her first competitive season in the sport.

	Name	Cat	Pos	Run	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Overall
89^th	Simon Hall	40-44	18^th	31.35	1.02	1.10.06	1.01	16.21	2.00.08
207^th	Sam Tophill	40-44	3^rd	37.28	1.27	1.16.55	1.18	20.00	2.17.11
238th	Gemma Sargent	25-29	4^th	37.15	1.30	1.25.58	1.39	19.47	2.26.11

Pete Bardell completed his first half marathon at the Silverstone race track and came an excellent 44^th from 4800 entrants in a time of 1:21:53. Richard Easterbrook finished 750^th in 1:41:01 having arrived late and starting at the back working through 4000 runners! Pete Eames finished his long Cross country season with a 37^th MV40 in the Herts Vets XC Championships held at Willian

Dave Hard was joined by Kevin Ash and Jon Gillham who made their cycle road race debuts for the club at the second Milton Keynes Bowl Circuit Race on Saturday. The fast paced race was ridden over a 1 hour plus 5 laps format on the inner service road of the MK Bowl that provides an ideal 1 mile traffic free circuit. All FVS TRI members finished in the pack and look forward to racing again next weekend.

FVS TRI�s Brian White was 1^st male Vet50 in the Milton Keynes Half Marathon in a time of 1:18:21. The flat course proved to be fast with Mark Robertson earning a massive 11 minute PB to finish in 1:22:07 and finally beating his fathers best time of 1:25!. PBs also for Drew Lowrie in 1:43:38 and also for Lynn and Richard Allen who improved by over 2 minutes finishing together in 1:57:12.

Stewart Kay also raced over the half marathon distance for the first time completing the Berkhamsted Half in 1:34:32. Kerri Renshaw also completed the event finishing in 1:28:01 for 5^th female.

FVS TRI Cycle Coach Dave Hard started the season with 2 races in successive weekends The North Road Hard Riders Time Trial was the first race in the Millennium Series and was held on a windy and hilly Herts/Essex course reduced in length from 25 miles to 18 due to road works. Dave Hard was 60^th in 54:55 and husband and wife team Tim Smith and Alison Clayton-Smith finished in 58:13 (77^th) and 1:10:17(87^th) respectively. The next race in the series is the Good Friday Welwyn Hilly TT a event traditionally well supported by FVS TRI. Dave Hard and Tim Smith raced the first in a series of Team MK Bowl Circuit races over the 1 hour plus 5 laps format. The event was competitive with Cat 2,3,& 4 riders all racing together in windy conditions and an average speed of around 25mph. Dave managed a bunch sprint finish with Tim Smith retiring just before the end. FVS TRI will be racing again at the MK Bowl this weekend led by Dave Hard.

Race Results March 2008