Rory Downie from Stirling won gold in the elite under-23 race on Saturday 14 July at the ETU Cross Triathlon European Championships, rounding off a successful day of racing for the GE Great Britain Team.
Rory commented: “It was a pretty standard swim. It was all about the bike and the run really.
“The bike wasn’t technical as such, but it was fast and it was technical. There were a few bits to look out for, loose stuff under the tyres with the sand. I was recommended to use special sand tyres by my home-stay, and the inside knowledge helped!
“Me and the guy who came second left T2 side by side. I just thought ‘run as hard as you can for as long as you can’ and I was just stronger on the run.
“As it was my first time representing the Great Britain elite team I thought I’d be happy if I finished in the front pack, and during the race I thought I was in 15th or 16th place (senior and U23 were mixed together) but the guy on the microphone said I was in the lead and that spurred me on during the second half of the run.”
Kerry MacPhee narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth in the women’s elite race.
Great Britain’s biggest ever age-group cross triathlon team made the short hop across the channel to race at the ETU Cross Triathlon European Championships held at Kijkduin, just outside the Dutch city of Den Haag (The Hague). The GE Great Britain Age-Group Team were well rewarded for their efforts with a clutch of medals coming back home.
The course was very different from anything encountered in Great Britain, and required a good deal of adjustment and rapid learning of skills and techniques – including the riding of sand tyres both on and off the beach.
The 1km swim in the North Sea was challenging with a swell of around 1-1.5m metres crashing into the surf zone along the beach. Substantial tidal currents ran parallel to the beach as well, requiring athletes to calculate carefully the most efficient line to the turn buoys.
The 28km MTB course was a mixture of soft sand along the beach and twisty, lumpy single track in the dunes a little inland. Three large sets of steps were thrown in for good measure. The 9km run was a 3-lap affair on soft sand in the dunes, with a return along the beach to the finish area at the end of each lap.
Great Britain was further represented in the form of British Triathlon President Dr Sarah Springman CBE who was present at the event in her capacity as ETU Vice President.
Sarah commented: “The Kijkduin LOC and the Netherlands Triathlon Bond have done a splendid job in managing some challenging weather conditions and the athletes have produced some exciting racing with the lead changing throughout.
“Racing through the surf, on the sand and riding down sets of stairs proved to be a great spectacle. With the World Championships here next year it will be a race well worth coming too.”
Paul McGreal, GE Great Britiain Age-Group Team Manager added: “The venue will also be the host of the 2013 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships. It’s an easy and rewarding trip from Great Britain so we hope the team will grow in size again. Anyone who wishes to qualify must be a member of Triathlon England, Welsh Triathlon or triathlonscotland. For more information visit the British Triathlon website.”
GE Great Britain Age-Group Team Results
GOLD (3)
Samuel Hatfield (20-24)
Natalie Smith (30-34)
Steve Ferguson (30-34)
SILVER (1)
Dearbhla Breen (30-34)
BRONZE (2)
Oliver Mahony (25-29)
Nigel Gregory (45-49)
