Fiona Ford of Triathlon Europe took part in the inaugural TriGrandPrix UK half-Ironman distance triathlon at Leybourne Lakes in Kent on 30 May 2010. After finishing in 9^th against a strong professional field she sent in the following report.

With £40,000 of prize money up with grabs, last weekend’s TriGrandPrix attracted more professional athletes than Ironman UK 70.3. It also tempted a strong field of top age-group athletes also competing for prize money and the chance to race alongside many household names in long course triathlon racing including four-times Ironman France winner Marcel Zamora, multiple Ironman New Zealand winner Joanna Lawn and top UK athletes Fraser Cartmell, Stephen Bayliss, and Leanda Cave.

Jo Lawn and an £8,000 smile

The one-lap 1900m swim followed the perimeter of the lake, so competitors were never far from the bank. This made the course easy to navigate although I found certain sections of the swim course very shallow, particularly around the island. The few odd submerged branches and overhanging trees kept it interesting too! The swim exit was a set of steps onto a jetty, helpfully manned by volunteers to assist you on your way into the bag racks and transition tent.

An army of volunteers worked in a co-ordinated fashion to ’strip’ wetsuits off competitors, and help them get prepared and underway to the gravel transition area where the bikes were racked. I opted to not use a barefoot transition, mainly due to the first 100m after the bike exit being an unsurfaced road with severe speed humps. Having my bike shoes on just meant I had to cleat clop over a mixture of carpet, wooden bridge and gravel path from the transition tent to the bike racking area, which worked well once clipped in on the bike. I saw a few competitors pulled over to the side of this little access road with problems either getting their feet into shoes or having come off the bike from barefoot consequences over the speed bumps.

The organisers promised a challenging bike course so I decided to ride my team issue Planet-X Nanolight road bike with clip on tri bars rather than my usual time trial bike. It turned out to be the right choice. The course dealt out a range a range of short-steep and long-drag climbs and over 4000ft of total ascent. Having the tri bars was useful for the longer sections into the wind, where it was best to conserve energy over the 56 mile course and ride as aerodynamically as possible.

Clemente Alonso searching for the zip

In addition to the hills, the weather and road conditions really tested competitors. I saw many athletes on the side of the road with mechanical issues or punctures, there were a few areas on the course with hazards like broken glass. The wind was relentless and ensured no one posted a stunningly fast bike split. On a positive note, the three out and back sections gave competitors plenty of feedback on their relative positions and also provided the opportunity to see the race unfolding out in front where Joanna Lawn took over the race lead from Leanda Cave in the final few miles of the bike and Fraser Cartmell appeared to lead comfortably throughout.

Rolling into T2 was another clockwork affair as ‘bike catchers’ were poised at the dismount line to take your bike from you as soon as you stepped off. I opted for a barefoot transition this time as it was only a short run on carpet to the bag racks and change tent. Once again a volunteer helped the multitasking effort with socks, shoes and gels.

The run course followed a well maintained path around the lake onto a speed-sapping hard unsurfaced section before hitting the road. Like the bike course, it was possible to see how the front of the race was panning out as the route took us out and back through a very quiet industrial estate, along an uphill section to complete a 2 mile lap on pavement and paths before retracing back to the finish. From my position in the women’s race, it looked like Fraser Cartmell led from start to finish with Timo Bracht a couple of minutes behind. Jo Lawn appeared to be travelling pretty easily ahead of Leanda Cave, with a fast finishing Alison Rowatt almost grabbing the final podium spot with a swift half marathon time of 1:18 off the bike.

For more details on the race see: www.trigrandprix.com

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