From humble beginnings that could be charitably described as ‘experimental’, the East Grinstead Triathlon will be celebrating its thirtieth instalment this May. EGTC member David Pawsey describes its long and colourful history… Advertisement With the explosion in triathlon in the last decade it could be hard for some competitors to imagine a time when the sport was just finding its feet. The latest British Triathlon figures show that in 2013 there were 993 events held around the UK.  From huge 10,000+ competitor events like the London Triathlon to small, local club events with less than 100 entrants over a range of distances, triathletes are spoilt for choice nowadays. In the…

If you like sea swims and rolling hills on the bike then this one’s for you – the Eirias Triathlon will return to north Wales on 26 September, with a top field expected once again. Advertisement Both race begin with a sea swim at Porth Eirias, with the middle distance+ race involving a 1,900m swim (two laps), 106km cycle and 20km run. The standard distance+ race takes place on the same course and includes a 1,500m swim, 53km cycle and 10km run. Last year’s race saw Welsh Commonwealth Games athlete Carol Bridge take the overall title in the middle distance+ race, beating the male winner Christof Knoeri by over 3mins with…

Perfectly warm and still conditions greeted athletes at Challenge Wanaka last weekend, with New Zealand athletes Dylan McNeice and Gina Crawford picking up their third and sixth victories respectively in the beautiful Southern Alps. Advertisement The men’s race was much closer than 2014 however, with local athlete Dougal Allen pushing hard all the way. McNeice completed the 3.8km swim in a new course record 45:33mins, but Allen rode a sensational bike leg of 4:30:50, smashing Richard Ussher’s 2010 record by almost 12mins to claw back a lot of the ground he lost in the swim. It wasn’t enough however to catch McNeice, who won in 8:37:14. “It was a lot…

Not content with moving location up to Derby to fit more people in, the Jenson Button Trust Triathlon will be offering a £7,000 prize purse this year, with a grand each on the table for the male and female winner. Advertisement The remaining £9,000 will be shared out down to 10th place, split evenly between the male and female athletes. This makes it one of the biggest prizes in UK sprint triathlon, and again gives athletes the chance to race against 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson. The prize money will be distributed to male and female athletes as follows: 1: £1,0002: £8003: £6004: £4005: £2006: £1757: £1508: £1009: £7510: Sponsor Prize TBA The race will be held at Markeaton…

South Africa’s Stuart Marais and Bermuda’s Flora Duffy won the 12th annual Xterra South Africa Champs last weekend, grinding out convincing wins in cold and blustery conditions that sent athletes scrambling for the neoprene early on Sunday. Advertisement There was drama before the race got underway with news that four-time Xterra world champion Conrad Stoltz had pulled out of proceedings with a severe cold. With the 2014 champion Dan Hugo retiring recently, this left the men’s race wide open. An unseasonable cold front and blustery winds rolled in the night before race day and dropped the water temps in the small lake by more than two degrees, turning a non-wetsuit…

With just days to go until this year’s 220 Triathlon Show at Sandown Park in Surrey, we take a look at one of the event’s key area – the Zoggs Swim Zone… Advertisement The Zoggs Swim Zone will provide everything you need to improve your swimming from goggles to wetsuits, pool buoys to the latest training equipment. It will also feature, for the first time, a dual endless pool where you can sign up for training sessions with top coaches including record-breaking long-distance swimmer Adam Walker and Swim Smooth founder Paul Newsome. At the show, Zoggs will be launching their new range of wetsuits and goggles. In addition, they’ll provide a…

Just six months after retiring from professional cycling, Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Emma Pooley claimed gold at long-distance triathlon Challenge Philippines last weekend despite some hot and challenging conditions. Advertisement Just thought you should know @PooleyEmma is still kicking ass on a bike. With that swim & run stuff on either side. pic.twitter.com/SNAwj21vZV — Kathryn Bertine (@KathrynBertine) February 21, 2015 Pooley, 32, placed third at the same event last year, but this time managed to take victory by a margin of more than 10mins over nearest rival Kelly Williamson (USA). Britain’s Parys Edwards rounded out the podium with third place. “It was tough but honest course and beautiful,” said Pooley…

SenseCore, a maker of wearable sports technology based in Zürich, has formed a new multisport squad comprised of seven talented elite and amateur athletes, including six Brits and one Aussie. Advertisement The SenseCore Racing Team, which has been assembled to cover all triathlon distances from short course racing to iron distance racing as well as extreme sports such as mountain biking, will use SenseCore’s unique wearable technology to measure ECG, respiration, body temperature, speed, distance, steps and more.  Software analysis of training load, recovery quality, mental energy, nutrition, biomechanics and illnesses is combined with the sensor data to give the athletes a complete picture of how their body is performing,…

With a million dollars up for grabs, Spain’s Javier Gomez has revealed that he wants to race all three races in the Challenge Triple Crown this year, in addition to defending his WTS title – but not the 70.3 Worlds.  Advertisement Speaking to 220 from the Canary Islands where he’s been training for this weekend’s Challenge Dubai, Gomez said that he does plan to race the Bahrain and Oman instalments of the recently announced Triple Crown series. “That’s the idea. We’ll see how the first one goes but… Yeah, I’d like to do the three of them. I know it’s gonna be a long year but I always like new…

Javier Gomez and Michael Raelert haven’t raced one another for over five years and Germany’s Challenge Bahrain champion couldn’t even recall the last set-to, a non-drafting race in 2009 in Los Angeles where the four-time ITU world champion came out on top. Advertisement The rare head-to-head of the two foremost middle distance triathletes in the world is one of the most intriguing aspects of Friday’s inaugural Challenge Dubai, the first of a Triple Crown of events that Challenge CEO Zibi Szlufcik today confirmed would pay $1,000,000 to anyone who wins the lot. The prize purse for this first instalment is a guaranteed $300,000 and that’s the type of carrot that…