It’s been a cliché of a season – full of ups and downs, a good rollercoaster ride! A harsh winter, a good Spring, and a road traffic accident, followed by a disappointing performance at the World Duathlon Championships in Edinburgh. Not quite the stuff movies are made of, but an entertaining story all the same…

Picture the scene: The hardest, coldest, iciest and snowiest winter in recent times, and a determined lone figure on a turbo trainer in an unheated, unlit, un-powered leaking garage (it really is just a box, and a leaky one at that), with nothing forcompany but an Ipod, head-torch and those icicles clinging to the garage door. This is where the foundations for a great season were taking shape. Early season form inMarch and April was good and promised a strong summer of racing.

The sun came out, melted all the snow and summer began in earnest and everythingwas “coming up roses”. Cut to the sound of white Ford Transit truck hitting cyclistand bike and rider slamming into the tarmac and sliding a considerable distance,threatening to reverse the progression the early season work had achieved.

After that, reaching peak performance in early September was always going to be atall order. Injuries started to heal, fitness improved and some reasonable, butuntested, duathlon form became possible.Fast forward to Edinburgh in September and the World Duathlon Championships: Despite impressive first and final run segments, performance on the bike was just notgood enough on the day (which couldn’t be attributed entirely to using a different racebike) and I finished well below my early season expectations. However, bearing inmind the accident and some smaller injuries picked-up in the 2 weeks leading up tothe race, I was happy to finish in one piece.

Caption reads “…exactly 1 week later, London, England…” and the London Duathlon. In the previous 4 years I have finished the Challenge Distance event (still the largest Duathlon in the world in terms of competitor numbers) in 12th, 3rd, 7th and last yearagain in 3rd place overall. Perhaps 2010 would see something more than 3rd?A sunny Sunday morning and a slight wind in places made for exciting racing. Starting the first 10k run and heading up the first long hill around Richmond Park, Icould feel the effort of Edinburgh still in my quads! It’s a tough 1st run course, withlittle opportunity for recovery. Entering T1 in just over 35 minutes, I jumped onto mybike for two laps of the perimeter road. Keeping an eye out only for deer (race organisers state they retain priority on race day) and trying to keep as aerodynamicas possible, the 20k bike section went by faster than I can remember in previousyears: The difference between this year and previous bike splits was marginal, butperhaps the perception of a quicker bike leg was a by-product of good focus? A great dismount and swift T2 saw me onto the final 5k run, which is a hilly affair once again and a real test. I found this much harder and slower than in previousyears, but rather than limiting any losses, managed to post the fastest final run spiltof the day.

Later that night as the results were published online, I nervously double-clicked open the spreadsheet to discover that at the 5th attempt, I had won the London Duathlon…and by 2 minutes and 41 seconds! A good one for the palmares!

This race and this season goes to prove that potentially season-threatening injuries can be overcome, with a lot of “intelligent determination” and just a little bit of help along the way…other than friends and family, most significant thanks go to:

• Coach Helen Carter of PBscience.com, known “affectionately” by those she coaches as Dr Evil;
• Care For Health: Glenn Duffy for years of service. Alex Haddow giving me the belief that I could come back from my crash injuries and setting me on theroad to recovery;
• Jamie Kirkaldy for often painful, but ultimately beneficial massage

One of my sporting goals has finally been realised! Fade to dream sequence andone year into the future: Achieving my expectations at the World and European Duathlon championships and perhaps racing the elite category at London Duathlon. Then, as the mist clears, there I am winning a World Triathlon championshipmedal….hang on a minute; this is supposed to be a true story, not a work of fantasy fiction!

Lesley recovered well from the ’25′ to put in a strong ride on her local course, finishing in 1:57:26 for a superb 5th place. Close behind were Juliette in 2:04:06 (15th), Danuta in 2:05:42 (20th), Sara in 2:08:56 (23rd) and Jill in 2:17:24 (31st). Julia Shaw again showed her class taking the win with close to 8 minutes in hand over her nearest rival. Her winning time of 1:46:46 also set a new comp record, taking 3 seconds off the mark she set last year.

The following morning saw the turn of the men. Jerone backed up his excellent performances in the shorter distances, clocking 1:44:44 for 7th place. Seb finished in 1:48:05 (23rd) with Mark in 1:56:54 (73rd). Michael Hutchinson took the title in 1:38:55.

Also in action over the last week, Chris Long has been putting in the racing miles, taking 1st in the Bognor Regis 10 on Thursday, 3rd in the Farnborough and Camberley 10 on Saturday and another top 5 in the Farnham 25 on Sunday! On the road, Nathan made the winning move in the SERRL event on the Tenterden circuit, eventually finishing in 12th.

The ladies were first up, Lesley finishing with 1:01:33 (14th), Juliette 1:02:13 (17th), Danuta 1:03:35 (24th) and Sara 1:05:01 (30th). Julia Shaw put in another outstanding ride to take the title with 54:30 while London Dynamo added the team prize to the one they picked up in the ten.

In the mens event, Jerone put in another outstanding performance to finish 6th with 52:54. Despite two team mates in the top 15, Jerone and Sigma Sport were pipped to the team prize by Drag 2 Zero. Also in the mens competition Andy Jackson recorded 55:13 (30th), Seb 55:23 (31st), Paddy 56:42 (58th), Chris 59:09 (100th), Dan 59:14 (102nd), Mark 1:00:06 (114th) and Tom 1:07:10 (132nd). As expected Michael Hutchinson was well clear in first place with 49:34.

Also in action, Nic rode the GP du canton d’Argovie in Switzerland on Sunday. Against stiff competition against a number of Protour and Pro Continental teams Nic rode well to finish in the bunch. Nathan was also in action on the road, narrowly missing out on a top 10 finish in the Surrey League event at Barcombe.

Photograph courtesy of Sarah Brooke

In the mens event Jerone recorded the first sub-20 minute ride of the event, finishing an excellent 7th with 19:58. Other results include Seb (20:30, 22nd), Paddy (20:46, 33rd), Tom (21:05, 55th), Richard (21:07, 57th), Chris (21:47, 96th) and Mark (22:35, 135th). Once again ‘Hutch’ reigned supreme clocking 18:37 for his 7th 10 mile title. Richard’s team mates with Motorpoint-Marshalls Pasta RT took the team prize.

Congratulations to everyone, some excellent results there in very challenging conditions. More photos of the event are available at Sarah Brooke’s website.

Also in action Chris C and Jill rode the Sotonia event on the P613/10, clocking 23:48 and 26:31 respectively, while Nic finished comfortably in the front group in the Rund um die Braunkohle.

More excellent results were achieved on the time trialling front with Seb and Paddy emerging victorious in the …a3crg 2up with 51:40, ahead of Richard (partenered by James Boyman) in 3rd with 52:32. Jerone was part of the winning 3up team, recording 48:29 (alongside Phill Sykes and Chris Ball) while Jill completed the course solo in 1:12:48. Also in action, Danuta claimed second in the High Wycombe 25 with 1:01:59 and Oli backed up his great ride in last week’s Charlotteville 50, going even faster to record 1:55:20 in the Norlond Combine event. Juliette rode 1:03:51 in the Worthing Excelsior 25 and further north, Sara recorded 1:03:03 in windy conditions on the J5/8, with Andy claiming 5th in the YCF 10 with 21:31.

Craig ticked off another milestone on his build up to the Leadville 100, putting his recent injuries behind him to complete the Kent Castle 100 ride with Coach Carter on a very tough course. Look out for Craig’s own event report on his blog.

Looking ahead, a number of big races for many of the PBscience athletes are taking place next weekend. The best of luck to Sara, Juliette, Lesley, Danuta, Tom, Chris, Richard, Jerone, Paddy and Seb (and hopefully Mark) in the National 10 and Nathan and Dan in the South East Regional RR, as well as everyone else competing next week. Check back on Monday for a full roundup of the results.

Still on the time trialling front, Oli put in a great ride in the Charlotteville CC event on the H50/8, recording a time of 1:56:20. Also in action, Danuta posted 25:01 on the K33/10 while Richard and Chris both featured in the top 10 in the Farnham RC 10 with Richard in 3rd.

On the road, Tom and Nathan rode the Bec CC race; Nathan unfortunately continuing his run of bad luck by getting separated form the main bunch at a set of temporary traffic lights. Nic showed he has recovered well from the Tour of Brittany riding strongly in the Berner Rudfahrt in Switzerland.

PBscience athlete’s had more success in the Hampshire RC 10 on the P881/10. Jerone took the win with 19:39, Lesley was second lady with 22:18 and Seb posted 19:56 to complete a clean sweep of the podium (kind of). Also in action were Chris Long (20:41) and Stewart Guynan (22:27). Elsewhere Danuta finished second lady with 1:00:28 in the Ogmore Valley Whs event on the R25/H.

On the multisport side Martin Alexander raced the Cambridge Duathlon. A problem with the timing system means the results are provisional at this stage but (we think) Martin came 5th in his age group, qualifying him for the European and World age group championship races. A great result in challenging conditions!

The weather also played a role in Steve and Bjorn’s races at the Gorrick Enduro. The heavy rain turned the course into a mud bath and made for aweful conditions both for the riders but also their bikes. Both riders ran out of brake blocks and were forced to retire before the end.

On the road, Nic finished the Tour of Brittany on Saturday in 18th place after a week of hard racing. Nic finished consistently well in each stage, the highlights being a 3rd place on the stage 2 time trial, 8th on the queen stage into Huelgoat and 5th on the final stage to Dinan. On this side of the pond Dan took 2nd place in the SERRL event on the Benenden/Cranbrook course, getting outsprinted on the line by his breakaway companion after a 40 mile break in attrocious weather.

Also on Saturday, Chris Long smashed his ten mile PB, clocking 20:32 in the U47 Bath CC event, therefore assuring his place at the National 10 next month. Danuta also rode the event, her 22:28 good enough for second. Elsewhere Richard Prebble won  the Kingston Phoenix RC 10 with 21:22, while Lesley (22:18), Juliette (23:57) and Dan (22:11) got up extra early to ride the ‘chilly’ Catford CC event on the Q10/19.  

Sunday saw Tony ride the Wiggle Sportive taking in the best of the Surrey Hills and North Downs (albeit his own ‘interpretation’ of the route!) while Stewart posted 1:03:39 in a club 25 on the HCC001. Nathan took to the line in the Les Ingman RR, where after winning the first prime he punctured with two laps remaining on the tough Bletchingley circuit.

Sunday also saw Nic begin the Tour of Brittany stage race. A solid 33rd position in the opening road stage sees Nic sitting 1:32 down on the leader but with 7 stages to go there’s still a lot of racing to be done. After his strong showing in the time trials so far this year, Nic will be looking to move up in the classification with a 10.2km time trial on the island of Jersey today – you can follow his progress at www.tourdebretagne.fr

On the individual front the Farnborough and Camberley event on the H25/8 saw Richard take 6th place with 52:51 with Mark A coming home in 55:43 to record a course PB. In preparation for the longer events to come, Oli rode to and from the event, still breaking the hour with 59:32 as part of a (nearly) 100 mile day on the bike. Elsewhere Tom Morris was only 10s shy of the victory in the Elite CC 10, his 21:56 giving him an excellent 2nd place.

Across the pond, Nic continued his rich vein of form, taking the win in the 142km GP de Lancy handicap race in Switzerland. His team mates at Atlas Personal rode strongly to bring back a large break in which the team were under represented before Nic launched a stinging attack on the last climb. He comfortably held on for the remaining 15km, soloing to a 45 second lead by the finish line.

Plenty of road racing action over the weekend, starting with Jerone winning the E/1/2 circuit race at Goodwood. Jerone was part of a 7 man break that lapped the rest of the field, still with plenty in the tank to win the reuslting 5 man sprint. Chris L was also in action at Goodwood but was the final victim of the puncture demons with only 4 laps to go. Also on the road, Nathan and I rode the SERRL race at Brenchley, both taking a battering in the crosswinds on a very tough course… at least Nathan finished!

Across the pond Nic rode the Circuit des Ardennes against British team Rapha Condor Sharp amongst others. Nic continued his excellent run of form to take 6th overall and winning the ‘maillot vert’ in the points competition. Nic’s success was the result of consistently strong performances in each stage, capped off with 3rd place in the 3rd stage time trial. Nic covered the 14km in 17:33 – only 6 seconds behind the winner.