The 2011 British Cross Triathlon Championships took place on Saturday 24 September, with over 400 competitors all aiming to win a coveted British Age Group Championship in Camberley, Surrey.
Richard Stannard was the first male overall, delivering a convincing performance in the pristine waters of Hawley Lake and surrounding countryside. Richard showed all of his swimming experience to establish an early one minute 30 second lead after the 1,500m swim.
On the bike, Richard continued to lead after the two lap 24km off road bike course that took competitors through a mix of undulating heath land and technical forest trails before passing a vocal spectator’s area. As the bike ended, Richard’s rivals were beginning to eat into his advantage with Doug Hall, Cedric Lassonde and Graham Wadsworth all closing in on the three time ITU Aquathlon World Champion. However, the swim advantage proved too much for the other competitors and Richard crossed the line in 01:42.17..
Cedric Lassonde was second in 01:45.56, and Doug Hall finished third in 01.47.33.
In the women’s event, Jacqui Slack was the first athlete out of the water with a lead of over three minutes to the rest of the field. However, as the race developed Kerry Macphee began to claw herself back into contention, knocking over a minute off Jacqui’s lead on the bike before overtaking in the final stretches of the run.
Kerry won with a seven-second lead over Jacqui with a finishing time of 02:00.31. Jacqui Slack was second with 02:00.38 and Aileen Anderson third with 02:14.30.
Full results can be found on event organisers website: www.allabouttriathlons.co.uk.
