<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>London Triathlon Events - Tri247</title><link>http://www.tri247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest london triathlon events articles from Tri247</description><item><title><![CDATA[Garmin Barcelona Triathlon report]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_6079.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Colette O&#039;Neill reports on the Garmin Barcelona Triathlon, a great way to end the triathlon season with some warm weather. Alas, Colette&#039;s race didn&#039;t go to plan, but she still managed to enjoy her weekend and hopes to be back in 2010.

Held in a city stuffed full of attractions and with weather to make your friends at home  jealous, the Garmin Barcelona Triathlon is  a great way to the end the season.

  
    
    Whilst two of our group of four flew with Easyjet, we had chosen to  slum it with British Airways - Club Class.  A point  to note is that BA now charge for bikes when travelling Economy.  
      We opted to stay at the official event hotel,  the four star Barcelona Princess, which is lovely and modern  but you do need to know the person you share  with very well!!  There is lots of choice of accommodation,  with other GB peeps opting for apartments situated variably nearer to the  start.
  

On the Friday night we took a trip to Barcelona&#039;s famous  street, Las Ramblas, a Covent Garden type tourist area full of market stalls  and street performers.  After an  over-priced meal and a wander, we decided to make a night of it and head for  some distant bright lights.  We wandered  down intriguing windy back streets, fending off a number of street sellers  offering tempting own brand canned lager and other stuff, before reaching our  surprise destination - the rear lights of a rubbish truck.  We triathletes know how to have a good time.
  
    
      Saturday was spent leisurely fixing bikes and  registering.  Everything was well laid  out thanks to Archie Woodhead, the event organiser, who was spotted overseeing  registration then sweeping transition the afternoon before the race.  On Sunday, he raced then cleared away after  3,700 entrants, before the obligatory evening celebrations.  After collecting our goody bag, which  included a Mule bar, we ate shark in a nearby restaurant where we swapped  stories with the rest of the diners who all seemed to be British athletes,  including Dean Ratcliffe recently back from the Gold Coast Worlds and Island  Games in Bermuda.
      
    
  
  Race day meant an early start, despite only a few hours  sleep due to being locked out of my hotel room whilst an oblivious room-mate  slept soundly with earplugs in.  I had  picked up a bad cold before the trip, but with no temperature and no piggy tail  appearing, I thought I&#039;d at least get round the course.  Transition was huge and quite stony, with  elite, standard distance, relay, sprint and super sprint competitors being allocated  their own areas.
  
    
      
      
    
    
      
      
    
  
  Mar Bella beach  provided a delightful start point, with the icy cold sand proving a contrast to  the warm sea.  For those interested, the  nudist beach is situated further down near the race finish and was visibly  occupied on the saunter back.
  Wave four (of six in the Olympic distance), went off slightly  delayed, but without a warm-up.  We were  off and the warm water was bliss, but my blocked sinuses were preventing me from  breathing properly.  After 100m I looked  up to see a tsunami-stylee wave approaching.   OMG was swiftly replaced by a giggle, then a tumble to the sands  below.    Eventually I got into a rhythm  and battled around the first buoy, coping with nausea and a blocked nose.  I threw-up as I swam, though was managing  quite well despite my limited breathing.   However it was a fight against a virus, as the nausea reared up and hit  me with a succession of real corkers that quite impressed me.  I decided to do something I&#039;d never done  before &amp;ndash; raise my arm in the swim.  As I  did this, my inexperience meant that I wasn&#039;t sure I was even doing it  properly, but a boat appeared with a lady shouting in Spanish as I bobbed up  and down looking at her and barfed a few more times.  Holding onto the rocking boat helped to empty  me some more then I was passed to a rockin&amp;rsquo; body boarder, which did the  same.  Then the best bit, a stretcher  attached to a jet-ski, which sped at full throttle as I hung on and bounced my  way back to shore &amp;ndash; great fun!
Back on land, I dizzily cheered on the competitors exiting  the water then wandered back to transition amongst the back markers.  The rest of the race was then from a wobbly spectator&#039;s  viewpoint. 
The bike leg looked impressive, with the fast boys whooshing  past in tight packs on the draft-legal course.   An important point to note is that TT bikes are not allowed in the race  or would result in a DQ, since bar extensions longer than the brake levers are  deemed dangerous when drafting.  It was  unusual to see so many triathletes on road bikes minus their tribars, with only  a small minority boasting elite-type shorty bars and a distinct lack of hot TT  bling.  Most competitors appeared to be slipstreaming,  save the odd few not in packs and an even odder one or two looking like they  were off to buy some milk.  Reports back  told of some group leaders having to do all the work, whilst others worked with  each other to gain an advantage.  The  course contained quite a few corners and included a 180 degree turnaround, with  a course of three laps.  

 T2 was in and out at the opposite end to T1, evening-out any  advantage.  The run was along the  promenade, through a park and then to the turn-point under the famous Arc de  Triomf - a reportedly lovely run course, with the sun beaming down on  competitors.  Spectators and supporters  were aplenty and the athlete finish area even contained pear beer for those  with a finish medal.
 The decent prize money had attracted the likes of ladies winner Jodie  Stimpson, whilst the GB contingent  was well-represented with clubs such as Serpentine, Full On Tri and Evolution  in force.  Evolution&#039;s Mark Hyde still  managed to finish despite a broken bone, a wickedly ripped wetsuit and a tribar  issue.
 Overall, a top event to round off the season.  Barcelona, home to a plethora of attractions,  is a great venue with plenty of flights and accommodation.  The race organisation is pretty good, the  technical t-shirt sound and the atmosphere friendly with a feel of Catalonian  party time.  Weaknesses are the stony  gravel in transition, the timing chip strap frailty (I spotted a stray one  floating in the waves), and the queue to remove your bike from transition.  But the location, the weather, the fast  course and the timing make for a must-do race.   I do hope to return next year to complete the course and make the most  of the fast drafting course and brilliant waves.
 Video  link:
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Interview: Rory Underwood]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_5732.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[One of the great things about the Mazda London Triathlon is the variety of people that take part, and that includes sporting celebrities! Rugby legend, Rory Underwood, was one of the celebrities who signed up to race at the start of the year - we interviewed him back then to find out how he felt about racing and how he was going to prepare himself for the largest triathlon in the world. We&#039;re pleased to report that Rory successfully completed the London Triathlon last month, coming home in a very respectable 3:10:28. I caught up with Rory to find out about his London experience and whether he&#039;ll be back again next year.



AE Rory, congratulations on competing in your first triathlon, was it as good, or as bad, as you thought it would be?

RU Thanks, it was pretty much as expected. I felt confident that I&rsquo;d done enough training to get me through the event and it was just the aspects that you cannot replicate in training that I was conscious of. I had done no open water swimming before the event and so wasn&#039;t sure what swimming with a wetsuit was going to be like nor what racing with 250 other swimmers would entail &ndash; but I could guess.

AE How did you find the training?

RU Running was fine as I do that anyway to try and keep fit. Cycling was getting used to road racing and the technical aspect of riding up and down hills, seat positioning and finding ones cadence. Discovered padded lycra shorts! Although I had been a swimmer at school the only swimming I have done since leaving school has been in holiday pools playing with my daughters. Starting in March this was the hardest part as I built up my technique and stamina. I enjoyed my &lsquo;warm weather training&rsquo; in La Manga before the event though! I go there every year for my holiday and the triathlon is smack bang in the middle so I used the two and a half weeks before with some quality training. There was a 25m pool and a gym 100m from my apartment and running around the golf courses was great.

AE As England&rsquo;s all-time leading try scorer (49 tries) and second most capped player (85) you&rsquo;re certainly not afraid to get stuck in, so how did you find the swim start?

RU I had spoken to a variety of people about the swim and so knew what to expect. I decided that as I wasn&rsquo;t going to be the first out of the water there was no point being at the front so I set myself somewhere in the middle of the pack and set off. Well I tried but virtually every other stroke you bumped into somebody so it was very stop-start. You also wondered why everybody was swimming across you but it soon became apparent that trying to hold a straight line is very difficult and that it was probably six and two threes as to who was swimming straight or not. So the first 200m or so was very erratic with no chance to get into a rhythm and eventually when you settled down the task was to then swim straight and find the marker buoys. 

AE What&rsquo;s tougher a game of rugby or a triathlon?

RU I&rsquo;d have to say rugby because apart from the start of the swim it&rsquo;s all about yourself really, but that&rsquo;s not belittling triathlon in any way.

AE Which part of the race did you most enjoy?

RU The finish! 

AE And least?

RU Mid point in each discipline when you felt there was still miles to go.

AE What was the most important bit of advice you were given before racing your first triathlon?

RU Before racing in the Mazda London Triathlon I was recommended racing in a Sprint Triathlon and this was excellent preparation for the main event. You do all your training, prepare your mind for the disciplines but there is nothing that prepares you for the event itself. I took part in a sprint triathlon at RAF Cranwell in early July and it was extremely useful for understanding the whole logistics of a triathlon and competing in one too.

AE  Austin Healey and Matt Dawson had initially promised to race London as well, but both pulled out with injuries. Were you disappointed not to see them racing?

RU That&rsquo;s scrum halves for you, a couple of woosers! They would have livened up the event I&rsquo;m sure and it was disappointing that they couldn&rsquo;t take part.

 

AE You&rsquo;ve already raised over &pound;5000 for Help for Heroes, tell us little about your charity and why you  choose to raise money for this particular charity?

RU I spent 18 years as a pilot in the RAF and my wife is now back serving as a full-time Reservist working at Cranwell,  so this is very close to my heart. This has been the first opportunity I have had to do something directly and raise money for H4H and I&rsquo;ve been extremely pleased with the response by everyone who has donated.

 

AE Ok, you&rsquo;ve got your first triathlon under your belt, so what&rsquo;s next &ndash; a sub-three hour Olympic distance triathlon, a half Ironman or maybe even a full Ironman in the future?

RU The dust has settled and what I&rsquo;ve learnt is that I know that I can do under three hours and so hot off the press so to speak, I&rsquo;ll be back again next year. No Ironman, half or anything for me - I know my limits!



To donate to Rory&#039;s charity go to Rory&#039;s donation page at www.bmycharity.com/v2/roryunderwood
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to succeed at: The Mazda London Triathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2312.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Vital facts

  
    Race dates
    August 1st and August 2nd 2009
  
  
    Future dates
    2010 TBC
  
  
    Website
    http://www.thelondontriathlon.com
  
  
    Location
    ExCeL, London Docklands 
  
  
    Race distances (advertised):
    Standard, Sprint and Super Sprint distances plus Team Relays 
  
  
    Competitor numbers 
    Largest triathlon in the world, over 13,000 entrants 
  


Background
The Mazda London Triathlon takes place at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London&#039;s Docklands and is the largest triathlon in the world with over 13,000 competitors expected to participate in one or other of the events over a two-day period. While the fact that it&#039;s the biggest means that there going to be an awful lot of people there, it doesn&#039;t mean that everyone goes at the same time! There are 15 waves on the Saturday and 20 on the Sunday and there&#039;s a choice of distances from super sprint through to standard distance together with dedicated corporate waves.
Around a third of the competitors will be first-timers, a staggering statistic in itself. In fact, this whole event is all about mass-participation and it has grown steadily year on year with a major focus being on fund-raising for charity, the official ones are Macmillan Cancer Support and WaterAid. For the experienced triathlete there is the option of a sub-2:30 wave which tracks the elite route into central London or a slightly shorter loop that goes to Tower Bridge and back twice. 
Because of the sheer size and complexity of the London Triathlon the single most important piece of advice that we can give is the READ THE RACE PACK!!! Unlike the page or two of A4 that most organisers provide this is a massively comprehensive multi-page document that answers pretty much every question that you might ask.
So, why are we doing a &#039;How to succeed...&#039; feature? Well, because there are other little tips and tricks that can help you through London that are more than just a line or two in the race instructions!

The swim
The swim at London takes place in a dock so there&#039;s no current but, because the water is contained in a tank, there can be a fair amount of chop once the event gets going. It&#039;s a deep water start and you need to be at the marshalling point at least 20 minutes before your wave. Because of the sheer size of the ExCeL building it could take you ten minutes to get there and there are always people who leave it too late. Remember, you collect your swim cap at the marshalling point, don&#039;t go worrying that you left it behind or someone forgot to put it in your race pack, and then enter the water to swim across the dock to the start line.
The swim course itself is an &#039;out and back&#039;. You swim down the dock to the appropriate buoy  and then make a 180&amp;deg; turn to the left to swim back towards the start, before turning right to swim in to the exit ramp. The exit ramp is part submerged so you can swim right onto it before finding your feet.
If you are an inexperienced open water swimmer then do try to remember to kick your legs a bit before you get to the ramp to get the blood circulating again so you don&#039;t get that dizzy feeling when you stand up. Another unusual feature of London is that you get to take your wetsuit off straight away and stuff it into a plastic bag that you then carry to transition. Why? Well, imagine just how slippery all that flooring would get after a few thousand athletes had dripped a litre or so of water over it! And the first bit of floor you get to go across is a set of stairs... 

The transition to bike 
It&#039;s a long way to pretty much anywhere in transition and because the four access points are in the four corners of transition to ensure that the distances are equal you will run in off the swim in the top left corner of a wide rectangular area. Bikes are racked in marked rows by wave and it really is essential to have taken the time to walk round the area and establish where you are relative to the entry and exit points. Marking your transition spot is not allowed but there are legal ways to assist you - a brightly coloured or distinctive pattern on your transition towel could mean the difference between finding your bike after the swim and running around wasting valuable minutes. Balloons, flags and talc on the floor are definitely not allowed!

The bike exit is in the bottom right corner of the transition and there is a clearly defined flow so, again, do take the time to establish the correct way through the racking. If you&#039;ve ever seen the transition at Windsor and thought that was big then be prepared for a major upgrade - we are talking double and then some!




The bike
Each of the events has its own bike route, we&#039;ll concentrate on the two routes that go into central London on the Sunday. All of the morning races, that&#039;s the 2,200 age groupers, those capable of sub 2:30 plus the elite men and women get to race this course. It consists of a short loop to Canary Wharf and back followed by a longer loop all the way along the Embankment to Big Ben and back. Note, the elite athletes do these two loops in the reverse order - they do the Big Ben loop first. The afternoon races do two loops to Tower Bridge and back. The whole route is closed to traffic and there is massive support along the way.

Anyone who has raced at London before and is assuming things will all be the same as the last time need to be aware that at the start of the bike section as you go around the back of ExCeL there is a new building which means that the first roundabout is now a single rather than a double. That said, given that it&#039;s a completely closed circuit, there really should be no reason for you to go wrong as the signs are are plentiful and clear. 

Oddly, the trickiest part of the entire route is the transition from the ExCeL building to the ground level. Not only do you change from indoors to outdoors and from a slick floor to concrete but you go from artificial to natural light and it may take a few moments for your eyes to become adjusted. The problem is that at the same time you are going down a ramp with several bends... Much better to wait until you are safely at ground level before putting the hammer down! Also, this is a natural area for spectators to congregate and there is a temptation to wave at your loved ones. This is NOT a good idea - you need both hands on the bars at this point...

The transition to run
The bike in actually moves from the morning to the afternoon races but it is always located at the bottom left corner of the currently active transiton section. The flow lines are clearly set out and you&#039;ll need to navigate back to your bike. Again, we cannot stress too strongly that it is so worth taking the time to figure things out in advance because it is easily possible to waste minutes of time running up and down the wrong row looking for your slot.

Once changed you will head for the run exit which is in the top right corner of the  transition which means you might have to run the whole length to get there and then run all the way back on the outside of the transition cage to join the start of the run.
Notice that the flow lines work the diagonals - there is always the possibility of having someone going on the opposite diagonal so do keep your eyes open and be aware that others are racing and have just as much &#039;right of way&#039; as you do. Listen to the marshals and stay alert. 
The run
Saturday&#039;s runs for the races that stay within Docklands are all multi-lap affairs on the ExCeL side of the dock. Sunday&#039;s runs extend to a turn point on the opposite side of the dock to ExCeL. There are a significant number of turns on the course and at the end of each lap the run returns up the ramp and back into the ExCel building for a right-hand loop in front of the crowds before merging with the run-out channel and then back out into the daylight again.

While the majority of the run is flat the ramp does offer a significant change of grade and and can come as an unpleasant shock! Worse, as the ramp comes in the last 200m of the race it can catch you a bit unawares and those who can move fast uphill can often pick up a few places.

The finish chute is a distinct left-hand turn away from the natural curve of the loop - there&#039;s no chance of &#039;accidentally&#039; running through the finish.
Other information
The biggest triathlon Expo of the year takes place alongside the race and, as it&#039;s getting well into the second half of the season, there will be lots of bargains there for those in need of retail therapy. It&#039;s also a safety net for those who manage to lose, forget or break vital bits of kit - we&#039;ve even heard of people buying their wetsuits and bikes for the race at the Expo.

Travel to ExCeL needs careful planning as a lot of the access roads are closed off for the bike course. The best route in is on the A13, HOWEVER (and a reminder to check that RACE PACK!), due to construction work at ExCeL this year there will be no entry to ExCeL via the East Entrance, and no East car park - check the map for details of the Peruvian car park, which is a 15-20 minute walk from the venue. For spectators, however, the DLR is the most direct connection to the venue with links into central London and both the Underground and regular rail services.

Do note however, BICYCLES ARE NOT PERMITTED ON THE DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY. ExCeL London is connected to the Jubilee line at Canning Town via a three minute DLR journey. The JUBILEE LINE will be CLOSED between Stanmore and Waterloo (Saturday 1st / Sunday 2nd August)  due to essential engineering works. The DLR is set to run a normal service. 

We strongly advise competitors to arrive at the venue using private transport although the DLR remains open for spectator use.
For information about travelling on public transport with a bicycle or to select a bike route, refer to Transport for London www.tfl.gov.uk or London Cycling Campaign www.lcc.org.uk

There is plenty of catering on-site with a wide choice of outlets in the central spine of the building plus a couple of restaurants and bars in the immediate area. There are a lot of new hotels but expect most to be fully booked for the event. The floating hotel moored in the dock next to ExCeL is a great, if expensive, location. 
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Blenheim elite results and interviews]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_5325.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Just in from Blenheim. Funny, almost exactly what we predicted!
Stuart Hayes retained his title from 2008 in a hard fought race, with Jonny Brownlee second and Aaron Harris, backing up his second place from Strathclyde with another good result in third. 
With Jodie Swallow absent, it was another Jodie - Stimpson - who took her biggest win to date, making it a great day for Michelle Dillon and Team Dillon Coaching (www.teamdilloncoaching.com), as she is the coach to both of today&#039;s winners.
Will Johnston came out on top in the Youth Super Sprint race, though perhaps the performance of the day was in the girls Super Sprint, as Sky Draper (still only 13, and technically not yet in the youth age group!), showed what a talent she is by leading from gun to tape, for a truly comprehensive win of over two and a half minutes over National Youth Duathlon Champion, Maddie Winzer. Britain certainly has got talent... 
Here are the results, and interviews with all of the elite senior podium finishers, plus Michelle Dillon and Sky Draper: 

  
    Pos
    Men
    Women
  
  
    Elite Seniors 
  
  
    1st
    Stuart Hayes 1:01:10 
    Jodie Stimpson 1:08:24 
  
  
    2nd
    Jonny Brownlee 1:01:15 
    Non Stanford 1:08:39 
  
  
    3rd
    Aaron Harris 1:01:20 
    Sophie Coleman 1:09:12 
  
  
    Elite Juniors 
  
  
    1st
    Tom Bishop 1:02:41 
    Sophie Coleman 1:09:12 
  
  
    2nd
    Josh Daniels 1:03:10 
    Lucy Hall 1:12:06 
  
  
    3rd
    Rob Bowles 1:04:21 
    Holly Lawrence 1:12:11 
  
  
    Elite Youth Super Sprint 
  
  
    1st
    Will Johnston 43:31 
    Sky Draper 46:52 
  
  
    2nd
    Cameron Milne 43:50 
    Maddie Winzer 49:24 
  
  
    3rd
    Patrick Hough 43:59 
    Alexander McKibben 50:28 
  


Stuart Hayes: 
&amp;quot;It was a tough race, and certainly wasn&#039;t an easy win - Jonny was breathing down my neck the whole way! I was second out of the swim - the water was actually really warm, much warmer than outside - and then there was a split on the bike. We then got joined by a group of perhaps 8/10. I sprinted out of T2 with Jonny and we ran together most of the way, and I managed to sprint away at the end. I&#039;m doing Washington (WCS) and Des Moines World Cup next, and then after that probably the non-drafting events in the US. I really like them, as it&#039;s a very fair race. I&#039;ve been concentrating on my running for the WCS races, but will now focus more on the biking I think for those races.&amp;quot;
Jonny Brownlee:
  &amp;quot;I had a good swim, maybe 4th/5th out, and was onto the bike in second. A group of around 12 formed, as there was some strong bikers like Phil Graves behind who caught us. I was neck and neck with Stuart on the run, until about 1.5km to go when he surged, got 10m, and held that to the end.&amp;quot;
Aaron Harris:
  &amp;quot;I&#039;m really happy - and pleased that after Strathclyde (second), I&#039;m not a one-hit wonder! I&#039;m really looking forward to the Euro U23&#039;s in two weeks now, and hopefully can get a podium. I wanted to know I could make the front pack of the swim in some top British races, and have put a lot of focus an training into my swimming, and that&#039;s paid off.&amp;quot;
Jodie Stimpson:
  &amp;quot;Everything had just clicked! I&#039;ve been training really hard with my new coach Michelle Dillon. The training is really hard core, but I love it! I was 3rd I think out of the water, and caught up with Lucy. By T2 a group had formed, as we were caught from behind, and I knew it was going to be a really hard run. Non (Stanford) went of really fast on the run, but I managed to take the lead on the second lap. I&#039;m doing Windsor next week, then the Euro U23&#039;s in Italy and then will be off to the Elite Seniors (Holten). I&#039;ve got a lot of confidence from today, as that&#039;s my biggest win so far.&amp;quot;
Non Stanford: 
  &amp;quot;I&#039;m shocked! It&#039;s great though, it shows progress and that the training is working. Yes, I&#039;m pretty sure it&#039;s a permanent move from running to triathlon. I enjoy the diversity of the training and the competitions are really exciting. I&#039;ll still do some XC running in the winter, and perhaps might consider the Commonwealth Games 10km (track), if it was possible to make the Welsh team, but I think triathlon is definitely my future. Next up I&#039;m at Windsor next week, then London.&amp;quot;
Sophie Coleman:
  &amp;quot;I had a good swim, and I&#039;m much more confident in that now after working really hard with Glenn (Cook) all winter. I was closer to the front of the seniors this year, than I was to the juniors last year, so that&#039;s progress - 40 seconds down maybe? The long run to transition is in my favour! I knew I had to hammer the bike to catch up, and we caught Lucy/Jodie on the third lap. It all went a bit wrong in T2 - my hands and feet were like ice blocks! So, I lost time there and couldn&#039;t make up that deficit. Still, I&#039;m happy with my result.&amp;quot;
Sky Draper:
  &amp;quot;It wasn&#039;t raining when we raced, and the water was surprisingly warm. I managed to be first out of the swim, and then was able to lead the whole way, so yes, that&#039;s probably my biggest win to date, and also I had no problems on the run with my recent injury, so that&#039;s good news for the rest of the year. I shall be racing at The London Triathlon and also the Hyde Park race.&amp;quot;
Michelle Dillon:
  &amp;quot;It&#039;s been a great day! Stuart had been sick with a virus which we didn&#039;t know about last week in Madrid, so he had a couple of days off training. It was only yesterday really that he felt ok, and decided to race. That was definitely Jodie&#039;s biggest win, and after making the podium at the National&#039;s, I can only see bigger and better things for her. I really rate her, and she trains really hard. Very happy!&amp;quot;]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Jenson Button to race London Triathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_5205.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[It&#039;s good to see that even though Jenson Button has taken the Formula 1 world by storm this year he&#039;s still going to be taking part in triathlons. Reports on the official Formula 1 webite are saying that he will be taking part in the London Triathlon and will be racing for the charity, Make-A-Wish Foundation. Button is aiming to finish in the top 10%, and following some very decent performances at the Sevenoaks and Windsor triathlons in 2008 we certainly think it&#039;s well within his capabilities.

News image &copy; Sussex Sport Photography.com
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Interview: Rory Underwood]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_4685.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The London Triathlon is never short of celebrities taking part in what has now become the largest mass participation triathlon event in the world. This year will be no exception, and lately there has been a fair amount of news about several ex-rugby stars who are planning on competing in the event. 

The legendary ex-England international, and still, to this day, England&#039;s highest try scorer, Rory Underwood, recently attended a press morning organised by the London Triathlon to talk about his decision to take part in this year&#039;s event. I went to Virgin Active&#039;s City gym, in Moorgate, to catch up with Rory and find out more about his brave decision to take part in the 2009 Mazda London
Triathlon.

 

 
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[England legend Rory Underwood signs-up for the Mazda London Triathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_4599.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Former England, British Lions and Leicester Tigers winger, Rory Underwood (MBE), is kick-starting his training for his first ever triathlon with former Great Britain triathlete and now Tri247&#039;s deputy editor Annie Emmerson, having committed to compete in the 2009 Mazda London Triathlon taking place first and second August 2009 at ExCeL. 
 
Annie, who achieved four National Titles and Seven European Triathlon Cup wins, is putting England&rsquo;s all-time leading try scorer (49 tries) and second most capped player (85) through his paces as he prepares to compete in the Olympic distance at the world&rsquo;s largest triathlon which includes a 1500m open water swim, 40km bike and 10km run.  

Commenting on his latest sporting endeavour, Underwood said: &ldquo;The Mazda London Triathlon presents a new challenge for me as I will be tackling three different disciplines with the swim, bike and run. Having a clear goal to focus my training around will make a huge difference in my motivation to perform which will also be helped by some healthy rivalry!&rdquo; 

In a recent survey conducted by IMG Mass Participation Sports, it was discovered that 93 per cent of people who take part in IMG events feel that regular exercise has a positive impact on their performance at work.   

Underwood is now a director of UPH, a performance improvement company, which works with businesses to develop and inspire top performances from individuals and teams. He will be hoping to demonstrate some of the qualities he is known for as he takes-on his business partners John Peters, Martyn Helliwell and UPH trainer Pete McCroy, who is the only triathlon regular of the four. Peters is a former RAF Tornado pilot who came to the world&rsquo;s attention when he was a POW in the Gulf War I and Helliwell served as the British military&#039;s first commissioned professional survival instructor.

Nick Rusling, Managing Director of event organiser IMG Mass Participation Sports, said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fantastic that a sporting legend like Rory Underwood is turning his talent to a relatively new sport demonstrating the increase in popularity triathlon is currently experiencing. We hope that he enjoys his first triathlon and are all looking forward to cheering him and John Peters on &ndash; I&rsquo;m sure it will be a close finish!&rdquo;   
 
Triathlon is the fastest growing mass participation sport in the world due to its accessibility, scope to train both indoors and out, as well as offering variety to its competitors with each stage of the event. To find out more or to register, visit www.thelondontriathlon.com before entries close on January 31st 2009.
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[How do YOU train?!]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_4403.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The guys and girls at the offices of The London Triathlon (www.thelondontriathlon.com) have been hard at work of late. Not content with producing the world&#039;s largest triathlon, they have been pulling out all the stops to get fit themselves for the 2009 event, taking place on 1st and 2nd August next year at ExCeL. 
We&#039;re not sure if any royalties for brand copyright are payable to David Brent and The Office... but, they would like to ask: &amp;quot;how to YOU train?&amp;quot;

]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[On-line registration is now open for the fourth EDF Alpe d’Huez Triathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_4350.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Cyrille Neveu, 2002 ITU World Long Distance Champion and IMG are proud to announce the official opening of on-line registration for the 2009 EDF Alpe d&#039;Huez Triathlon, one of the major events on the international calendar.

The EDF Alpe d&#039;Huez Triathlon will take place on the weekend of the 27th-30th July 2009. In just three years, the EDF Alpe d&#039;Huez Triathlon has become one of the major races on the French and foreign triathletes&#039; racing programme.

Some of the world&#039;s best triathletes such as Marcel Zamora, Alexandra Louison, Gilles Reboul and Chrissie Wellington (winner in both 2007 and 2008), have raced the Alpe d&#039;Huez Triathlon. Chrissie Wellington declared: &quot;I love triathlons with beautiful scenic routes. In no other place could I find a better setting&quot;, and Julien Loy, 2007 and 2008 Long Distance Triathlon World Champion, added, &quot;The same sensations are felt by all, whether this is your first race or if you are an experienced runner, you&#039;re simply overwhelmed by the beautiful course scenery.

The triathletes will be physically challenged by this unique course &ndash; starting from the pristine waters of the EDF lake in Vaujany, then riding through the Parc des Ecrins and ascending its two passes: the Alpe du Grand Serre and the Ornon, before the mythical and much-feared ascent of the Alpe d&#039;Huez with its 21 hairpin bends. The final leg of the race sees the competitor ride through breathtaking landscape (at an altitude of 2000m) with green slopes on one side and snow-capped peaks on the other side before arriving in the heart of the mountain resort, Alpe d&#039;Huez. 

The fourth anniversary of the race sees the arrival of IMG, the world&#039;s premier and most diversified sports, entertainment and media company which will work closely with Cyrille Neveu, the co-founder of the race. The EDF Alpe d&#039;Huez Triathlon is the latest addition to the catalogue of events owned by IMG (Mass Participation Sports division) who also own  the London Triathlon, the largest triathlon in the world (13,000 competitors), the Blenheim Triathlon (5,000 participants) and the Stockholm and Barcelona Triathlons. The goal of this joint venture is to make of the EDF Alpe d&#039;Huez Triathlon the not-to-be-missed event by the world&#039;s best long distance triathletes. 

For more information go to: www.alpetriathlon.com]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Barcelona Triathlon results]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_4118.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The latest in the IMG Euro-Cities Triathlon Series took place yesterday with the inaugural Barcelona Triathlon.
I am told that the weather was hot and sunny, the start was located next to a nudist beach, and several Brits got disqualified for having incorrect handlebars since it was a draft-legal event! Still, feedback is that the event has a lot of potential in a great city. 
Results can be found on these links:
Olympic
Olympic - Relay
  Sprint
  Sprint - Relay
  SuperSprint
Plenty of Brits in there, and a quick check would suggest the Martin Hynes (FVS Tri), has completed a triple of winning the sprint event in London, Stockholm and Barcelona. ]]></description></item></channel></rss>