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		<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Blenheim Triathlon - Tri247</title><link>http://www.tri247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest blenheim triathlon articles from Tri247</description><item><title><![CDATA[How to succeed at: Blenheim]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2049.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Blenheim Palace, the gift of a grateful nation to its saviour John, Duke of Marlborough, is also a gift of a venue for triathlon. Loads of space for parking, a competitor village and a gorgeous view or vista at every turn. There&#039;s a lake that, basically, just says &quot;swim in me&quot;, a transition area that&#039;s the Palace&#039;s front yard, a closed cycle circuit that offers plenty of interest and yet is not overly physically challenging and a run route that you will actually want to go back and walk around afterwards -- all of this makes the Mazda Blenheim Triathlon a paradise for a novice triathlete.

It isn&#039;t entirely snag free, however, as the swim start is at the bottom of the hill from transition and you&#039;ve got a 400m uphill run back to transition while on the bike course there are a handful of cattle grids, although all these are covered for the race, and you&#039;ll definitely want to stay on the road rather than going alfresco if you want to avoid trouble. And, for the past two years, the weekend has been blighted by poor weather - although this year they have pushed it a week later which seems like a damn fine decision given last weekend&#039;s awful weather! Blenheim in the rain is great, so long as you are there to visit the Palace...

Vital facts

  
    Race dates
    June 2nd, June 3rd 
  
  
    Future dates
    TBC
  
  
    Website
    http://www.thelondontriathlon.com/BThome.html
  
  
    Location
    http://www.tri247.com/location_event_3291.html
  
  
    Race distances (advertised):
    Supersprint and Youth races: 400m lake swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run. Sprint and sprint relay races: 750m lake swim, 20k bike, 5k run.
  
  
    Series / Qualification / Championship Status
    Hosting the National Youth and Junior Championships for 2007
  


Background
The Mazda Blenheim Triathlon is now three years old and well established as an event in its own right rather than just as a feeder for the Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon. Run over two days and with over 3,000 participants in 2006, it now ranks as the second biggest triathlon event in the UK (London obviously being the biggest). Based in the lake and parkland surrounding Blenheim Palace - what other triathlon takes place in a World Heritage Site? - this is a novice-friendly event with an interesting, but not overly taxing, set of conditions.

The swim
If you had the money and could ask anybody to build you a lake to swim in then you would probably ask them to copy the lake at Blenheim... The swim route starts from an assembly area to the left of the Vanbrugh Bridge which approximately 250m down the hill from the transition area (although the walk is longer than this) so you will need to allow time. Almost the whole distance is over grass which will be fine if it&#039;s dry but could be &quot;slippery when wet&quot;...

It is an &#039;in-water&#039; start which you reach via a floating pontoon and so you may have to spend some time in the water before you start. This year the water temperatures have been higher than normal in the South of England but the recent rain may well have affected this. While you almost certainly won&#039;t need a neoprene cap you may benefit from two ordinary caps but do remember to put yours on first, then your goggles and then the official cap on top.

The swim route is, basically, a straight line down the lake and then a left turn for the shorter 400m swim or a longer &#039;out&#039; leg and a turn back for the 750m swim. It couldn&#039;t be simpler! The water, when we were there last week, was crystal clear with lots of  small fish in the shallows - this is a very clean lake! There were no obvious signs of weed at either the entry or the exit.

The swim exit is by the fishermen&#039;s boathouse and the staging hadn&#039;t been put in place but based on past years this uses the same floating sections to make a large ramp. Once out of the water the area is rather limited in size, you run through a shower that&#039;s only one person wide, and the steps that lead up to the path are both shallow and narrow so it&#039;s worth taking care rather than bounding into them as a stubbed toe at this point is probably not a good idea.

You now face a long (400m) uphill run to the transition area. The first section is over a gravel path (which we expect will be matted) before you reach the Water Terraces when the path levels out and you turn right into a service yard before entering transition through an arch. We ran this section with a Forerunner and the elevation trace is available on MotionBased through this link. 

The bike
The entire cycle route is within the grounds of the Palace and its Park and should, apart from official vehicles, be entirely traffic free. We used a Garmin Forerunner to trace one lap of the bike and you can see the course profiles on MotionBased through this link. One loop of the bike course is represented by lap 1 on the Garmin trace.

All the bikes on the course should be going in the same direction, although two sections do also have runners coming towards you on the right-hand side of the road. The road surface is of good quality but remember; this is a private road and is, therefore, not as wide as a normal two-lane road and, because it runs through parkland and woods, may have the odd bit of loose gravel on corners. There is also no pavement or kerb stones at any point, the grass runs right up to the tarmac. If you leave the road and go onto grass you will be giving up almost all your grip - unless you are a cyclo-cross rider you may well experience some serious slip and slide... ...and that&#039;s if it&#039;s dry! If it should be wet, and the last two races here have definitely been on the wet side, then you can pretty much assume that going on the grass means that you will fall off! But at least it should be softer than the tarmac...

An experienced road cyclist could hammer this course at very high speed with no worries at all. However, there will be a lot of inexperienced cyclists and a lot of very inexperienced triathletes out there so you do need to take sensible precautions and look ahead to make sure that those you are approaching from behind are not likely to stop or swerve when you approach or pass them. These cautions aside, we would far rather ride a circuit like this than take our chances on the open public highway - any day!

You exit the transition through the main gates, mount on the tarmac and then immediately drop down the slope to the Vanbrugh Bridge. Remember, this section is all two-way traffic - the runners are coming up the hill towards you. There is also a pedestrian crossing point just before the bridge to be aware of.

Once over the bridge the cycle route bears left and you are into the park proper. The road rises very gently between open pasture on the right (mind the electric sheep fencing...) and woodland on the left before branching left again and making a short descent into the woodland. From this point, approximately 2k into the ride, you will begin to climb up through the wood to the highest point on the ride. This is not a steep climb but inexperienced riders may be caught out by the sudden transition from down to up and fail to select the right gear quickly enough.

Everything that goes up should come back down and this hill is no exception with a lovely long, fast descent back into open parkland with the Palace appearing on top of the hill to your left. At the bottom the road bends to the right immediately after another cattle grid, this has been a trouble spot in the past when the roads have been wet but should be no issue at all in the dry. The road then kicks up slightly, curving back to the left and through a junction where there is a cattle grid on the left and a gate on the right.

The route continues bearing left to pass the Pleasure Gardens where there is the only &#039;sleeping policeman&#039; on the circuit, this is just outside the station. You are now heading back to the Competitor Village area and the Palace itself with one more cattle grid to cross (uncovered, this is the bumpiest of them but on race day you probably won&#039;t even notice it under the covers) and then you turn left into the main drive where you will, once again, have runners on the right-hand side of the road coming towards you. The cycle route sweeps right past the main visitors entrance and then left in front of the Palace where you will either turn right and start another loop or stop before turning left into transition.

The run
You leave transition through a gate on the right-hand side at the front which brings you across the grass by the (dry) moat and then over the bike course on an access bridge before tracking round the outside of the coach park and then heading up the main drive. At this point you will be on the left-had side of the road with cyclists approaching you on the right-hand side. Dead ahead will be the finish area but you have to go a fair distance yet so you bear left and head out for the Woodstock gate.

Just before the gate, actually more of a ceremonial arch, the road drops away to the left and starts to track round the edge of the upper lake, also known as the Queens Pool. Down here are a couple of estate houses and then the route turns hard left and starts to trace its way back down the far side of the lake towards the Vanbrugh Bridge. This section is a long uphill drag which will definitely be noticed on the second lap!

Once back to the bridge you will be kept on the left, there are cyclists coming down the hill towards you, as you climb back up to the front of the Palace and then start either your second lap or run straight on to the finish. We ran the route with a Garmin Forerunner and you can get the trace off MotionBased through this link. The trace for lap 3 represents one loop of the run with lap 4 being the extra bit down to the finish.

Transitions
The transition area has to be the most imposing of any event you have ever raced - basically you are in the main entrance courtyard of the Palace itself... Even the transition at Windsor, which is in the shadow of the Castle and rates as a spectacle in its own right, would probably take second place in terms of grandeur. That said, it&#039;s still a transition area and the clash between the modern; alloy poles, gaudy signs and even gaudier bikes and the traditional; the statuary, formal gardens and the golden stonework of the Palace does tend to jar a bit!

The transition surface is carpeted gravel but it will be well worth bringing a small towel or mat to change on - an old bath mat is ideal. If you use a brightly coloured one (just don&#039;t go for red...) it could make your bike easier to find - although the rows are well signed - and it&#039;s perfectly legal. Remember, flags, balloons, windmills, etc tied to the racking or your bike are not allowed, think smart here!

Other information
Blenheim Palace is a massive tourist attraction. If the weather is good then expect there to be a lot of people there who have not got the faintest idea what a triathlon is, how fast bikes go or where runners will be headed. And the parkland is an ideal area to walk dogs... Be aware that, despite designated crossing points, the whole circuit is pretty much open season for someone to walk out in front of you. We are not saying that it is a dangerous venue -- far from it, it would be hard to think of anywhere that has the potential to be as safe as the Mazda Blenheim Triathlon for novice triathletes -- but you will also be dealing with the unrestrained general public so do be aware that they can do stupid things. It&#039;s only a week ago since a competitor at Ironman Lanzarote was knocked off his bike by a pedestrian ambling across the road oblivious to the fact that there were 1,000 people racing up and down it...

If it rains then it&#039;s a pretty exposed site and the car parks can turn into a bit of a quaqmire. Remember to take some warm dry kit just in case and if it looks like rain use a bin bag to wrap your kit in while it&#039;s in transition.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Gatorade for all London's events]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_1919.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[We start 2007 with a fantastic announcement: our sports drink supplier for the next three years will be Gatorade, which many of you will already know from events in other countries. We&rsquo;re always looking for &amp;lsquo;best in class&amp;rsquo; equipment suppliers and so the world&rsquo;s most researched sports drink and the preferred choice of most of the world&rsquo;s triathlon events was the obvious option. Put simply, we reckon nothing else works better to rehydrate and refuel your body, which means you should all be going stronger for longer in 07!

Gatorade will be provided at all hydration stops before, during and after the race and scientists from the Chicago-based Gatorade Sports Science Institute (www.gssiweb.com)will be providing key nutrition and hydration tips throughout the months ahead.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Blenheim Triathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_1868.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The second Blenheim Triathlon in 2006 expanded into two days due to the huge demand of people wanting to participate in a triathlon in this World Heritage site. After carpeting the whole of The Duke of Marlborough&amp;rsquo;s 8,000m&amp;sup2; courtyard and building two bridges to establish the course, the event has been established into a fabulous festival of sport including a women-only afternoon on the Saturday, an elite race and shorter distance racing for all -- either providing a great introduction to the sport, or a nice way to ease into your summer of events.

After two years of the event being held hostage to the British weather, we have moved into the first weekend of June and hope that Blenheim Palace will not only provide a home for the UK&amp;rsquo;s most stunning triathlon, but also to a festival of picnics, family support and fun on the 2nd and 3rd June 2007.

The 2nd largest triathlon in the UK 
4,000 of triathletes over the first weekend in June 
Venue: Blenheim Palace, Oxford 
Becoming a summer sports festival for competitors and spectators 
Short distance only racing encourages accessibility to competitors of all abilities 
Stunning route incorporates the entire historical grounds of Blenheim Palace


Six reasons to compete in The Blenheim Triathlon:

Swim, bike and run in the World Heritage Site of Blenheim Palace
Swim in the same lake Sir Winston Churchill used to go fishing
Bring your family and friends along with a picnic to make a day of it
Take your wetsuit off in the Palace Courtyard
To start your triathlon season over Sprint and Super Sprint distance
To star on Channel 4
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trek sponsors London Triathlon]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_1543.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Trek has long been associated with triathlon through the exploits of Tim Don and Liz Blatchford, sponsorship of the British Triathlon Association and other triathlon events, so it will come as no surprise to learn that Trek is sponsoring the London Triathlon in 2007.

As the premier Triathlon event in the UK and the largest in the world, Trek has been looking for ways to become more involved with the London Triathlon over the last few years and is proud to finally be associated as the bike partner. This will expose the Trek brand to a wider triathlon audience and expand it&rsquo;s presence in the one fastest growing areas of sport.

Trek will be visible in the build up to the event by becoming involved with the various training and competition opportunities offered by the organisers and by updating the Trek UK web site with Triathlon specific pages beginning in the New Year.

Along with The London Triathlon, Trek will also be involved with The Blenheim Triathlon and The London Duathlon. In a change to Trek&rsquo;s presence at The London Triathlon, which is solely brand exposure, Trek will be holding a small expo and demo event at the Blenheim Triathlon, and a demo fleet of Womens bikes from the 2007 WSD range.

Trek is excited to be involved with these events in 2007 and will look to further cement this relationship in the future. See the Trek website for more information on their bike range: www.trekbike.co.uk]]></description></item></channel></rss>