Tough Day for Elites in Lausanne

Sunday, 21st August 2005

With bigger things in Japan in 3 weeks time on their minds and in their legs, Great Britain's Elite Team endured a tough day at the office at the European Championships in Lausanne yesterday. Using the race as a warm up for next month's World Championships, and training right up to the day, the regimen deadened some otherwise lively performances, as described by Leanda Cave: "From the gun I felt to have no 2nd gear" said the former European silver medallist, despite leading out the swim.

Cave ultimately finished 16th, with Liz Blatchford 14th, and Helen Lawrence 25th, while in the men's race Tim Don had his highest European Championship finish in 5th, Andrew Johns was 9th, and Stuart Hayes 10th despite snapping a gear cable early in the bike.

"Knowing the workload people brought in to the race, there were some excellent signs from individuals", said Performance Director Graeme Maw. "It's still difficult for such competitive people to reconcile racing with fatigue, but we came here focused on training and will keep both eyes firmly on Japan".

The races were won by Vanessa Fernandes of Poirtugal and Frederic Bealaubre of France. Full results can be found on the ETU website. The World Championships are in Gamagori, Japan, on September 10-11.

Article Source: British Triathlon Association, 21 August 2005