The British Elite Duathlon Championships are beginning with what is expected to be a hotly contested race at Rockingham Motor Racing Circuit this Sunday 29th March.
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Three-time British Champion, Mark Buckingham heads into the event as one of the favourites having finished second at the ETU Triathlon European Cup in Quarteira last weekend.
Competitors will complete a 5km run, 20km bike and 2.5km run in a multi-lap format around the circuit which combines sweeping bends and high-speed straights.
Speaking of the track, Buckingham said, “To use the same track as they use for motor sport is great; we don’t get to race at these types of venues very often in the UK.
“The Elite Duathlon Championships is one of the most exciting races of the year. It’s so intense and fast with the last run leg being only 7-8mins long, you can go really hard straight out of transition.”
>>> Read our report on last weekend’s British Duathlon Championships at Oulton Park
Youth Olympic Champion, and 220’s Young Triathlete of the Year, Ben Dijkstra will be making the step up to senior level this year and may indeed be one to watch having won impressively at the Quarteira ETU Junior Triathlon European Cup last time out.
Other contenders include Adam Bowden, friend and fellow member of the British Triathlon’s World-Class Programme to Buckingham and Phil Wylie who won the event last year.
Fresh from an ITU World Triathlon Series race in Abu Dhabi, Emma Pallant will be widely considered as the favourite for the women’s event having finished fastest last year.
Her closest challenger on paper will be Katie Hewison who followed Pallant home in second in 2014. British Elite Junior Triathlete of the Year Sophie Coldwell will have something to say about that as she moves up to the senior ranks following a second-placed finish in last year’s junior race.
The venue will also pay host to World Paratriathlon Champion, Lauren Steadman (PT4) as she bids to get her season off to a flying start in the paraduathlon race. She will be joined by fellow paratriathletes, Joe Townsend (PT1), George Peasgood (PT4) and Andrew Lewis (PT2).
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Are you going to be racing this Sunday? Let us know how your preparations have been going in the comments!
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