Elite season takes off at Prestwold Airfield
5th April 2013The 2013 British Elite Duathlon Championships take place this Sunday 7 April at Prestwold Airfield in Loughborough, kick starting this year’s elite multisport calendar.
Last year’s event saw Mark Buckingham and Lucy Gossage win the senior elite titles before they both went on to have successful seasons culminating with Mark and Lucy celebrating 2012 GE British Triathlon Elite Male and Female Duathlete of the Year awards at the British Triathlon Awards Dinner last November.
Mark’s win was his second successive victory at Prestwold and victory on Sunday will give the UK Sport Lottery funded British Triathlon World-Class Podium Potential Squad member a hat-trick of victories.
The course in Prestwold is always fast and Mark is looking forward to what will be an exciting race: “All the way round, you’re thinking about what you can do to stay ahead. Being such a short race, you just have to go for it, whilst getting your tactics right. Two years ago, I didn’t know where my running was at, so when Tom Lowe broke away on the bike, I followed him and it worked really well. Who knows what might happen this year - it’s so hard to call.”
The event also includes the British Elite Duathlon Youth and Junior Championships, the first races of the 2013 British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series. Last year’s youth race winner and 2012 British Triathlon Youth Super Series champion Kate Curran is on the start list and moves up to the junior race in 2013.
Kate, a member of the Triathlon England Talent Squad funded by Sport England added: “The winter training has gone really well this year and I can’t wait to get the race season underway. Prestwold will be a really good test for me, especially as this will be my first year as a junior. There are some tough competitors in the field on Sunday, so it should be an exciting race for all of us.”
This year’s event will also host the British Paraduathlon Championships, presenting an opportunity for many of the athletes recently named to the inaugural UK Sport Lottery funded World-Class Paratriathlon Programme at the end of March to test their early season form.
Clare Cunningham speaking at British Triathlon’s paratriathlon training camp yesterday said: “It’s my first duathlon in about three years, so I am using it very much as a hard hit out in one of my first races of the season to see where I am from a winter training perspective. It should provide lots of good indications for the season ahead.”
The seniors, paraduathletes and juniors will race over a 5km run, 20km bike and 2.5km run, whilst the youth athletes will race over 2.5km, 10km bike and 1..25km run.