Stepping Up | Weekend Review 5-6 October

We had a number of Scottish athletes, both in elite and domestic racing, stepping up their game across the board last weekend as competitions continued in Scotland and other parts of the globe.

Europe Triathlon Cup Ceuta

We had four Scottish women on the start list for the Europe Triathlon Cup in Ceuta, Morocco, over the weekend, each aiming for top end-of-season results.

Iona Miller, who has been strong all season, delivered another solid performance, finishing as the top Scottish and British athlete in 5th position.

Anna Hedley, who who is well and truly back on the rise, finished in 24th place. Jessica Turnbull finished in 28th position, and Sam McInnes in 35th.

Triathlon Scotland member Isla Britton (CAN) had one of her best performances on the Europe Cup circuit to date, with a strong run off the bike, finishing in 18th position.

Full results can be found here.

supertri Toulouse

Speed was of the essence once again for all of the best elite athletes in the world at the penultimate stop on the supertri calendar. Toulouse was next on the cards and Beth Potter was looking to put on a good show for the french fans watching on the course.

Potter managed to hang on for much of the first two continuous triathlons, before being slightly distanced in the third triathlon to the leaders up front. She put together a strong final run to hold on for seventh and and secure nine points for herself in the overall rankings.

Full results can be found here.

Potter now sits ninth overall in the league standings and will next head into the WTCS Finals in Torremolinos-Andalucia looking to defend her world title before then heading the supertri grand final in Neom.

University of Dundee Aquathlon

There was plenty of success at the Dundee University Aquathlon, which saw over 50 athletes complete the course on the day.

In the Open category race, Barry Sturrock of Grangemouth Triathlon Club returned to the start line after his victory last year, looking to retain his title. Sturrock faced a strong performance from Scott Burton, also of Grangemouth Triathlon Club, and it was a close competition to see who would reach the finish line first. Both athletes were separated by just ten seconds at the finish, but it was Sturrock who reclaimed his title with a time of 30:31, while Burton settled for second with a time of 30:41. Theodore Murton of the University of St Andrews Triathlon Club secured third place with a time of 31:25.

In the female race, Danielle Callagan of Grangemouth Triathlon Club had to push hard in the second half after coming out of the water 30 seconds behind the leaders. She recorded the fastest run split of the day by 45 seconds with a time of 20:37, securing victory by a mere two-second margin with a total time of 32:39. Lauren Doney narrowly missed first place, finishing second with a time of 32:41, and Isla De Silva of the University of St Andrews Triathlon Club took third place with a time of 32:43.

Full results can be found here.

The ROC Scotland

Another sold-out start list of athletes took to the ROC Scotland last weekend. With an illusive prize-pot of  £1,000, and breathtaking course views, which included a climb up Ben Nevis, athlete were raring to go on a special day.

The athletes started this unique event with a 1500m swim in Loch Leven, followed by a challenging 52km ‘gravel/mountain’ bike course along the West Highland Way, with an inclusion of a run up and down Ben Nevis at the halfway point, before they finished with a quick 1.5km run at Kinlochleven.

Iain Veitch took a dominating overall victory in the Open category and was the only athlete to go under the five hour mark in 4:58.54. His bike strength proved too much for everyone else on the day.

In the female race, Nicola Duggan claimed a stunning victory by over 20 minutes, finishing the course in 6:13.48. Her run strength on leg one proved to be the difference on the day.

Full results can be found here.