The Corus British Triathlon team added to their impressive run of results at European Championships with victories for Rosie Clarke and Ritchie Nicholls in Kuopio, Finland.
Clarke, from Cambridge, dominated the field over the 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run course as she stayed with the leading pack throughout the race before surging away for victory on the run. Renata Koch from Hungary picked up the silver with Camille Cierpik from France in third. Clarke’s brother, Will, won the men’s U23 European and World Championships in 2006.
Rosie Clarke said on her win:
“I had a really great race, it just felt so easy. I swam very well and came out in fifth, then just stayed on the front group before running away with it. I was expecting the girls to come back at me on the run so I decided to put the negative thoughts out of my head and just kept my stride going. To be able to have time to celebrate in the final straight was a fantastic feeling!”
However it was a different story for Nicholls who is notorious for his excellent running ability but is often let down by his swimming. Team mate Philip Graves held back in the swim to help Nicholls pull up to the leaders on the cycle section, whilst Dann Brook sat in the front cycle group and kept the pace slow around the technical sections allowing the chasers to bridge the 80 second gap. Once on the run the athlete from Montrose mustered enough strength to pull away and win by three seconds in the home straight.
Ritchie Nicholls said:
“That was a really close one! I couldn’t have won today without Phil [Graves] and Dann [Brook], so this is really a team medal. We all worked so hard for it and to come away with the win is a great feeling. Now I’ve got to go back home and improve my swimming for next year.”
Tomorrow sees the defence of the Youth Boy’s relay victory from 2006, whilst the Youth Girls will be looking to add to the Corus British Triathlon team medal haul.
Alistair Brownlee and Hollie Avil won the European Junior Championship titles in Copenhagen, Denmark, three weeks ago. ETU Under 23 Triathlon European Championships Women’s Results 1. Rosie Clarke, Great Britain
2. Renata Koch, Hungary
3. Camille Cierpik, France ETU Under 23 Triathlon European Championships Men’s Results 1. Ritchie Nicholls, Great Britain
2. Alexander Brukhankov, Russia
3. Charles Rusterholz, Switzerland
For further information on British Triathlon, please see www.britishtriathlon.org or call: British Triathlon, Peter Holmes - Tel: +44 (0)7795 415 452 NOTES TO EDITORS About British Triathlon British Triathlon is the National Governing Body for triathlon, the UK’s fastest growing sport. At international level Great Britain boasts a strong squad of world ranked elite triathletes who regularly achieve international success and has some outstanding young talent emerging from its youth programmes. Since becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, British Triathlon has seen annual increases in membership numbers of 10%. There are over 500 triathlon events conducted in Great Britain each year including the London Triathlon, arguably the largest triathlon event in the World and the ITU World Cup race in Salford, one of the world’s leading international races. About Corus
Corus is Europe's second largest steel producer with revenues of £9.7 billion and crude steel production of 18.2 million tonnes in 2006, primarily in the UK and the Netherlands. Combining international expertise with local customer service, the Corus brand represents quality and strength, providing innovative solutions to the construction, automotive, packaging, mechanical engineering and other markets worldwide. Corus is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, the world's sixth largest and second most global steel producer. With a combined presence in nearly 50 countries, Tata Steel including Corus has 84,000 employees across five continents and a pro forma crude steel production of 27 million tonnes in 2007. |
