The sun came out for the LFTC members who ventured over to north-west London on the 19th of June, for the latest instalment of the London League. The Jetstream Sprint Triathlon took place in the serene surroundings of the Merchant Taylors’ school in Northwood, and comprised of a 750m lake swim (in the school sailing lake, no less!), a 20km cycle, and a 5km run. The race also doubled up as LFTC’s club sprint championship, for anyone who needed that extra incentive to push themselves!
Starters were split into waves, meaning the swim start was not as frenetic as many open water starts. After the initial jostling for position, the swim settled into a steady out-and-back loop around a small island (which Becca Shepherd somehow managed to “accidentally” cut out) and before long the fastest swimmers had reached the ramp leading out of the water, with LFTC’s own Luke Hawkins first out of the water in his wave, and Jude Crichton second out of the water in her wave, despite being kind enough to give everyone a minute head start due to arriving late.
A 100m run to transition soon brought the racers onto the bike leg, which consisted of two loops around the local area, including a surprisingly sharp hill. A fast downhill evened out the times, allowing for some fast bike legs, the fastest of the day being inside 34 minutes. And finally onto the run leg, which was a flat two loops around the lake, followed by a final lap of the school athletics track.
LFTC had some excellent results, with four people in the top 25 overall. Richard Stones was the highest placed LFTC racer, finishing in an excellent 12th overall, meaning that he took the title of LFTC men’s sprint champion 2016! Luke Hawkins was close behind, taking 2nd for the LFTC men and 17th overall, and Lauri Kytomaa came in 3rd for the men. On the women’s side, GB age-grouper, Kate Nunn became LFTC sprint champion 2016, coming second in her age category, with Jude Crichton taking 2nd place (3rd in her age category), and Sylwia Tokarska in 3rd. Well done to all of you!