Chris Standidge of TriCentral.com (1st male) and Louise Hogg (1st female) were the winners of the inaugural Xtra Mile Events Oulton Park Duathlon on 12th October. In an event which saw several head-to-head sprint finishes, Standidge beat his nearest rival by a comfortable 42 seconds, to finish in 1hr 11min 14 sec.
Photo courtesy of John Coxon Photography
On a gorgeously sunny autumn day, the famous Cheshire motor racing circuit provided a spectacular location for both competitors and spectators. After racking up their bikes in Transition in the Pit Lane, an excited crowd of 175 competitors lined up on the starting grid to take part in the 8-lap, Run-Bike-Run format race. Beginning with the nervous excitement of a mass start, the competitors then made their way around the undulating, winding course, which included a banked hairpin bend, chicanes, and traffic-free straights of smooth tarmac.
Over 100 novices entered this event, and commendable winners of the Novice category were Steve Regan-Watts, and Joanne Stokes of Oswestry Olympians. With many club entrants, the club prize was also closely contested, but won by Merseyside and West Lancashire-based Ashurst Bike Club.
The thrill of the event continued into prize giving, held at the podium stand of the race track, where the top 6 winners were presented with prizes and bottles of Deakin Estate bubbly from Australia...de rigueur for this formula 1 event!!
The event was supported by Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative, Sweatshop, TriCentral, Up & Running, Triathlete's World Magazine, 'For Goodness Shakes' and RedBull; and marshalled by Northwich Air Cadets.