Sunday 13 June 2010…Over 2500 triathletes lined up at the crack of dawn to take to the Thames for the 20th running of what is regarded as the UK’s premier race. Today’s action saw Vanessa Raw and Steve Worthington take a double successive victory and place their mark on the trophy for the first time.
The exciting action unfolded under the steps and surrounding grounds of Windsor Castle, Eton and alongside the majestic River Thames with perfect weather providing optimum race conditions.
Despite tough competiton througout the elite women’s race it was firm favourite Vanessa Raw who’s impressive run saw her pull away from the chasing field on the second lap, to secure her victory in a time of 02h:03m:43s.
Vanessa commented ‘It’s been a tough few months, so I’m delighted with my performance today. It was a beautiful course out there and a great race. I went slightly wrong on the swim and had a slow transition, but we all worked really hard together on the bike and it went well for me today.”
From the outset there was a tight group of six athletes with Vanessa, including Irish triathletes Jacqui Slack and Emma Davis, as well as Lucy Chittenden, Amy Wolf and Lois Rosindale who all worked hard together on the bike.
However all eyes were on 20 year old Lois Rosindale, who having won the Sprint race in 2008, produced a superb performance to cross the finish line in second place in 02h:04m:21s. Astonishingly this was only the second time that Lois had competed in an Olympic drafting race. “I’m really happy” Lois said, “I had a great bike and was able to hang onto the pack and then pushed really hard on the run. I love this event and will definintely come back.”
Meanwhile Jacqui Slack who is currently holding 1st place in the British Super Series of which the Nokia Windsor Triathlon is the 3rd of five races, had a very solid performance holding third place throughout to finish in 02h:05m:32s which should see her retain pole position in the Series.
The men’s race was equally closely contended and with favourite Richard Stannard not entirely back to race fitness after recovering from last year’s bike accident, the race didn’t follow the pre-race predictions.
Mike Adams was first out of the swim and headed off onto the bike course with a 25 second lead over the first chasing pack, which included race favourites Marc Jenkins, Gavin Noble, Tom Bishop and Daniel Halksworth - all of whom are justling for position on the British Super Series leader board.
A second pack was made up of returning 2002 Champion Richard Allen, Steve Worthington, David Anderson and Tom Curtis, whose efforts to chase them down paid off, leaving everything to play for on the run.
Steve Worthington performed a perfect transition and headed off on the run in first place. With Marc Jenkins, Tom Bishop, Gavin Noble and Daniel Halksworth hot on his heels, Worthington prodcued a blistering run, eventually pulling away on the 3rd lap to finish in a time of 01h:53m:31s. Marc Jenkins and Gavin Noble finished within 50 seconds behind in 2nd and 3rd place in a time of 01h:54m:03s and 01:54m:17s respectively.
‘I got lucky on the bike and it all came together’ commented Worthington, ‘the conditions were pretty perfect. After two years away, it was fantastic to be back and even better to improve on my previous performance. With Marc behind me I knew I had to pull out all the stops”
Whilst the elite were battling it out for the £10,000 prize fund, the majority of the competitors taking part in this award winning race, were athletes of all ages and abilities, many of whom were raising money for Official Charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.
Amongst this sell out field who completed the Olympic distance (1500m swim/42k bike/10K run) was oldest competitor Daphne Belt, who at the age of 71, is still an inspiration to triathlon. Having only taken up the sport less than 20 years ago, she completed the race in 3:25:56.
The youngest competitor of the day was Sky Draper, who despite a recent bike accident while out training on the Windsor course, demonstrated her outstanding talent by not only competing but winning the Sprint category (750m / 30km / 5km) at the tender age of 14, in a time of 1:22:44.
As the event celebrated it’s 20th anniversary, so too did 20 time entrant Rob Engers aged 49, who finished in the top 10 of the men’s Sprint race, crossing the line in 6th place in 1:28:26. “As long as the race is going, and as long as i’m going I’ll be there”, he said.
John Lunt, MD and founder of Human Race which organises the event commented, “It was great to see so many competitors providing some very exciting racing amongst our elite and age group athletes. The conditions are always kind to us and this year, which saw us celebrate the 20th running of the event, was no exception. The towns of Windsor and Eton provide a perfect venue for this race and it was fantastic to see so many spectators supporting our sell out event.”
For full race results and information on the Nokia Windsor Triathlon visit our RESULTS PAGE. The event will be broadcast on Channel 4 (provisionally scheduled on 3rd July at 8am).
Nokia Windsor Triathlon Results
Top Five Men (1500m swim/42K bike/ 10k run)
| Overall Position | Name | Overall Time |
| 1 |
Steve Worthington |
01:51:31 |
| 2 | Marc Jenkins | 01:52:03 |
| 3 | Gavin Noble | 01:52:17 |
| 4 | Stephen Harrison | 01:52:27 |
| 5 | Tom Bishop | 01:52:34 |
Top Five Women (1500m swim/42K bike/ 10k run)
| Overall Position |
Name | Overall Time |
| 1 | Vanessa Raw | 02:01:43 |
| 2 | Lois Rosindale | 02:02:21 |
| 3 | Jacqui Slack | 02:03:32 |
| 4 | Emma Davis | 02:04:25 |
| 5 | Lucy Chittenden | 02:06:50 |
The Nokia Windsor Triathlon will form part of the Nokia Outdoor Series, a selection of events designed to celebrate the great outdoors and enable people to enjoy being active together in some of the UK’s most spectacular locations. Visit nokiaoutdoorseries.co.uk for further information.
