The picturesque setting of Pippingford Park in East Sussex provided a fittingly tough fourth and final round to Human Race’s ASICS Off Road Race Series, writes Jez Cox.
With the last three rounds all being held in either dry or frozen conditions the thick sapping mud blanketing the valley based course provided a whole new challenge.
All of the previous rounds duathlon winners were present and a sprinkling of Elite and Pro athletes swelled the
ranks to make it a stellar finale. From the off, Frenchman Cedric Lassonde took the lead and held it out onto the bike. By this stage in the women’s race, round three winner Freya Bloor was evidently thriving in the conditions with her lead growing all the time over the two kilometre final climb. The bike course, with its berms and swooping drop-offs was the most technically demanding of the series and it was to decide the race overall with very few positions changing on the final run.
Sam Gardner, in his first outing of the series caught Lassonde on the first long climb of the wooded course and never looked back, going on to extend his winning margin by over four minutes at the finish with a ride that cemented his reputation as the UK’s top off-roader. Lassonde hung on doggedly to defend second place and mountain biker Sylvain Garde, the revelation of the series, moved through to take third. At the finish Freya Bloor finished strongly to take a near 12 minute victory over long distance pro Tamsin Lewis.
With a new winner for each round the series had lived up to its reputation as the premier cross-Duathlon series in the country and with courses like the Tuffman it’s easy to see why.
In the 8km trail run the men's field was headed by Vet Peter Olds of Clapham Runners, with David Hellard and Ben Cox following in second and third. The female run was dominated by the ladies and their four legged friends, Sandra Bowers crossing the finish line first in a very fast 35:29. In the non dog assisted female race the victory was Kate Turner's in 43:11 with Kimberley Sollis and Eloise Young close behind.
Male - Top Finishes – 8km Trail Run
1. Peter Olds (33:12), 2. David Hellard (34:24), 3. Ben Cox (35:10)
Female - Top Finishes – 8km Trail Run (with dogs)
1. Sandra Bowers (with dog) (35:29), 2. Cushla Lamen (with dog) (40:14), 3. Jane England (with dog) (41:28)
Female - Top Finishes – 8km Trail Run
1. Kate Turner (43:11), 2. Kimberley Sollis (43:41), 3. Eloise Young (44:27)
Male - Top Finishes – Duathlon
1. Sam Gardner (01:33:34), 2. Cedric Lassonde (01:37:42), 3. Sylvain Grade (01:39:05).
Female – Top Finishes – Duathlon
1. Freya Bloor (01:54:41), 2. Tamsin Lewis (02:06:23), 3. Gilly Banks (02:07:33)
Relay – Top Finishes - Duathlon
1. Hanson (01:58:59) 2. Hilnor (02:04:17) 3. Conker (02:11:28)
Full TuffMan Results and a large selection of race photos can be found in the TuffMan Results & Gallery.
