Thorpe Park was the latest tri venue for Viceroys Tim, Simon C, Simon P, Lara, Jon , Kate, Suze and newest VTC member Ian Talbot, who had barely finished filling in his registration forms before being embraced by his new team members. An early and chaotic start for most (Lara just returned from a work trip to Germany where she didn’t sleep and wasn’t fed; Kate & Jon both forget their race belts; Ian was complaining of sore legs from Wednesday’s run…) actually meant all entered the face fairly relaxed after sharing woes with fellow Viceroys in transition.

The swim was predictabley cold, but what none of the Viceroys banked on was the huge amount of weed on the first 2 sides of the 750m swim route. This did not put off our 2 speediest Viceroys Tim and Simon Colvan though as they cut through the water in 14:30 and 14:57..

The bike course was flat, fast and familiar, which made everyone happy. While Tim and Simon C  maintained their 1&2 positions for the boys, Lara was storming ahead of the other 2 Viceroy girls, only a matter of seconds behind Tim and Simon C as she exited the water in just over 15 minutes. For someone who claims that she can not run, 26:18 wasn’t exactly a bad 5k time and her 42:21 swim placed her 6th in her AG and 12th overall.

The run was an appealing a part of the course as the bike – a flat 2 lap course, taking runners through the theme park, to the sound of loud music and great crowds at the start/finish area. Simon P was the strongest Viceroy runner in a speedy 21:48, but all did well in this inaugural tri and we will certainly be back again for more next year.