The 2015 World Triathlon Series got off to a beautiful start with air temperature a balmy 26° as they started the sprint distance race (750m swim/20km bike/5km run) just after 3pm local time. Carolina Routier (ESP) took a firm lead of the swim, followed by Britain’s Lucy Hall.

Jorgensen left the water 38secs down on Routier, with Jodie Stimpson (GBR) further back still. Routier quickly established a lead pack of 10 or 11 athletes that included Lucy Hall, Flora Duffy (BER), Lisa Norden (SWE) and a number of American athletes including last year’s WTS Stockholm winner, Sarah True (née Groff).

By the halfway point and around half an hour on the clock, a large chase pack including Jorgensen, Stimpson, Aileen Reid (IRL) and Emma Moffatt (AUS) was chasing hard but found themselves unable to bridge up to the leaders, who reached T2 with a lead of around 1min.

Onto the run and the only thing that could happen, did happen – Jorgensen unleashed her ferocious run, blowing through the field with an astonishing pace of 20kph according to the speed gun.

Jorgensen overtook Duffy just after the end of lap one, with her fellow US athletes nipping at the heels of the Bermudan. There was only one outcome possible though, with Jorgensen crossing the line in 58:59mins, followed by Katie Zaferes (USA) and Flora Duffy.

Britain’s top finisher was Jodie Stimpson in 17th position with a time of 1:00:11, followed by Lucy Hall in 35th with a time of 1:00:56. Heather Sellars placed a respectable 42nd on her WTS debut with a time of 1:01:18, and Emma Pallant finished 50th in 1:02:05.

Full results and splits here. For our report on the men’s race, head here.

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The stats made for interesting reading too – Jonny Brownlee had won four out of the seven previous WTS sprint distance races, while this was Gomez’s 100th ITU race start, but he had never won at Sprint distance before. As it turned out though it was a different Spanish athlete, Mario Mola, that was the one to watch.

The men’s event followed a thrilling women’s race which saw 2014 champ Gwen Jorgenson put in a ferocious performance on the run to take the win during the hottest part of the day (full report here). The men’s race began two hours later at just after 5pm local time and followed the same 750m swim/20km bike/5km run course. Conditions were warm and breezy with a 28 degree air temperature and 23 degree water temperature meaning no wetsuits, but great conditions for a fast race.

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The one-lap swim was fast and tightly packed, with Anthony Pujades (FRA) exiting first in 08:48 followed closely by Aurelien Raphael (FRA) and Richard Varga (SVK). Jonny Brownlee came out of the water and into transition 21sec down. That time was soon made up on the bike leg though as by the end of lap one of four Brownlee and Gomez were cycling side-by-side with the gap to the race leader reduced to just 4sec.

For the remainder of the bike a huge lead pack of around 30 athletes formed including Brownlee and Gomez alongside Mario Mola (ESP), Henri Shoeman and Richard Murray (RSA), Vincent Luis (FRA) and Joao Silver (POR), leading to a tense and frenetic T2 as athletes jostled for position.

A small lead pack of three formed in the run shortly after T2 of Richard Murray, Mario Mola and Vincent Luis. Initially it looked like Brownlee and Gomez could bridge the gap from the chase pack, but at the halfway point and with 2.5km to go the gap was extended to 10 sec. 

Shortly after, Mario Mola kicked early to put some serious pace into the run and managed to hold on until the finish – taking the win in 52:32 and achieving his second ever WTS podium gold, with Luis second and Murray third. Fourth was taken by Silva, while Jonny was fifth and Gomez sixth.

Interviewed post-race, Mola said: “I knew how fast Luis and Murray were [when sprinting] so I tried to put the hammer down before that… In the run I put in 110 per cent.”

Full results and splits here.

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With International Women’s Day over the weekend, the campaign kicked up a notch with vocal support on Twitter from men and women, pros and age-groupers alike… Here are just a few of the comments that grabbed our attention in the past 48hrs:

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Did you join the call for 50 Women To Kona? Let us know in the comments below!

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We’ve got a full race report and video highlights here, as usual there are some amazing images too – take a look…

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In the women’s race a few hours earlier, Gwen Jorgensen (USA) put in an astonishing run to take her first WTS gold of 2015 – full report and video highlights here. Gallery here.

(Images: Janos Schmidt / ITU)

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As usual there are some amazing images, take a look:

In the men’s race an hour or so later, Mario Mola (ESP) took honours with another superb run – full report and highlights here. Gallery here.

(Images: Janos Schmidt / ITU) 

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The Help for Heroes Recovery Centre at Tedworth House in Wiltshire hosted a training weekend for 30 servicemen and women last weekend, all hoping to be picked for the final team. Those that don’t make selection will be offered a spot on the support crew.

“The magnitude of the challenge and the training required to successfully prepare for the event was soon realised by many after a brief on what to expect over the next six months,” said Rob Cromey-Hawke, a former Captain with the Army in the Royal Engineers who was injured during his second tour of Afghanistan in 2012. 

“For those of us with disabilities, the confidence it will give us if we complete something no one else has done before will be phenomenal. Help for Heroes make you believe the sky is the limit in your recovery and this challenge is just another example of how much belief they give us to complete something we never thought possible.”

The training programme will run for nine months as part of Help for Heroes’ extensive Sports Recovery programme, and the challenge itself will begin on Saturday 26th September 2015. Last weekend’s training session at Tedworth House saw a team of sports scientists from Salford University donate their time to come and carry out lactate threshold testing on watt bikes so accurate personal training plans could be developed for each athlete.

Other training sessions over the weekend included run training using heart rate zones, racing wheelchair technique sessions (as some of the athletes have never used a racing wheelchair), swimming sessions, a bike time trial and lectures on nutrition.

The Enduroman Arch to Arc challenge requires relay teams to run 87 miles from Marble Arch, London to the Dover coast, to swim across the Channel, and finish with an 181 mile bike from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, and has never been attempted by a disabled team before. To read a blog by a previous completer head here.

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The next training session will be held on 28/29 March in Catterick, Yorkshire. Recruitment for the challenge is open until the end of March; if you are wounded, injured or sick, serving military personnel or a veteran, and would like to get involved please email [email protected].

Consisting of a 7.5km trail run, 15km off-road bike and another 7.5km run, the MudMan Duathlon saw fierce competition as befitting the finale of the Human Race Off-Road Series.

In the men’s race, Callum Hughes was riding high as winner of the IceMan Duathlon four weeks earlier, and by T2 had built himself a formidable lead – one that he didn’t squander on the final run, taking first place with a time of 1:49:14 

Thomas Elwood followed just a few minutes behind making him second today. Johan Olivier (Ful-On Tri) completed the top three. Callum can add the Human Race Off-Road Series Duathlon Champion to his collection of titles. Ross Smith(Bournemouth AC) and Jon Heasman (Thames Turbo) were second and third across the entire series. An incredible effort over a tough series by all three.

In the women’s race, Louise Fox – female winner of the IceMan Duathlon one month previously – maintained her winning ways despite a tight race to take gold in a time of 2:07:40. Not far behind was Fay Cripps who grabbed second place and the series title, with Elizabeth Doyle crossing the line third. 

For complete results head here. Images: Sportcam.

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Up for grabs is a race spot at one of the UK’s most popular open water swimming events, held on a beautiful stretch of the River Thames in Berkshire, along with a training programme and a swimming goody bag.

Women who are interested in taking up one of these free places will have to answer a few questions about themselves, and then describe what is driving them to have a go and what they think they will get out of the experience. They’ll also be asked to file a short weekly blog, allowing other to share their experience.

Jeremy Laming, co-founder of The Henley Swim, said: “We hope that the stories and achievements of the group of women we select will inspire others to get active and perhaps try something they didn’t even know they would enjoy doing.

“Swimming in a natural environment is one of the most exhilarating feelings, and training for a specific end goal helps to keep the motivation going. We want a wider group of people to experience this feeling of self achievement.”

For more information on the competition, the free hat offer and to see the terms and conditions visit www.henleyswim.com/this-girl-can. The closing date for entries is Sunday 22nd March 2015.

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“Hi all, I’m new to the forum but not to triathlon! I know from training and from races I need to strengthen my legs, especially my hamstrings. Does anyone have any tips? I really struggle with them and I am willing to put the effort in to build them up!” GavTriHarder

“As a follow-up to my original query I’m still flip-flopping over whether to try out a scout ride for Arundel or not, however I have found an out-and-back route which offers the same amount of climbing and descending albeit over a considerably longer route (20 miles versus 12). Would this be a suitable training ride to acclimatise one’s legs to the demands of the course or would it be better to find an alternative that is shorter and pound out three, four or five laps of the same gradients? The beauty and curse of Arundel is that the climb, at two-and-a-half miles with negligible respite, is unique so simulating that isn’t going to be possible in the local area. At least as far as I can work out anyway.” StooDogg

“I currently own a Giant Defy 2 2012 which does not have that many miles on the wheels as I was more focused on running the last few years, including a few marathons last year, mainly to loose weight. I am doing a few 70.3 this year (Outlaw and Dublin) and have been thinking about a new bike, I was looking at a Felt AR5. However I wondered if it would be worth upgrading a few things on the Defy instead and if that was the best option what should I do first? Lastly being a 200lb+ guy who needs to loose at least 14 pounds, I often wonder if a new bike or upgrades will make that much difference!!! Thanks for any comments/suggestions” sgillespie

“History about me to help with bike choice: I am 43 years old, ex army (infantry) , ran marathons and in pretty good shape. I busted my back and medical release from the army. Hit with depression stated eating was up to 310 lbs. I am 225 lbs and still descending. Last summer did 4 sprints and few cross races and my personal best sprint is about 1 h 25 min. I have a cross bike with road tires that i use now for triathlon and cross races. This year I am moving to Olympic distance with a half IM at the end. I may not be the fastest but am very competitive (personal best or beating the guy or girl who just beat in the last race). I do not want a TT bike but was thinking road bike with bars. With my medical history would i be better with a defy with bars or propel with bars. would there be a big time difference in half IM. Thanks for advice.” Stehane

“I go sock less on the bike, with a liberal application of talc in the shoes beforehand. I then have my sock rolled down past the ankle and sitting in my shoe, again coated in talc on the inside, ready to be rolled, not pulled, onto my feet at T2. Best of both worlds.” adamneilson

“Hi i have a cervelo s5 and i would like ti ask can i install an TT Handlebar ? Is it diffent from a TT bike? If yes what the differences?” Xams Ioannou

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