First of all the pictures here are Copyright Evan L Dobson not to be reproduced without express permission of the photographer!!!

Bala was great fun, it’s a long drive from Tavistock to North Wales but worth the trip. My season was really over after Betton so I was just heading along for a bit of fun and to spread the Driven To Tri word. So I was very happy to win. Alot of age groupers were battling really hard for the last world slots for next season, well done to everyone who raced in some pretty tough conditions.

The swim course had been shortened to 1km as the lake was looking a little choppy, it wasn’t Perranporth but then people wern’t prepared for waves, so there were some very relieved faces, After the cargnage in France I was just thankful not to have 100 people trying to climb ontop of me. Loughborough lad Oli Stanley and I took the swim on and came out a little way clear of the field.

My brother had lent me his Scott Carbon Time Trial bike complete with disk wheel, so I was a proper non drafting athlete for the day, the girls had set off 20 minutes before us which was great as people got to hear the disk in action, (it would have been a bit of a let down if i’d got it out and no one had heard it) There was a strong head wind on the way out and a fantastic tail wind on the way back. I really enjoyed the bike, totally different from the racing I am normally doing, but great fun. The run was a bit of a mountain climb, but as I was by myself I was able to relax and get into a rhythm. At the turn point I saw Jill Parker and ex international Pentathlete Emily Bright who I used to trin with in Bath  so I had some people to chase down on the way back to the lake.  All in all a really well organised race and a great way to finish off my season.

This was just before Transition, I can ride on the bars…no really I can

Mens Podium me. Stephen Harrison and Paul Hawkins