ROB Hammond won the PACTRAC Long Course Triathlon at Oundle by almost five minutes.
Over distances of 1800 yards swim (36 lengths of Oundle pool), 40-mile bike (four laps of the Glapthorn and Upper Benefield course), and 10-mile run (around Glapthorn and back, twice), Hammond completed the course in 3.22.44.
He was first out of t
he water with Chris Jordan right on his heels. The pair had a gap of more than two minutes and Hammond then pulled clear on the bike only to be caught by Jaap Flikweert.
Flikweert led Hammond by seven seconds coming off the bike - with six-and-a-half minutes going back to Jordan in third - but Hammond soon closed the gap and went on to win with ease.
Graeme Hall, who completed a six-hour bike session the day before, took third while Tom Rebbitt - who had the fastest run of the day - warmed up for Sunday's World Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Holland by moving up to fourth place.
CAROL Smallman won her age group at the Cambridge Triathlon at Mepal near Chatteris.
Raced over the Olympic distances of a 1500m lake swim, 25-mile bike and 6.25-mile run, she was among eight PACTRAC members in action.
Rob Hammond was the first home for PACTRAC while Penny Ganser came third in her age group.
ALPE d'Huez is notoriously one of the toughest sections of the Tour de France route so it goes without saying the Alpe d'Huez Triathlon is hardly a picnic.
But two PACTRAC members - Jaap Flikweert and his partner Mariska Niemeijer - tackled the course which consisted of a 1200m lake swim, 19-mile bike section going all of the way up Alpe d''Huez with its steep roads and 21 turns and finally a 4.5-mile run around the mountain roads.
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